Bulldog Battle Beast
When the Minimate Multiverse forum hosted a "Battle Beast" custom contest, I made a Shark Battle Beast as my entry. But I also started thinking about other Battle Beasts I could make. Inspired by battlecat's contest entry, I went through my spare parts and came up with my own animal with large back-mounted artillery.
Meet the Bombin' Bulldog. He was created by the military to serve as a self-propelled intelligent artillery unit. After experimenting with several other animals (cows and horses) and suffering setbacks (too stupid and was scared by gunfire), military researchers settled on using bulldogs. In order to support the weight of the cannon, bulldogs were genetically engineered to much larger sizes, then cybernetically enhanced for greater strength and resiliency. Dogs were then sent through a rigorous obedience course before armed with remote firing weapons and let loose on the battlefield. The dogs proved successful in their ability to move into position and fire at the enemy, and many returned home to a hero's welcome of belly scratching and doggie treats.
The Recipe
Bulldog Battle Beast is made from a repainted Lockjaw Minimate. His head has been modified, and given protective goggles and a nifty bomb emblem with Sculpey. He's wearing boots from Titanium Man Minimates. His armored shell is made from cut plastic, carefully glued together and painted. His gun is made from a toy bazooka, with additional details made from cut plastic and a couple of small plastic caps. The gun was then mounted to a round Minimate stand, carefully painted, then attached to the armored shell.