Chindit CH1-D7

Type: BattleMech
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Tonnage: 35
Battle Value: 544
Cost: 2,780,325
Introduction: 2489

Overview
Named for a type of special operations unit from Terran history, the Chindit was one of the earliest Light ‘Mechs fielded in the Inner Sphere, and the first such design from the Federated suns to see much use. The ‘Mech is like the Swordsman in that it saw its most heavy use during the Davion Civil War of the 26th Century, after which it was largely relegated to second-line forces along the border of the Draconis Combine.

Production had actually ceased by the 28th Century, but the design was pressed back into service during the Succession Wars. Unfortunately, it seemed that the mothballed machine tools used to manufacture the Chindit's parts had not been particularly well preserved, and so the ability to produce replacement parts for surviving examples was greatly diminished. By the 31st Century, only a handful of Chindits survived, with most that weren't destroyed by this point having been cannibalized for spare parts.

Capabilities
General Motors built the Chindit specifically to utilize as many in-house components as possible to keep the cost of production down, in order to satisfy the AFFS requirements that the unit be cheap to procure. Its 210-rated fusion engine provides it with a 96.4 km/h top speed, which was considered quite fast for a light BattleMech of its time but by current standards, it is fairly pedestrian. It is principally built around a GM Whirlwind class 5 autocannon mounted in its turret-like upper torso. Mounted on each side are a battery of close-in and anti-personnel weapons to engage enemies that stray too close for the autocannon to engage effectively.

Deployment
During the battle of Talcott amidst the Davion Civil War, House Rostov forces deployed the Chindit to great effect as an ambush unit. Standard procedure was to pepper approaching enemies with autocannon fire before closing in for SRM barrages. These raids played an important role in driving David Varnay's forces off of the planet after a number of pitched battles ended disastrously for the enemies of House Rostov. However, it should be noted that the Chindits were running low on ammunition, having enough ammunition for, at most, one more pitched battle or a couple of raids remaining by the time Varnay's forces pulled out.

I do not 3D print, nor do I have anything but the most basic of modeling skills. I mainly just kitbash from other's creations to build apocryphal designs and variants. IE: the model quality and settings are probably similar to the parts I used.

At least they're free.