vnlk65n, on 06 September 2015 - 10:10 PM, said:
I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure that was retconned into the updated 3050 TRO.
Someone with a copy of the original print can correct or confirm. I don't have mine anymore.
It is in the 1996 Revised edition. Not much changed from the Original to Revised other than the construction rules and weapon technology was moved to the Master Rules book and Unseen were removed.
@OP
Omnimechs are modular in equipment and weapons only. Everything else is fixed. The missile racks on 'Mechs like the Timber Wolf are actually configurable weapons bays mounted on the shoulders while in the Mad Dog those same bays are mounted inside the torso.
Lore wise looks are shared because the Clan are perpetually resource strapped and will go so far as to use the same molds for unrelated designs as short cuts (Timber Wolf and Mad Dog or Summoner and Hellbringer) while related designs might use completely different parts (despite all appearances to the contrary the Timber Wolf and Gargoyle are related). This somewhat absurd pretense was dropped in later Omnimech designs. Relation in visuals is not a solid indicator of origin for 'Mechs.
The reality is FASA wanted a unified look to their then mysterious invaders and reusing parts meant molds for minis were cheaper to make as most of the new 'Mechs did not an original sculpt for all its pieces.
Edited by Nathan Foxbane, 07 September 2015 - 11:35 AM.