This guy is building a $20,000 replica of a Cylon Raider in his backyard



Well, this is pretty frakking unbelievable.
Building a Cylon Raider might sound like an insurmountable task, but that's exactly what oneBattlestar Galactica fan has set out to do. Eugene Haggerty of the Colonial-Cylon Alliance began the process of creating a half-scale, classic Cylon Raider in October 2012. So far the Alliance has dedicated about 150 man-hours toward its construction. According to Haggerty, "The base chassis is a 1978 Cochran Airport Systems model 660 belt loader that was originally an e350 Ford chassis. These are used on the airports to load baggage into the aircraft."

That's right. They are building this sucker to move. Literally. There's a reason so much time has been dedicated to this project, too, beyond just fans adoration. The goal is to make the Raider a "centerpiece for Galacticon 3," a major Battlestar convention that goes down at the end of May this year. In terms of constructing something of this size and detail, that's awfully soon, so the Colonial-Cylon Alliance have their work cut out for them.
Thus far, approximately $10,000 has been spent on the project. Where is the other half going to come from? Haggerty is counting on help from the fans.
All donations above $20.00 will have their name engraved on the standing plaque that will be with the unit on display. Donations between $20 and $100 will, in addition, receive an autographed picture of the raider mailed to them, and emailed if requested. Donations from $100 and up will receive, in addition to the picture, a tee shirt and their name engraved on the plaque inside the unit, as well as on the standing plaque. Any donation above $500.00 we gain them an opportunity to drive and operate the unit at one of the conventions.
The plan is to take the Raider all over. As of now Haggerty is hoping to fly it out to DragonCon, Shoreleave, Hurricane Who, and Away Mission. LINK