A Cylon civilian seen on Gamoray

A Cylon command centurion on Gamoray

A Cylon arm from an early concept sketch by Andrew Probert. This isn’t a very good picture (it’s unfortunately a scan of a xerox since I don’t have a copy of the magazine it appeared in), but if you look closely you can see the muzzle of a built-in weapon right above the glove. A note on the drawing read “Forearm weapon—fired through direct nerve impulse or muscular movement” (of course this was when the Cylons were beings, not robots). It’s very unfortunate that this concept was dropped since built-in weapons make a lot more sense for a robotic warrior than the clumsy rifles of the series. Something I hope to see reappear if Richard remakes the series. Another interesting detail not very visible here is the use of the pentagonal Cylon insignia as seen on the Cylon raiders as a unifying element on the upper arm just below the shoulder joint.

An early Ralph McQuarrie concept painting of two Cylons with Baltar. In the original, their scanners are more blue

Another early McQuarrie Cylon. This one’s scanner goes completely around its helmet, a good design