Now all we need is a weathered captain with a take-no-shit attitude and keen tactical mind for the dream of a Battletech version of the Battlestar Galactica to be within reach.
So like taking something like the canon Vampire and swapping the infantry bays for more armor and weapons? The standard design only weighs 400 tons so it would not be a total whale in atmosphere.
To be fair BattleTech writers had a 400 ton millstone around their necks called "Sell more models". No one wants to buy a miniature of Steve the diplomat after a riveting tale of hashing out border system jump station fees.