Mecha

As mentioned earlier in the week I will be playing "Battletech" next weekend so I thought I should paint up a few more mechs (Mecha) just so the guys would not be playing with bare plastic and bare metal. I hasten to point out I have done a very quick paint job, nothing fancy, just slapped paint on.

So here we go!

Rifleman: The Rifleman is a heave Mech at 60 tons and is one of the best well known mechs out there. It is a specialist anti-aircraft platform but well capable of defending itself and battle with other mechs. Typically armed with 2 Large Lasers, 2 Medium Lasers and 2 Light Autocannon (AC5s). Which are the longest pre clan AC' in the game. Only 10 heat sinks so it does tend to run a little hot, but not disastrously so.  The Main drawback (In my opinion) for the 60 ton Rifleman is lack of armour particularly on the back. Given the long range weapons this mech is typically used as fire support. The lack of hands may be considered a drawback by many But that is compensated by it's perceived role and the fact that it can fire it's guns 180 degrees (Vertically) to allow it to track aircraft.

This is a re-paint of one of my older metal mechs (I only had 4-5 metal mechs). As such I feel it will get much use as a proxy!


Hunchback: The Hunchback (my second) is a medium mech of 50 tons yet manages to carry the largect gun in the game and Autocannon 20 (AC20). This give it a distinctive look and for it's medium weight class makes it quite deadly at short range. Along with the AC20 it also carries 2 medium lasers and a small laser. This means that within range  (9 Hexes or 270 meters) everything other than the head mounted  small laser can fire at once! So at the shorter ranges this mech can strip armour from other mechs very effectively. The drawback as hinted at previously is that it has a relatively short range but when it does fire and hit you will know it! No mech is ever perfect and we all have favourites and this mech is rather brutal and usually does not need to carry more than 10 Ac shots to get the job done but it will get shot up while trying to get within effective range.

This plastic mech has a missing right hand, it's a shame to say but I got it in a box set and it came that way. (Oh well).

The Jenner: This is a light mech often used for scouting, Again lacking arms instead armed with weapon pods. It carries 4 Medium lasers and well as a Short Range Missile system (SRM 4) . At 35 tone it is on the larger size for a scout mech but it has a phenomenal speed of 11 when running (5 walking). So going in a straight line while on open terrain means it could travel 11 hexes in a turn. As mentioned above the AC on the Hunchback only has a range of 9 hexes so this really is nippy and is the fastest mech I have ever PERSONALLY piloted. One thing I have yet to mention about this mech is the jump capability. It can use jumpjets as well and they will propel it in any direction across any terrain 5 hexes a turn. (or less if you choose). Given all this speed and jump capability it does lack armour, but as a light mech in a scout role what did we really expect. It is not designed to fight toe to toe with other mechs but will happily take on mechs of it's own weight or lighter.Many weapons variants exist but the weapons listed above are the standard.

Not my favourite mech but I can and do respect it in the right hands. A good mech for the weight.

Grasshopper: A heavy mech of 70 tons this mecha lacks "Serious" firepower for it's weight. With 1 large laser and 4 medium lasers and a small (lrm5) Long Range Missile system for me it lacks "Punch". It is jump capable and does carry a good amount of armour (more than a Warhammer or Marauder or even and Archer all of which have the same weight limit.) The LRM5 does not give it enough long range capacity the large laser helps of course but this mech really does need to get within 9 hexes to inflict much damage at all. The Grasshopper has lots of heat sinks so overheating should never be a problem which means it can run cold and not worry about movement or aiming penalties at least until armour is penetrated.

Again not a fan of this mech from 20 years ago but played by an adult (Physically if not mentally) this mech could be quite useful as it can soak up a lot of damage.


Whitworth: The 40 ton Whitworth is on the lower side of Medium mechs. Which is not to say it's wimpy. It is quite a balanced build and can cause problems. Originally designed as a Scout mech to fill the gap between a Locust and a Phoenix Hawk it's main problem is that it now lacks a distinct on the battlefield. Not a bad mech by any means it has 2 Long range missile (LRM10') systems as well as 3 medium lasers and even jump capability.  The long range weapons are useful but not powerful enough for a stand off mech and the Medium lasers do not do enough damage at short range to make this a close in mech. Some variants replace the LRMs with SRMs which does give it a set role but it is a compromise. It is a good mech when used well but alas that was not something I ever managed to do well in the game. 10 heatsinks means that this can run hot when at close range but not as hot as some mechs get. If using this mech I would stay at long range and use LRMs and then get in close to finish off anything badly damaged by any other mech.  Not a bad all round mech but on the light side for a medium mech and it lacks an obvious use.

Catapult: a 65 tom heavy mech with some notable long range capabilities. Each arm carries a LONG range Missile system (LRM15) while the torso carries 4 medium lasers. Some varients exist with the LRMs stripped out and Phase Partial Cannons (PPCs) retrofitted but this can lead to heat problems and I believe the LRMs are better in this particular mech. The medium lasers are for close support and the mech does have a role in the secondary defensive line with some (but) limited offensive capability. On a one to one bases this mecha is very good at dealing long range damage sufficient enough to worry most mech of a similar size and hopefully weaken an opponent enough for the medium lasers at closer range.  It does have some jump capability so is capable of intricate manoeuvres through difficult terrain so will keep up with most (non scout) mechs. Like all mechs it does depend on how it is used but generally it is quite balanced.



All the comments are my personal views and experiences and it does depend on how you and your opponents do play. So if your experiences differ I will not be at all surprised. My main Mech was a Griffin for example so all my comments come from that background.

Not the best mechs in the world, but better than none at all. Thanks for looking and I hope you are having a really great weekend. \All the best Clint