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Does the current range of mechs allow for a larger group of players to enjoy the game with some variety of armor on the field?
or Is the selection pretty much limited to what's in the starter set?
Simple question I know but we're out of the loop.
~ Shrap
Rolling 1's for five decades.
AoS * Konflikt '47 * Conquest Last Argument of Kings * A War Transformed
If you exclude Iron Wind Metals (poor sculpts, and extremely expensive considering that quality) you're left with a couple of options.
1) Old Battletech plastics (read: 1990's)...and they were pretty horrible.
2) Intermediate Battletech plastics from a couple years ago and they're..."okay".
3) The newest starter set is much nicer than before (though still board game pieces compared to 'proper' gaming miniatures)
4) There are a lot of 3D printed copy-cat mechs going around based on digital files from Mechwarrior Online (the visuals that inspired the current crop of Battletech) You'll have to scout around for these because they're often using different names.
5) A handful of the Battletech designs were available for a short while in the Robotech Tactics game which failed. They're small and rather fiddly multi-part plastics matching the original aesthetics of the 1980/1990s books. These are quite good but won't necessarily match the new wave of plastics.
Catalyst is doing a Kickstarter for the Clan invasion and some additional lances, but it's unlikely you'll have ready access to them anytime soon (even when released, Catalyst has a poor reputation for supporting products).
If you want to pay $13-16 a pop for some super crappy sculpts...Ironwind Metals will suit you. Their sculpts are not really up to par with anything you'd expect from a miniatures company in 2019 though. This is obviously the opinion of a non-fanboy, but not a hateful critic. The mech miniatures portion of Battletech has rarely kept pace with the rest of the market.
Shrapnelsmile wrote: Does the current range of mechs allow for a larger group of players to enjoy the game with some variety of armor on the field?
or Is the selection pretty much limited to what's in the starter set?
Simple question I know but we're out of the loop.
Honestly, if you want stuff that stands properly with the mechs from the starter, your options are kind of limited:
- Robotech RPG Tactics mechs: Of those, only the Destroids and the VFs are really useable, as the Zentradi stuff (mainly the Marauder) is simply too big in comparison. The designs are fiddly as feth because the guys from Palladium are cheap bastards, but you can get some nice stuff out of it.
- Some of the latest IWM designs introduced some redesigned Wolverine, Griffin and the like models which look similar to the latest ones. Those might be worth it Stay away from almost everything else.
- And then there's the third option: Get MWO models printed. There are oodles of them widely shared and you can print them in your own house. I've done that myself, and you can get some really cool stuff.
Heh heh heh. Ok, so you want armor. The Ironwind Metals stuff is perfect, and most of the vehicles come in multiple packs- anywhere from 2-4, which does make the price more palatable. I recommend https://www.ariesgamesandminis.com/index.php/
The best, and generally cheap source of stand ins are the Mechwarrior Dark Age clicky tech figures. They'll be out of scale, but the tanks will always be out of scale.
OGRE miniatures work great for all of your hovertank needs, and they're absurdly cheap.
There's an old line of micro machine style toys called Megaforce, which has tanks that look right at home next to mechs. They'd have to come from ebay though.
Klawz-Ramming is a subset of citrus fruit?
Gwar- "And everyone wants a bigger Spleen!"
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Orkeosaurus wrote:Star Trek also said we'd have X-Wings by now. We all see how that prediction turned out.
Orkeosaurus, on homophobia, the nature of homosexuality, and the greatness of George Takei.
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I think most of the IWM vehicles seem ok, if anything the issue is the original Btech design, not the lack of quality.
I disagree with Elbow's opinion, IWM mechs are over the place and maybe the design is lacking for 2019, but unless you change the original looks of the mechs, that's what you get. You can like it, or not but something looking old fashioned for current standards doesn't make it crappy.
M.
Jenkins: You don't have jurisdiction here!
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About the Clans: "Those brief outbursts of sense can't hold back the wave of sibko bred, over hormoned sociopaths that they crank out though."
Miguelsan wrote: I think most of the IWM vehicles seem ok, if anything the issue is the original Btech design, not the lack of quality.
I disagree with Elbow's opinion, IWM mechs are over the place and maybe the design is lacking for 2019, but unless you change the original looks of the mechs, that's what you get. You can like it, or not but something looking old fashioned for current standards doesn't make it crappy.
M.
A metal Marauder made up of about a dozen separate parts does make it crappy, though.
NewTruthNeomaxim wrote: So for someone who doesn't have a 3d printer... how does one acquire those 3d-printed MWO models? Is there a service that can do it?
Easiest way would be:
- Locate a local printer that you can send orders to (Maybe through 3dhubs or any other local service).
- Scour Thingiverse for designs. There are loads of them.
CamoSpecs is showing three sculpts for the Blood Asp. Could be a different sculpt maybe?
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
Torso, hips, shoulder weapons, arms, arm weapons, legs, feet/base? The Reseen Marauder was similar, with the added disadvantage of it standing on one leg.
What universe do you live in where a marauder was a dozen parts.
Mine has 8, and it was from the days of separate feet.
2 feet, 2 legs, 2 arms, body, gun. Yeah, I have a pile of the "unseen" mechs from the old days. Mostly the "Crusher Joe" and "Dougram" designs, because for the most part, the macross derived ones didn't appeal to me.
So you're off by about 50% to start with.
Now the "Robotech tactics" (*spits*) zentraedi battlepods had separate TOES on each foot. Because anything HG is allowed to touch will give you cancer. When Kevin S. (of Palladium) gets involved, that cancer also gets cancer.
I'm OVER 50 (and so far over everyone's BS, too).
Old enough to know better, young enough to not give a ****.
That is not dead which can eternal lie ...
... and yet, with strange aeons, even death may die.
chromedog wrote: What universe do you live in where a marauder was a dozen parts.
Mine has 8, and it was from the days of separate feet.
2 feet, 2 legs, 2 arms, body, gun. Yeah, I have a pile of the "unseen" mechs from the old days. Mostly the "Crusher Joe" and "Dougram" designs, because for the most part, the macross derived ones didn't appeal to me.
So you're off by about 50% to start with.
Now the "Robotech tactics" (*spits*) zentraedi battlepods had separate TOES on each foot. Because anything HG is allowed to touch will give you cancer. When Kevin S. (of Palladium) gets involved, that cancer also gets cancer.
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
That Marauder was a pain, but I built it without any issues.
For the Blood Asp it was the separate hips. I despite 'Mechs that have separate hits now.
Hell, I hate them so much I once did an order to IWM specifically just ordering 'Mechs that came in one piece. That's why I have a metal Quickdraw and Blackjack!
chromedog wrote: What universe do you live in where a marauder was a dozen parts.
Mine has 8, and it was from the days of separate feet.
2 feet, 2 legs, 2 arms, body, gun. Yeah, I have a pile of the "unseen" mechs from the old days. Mostly the "Crusher Joe" and "Dougram" designs, because for the most part, the macross derived ones didn't appeal to me.
So you're off by about 50% to start with.
Well, I live in a universe in which the Marauder IIC 2 exists, thank you very much.
2 legs, 2 arms, one hips set, one body, one body gun, four body... wings, or whatever the feth those were.
So... yeah, ok 11. Not twelve. I would still say it's in the ballpark of "about a dozen" though.
For the OPs question, you can still find Alpha Strike lance packs pretty easily. They are not as good quality as the new box set but can be gotten cheap.
I actually really like a lot of IWMs sculpts and have about a companies worth, but I agree on the pain of assembly. My most hated model was the Griffon. 15 fething pieces: feet, lower legs, upper legs, pelvis, body, upper arms, lower arms, shoulder plate, antenna, missile launcher. None of the pieces fit together snuggly either.
11527pts Total (7400pts painted)
4980pts Total (4980pts painted)
3730 Total (210pts painted) 
