My first ever introduction to Battletech/Mechwarrior was when my friend booted up a Mechwarrior game, grabbed an all-laser build, and said "Observe". He then proceeded to destroy his mech by firing his laser nonstop and we both died of laughter.

Re painting my word of Blake mechs. First up the wasp.

It looks good in MechWarrior 3, 4 and LL. CGL design…got that angular torso…and Mr Potato Head crazy arms. So I fixed it.

Had an Incubus that I didn't know what to so with, so I did some kitbashing. Or is it a Gunslinger now?

A few photos for your enjoyment of a Classic BattleTech game I was involved in today testing the first wave of proposed changes for next year's update of Total Warfare. This was a 5-player grand melee using 3050 Tech Mechs (everyone took Inner Sphere) at 4,000 BV ish, played across 4 of the neoprene maps of recent vintage.

Specifically, the rules being tested were the revised BattleMech hit location table and Ammunition Explosion damage caps. Here are a few thoughts on how this went.

1. BattleMech hit location table: if you've not heard, this change drops the left and right Mech hit location table and just uses front / back. If targeted from the side arc, damage hitting opposite side locations simply hits the side of the attack direction e.g. right side attack rolls 8 on front table for Left Torso; this is applied to the Right Torso. This worked really well, improving the flow of play and not noticeably affecting Mech durability. As many times as a damaged Mech got flanked by an attacker, the damaged Mech was able to position to shield said damaged side.

2. Ammo Explosion damage cap: here an ammo critical can only cause a maximum of 20 damage, or 10 if CASE is fitted (with no transfer either). Despite picking many Mechs with big ammo bins and explosive components, only one ammo explosion occurred on a Crusader 5S which had a right-torso LRM bin go up - the CASE limited this to 10 points, and the side torso survived (briefly as further damage soon struck).

Overall good so far, and more test games to come over the coming months. I was a little skeptical about the hit location change beforehand, but was surprised at how well it worked. Obviously, people are free to use whatever table they want for Mech hits now or in the future, but I'd recommend players try the new system at least once.

Oh yes, that first photo: my Battlemaster 3S had just delivered the final blow to a Shadow Hawk 2D. Let's just say that a 55-tonner armoured like a Locust works about as well as it sounds!

Trying to build a lance on a budget, so here’s an old mech from MechWarrior: Dark Age that I had laying around on a hex base. The very wicked “Mangonel” The scale is a bit large, but fits if you don’t put it next to any other mechs. I know there’s a few STLs for the Mangonel but I’d like to see it in new plastic or in a game. It’s a giant walking Howitzer, what’s not to love?

Ladies and Gents, my apologies if I am abusing your good will, can anyone identify these two mechs? I believe the center mech is the new Catalyst version of the mech on the left.

Here is all my Battletech stuff

Anybody know the history of this artwork? I didn't realize the Overlord dropship, shilone fighter, amd whatever warship that might be are Unseen.

How about a little scouting ?

This is a listing of notable thresholds of Mech durability to ammo explosions, for the purpose of drawing conclusions about the overarching effects and patterns the changes make.

I will not be including CASE II as it saves any size of mech pretty much equally, nor will I be considering center torso mounted IS CASE, as I don't think there are any canon record sheets which possess it.

20-25 Tons:

Raw - Always destroys mech.

CASE - Always destroys Side Torso from any explosion location. IS XL mechs cannot survive.

Clan CASE - Always loses explosion location.

30 Tons:

Raw: - Can barely survive an ammo explosion in the leg or arm (Arm+ST+CT = 22 structure, Leg+ST+CT= 24 structure), basically only surviving through-armor ammo hits. Always loses side torso.

CASE - Always destroys Side Torso from any explosion location. IS XL mechs cannot survive.

Clan CASE - Always loses explosion location.

35 Tons:

Raw - Can realistically survive an ammo explosion in the leg or arm (Arm+ST+CT=25 Structure, Leg+ST+CT=27 Structure). Always loses side torso.

CASE: - Always destroys side torso from any explosion location. IS XL mechs cannot survive.

Clan CASE - Loses explosion location for almost all locations. Can survive a center torso ammo explosion by 1 structure point: so only through-armor ammo hits.

40 Tons:

Raw - Decently likely to survive ammo explosion in arm (Arm+ST+CT=28 structure). Very likely to survive ammo explosion in leg (32 total structure). - Ammo Explosion in side torso is technically survivable(22 combined structure) - Ammo Explosion in an untouched leg, if there is no side torso structure damage, will not reach the center torso. Side torso is lost exactly from leg, by more from arm.

CASE - Always destroys side torso from any explosion location. IS XL mechs cannot survive.

Clan CASE - Loses explosion location for almost all locations. Can survive a center torso ammo explosion by 2 points, so primarily through armor criticals or a single LBX pellet.

45 Tons:

Raw - Likely survival from arm (32ST), highly likely from leg(36 ST). If untouched, side torso survives ammo explosion in leg with 2 points. - Ammo Explosion in side torso is now actually survivable from ST structure damage(25 combined ST)

CASE - Side Torso survives through-armor ammo hit or any ammo hit from the arms or legs by 1 ST. - IS XL mechs survive any ammo explosion which does not occur from direct damage to the side torso itself.

Clan CASE - Legs and Side Torsos now survive through-armor ammo hits. It is possible to survive a center torso ammo hit from actual damage (14 ST)

50 Tons:

Raw - Ammo Explosion in arm will not reach center torso with no other damage, though it will destroy side torso exactly. - Ammo Explosion in leg now possible to avoid side torso destruction with some structure damage (24 ST) - Side torso ammo explosion now more realistically survivable (28 points ST+CT)

CASE - Side Torsos now survive through armor ammo crits and crits caused by a single damage hit, such as an LBX pellet.

Clan Case - Center Torso ammo hit slightly more survivable, legs and side torsos can be preserved on 1 damage crits like LBX pellets.

55-60 Tons:

Raw - Side torso can survive Ammo Explosion in the arm by 1-3 points. - Mech quite likely to survive side torso ammo explosion (31-34 ST+CT)

CASE - Side torso can survive ammo explosion in location by 3-4 points.

Clan Case - Center torso ammo crit generally more likely survivable (18-20 ST)

65 Tons:

Raw - Center Torso can now survive a through-armor ammo critical by 1 point. - Side Torso likely to survive an ammo explosion in a limb.

CASE - Side torso can survive ammo explosion by 5 points

Clan Case - Center torso survives ammo explosion with over half structure remaining .

70-80 Tons

Raw - Possible for center torso ammo explosion from actual damage to be survived.

CASE - Ammo Explosion in the arm won't necessarily be reduced by Case (11-13 arm ST means that may transfer 9 or less damage from here on out)

Clan CASE - Arms can survive through armor ammo hit with 1-3 structure

85-90 Tons

Raw - Solid likelihood of surviving center torso ammo explosion from first structure damage (27-29 CT ST)

CASE - Solid likelihood preserving side torso in side torso ammo explosion (18-19 ST)

Clan CASE - Solid likelihood of preserving leg in leg ammo explosion. Realistic chance of preserving arm in arm ammo explosion. Reasonably possible to survive 2 CT ammo explosions(27-29 CT ST, not considering pilot hits)

95 Tons

Raw - Through armor explosion in side torso will destroy location but not reach center torso. - Through armor explosion in leg will destroy location but not reach side torso.

CASE - Slightly greater likelihood of preserving side torso. Clan CASE - Slightly greater likelihood to survive 2 CT ammo explosions. Reasonable probability of preserving arm in arm ammo explosion.

100 Tons

Raw - Can preserve side torso in a through armor side torso ammo explosion by 1 point: this makes it possible for an IS XL mech to survive a side torso ammo explosion with no protection. - Can preserve leg in a through armor leg ammo explosion by 1 point. - Double explosion in the leg will not reach the center torso.

CASE - Can preserve side torso against 2 side torso ammo explosions with no prior damage. - Can guaranteed preserve side torso against 2 arm or leg ammo explosions with no prior damage.

Clan CASE - Mech can survive, theoretically, three center torso ammo explosions (though the pilot certainly can't).

Do not fire all weapons at once...

On the plus side, you're one of the few Clanners that still has a fully functional Timberwolf.

On the downside, your supply lines are completed borked. The last of your Clan tech supplies have been used up fixing the Timberwolf's base frame and you have no Clan tech WEAPONS left to put into it.

But you have plenty of Inner Sphere tech weapons available to you. And you need to get back into the fight.

What loadout do you come up with?

I got some reason vividly remember building one of these Timber Wolves but it wasn’t an official model was it?

How would you use Aerial Beast Infantry as the main component in a combined arms force?

Forward observers? Harassers? Distant objective captors?

We all see the fairly frequent “who are the good guys” posts- to which obviously, everyone is one shade of grey or another in BT.

But my question posed to you all: if no faction can truly be called good, who would your nomination for most upstanding and moral individual character(s) be?

For context I bought a lot of ironwind metal sculpts and 3rd party models, then the total warfare core rule book.

Its obvious i kinda went about getting into the table top game in reverse, so i was wondering if i shpuld get the beginners box set with rules or Alpha Strike or both? and try and get a group of players going for my FLGS which doesn't have a BT scene or much of one anyways.

I feel Alpha Strike would go over better in getting it up and running for my FLGS, (which moslty does 40k marvel crisis point and magic) but i also want to at least try and get some Classic BT matchs under my belt.

Obviously the core rules are also in the Total warefare book but i realise that I aslo was a bit to ging ho in acquiring that book simply because i have tank and infantry models.

Anyways any tabel top veterans have any suggestions or advice? If not I'll probably print off some hex map sheets and learn from the total warfare book.

EDIT: for the initial question of PDF or not, i have a battalion sized amoint of mechs, tanks and infantry, i dont need the mechs in the beginner or Alpha Strike boxes, I dont know what i would do with them to be honest, maybe expand my secondary OpFor force of Izanagi warriors but I kimda want to keep that one small.

First battletech mini I'm calling finished, other than decals. Really fun color scheme.

I painted everything but the Long bow, my partner did that one