Bombast, on 01 February 2017 - 11:26 AM, said:
While those two mechs get a lot of novel love, I don't think they're the 'poster' mechs of the 3060s for those factions. Davion in particular, which actually went out of their way to release new versions of old faction mechs, like the Enforcer III and Jagermech III, to be the 'poster mechs' of the age.
I think it is totally fair to associate Templar with Davion, and Fafnir with Steiner in the 60ies, even if neither of them can claim to be sole signature Mech.
It's true, the novels love to put Davion characters in a Templar cockpit, from the legendary Ardan Sortek (the first major Davion character we meet in the novels) to Julian Davion ("current" First Prince). But the Templar was indeed intended to be the new flagship assault Mech of the AFFS. Of course, the Jihad put those plans back several decades and it would be the Templar III which became that flagship Mech.
Regarding the Fafnir... This one was Defiance's new flagship and intended to be the prime assault of the LAAF. The biggest 3060ies contender was the Hauptmann, which was chosen to represent the new LAAF and its showcase units, the Alliance Jäger. I'd say both were extremely prestigious in the 60ies. The Fafnir in particular replaced time-honoured Lyran designs like the Zeus.
Don't underestimate the power of symbols. Peter Steiner-Davion could have had every Mech we wanted. But he chose the Fafnir when he claimed the throne, even though they were not easy to get for the Allies. Since he controlled Coventry, the Hauptmann would have been no problem. Actually, even a Clan OmniMech probably would have been easier to get than the Fafnir, given that the Wolves supported him.
Edited by FLG 01, 01 February 2017 - 07:16 PM.