44 replies to this topic

[DaZur]

Okay... Consider this thread nothing more than topical fluff-discussion whilst we wait for the real thing. If you've grown weary of pointless threads... move along.

...This one of them.

I've spent a sizable amount of time pouring over my tech manuals and the Sarna and come to the conclusion (especially after seeing what I missed post TR3055)... and I must confess that I've lost practical reference to what Mechs make up the stable of Mechs best viewed by most as the Iconic Mechs for each weight class. Mind you, I'm more than aware of the standards like the Marauder, Madcat, Locust, Uller etc.. But I'm begging opinion on what you the community believes is now, post TR3067... would be considered the Iconic/defacto Mechs?

Edited by DaZur, 01 May 2012 - 05:53 PM.

[Gun Bear]

All the unseen/reseen are iconic for sure.

[Nasty9]

Don't forget Atlas on that list. Also Uziel, Vulture, and Bushwacker are a couple more.

[Bren]

As Gun Bear said, unfortunately for us, the most iconic 'Mechs in a general, overall Inner Sphere sense are most of the unseen designs. For the most part these types formed the backbone of the SLDF army and therefore the Successor State armies in the following conflicts.

However the armies of each of the Great Houses certainly have their own flavour, and their own somewhat-exclusive, iconic designs. My top picks would be:

House Davion - Enforcer
House Kurita - Dragon
House Liao - Vindicator
House Marik - Hermes II
House Steiner - Zeus

[Thomas Hogarth]

Methodology: I think of a weight class, and pick the first three 'Mechs I think of.

Light: Stinger, Wasp, Locust.

Medium: Shadowhawk, Centurion, Phoenix Hawk.

Heavy: Warhammer, Thunderbolt, Marauder. (with Orion jumping up right after marauder, and wishing I could swap thud with onion)

Assault: Battlemaster, Atlas, Zeus.

At some time or another, all of those have either appeared on the cover of a BT/MW product, or would not have been out of place.

[pursang]

Timber Wolf - the first 'Mech I ever saw, and the 'Mech that made me get into MechWarrior.

[Blechritter]

Bren, on 01 May 2012 - 10:23 PM, said:

House Davion - Enforcer
House Kurita - Dragon
House Liao - Vindicator
House Marik - Hermes II
House Steiner - Zeus

is not the vakyrie one of the davion iconig mech?????
with the rest i agree

[fearfactory]

I feel everything "iconic" about BattleTech (IMO) can be found in these up to date publications:

http://www.sarna.net...l_Readout:_3039

http://www.sarna.net...t:_3050_Upgrade

http://www.sarna.net...t:_3055_Upgrade

http://www.sarna.net...t:_3057_Revised

http://www.sarna.net...t:_3058_Upgrade

These designs were it back then. I grew up playing all of these on the table top and in MechWarrior 2. My dream MechWarrior game would have all of this or at least a huge chunk of these.

I would go as far as TRO 3060 but to me that's where things started to get too bloated. I like this book because of the Clan section, really. It really fleshes out the homeworlds with some great IIC designs...

[Pvt Dancer]

Blechritter, on 01 May 2012 - 11:08 PM, said:

is not the vakyrie one of the davion iconig mech?????
with the rest i agree

Actually, I kinda consider the Victor as the Iconic House Davion.

[Mad Axe]

Light: Locust, Wasp, Stinger, Valkyrie, Commando, Javelin, Urbanmech, Jenner, Raven, Panther, Wolfhound

Medium: Assassin, Vindicator, Hatchetman, Hunchback, Centurion, Griffin, Bushwacker, Dervish, Shadow Hawk,

Heavy: Rifleman, Dragon, Catapult, Axman, Warhammer, Archer, Summoner, Marauder, Timber Wolf

Assault: Awesome, Victor, Zeus, Battlemaster, Stalker, Mauler, Highlander, Cyclops, Banshee, Atlas,

Those are, IMHO, the usual suspects of the beloved, iconic 'Mechs that consistently starred in the Battletech/Mechwarrior universe. Most if not all are a combination of an effective tabletop or vid-game design that also looked cool and believable in a real-world way, which is an important consideration.

[Thorn Hallis]

Pvt Dancer, on 01 May 2012 - 11:24 PM, said:

Actually, I kinda consider the Victor as the Iconic House Davion.

Not so much as the Enforcer or the Valkyrie, as the Victor is not exclusive to the FedSuns in terms of production.

[Karl Streiger]

The iconic mech back in FASA times was the Zeus representing the IS and the Timber Wolf representing the Clans

[Hardac]

Mad Cat aka Timberwolf. As far as I'm concerned that one mech IS the icon for this entire universe.

[LordDeathStrike]

warhammer, the original best in class heavy.

[DaZur]

Interesting...

As I'm reading these responses, I get the impression that post TR3055 Mechs are not necessarily as endeared / recognized as pre-TR3055 Mechs?

[Ramble]

It can be hard for one to seperate the 'iconic' from the 'nostalgic'.

My thoughts of iconic inner sphere mechs initially drift to the twelve unseen that came in plastic in one of the earliest versions of the basic box set.

Then to mechs I just like - Mongoose, Wolverine, Cataphract, Banshee. But those are not 'iconic' either.

So what stands out - the Charger.

Not a favourite but it is Iconic.

[DarkTreader]

That's because most of the Mechs created after the Clan Invasion (note I said -most-, not all... I do have some serious love for my mini-Warhammer Uziel) are deformed FrankenMechs. May have great artwork, but god were the designs bad.

And the first person who lists a Jihad or DarkAge Mech as iconic? 2 PPCs, straight to the jiggly bits.

[Princess79]

I have to say the urbanmech is one of the most iconic mechs by far. Not even trolling. It is a funny little thing, like the acquy from gundam, yet it embodies the aspects of BT/MW that many people really like: The mechs that have flaws, charm, and history.

and also, it's so cute

Edited by 森小熊, 02 May 2012 - 05:28 AM.

[Karel Spaten]

DarkTreader, on 02 May 2012 - 05:21 AM, said:

That's because most of the Mechs created after the Clan Invasion (note I said -most-, not all... I do have some serious love for my mini-Warhammer Uziel) are deformed FrankenMechs. May have great artwork, but god were the designs bad.

And the first person who lists a Jihad or DarkAge Mech as iconic? 2 PPCs, straight to the jiggly bits.

Well, before you start flaming people, I don't think its unreasonable to cite the Celestial series as the iconic mechs of the Jihad era. I couldn't tell you which one, mind you, since they all look the bloody same...

[Pvt Dancer]

To me, when I think Iconic Battletech, I think of the mechs the company used to promote it's product. It really /is/ the first thing you saw. You either bought the game because the mech on the cover was cool or you already knew about the game and bought the product because you wanted it or needed it.

So Warhammer, Maruder, Mad Cat, Zeus, ect...

But, I personally feel what I consider 'classic' mechs are from the 3025 TRO and boardgame. As for clan mechs, I can probably name 3 of them, and FASA was stupid by giving them 2 names. Sure, they were trying to do a Pacific WWII name of Japanese fighters. The difference is the Japanese had a hard language to translate, their date system was based off of the year of the Emperor, and they had this tendancy to name different aircraft the same name. So the Americans used female names for bombers, male names for fighters, and tree names for transports. The fail here is that the Clans spoke the same damn language! There is /no/ real reason for double names for Clan mechs, as communication channels, specially by boastful clan mechwarriors, would be open.