Robots! Robots Everywhere!
Back in November, I asked the Facebook hivemind for “suggestions for models that would make good mechs, about 40-50mm tall”. This was the start of me trying to gets the bits together for my new Big Stompy Robots game (and at the time I knew Santa would soon be after some suggestions).
As there were so many great suggestions, and because who doesn’t like stompy robots, I thought I’d bring together the responses. I’ve only included one photo to whet your appetite, but each model range has several mech units to chose from. You can click on the title to go through to the associated web page.
In my Big Stompy Robot universe, the mechs are created by many different companies, many of them modified or custom-builds, hence a wide range of aesthetics. This allows me (and whoever else I play with) to add in whatever models they like. Other than the size and sci-fi look, (what I call ‘Galactic colonial chic’!) there’s no other visual criteria.
Apologies in advance to any damage done to bank balances.
Dust Tactics from Fantasy Flight
Most gamers will be aware of Dust and Dust Tactics – one of the premier ‘dieselpunk’ settings and games. Ranging from a ‘tween world wars to 1945 aesthetic, they are a little too industrial for the setting I have been creating, but the power distribution system for Big Stompy Robots could represent something more diesel and electric than atomic if you squint a little…
Reaper Mini’s CAV: Strike Operations
These are described as N-scale, which puts them at the equivalent to 10mm wargaming scale. Reaper use a ‘Bones’ plastic for many of their miniatures, including these mechs. This material isn’t the sharpest for detail but is cheap, light and can, in theory, be painted without priming, which is great if getting your mech on the table with the least time and fuss is your priority.
Zealot Miniatures – M2 Assault Droid Variants
This, like quite a few of the suggestions, was too big for the sort of scale and table I have in mind. However, being ‘miniatures agnostic’ (fancy term for rules that don’t have a specific attached range) the truth is that the Big Stompy Robots rules can work at other scales without too much fudging and interpretation. So, if you fancy battling with 120mm-tall droids, this is a good place to start.
Hawk Wargames’ Dropzone Commander
I like a lot of the Hawk Wargames stuff. At the time of my asking the question, these mechanised walkers were smaller than what I had in mind. Having played a couple of games and developed the rules a little more, I have a system of chassis sizes – scout, standard and heavy. In my first draft mechs of this size would have been classified as scout but having acquired more models – particularly the Heavy Gear ones – I am going to adjust my specifications as most of the appropriate models are about this size, which should be the ‘standard’. To incorporate my Infinity Cutter I will eventually stretch the rules to a super-heavy chassis!
AFTERLIFE Anvil Industry
Like the Hawk Wargames miniatures, I had passed over this one at first look because it is ‘only’ 38mm tall. Now that I have tweaked my scale expectations a little bit, this ‘Autonomous Mech’ fits the bill nicely – it has a great police action / security enforcement vibe (partly due to the colour scheme, I admit). It certainly offers something a bit different to a lot of the other mechs on the market.
Mecha Front
Mecha Front is heavily influenced by the style of the original Battletech mechs of my youth, and so has a certain appeal. I find, as with the original Battletech miniatures, the appeal varies wildly from model to model, with some that are great and others that are frankly gawky and horrible. The joy of Big Stompy Robots is that you only ever pilot one mech at a time, allowing me to cherry pick the best from all of these ranges, rather than having to field larger forces that might incorporate less well-liked design for the sake of army composition and effectiveness.
In terms of scale, the 6mm range works the best, slap-bang in my standard range, but the smaller 15mm scale models might sneak in as heavy or super-heavy chassis mechs. I’d have to see the detailing on the physical models to see what works.
Heavy Gear Blitz from Dreampod 9
A lot of my love for big robots comes from anime, unsurprisingly, so I have a penchant for robots actually holding guns rather than those mounted directly onto hardpoints. For that reason alone, I like a lot of these models. I have added three mechs from the Heavy Gear series since I adjusted my scale parameters, because my Epiran Hunters (from Maelstrom’s Edge) were just so much bigger and heavier-looking than a lot of the other models on the market. I really like this range, and having put some together they are a decent quality and come with a nice variety of weapons. The bases are too small though, too many overhanging feet for my liking, so I have invested in some resin custom bases (of which there are many fine manufacturers out there).
Puppetswar
These are really nice, but huge! At 150mm tall they are a scale unto themselves. Again, piloting just a single mech means investing about forty Euros in a model isn’t such a terrible proposition. All things considered, that’s a reasonable price. If you could buy an entire force for most of the games for that kind of money you’d jump at the chance, I’m sure.
Andy Chambers tried to bankrupt me, by pointing me in the direction of the Hobby Link Japan website. There are too many models to mention, so I’ll just leave this picture here…
Thank you to everyone who helped with suggestions – you can find out which models I initially chose for my game in this blog post.
If you want to follow the progress of my new game, including additional videos and development details, you can sign up to my specific Big Stompy Robot newsletter. This is a different subscriber list from my main monthly newsletter.
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