’Mech of the Week: BZK-** Hollander

[Kotetsu]

’Mech of the Week: BZK-** Hollander

Hollander. A hard, semi-glazed brick. A species of rabbit. A machine used in paper production. A person from Holland, and informally the Netherlands. Do note, such a thing can lead to becoming a surname, i.e. Edith the Hollander becoming Edith Hollander.

Which is my slight nudge to be careful when searching for the term Hollander. Some of the results can be… interesting.

It is also the name of a 35-ton BattleMech that has a throw weight well above most light designs. It is the result of a call for a light, fast machine with superior long-range firepower. Since those making the choice leaned more towards the Steiner half of the Federated Commonwealth alliance, the firepower part took precedence. Coventry Metal Works got the contract.

If you wished to describe the original Hollander in one word, it would probably be compromise. By the time the BZK-F3 entered service in 3054, several compromises had been made. All of which were caused by the inclusion of perhaps the epitome of Lyran “compensation,” the Gauss Rifle placed in its right torso. The sheer mass of this weapon forced the use of an endo-steel skeleton, removed the possibility of back-up weaponry, and limited the ammunition bin to two tons. The next compromise was the engine, limited to an Omni 175-rated fusion model, giving it top speed equivalent to the original RVN-1X Raven. Note: the only 35-ton machine slower is the Panther, and that design jumps (the Firebee equals the Hollander’s ground speed, but also jumps). The final compromise was the armor. Because of difficulties, the designers had to decrease the amount to four tons of ferro-fibrous. This gives the design 59% of maximum protection, laid out in an 8, 10/3, 8/3, 6, 8 pattern (head, center front/rear, side front/rear, arms, legs prospectively). Ten single heat sinks provide more than enough cooling for the design (3 output total).

There are a few (okay, a lot) of problems with this design. While meant to engage and destroy enemy light and medium designs at range, it is a one-trick pony. This would come back to haunt Coventry Metal Works. Now, complaints from some MechWarriors caused a second variant to be produced.

Arriving in 3056, the BZK-G1 swaps the Gauss Rifle for a Class-10 LB-X autocannon, with two tons of ammunition, and a medium laser in each arm. Two tons of armor were added, giving the design the protection originally envisioned for the -F3, laid out in a 9, 15/5, 12/4, 10, 13 pattern. It appears that fewer of this variant exist, but only just.

Now about that haunting. While the majority of Hollanders were sent to the front, where they were expected to match up well with the Clan Uller (Kit Fox). I must admit I am unsure about that, since the Uller is faster, jumps, and the configuration that is closest to the Hollander is the A, which manages to tote a couple of mediums into the battle with their Gauss Rifle. And then there is the Puma (Adder). The Prime variant of that design carries two Particle Cannons, which means it can throw twice as much heavy fire as the Hollander (yes, it has heat issues, but alterating between firing both and one still works).

In 3058, the Jade Falcons invaded the Lyran Alliance, mostly to blood their newest warriors. Their path took them to Coventry, where the Falcons landed and sent a large force towards the CMW factory. A large portion of the defenses were Hollanders, and they quickly found themselves outmatched. This led to severe damage to the main factory.

Using a Hollander starts with bringing friends. Notably friends that can attract more attention than you do. No matter which variant you use, everyone will assume you have the BZK-F3. At least until you fire the autocannon. The Hollander is a prime example of the adage that the loud voice gets all the attention. And that Gauss Rifle is a really loud voice. On top of that, your thin armor means you can’t take much return fire.

You should not use either variant like a standard light machine. You do not have the speed to run with your brethren. And most of those that have the same speed or are slower have jump jets or (in the case of the Cougar) have better guns than you. The BRZ-F3 should probably be assigned to your gun-line, alongside things like Marauders and Atlases. Frankly, the BZK-G1 could sit alongside Annihilators and be a bit safer.

Fighting one is a bit clearer. Neutralize the threat as quickly as you can. Long-range weapons are nice, since returning fire is never a bad thing. Do take stock of his friends. You will have to deal with them, too. The BZK-F3 will have internal structure damage in any location from a hit doing more than an Inner Sphere Particle Cannon, whereas the BZK-G1 can only shrug off a Gauss Rifle slug to its chest (though there won’t be armor after). This makes targeting locations somewhat superfluous. Though, if you insist of doing so, the center torso will deal with the engine, and the right torso is where the main gun is. Note that hitting the gun on the first variant will turn the machine into confetti, and the second variant has the ammunition for the LB-X in its center torso.

While it has only two variants, the Hollander has managed to spawn three descendant designs. The first is the Hollander II, which I at least consider a separate design and not a pair of heavier variants. The second is the Blitzkrieg, which CMW created in part by making the Hollander heavier, faster, and (at least the original variant) carried a bigger, shorter-range gun. The last descendant design is the Hollander III, which was produced in the Federated Suns, and is a bit hardier and faster through the use of advanced technologies.

As for the original, it is likely still fumbling around, if only in mercenary companies. Even if only a one-gun design, there are enough desperate warriors out there that will grab anything to fight with. Especially if that one gun packs a punch. (And to note, I decided to see whether heavy ferro-fibrous armor would help the -F3, and well… you gain 8 points of armor.)

This design is from Technical Readout 3055.

[GreekFire]

I dunno, I think the Hollander II should be discussed here since it never appeared in a TRO or got much fluff to its name. I have no clue where the art in the MUL comes from, looks like some video game but dunno which one.

The -G1 variant is definitely the more interesting one of the two IMO, but even then? Ammo in the center torso? Yikes. The main Hollander II variant isn't much better, with a Streak SRM-2 with unCASE'd ammo in one torso, and unCASE'd Gauss in the other. As for the Heavy Gauss one...hahahaha. One of the few 'Mechs that runs a chance of killing itself every round it shoots.

[Prince of Darkness]

I dunno, I think the Hollander II should be discussed here since it never appeared in a TRO or got much fluff to its name. I have no clue where the art in the MUL comes from, looks like some video game but dunno which one.

It's from Mechcommander, and I have to agree about writing about the Hollander II.

The -G1 variant is definitely the more interesting one of the two IMO, but even then? Ammo in the center torso? Yikes. The main Hollander II variant isn't much better, with a Streak SRM-2 with unCASE'd ammo in one torso, and unCASE'd Gauss in the other. As for the Heavy Gauss one...hahahaha. One of the few 'Mechs that runs a chance of killing itself every round it shoots.

It takes style for a 45 tonner to do 25 points of damage in a single shot.

[garhkal]

Whether it was cause they never lasted or cause i hated their look, i have never really liked the Hollander. 

[Liam's Ghost]

I adore the Hollander, but not for any sensible reason. It's hilariously over the top. My only complaint is that there is definitely room for an extralight engine in the thing, which would have further enhanced its over the top nature, and yet they declined.

I can actually see it being a potential match for the Kit Fox A, just because with Gauss weapons on such lightly armored designs, the battle might very well be resolved before any secondary weapons can come into play.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I like teaming up a Hollander with something like a Hunchback or some other nasty infighter.

[Grey]

It can be used right, but with difficulty, usually in a support role, but honestly this is something that, of all things, a Fire Moth Prime, D or H can tear into without much difficulty. Sure, one hit with the Gauss will kill or cripple the Moth, but you're only going to get one shot on the damn thing.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

It's definitely not a mech to use against the Clans.  The Falcons don't use the Dasher too much, but a Fire Falcon will eat it for lunch.

[glitterboy2098]

I adore the Hollander, but not for any sensible reason. It's hilariously over the top. My only complaint is that there is definitely room for an extralight engine in the thing, which would have further enhanced its over the top nature, and yet they declined.

I can actually see it being a potential match for the Kit Fox A, just because with Gauss weapons on such lightly armored designs, the battle might very well be resolved before any secondary weapons can come into play.

i suspect that at the time, the supply of XL's had been outstripped by the demand, so they had to prioritize their use.. had a good XL been available, i suspect they could have gotten high ground speed, similar to its later cousin, the Blitzkreig.

[JadeHellbringer]

Not to be 'that guy', but...

...since the Uller is faster, jumps, and the configuration that is closest to the Hollander is the A,...

With a couple of late-model configurations being the exception, Ullers don't have jump jets, nor do their variants usually include them. They CAN, of course, thanks to the pod system, but only the E and S configs do so (from the book, at least).

In every other respect though, I totally agree- the Hollander, along with other attempts like the Rakshasa, are very good illustrations of how diffficult it was for the Inner Sphere to match Clan technology in the early 3050s. In both cases, the design is a good one in use against other IS opponents- a couple of Hollanders backing a FedCom force is a big concern, and even a Clan opponent won't appreciate that gun being leveled at them- fifteen points is fifteen points, after all. But comparing it to the Uller A just shows how far the gap really was in those days- and that bears in mind that the Uller, at the end of the day, isn't a particularly good light Mech by Clan standards.

Side note- the LBX model is one of my favorite Mechs of TRO:3055. It seems at a glance to pale compared to its cousin version, but it is an excellent way to deal with armored vehicles and aircraft. I very much recommend it.

[Marveryn]

there something about the image of the Hollander that give me a warm feeling in my heart.  Looking at the big gun resting on its small shoulder.  the mech has a lot in common with the urban mech that it relies on a massive guns while trading in speed.  while the urbanmech can get away with its limit speed cause it design for close in city battle where it small size allow it to hop on small skyscrapers where it can create death zones, the Hollander was design for open space where long range dueling is key.  This of course highlight its faults.  While its massives gun isn't something to sneeze at.  It still doesn't have enough power to put an opposing mech on its back from a psr fail add to its week armor and any long range dueling it bound to end fairly quickly.  any upgrade on the design should improve these ideas from adding an xl engine to give enough room to mount an ecm so it can use stealth armor to removing the weapon entire in favor other big guns like a heavy PPc

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Given that it has FF armor, switching over to Stealth would reduce its already low level of protection.

[Nikas_Zekeval]

The attraction is the Big Gun on a cheap platform (insert the AC/DC song here).

The problem is with half the mass tied up in the Gauss Gun and it's ammo, protection in both armor and mobility is subpar.  Conversely any headcapper on the battlefield is a threat to be honored, and serviced, with all due haste.  The design uses all the weight saving tech available to it, short of an XL.  Still a standard PPC will breach any section save the center torso.  At which point you  have trouble.  The Right torso has the Gauss rifle, with only two heat sinks to pad it (the third is in the head).  That is a twenty point explosion, which is guaranteed to gut the center torso.

Two other notable weaknesses.  There are no valid critical targets in the left torso, so any crits there transfer to the center torso.  And finally this mech is one of the designs that can crit itself if it falls on its back.  See above for how bad that is.  Watch yourself in rough terrain.  I'm less worried about a PSR due to taking 20+ points of damage.  While a Hollander can take that much without being breached, it is likely if you take that much damage you are already in trouble.

The Hollander shares much in common with another light Gauss carrier, the Yellowjacket.  Too slow to run away, too dangerous to ignore, and fragile enough to be a tempting target.  The armor of mediocrity doesn't work so well with such sledgehammer armed eggshells.  It makes sense to try to hit them early.  Not only will the fewer hits that land at longer ranges hurt a Hollander more than say a Thunder Hawk?  You have a higher change of crippling to outright destroying it with a few good hits.  Hitting a Hollander early can potentially remove an enemy gauss rifle from the fight before it gets off more than one or two shots.

If you are using one, remember everything I said about how fragile the Hollander is, and how much attention it can receive.  So uses as much terrain cover as you can, and preferably try to limit line of site exposure to targets with shorter range weapons.  A single gauss rifle hit can fold up most lights, and even ones that survive the first hit are going to be in bad shape.  For Civil War campaigns, Hollanders are a fine counter for Hunchbacks, if you can keep other enemy units from interfering.  Even without a head hit there is a limit to how many Gauss hits they can take and keep going.

For a Hollander pilot, think sniper more than tank.  Go out, keep out of site of the enemy's long range bruisers as you can.  Lay your sixteen rounds of steel onto targets less able to hit you, then go home for more rounds.  You are most definately not immortal, and Lyran Subjects paid a pretty kroner for your ride.  And they want a refund on this years taxes. :)

[pensiveswetness]

I would imagine that the G1 would be placed in F3 lances to act as a short range defender (assuming that we all are sitting in the customer lobby at CMW and some Lyran cat is trying in vane to get you buy some craptasic Light 'mechs)?

[Nahuris]

The attraction is the Big Gun on a cheap platform (insert the AC/DC song here).

The problem is with half the mass tied up in the Gauss Gun and it's ammo, protection in both armor and mobility is subpar.  Conversely any headcapper on the battlefield is a threat to be honored, and serviced, with all due haste.  The design uses all the weight saving tech available to it, short of an XL.  Still a standard PPC will breach any section save the center torso.  At which point you  have trouble.  The Right torso has the Gauss rifle, with only two heat sinks to pad it (the third is in the head).  That is a twenty point explosion, which is guaranteed to gut the center torso.

Two other notable weaknesses.  There are no valid critical targets in the left torso, so any crits there transfer to the center torso.  And finally this mech is one of the designs that can crit itself if it falls on its back.  See above for how bad that is.  Watch yourself in rough terrain.  I'm less worried about a PSR due to taking 20+ points of damage.  While a Hollander can take that much without being breached, it is likely if you take that much damage you are already in trouble.

The Hollander shares much in common with another light Gauss carrier, the Yellowjacket.  Too slow to run away, too dangerous to ignore, and fragile enough to be a tempting target.  The armor of mediocrity doesn't work so well with such sledgehammer armed eggshells.  It makes sense to try to hit them early.  Not only will the fewer hits that land at longer ranges hurt a Hollander more than say a Thunder Hawk?  You have a higher change of crippling to outright destroying it with a few good hits.  Hitting a Hollander early can potentially remove an enemy gauss rifle from the fight before it gets off more than one or two shots.

If you are using one, remember everything I said about how fragile the Hollander is, and how much attention it can receive.  So uses as much terrain cover as you can, and preferably try to limit line of site exposure to targets with shorter range weapons.  A single gauss rifle hit can fold up most lights, and even ones that survive the first hit are going to be in bad shape.  For Civil War campaigns, Hollanders are a fine counter for Hunchbacks, if you can keep other enemy units from interfering.  Even without a head hit there is a limit to how many Gauss hits they can take and keep going.

For a Hollander pilot, think sniper more than tank.  Go out, keep out of site of the enemy's long range bruisers as you can.  Lay your sixteen rounds of steel onto targets less able to hit you, then go home for more rounds.  You are most definately not immortal, and Lyran Subjects paid a pretty kroner for your ride.  And they want a refund on this years taxes. :)

Very well put.... a few observations from someone who uses these on a regular basis....  enough that I own 2 of the figs, along with 2 Hollander III's.......
Trees are your friend. Buildings, partial cover.... etc...... Pretty much anything that you can put between your squishy mech and return fire, is a good thing.
If you have a patch of heavy woods, at least 2 hexes deep,  that you can maneuver around, you have found gold. It also helps to have somebody that can drop smoke rounds, so you can maneuver from cover to cover. If you have to move in the open, you should make it so that you are always getting, at least, 7 hexes of straight line movement....you NEED that modifier.... and you should be using that movement only to get back into cover.  If you have multiple units on the field, always move the Hollander first, so that you can get the jump on anyone trying to go for it, thereby making it a risk for our opponent to try and hunt it down.

In the end, you have to always remember that you do not have the armor to play with mechs in anything resembling one on one...... so don't.

Nahuris

[Fat Guy]

It's more effective and cheaper to use a Regulator for the same job.

[GreekFire]

This is actually one of the rare situations where I dislike a 'Mech enough to agree with the whole "just use a vehicle instead" mindset.

The only advantage of the Hollander is that it is actually cheaper in BV than any other Inner Sphere Gauss Rifle platform, save the Yellow Jacket. And yeah, the Hollander is at least better than the Yellow Jacket in my eyes.

[worktroll]

Side note- the LBX model is one of my favorite Mechs of TRO:3055. It seems at a glance to pale compared to its cousin version, but it is an excellent way to deal with armored vehicles and aircraft. I very much recommend it.

Agreed. Don't forget it's useful for anti-infantry as well.

[Rage]

I don't care what anyone else says, I like this 'Mech. Of course, that may be just my unhealthy love for Gauss Rifles talking. I just wish that there were a way to make it work with stealth.

Also, Kotetsu, you forgot about the Legionnaire which was based on the Blitzkrieg which, in turn, was based off the Hollander. ;)

[MattV]

I don't care what anyone else says, I like this 'Mech. Of course, that may be just my unhealthy love for Gauss Rifles talking. I just wish that there were a way to make it work with stealth.

Actually, slap in an XL engine, 6 tons of stealth armor fits nicely on the frame.  Still no secondary weapons tho...

[Getz]

I agree that the Hollander desperately needs an XL engine.  You could push the speed up to 6/9 (which is still a bit slow but much more in keeping for a mech of this tonnage) and have enough weight left over for an extra ton and a half of armour.

When you're playing with limited bv or tonnage against equivalent tech, the Hollander can be a major asset to a light lance.  Having a cheap Gauss Rifle platform when your opponent is probably restricted to small LRM racks and ERLLs for long ranged fire can really change the dynamic of the game.  The problem is the that the Hollander F3 lacks the armour and back up weapons to function as a light weight trooper like the Wolfhound or Falcon Hawk making it a support piece only - it is especially problematic that a tap on the right shoulder by an ERPPC (which is a peer weapon you should be expecting to face) can potentially set of the gauss and send you pilot on a rocket trip into the scenery.

The G1 can perform that trooper role, but looses the fear factor of the F3's head-chopper - and really isn't the Gauss rifle the only reason you considered a Hollander in the first place?  That said, the G1 does have some virtues.  Pretty much the only lighter platform for the LBX10 in this era was the Urbie, and it's closest competitor as a support mech is probably the Garm.  I'd take a BZK-G1 over either of those options any day of the week.

Incidentally, I also think the Hollander II should be covered here, because I really can't see it justifying a MotW article on it's own and I actually think the F5 rather nice.  Sure, it has weak armour for it size, but unlike the F3 it does have just enough to survive long enough to do it's job.  It's still one of the cheaper Gauss platforms in the IS (more than 300 bv cheaper than the Huron Warrior, for example, and about the same cost as a Regulator) and it costs less than 3.8 million C.Bills, which compared very favourably with the 8.2 million C.Bill price tag of the Huron Warrior.  It's still no trooper mech, but it performs admirably as the over-watch specialist in a lance of low end mediums.

I'm not a fan of the F7 for all the obvious reasons, but then again I'm not much a fan of HGRs in general.

[Savage Coyote]

The baseline model in Alpha Strike isn't bad.  18 points for a damage line of 2/2/2.  You have two armor and three internals with a +2 defensive modifier.  It's cheap long range supplemental firepower.  You loose the scariness of the head capper which improves your survivability.  Since you can't drop a Dire Wolf in one shot at 22 hexes, you suddenly don't attract a lot of attention.  Find a hidey-hole for another modifier and start helping your team at all range bands.

[False Son]

It's more effective and cheaper to use a Regulator for the same job.

Until it comes time to fight in places with woods, elevation changes, rubble or any of the other problems vehicles face.

[garhkal]

Given that it has FF armor, switching over to Stealth would reduce its already low level of protection.

But what would get sacrificed to get the Guardian ECM needed for stealth?  Also with the loss of some armor, where would you see those points coming from?

[William J. Pennington]

Had to throw one in my Lyran Guards. My Davion forces just point to their Osiris 5D and laugh.