Author Topic: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin  (Read 9632 times)

marauder648

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(Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« on: 28 July 2017, 16:52:47 »
MLN-XX – Merlin

The Succession Wars were arguably the most destructive conflicts ever seen by humanity as a species, and by the time the Third Succession War rumbled around Humanity was in truth, in decline.  The First and Second Succession Wars had blasted a great deal of the Inner Sphere’s advanced technology into smoking embers and burning rubble, which the Third Succession War then proceeded to stomp all over just to add to the mess.

Long gone was the capability to produce things like Endo-Steel or Ferro-fibrous materials, pulse lasers were limited to small arms and even they were rare. And then things get worse due to the Telephone Company getting it in their head that they wanted to rule everyone, who do they think they are, Google?

Operation Holy Shroud was devastating in its own far more surgical way.  Whilst factories could be rebuilt if people knew how to, Holy Shroud ensured that the brains behind such projects were ‘removed’ from the board, and this just accelerated the brain drain across the Inner Sphere.
What Mech and Aerospace factories that remained continued to churn out more and more basic versions of Mechs and there was nothing new produced as there simply wasn’t the know how to do so.

Then along came a wizard.

Design

In truth, there’s nothing spectacular about the Merlin, the TLDR is that it’s basically a heavier Vindicator with superior firepower, but it’s what the Mech represented that makes it important.

With factories in ruins, the lack of technical knowhow to produce anything new it seemed the Inner Sphere could go nowhere but backwards.  Many worlds had regressed from their near Post-Scarcity society into a 20th Century one or even worse as technology regressed across the Inner Sphere.

And into this feeling of depression and decay the first new Mech to be designed in over 100 years stepped out of its small factory and prove that perhaps the decay could well be stopped.
Oddly enough the Mech didn’t walk out of the gates of Hesperus or any of the big factory worlds that still stood, but out of a small factory owned by Mountain Wolf Inc in the Outworlds Alliance.

I’m quite surprised that Comstar didn’t throw a binaric hissy-fit and try to have the factory and everyone in a 40 mile radius have a thermonuclear ‘accident’ but regardless of this the Merlin started to enter production.

At 60 tons the Merlin is an exceptionally basic machine by modern standards.  With its standard engine, skeleton and armour there’s no real surprises and the weapons are ones that would be commonly available at the time.
But they appear to be a real hodgepodge of parts from different regions and powers.  The main armament, a Magna Hellstar PPC is a FWL/Taurian designed weapon, the two Medium lasers are of Canopian design, the LRM-5 is a Davion design as is the Machine-gun whilst the Flamer’s of Lyran design but built locally in the Alliance.

With a top speed of 64kph the Merlin does not break any speed records but it also has a full rack of jump jets that allow for 120 meter leaps giving the Mech a surprising amount of tactical flexibility in line with the heavier and more famous Grasshopper.
Eighteen heatsinks also keep the Merlin cool when firing its main armament and you only start having heat issues if you do a full alpha and jump but then when you’re firing both the flamer AND the LRM at something, then you’re probably in more trouble than having to glance at the heat scale.

The design does not scrimp on protection either with 10.5 tons of plate giving it the following layout

9/18/26/18 (8/11/8)
16/16/19/19

Which is enough to stand up to most firepower it would encounter at the time. So, the end result is a tough, well-armed and versatile machine, it’s not spectacular, but it more than does the job.  For a long time the Merlin was also the largest Mech in the Outworlds military this only changed in later years as the Mech grew increasingly obsolete.
One thing of note is the Mech's quirks, which are listed as Easy to maintain and Rugged so this, to me says this thing is a joy to work on. Because of its simple equipment and no doubt easily available parts, the Merlin does not need anywhere near the hangar time between refits and servicing and if something is broke, its easy to repair or replace, making this ideal for Periphery powers or a Mercenary unit running a tight budget.

Variants

MLN-1A – The grand-daddy and one that set lips a flapping when it stepped out of its factory in the Outworlds Alliance the 1A is simple, tough and rugged.  The armament is centred around a torso mounted PPC which delivers the vast majority of its punch whilst extra ranged firepower comes in the form of a LRM-5 sitting in the other side of the chest.  At mid-range a pair of Medium Lasers provide more than enough firepower whilst a flamer and machine gun (with half a ton of ammo) can make life very short and painful for infantry.  Still produced today in the Federated Suns (at a factory that use to make Mining Mech’s) the 1A is capable for the period its in and would give a good account of itself against any Succession Wars era opponent.
The jump jets are a nice touch and give you more tactical options and the Mech runs cool unless you go nuts.  In short, its simple but easy to use.

MLN-2A – An exceptionally simple refit, all it does is remove the 1A’s machinegun and ammo and replace it with another heatsink to make the Mech run even cooler.

MLN-3A – As the Outworlds Alliance and Clan Snow Raven started working together the Outworlds Alliance received a glut of technology and its lasers made on the world of Lushaan became famous for being excellent examples of their kind.  With this new technology, the Lushaan folks developed a home-grown ER Medium laser that was a smash hit for the company.  The 3A took advantage of this by simply swapping out its medium lasers for the new Lushaan made ER Mediums.  This does mean that the 3A’s not quite so efficient a fighter due to its higher heat curve but the increased range makes the Mech a capable and dirt cheap garrison unit, and being a variant of the 2A its still got 19 heatsinks so the heat issues are not TOO bad really.

MLN-1B ‘Porter’ – After salvaging a Merlin that was used in a pirate raid on the world of Armington, Porter Romero repaired and refurbished the 60-ton war-machine, although it was in a sorry state.  Both the PPC and LRM had been destroyed in the battle but he was able to replace these with a large laser and SRM-4 from a wrecked Bulldog tank, some more armour was added to the Mech, evenly spread across its chassis to make it more sturdy.  The result in a Mech with a greater close range punch at the cost of long range firepower.  Arguably though the SRM-4 is a more useful weapon than the LRM-5 so it’s a good swap.

MLN-5X – Built during the Jihad seemingly as a pet project the 5X is an oddball design that combines then bleeding edge technology with a near primitive chassis.  Designed by Major (retd) Caleb Gruber at the Sabanillas Mining Company factory the 5X is an extensive refit carried out on three old Merlin’s that were ‘hanging around’.  The Mech’s skeleton was replaced with an endo-composite one saving weight at the cost of bulk whilst the old 240 rated Pitban engine was replaced with a Light Engine of the same size, onto which he then slapped 5 tons worth of armour plating to increase the durability of the engine.  Half a ton of extra armour was added just adding to the durability of the old gal.

The old pattern freezers were removed along with all the standard weapons whilst the heatsinks were replaced with 14 double strength freezers.  Somehow, Gruber got his mittens on Blakist Medium VSP’s which were mounted in the arms in the place of the Medium lasers.  These are cooled by the application of a modern take on the old SLDF Laser insulators, meaning a cooler running weapon at the higher risk of weapon failure.  The old PPC was also stripped out and here’s where it all goes wrong.  So far, you’ve got a tough as old boots heavy with a meaty punch up close.
And then he added a Bombast Laser.  Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.  Oh and its got a Laser insulator too.  Okay fine, you get a head-capper but at full charge its grossly inaccurate and heat intensive.  *sigh* And it was going so well!  I would assume that this variant didn't take off, its combination of high-tech VSPs and Endo-composite skeleton on so old a Machine speak to me more that Mr Gruber basically did a 'Pimp-my-Mech' to try and turn a grand old dame into a modern party animal.

Thoughts

The Merlin is a simple, easy to use and genuinely solid Mech, when used in a 3025 esque setting its more than capable of standing up to anything Warhammer or Marauder shaped and runs a damn sight cooler than those standbys.  Use it as a somewhat less protected but more mobile Thunderbolt and you won’t really go wrong.
Advance firing the PPC and LRM, and really fire the LRM at every chance you get, you’ve not got CASE so lessening the impact of that bomb is a good idea.  But you could also load it up with thunder or Smoke ammo for tactical shenanigans.
This is the same for the 2 and 3, advance, fire PPC and missiles and add Mediums to the mix once you get close.  The Porter is more close combat orientated so you get in close and hammer with lasers and SRMs and the large laser when you can.

The only odd one is the 5X, and that’s a bit of a weird one.  The medium VSP’s let you make a mess of folks at short and mid-range and the armoured engine keeps you alive but its let down spectacularly by the Bombast laser.  Still if you do dial up the Bombast to full power if you’ve got a good enough shot it can be worth the heat, and with its laser insulators the 5X is heat neutral before movement with a full alpha strike.

Fighting one is a case of fighting any 3025 style Mech.  Find an ammo bin and watch the explosion, failing that leg or core it.  The Merlin’s jack-of-all trades weapons mix means that really, no matter what range you’re at, it will be able to shoot at you and as it’s a rather well protected and heat efficient machine you probably need to counter it with another heavy as its got the firepower to pound a 3025 Medium into scrap and almost keep up with them if they start jumping away.  The 5X is again just..weird to fight, although it would probably be coming at you to try improve the damage from the VSPs and Bombast's hitting chances. 

The armoured engine makes it hard to put down though even if the firepower from it not overly impressive but rather irritating. Although that Bombast if it hits at full charge will be more than a tad irritating, especially if it smacks you in the face.

I'm not sure who produces the Merlin any more, I doubt the Ravens would produce it save perhaps for export, but considering this thing is so achingly basic its basically RetroTech, you could probably make this Mech in a crude facility anywhere as long as you had the plans. 








As always thoughts and comments are most welcome!  I put it up today as we have no idea if the site will be suffering the evils of Error 504, which will hopefully be defeated.  And as its up now, i'm putting it up now.
« Last Edit: 28 July 2017, 17:07:35 by marauder648 »
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Empyrus

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #1 on: 28 July 2017, 17:02:10 »
It is actually SX (ess eks), not 5X. Also wrong designations, they're 1A, 1B, 1C actually. (Fine article otherwise!)

The 1C is kinda OK, because the 1A is arguably oversinked. Though the 1C can't use PPC and the lasers without overheating.

The Merlin is... well, forgettable. We often see people noting the Raven or Cataphract or Hatchetman as the first new 'Mech in 31st century, and that is only true if we really mean Inner Sphere. (For me, Inner Sphere in general context includes the Periphery if not the Deep Periphery.)

That said, there's one interesting thing, if i find it...
EDIT Yeah. Sarna notes the Merlin was used as a construction example with BattleDroids rule book. So it is in a sense a classic, along with the Chameleon, and the unseen, of course.

EDIT Likewise, my Finnish 2nd edition rulebook has the Merlin as construction example. With erroneous record sheet with no ammo allocated and some item placement differing from the current canonical version.
EDIT LOL, it has JJs in torsos, 15 heat sinks allocated (and 30 total???), no ammo allocated, and only half a ton's worth of MG ammo listed (from a time when MG ammo had to be allocated in full ton slots).
« Last Edit: 28 July 2017, 17:12:32 by Empyrus »

Colt Ward

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #2 on: 28 July 2017, 17:27:04 »
Probably still made as export to friendly neighbors in the Periphery . . . like Filtvelt with its Hound or Randis with the Hawk Wolf . . . honestly, if you are a merc based in that area and on good terms with local powers you can get quite a force buying exports- HawkWolf for fire support, Hound & Merlin as line machines.
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glitterboy2098

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #3 on: 28 July 2017, 17:40:16 »
my guess is that the reason Comstar didn't throw a fit was the Primus at the time.. Julian Tiepolo seems to have been a moderate if not a closeted comstar reformer. he organized the union of the Davions and Steiners to create the Fedsuns, as well as the alliance of the Kurita's, Liaos, and Mariks to form the Concord of Kapteyn. he seems to have been taking the stance that helping the IS rebuild a little would make them more willing to fight major wars. and to be fair, he was probably right. the 3rd succession war was a fairly minor affair with comparatively little devastation thanks to a newfound concern over the value and rarity of jumpships and mechs. letting industry learn to create new designs, and get some more factories going, would undermine the "i can't risk loosing my mech(s)" attitude. much like how he argued that allowing the fedsuns to exist, and uniting the rest against them, would encourage more fighting rather than less in the long run. he seems to have realized that military and industrial stassis would harm Comstar's blake-based goals in the long run.

VhenRa

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #4 on: 28 July 2017, 17:58:03 »
Designations are wron...

It is actually SX (ess eks), not 5X. Also wrong designations, they're 1A, 1B, 1C actually. (Fine article otherwise!)

Someone got to it before me.

Colt Ward

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #5 on: 28 July 2017, 18:33:45 »
Interesting idea, and could very well be likely why they proceeded along with the Hatchetman and a few others at that time.  Sort of like the unpredictability of if the Catholic Church would support a ruler's initiatives or back out kept somethings in stasis for a while in Europe.
Colt Ward
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AJC46

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #6 on: 28 July 2017, 20:48:35 »
surprised there isn't a IIC or a C model post-OWA and snow ravens union but there's nothing outside of a official models only scene from making such.

then again there's probably plenty of more modern 60 tonners to give a C or IIC treatement or existing ones brought by the ravens that would better serve.

Colt Ward

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #7 on: 28 July 2017, 20:53:53 »
Question is how many of them does the OA/RA have filling secondline clusters?  Imagine just slapping a cERPPC on it . . . and just that for in the Periphery.
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glitterboy2098

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #8 on: 28 July 2017, 22:25:15 »
honestly a merlin "C" could be interesting. maybe refit the various introtech models.. DHS, and then clantech weapons. increase the size of the missile racks accordingly.

or a proper IIC.. use standard engine, armor, and structure to make construction simple, but go for an optimized weapons load.
« Last Edit: 28 July 2017, 22:31:14 by glitterboy2098 »

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #9 on: 28 July 2017, 22:46:02 »
Why a cERPPC when a secondline cERL would do. Also an upgrade of the LRM-5 to a clantech 10 Rack. Just build a clan version of the -3A, even keeping the SHS!

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Colt Ward

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #10 on: 28 July 2017, 22:59:17 »
While I generally love the cERLL I felt a variant of the PPC kept the feel of the Merlin.  Mostly it was just a response to what that single weapon would do to the intro mech's damage and range.

But seriously, a merc company operating between the Alliance, Filtvelt and Protectorate using a lance each of HawkWolf, Merlin 1B and Hounds makes a solid mech company for some mercs operating in the periphery, especially if they used vehicles or VTOLs for scouting purposes.  Easy to repair, cheap-ish to replace and very rugged for taking damage makes them good out in the periphery.
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Arkansas Warrior

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #11 on: 28 July 2017, 23:01:58 »
In discussion of the SX, the article says something about it removing the old freezers, but then says it has 14 freezers.  So did it start with DHS or not?  I'm guessing not, since the other known variants don't have them, but why the line about removing them?
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #12 on: 28 July 2017, 23:56:54 »
I assume its the author using the term "freezers" for generic heatsinks, rather than just the double heatsinks that we're used to, since none of the other variants use double heat sinks.

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #13 on: 29 July 2017, 01:40:40 »
Yep, thats just me choosing my words poorly, the SX had standard heatsinks which were upgraded to 14 double strength heatsinks.
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #14 on: 29 July 2017, 08:02:13 »
The Merlin is one of my favourite mechs, the whole "first new mech" thing really caught my imagination coupled as it was with my favoured periphery power.

It's a solid, reliable heavy that has massive potential for upgrading if you have one in a Merc force (swap the single sinks for doubles frees up 8 tons just to start with...).

My only quible with the article is about Lushan; its lasers were already well respected outside the Alliance before the Ravens arrived on the scene ;)

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #15 on: 30 July 2017, 01:58:53 »
A rather uninspiring design, but great for it's time - for an entirely new mech, it sure is solid, with the right lessons learned from the wars. Like sufficient heatsinks.
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #16 on: 31 July 2017, 20:46:27 »
This is going to possibly be the stupidest comment in this thread, but looking at the Mini and the art for what I assume is the Experimental Model, the Merlin is not nearly as...fat as the 3058 art led me to believe.  I always thought that is was basically a sphere on legs, and I see now that I am mistaken.
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marauder648

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #17 on: 01 August 2017, 00:33:50 »
This is going to possibly be the stupidest comment in this thread, but looking at the Mini and the art for what I assume is the Experimental Model, the Merlin is not nearly as...fat as the 3058 art led me to believe.  I always thought that is was basically a sphere on legs, and I see now that I am mistaken.

It still looks like something that Doctor Eggman would make :p
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #18 on: 01 August 2017, 07:48:14 »
This is going to possibly be the stupidest comment in this thread, but looking at the Mini and the art for what I assume is the Experimental Model, the Merlin is not nearly as...fat as the 3058 art led me to believe.  I always thought that is was basically a sphere on legs, and I see now that I am mistaken.

When translated to mini form, a lot of "fat" and "round" shapes tend to get flattened out.

We'd all agree the original Ostscout looks almost globular:



But the mini is flat:

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #19 on: 01 August 2017, 09:55:03 »
Why a cERPPC when a secondline cERL would do. Also an upgrade of the LRM-5 to a clantech 10 Rack. Just build a clan version of the -3A, even keeping the SHS!

TT

That would be a fun design. Might be perfect for the Raven Alliance equivalent of the Escorpion Imperio's Grunt caste (if one exists). Or export it to the Sea Foxes to get some cash. For that matter, maybe it would be a nice supplement to a Rook heavy force.

In discussion of the SX, the article says something about it removing the old freezers, but then says it has 14 freezers.  So did it start with DHS or not?  I'm guessing not, since the other known variants don't have them, but why the line about removing them?

He meant "Coolers" for the single heat sinks, not the freezers that are DHS. ;)
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #20 on: 01 August 2017, 12:55:02 »
When translated to mini form, a lot of "fat" and "round" shapes tend to get flattened out.

We'd all agree the original Ostscout looks almost globular:



But the mini is flat:




 ???   The head looks a little taller on the mini, but other than that I'd say it looks pretty spot-on to the art.
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #21 on: 01 August 2017, 12:57:46 »
We'd all agree the original Ostscout looks almost globular
Considering how the lines go to the shoulders, I just don't see that.
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #22 on: 03 August 2017, 06:58:14 »
Amusing and informative article, Marauder648!

I like the beast because it was added a new wrinkle to the game for 3025 before the Revised 3025 thing came out.
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I wished CGL had allowed a Merlin IIC to show up by then.
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #23 on: 14 May 2018, 06:39:21 »
Ok, late to the party but still...

It might be worth pointing out that the Merlin is something of a glorfied FrankenMech. And I don't mean that in a derogatory sense. Mountain Wolf took pre-existing parts and components and basically just recombined them into this "new" 'Mech. There was little if anything really new there, which is maybe why ComStar didn't intervene.
Later, the CapCon did essentially the same with the Cataphract and the (apocryphal) Linesman.
The Hatchetman and Raven, on the other hand, brought actual new technology to the battlefield. ComStar didn't go ape about that either.
(And the Wolfhound falls somewhere in-between; it's notable only for its full-cockpit ejection system but that had previously premiered with the Hatchetman.)
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #24 on: 15 May 2018, 07:59:32 »
Ok, late to the party but still...

It might be worth pointing out that the Merlin is something of a glorfied FrankenMech. And I don't mean that in a derogatory sense. Mountain Wolf took pre-existing parts and components and basically just recombined them into this "new" 'Mech. There was little if anything really new there, which is maybe why ComStar didn't intervene.
Later, the CapCon did essentially the same with the Cataphract and the (apocryphal) Linesman.
The Hatchetman and Raven, on the other hand, brought actual new technology to the battlefield. ComStar didn't go ape about that either.
(And the Wolfhound falls somewhere in-between; it's notable only for its full-cockpit ejection system but that had previously premiered with the Hatchetman.)
What parts did it use and from where? The chassis design looks fairly unique, though I remember reading somewhere that it was a blown up Night Hawk. Which Mountain Wolf was well within its rights to do.

As for me what stood out to me was its avionics. Majestrix Alpha and Gamma, WTF those two only ever appeared in the Reunification Wars era Dragonfly. An ASF of all things. MWB must have shopped around for the cheapest avionics they could license and what they found was one out of production for 400 years. :D

Colt Ward

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #25 on: 15 May 2018, 09:15:32 »
Avionics?  The thing does not really fly . . . now it might have a TTS.

Probably just talking about weapons, mounts & bones- face it the armor shaping is generic rounded (which worked with the art of the time, today it would be generic boxy).
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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #26 on: 17 May 2018, 22:42:49 »
Avionics?  The thing does not really fly . . . now it might have a TTS.

i'd expect anything with jumpjets to have something along the lines of avionics to keep it stable during a jump.

Sure, the guy in a fighter jet will laugh at calling it flying but getting 60 tons of lumpy battlemech airborne and back safely requires more than sucking your thumb to check the breeze.
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Intermittent_Coherence

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Re: (Slightly early) Mech of the week - MLN-XX Merlin
« Reply #27 on: 18 May 2018, 09:50:48 »
Avionics?  The thing does not really fly . . . now it might have a TTS.
I used Avionics as a catch-all for Comms and TTS.

Edit:
Come to think of it, Avionics might be a good term for these. Since the Magestrix Alpha and Magestrix Gamma were both developed for the MoC's Dragonfly ASF.
« Last Edit: 18 May 2018, 09:59:10 by Intermittent_Coherence »

 

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