From TRO:3039 and 3050
This will be the second time this article has been reposted, so anything that I'll add will be in italics to make sure what CoyoteWarDog and wantec originally wrote stays separate. First reposted on 30/04/2008.wantec: For this first part I've copied what CoyoteWarDog wrote back on 03/08/04 about the Flashman.
The Flashman (thoughts on appearance: it's an egg with arms and legs) is, on the basis of fluff, the original fast high-end heavy 'mech before fast high-end heavies became an archetype. Thus, it can be said that the Flashman was "ahead of its time". (Of course, In real-life chronology, the Summoner and Timber Wolf were the prototypical high-mobility large heavy 'mechs.) I'll talk more about that later, but to maintain the usual Level 1-Level 2 progression, I'll analyze the anachronistic FLS-7K before the newtech variants.
"Retrofitting" with L1 tech' robbed the Flashman of most of what made it unique, but the FLS-7K is still a forward-looking design (or a backward-looking one, depending on which way you think of it) in that it was armed entirely with energy weapons. Most heavies in the 3025 era carried a mix of weapon types. Even 'mechs that used energy weapons as their primary armament (such as the Marauder and Warhammer) carried ballistics or missiles as backup weapons, and some seemed to have them simply as tokens. (As in the case of the Grasshopper. The Flashman, however, packed heat (I apologize for the pun) with two large lasers, five medium lasers (one rear-facing) and a flamer. Twenty-three standard heat sinks allowed it to use this arsenal quite effectively. The armor protection was quite good, and this, combined with the absence of ammo-dependent weapons, made the FLS-7K a very tough 'mech. On the downside, it has a couple of wasteful design features, such as the rear-firing laser (I think you all know my feelings on rear-facing weapons) and the useless flamer, which could have been replaced with more armor to max out the protection. The 4/6 movement curve, while all that could be expected from a 75-ton 'mech in Level 1 play, is still a little disappointing when compared to the L2 variant. Overall, the FLS-7K is an extremely solid heavy 'mech, but isn't a showstopper.
The FLS-8K, the Star League/3050 model, is the real deal. With a 375XL engine delivering a 5/8/0 movement curve, this variant takes the lightbulb arsenal a step further, with three large and five medium lasers and fifteen DHS to support them. The 8K makes the same mistakes as the 7K - one laser is rear-firing, and there's a flamer tacked on - but this Flashman is a very dangerous 'mech. Opponents may underestimate it because of its lack of a knockout weapon, but the FLS-8K is a superb vehicle for swift-moving slashing attacks.
The FLS-9C is the result of ComStar and Word of Blake modernizing their Star Legaue-era 'mech forces for compatibility with their newest technological toys, in this case the C3i computer. Ferro-fibrous armor and endo steel internals buy the spare weight needed for extensive improvements. The large lasers are upgraded to ER types and all but one of the mediums becomes a pulse laser. Speed and armor are maintained, and the FLS-9C gains an extra DHS in the process. The BV actually is lowered in the process. (Probably because of the greater possible excess heat.) This makes the FLS-9C well-suited to the role of C3i unit point man (albeit a rather heavier one than usual) or long-range sniper, capable of firing all three ER large lasers on two turns consecutively before having to cut back for the sake of heat dissipation.
The Flashman in general is a very underused and underrated 'mech that has very few dedicated fans. It makes a great choice for players looking to try something new or take an opponent by surprise.
wantec: A pretty good article. One thing CWD missed initially, that someone pointed out later, the -8K also has an anti-missile system and a ton of ammo in the right torso. Back in the day it wasn't that big an issue, the only time you could get your heat up to where you'd have to worry about an ammo explosion was on a running alpha strike with at least one engine hit. However; these days with the new plasma weapons and popularity of inferno SRMs, it could become an issue. The other thing the AMS does, it takes away from the flash-bulb/ammo-free nature that distinguished the FLS-7K from its contemporaries. Add in the fact that you have an IS XL engine and exploding ammo without CASE and you a 1.5 tons that could be better used.
Jump forward to the release of Total Warfare and suddenly the oft-criticized flamer, becomes more useful in the anti-infantry role that it was presumably included for.
Along comes TRO:3050U and we see three more variants. One, the WoB FLS-9B variant, has been briefly covered by Maelwys in WoB and You: Heavy Mechs, but I'll cover all three for you. The first is the Combine's FLS-C variant. Like you've probably guessed, this one trades the flamer off of the FLS-8K for a C3 Slave in the head, making the mech a nice, fast, heavy C3 point-man.
Next up is the -9B. This one starts from a -9C and trades the center torso ER Large Laser for an ER Small Laser, the Medium Pulse Laser in each side torso is traded for an ER Medium Laser, the rear-mounted Medium Laser and 4 double heat sinks were removed, and the cockpit was shrunk to a Small Cockpit. This allows the 375 XL engine to be traded for the more durable 375 Light engine. Lastly, the gyro and Ferro-Fibrous armor were traded for a compact gyro and Light Ferro-Fibrous armor, slightly increasing the armor protection. A lot of new space-saving technologies were used, but is no obvious reason, since there remains 16 free crit-spaces on the mech. This leads me to believe it is different for the sake of being different and falling victim to new-tech fever.
Lastly is the -9M variant, which appears to be a new factory design based on the -7K variant, is a step in the right direction in my mind. This version uses a Light engine to move 4/6 and save weight over the standard engine on the -7K. Endo Steel and Light Ferro-Fibrous armor help increase the weight savings which allow for the Large Lasers to be traded in for a massive Heavy PPC in each arm. The Flamer and rear-mounted Medium Laser are both removed, while two Medium Pulse Lasers are added to each side torso adding to the short-range barrage. With all the space taken by the Endo Steel and Light Ferro-Fibrous armor, there is only room for 15 double heat sinks. This means that heat sinks can only cover the HPPCs if you fire both and your heat will increase by any movement heat. However, up close the heat sinks can handle the barrage of 4 Medium Lasers and 4 Medium Pulse Lasers, plus running heat, for no heat gain/loss. There are a couple of ways to fix this minor heat issue, but I'll leave it up to you to decide what's the best way.
On a side note, I've used a modified Flashman FLS-7K in a Mercenaries campaign and it has performed well along-side our Marauder in the Command Lance.
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GreekFire: The only thing that I might add to what CoyoteWarDog and wantec wrote is the availability of the Flashman by the Republic Era. Unfortunately, four of the models have been declared extinct by 3086: the -C, -7K, -9B and -9C. The remaining two variants (the -9M and -8K) were also produced by Hesperatus II, and remain in limited usage although neither was said to still be in production by the time Objectives: LC came out. The -9M is still fielded in very low numbers by the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth, while remaining -8Ks can be found within the M-S Commonwealth, Lyran space, the RotS, and in mercenary hands. The Clans also field an unknown number of ancient models, but even so, the Flashman may very well be on its way out. The MUL has more info on the Flashman here: http://masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1123/flashman-fls-7k
And CamoSpecs has a good number of painted examples here: http://camospecs.com/MiniList.asp?Action=Detail&ID=828
