Steel Warriors

So I got some Steel Wariors to use as Militia or some other OpFor. I'm sure I'll find a use for them.

HOBBY TIME!

Whelp, I'm finally getting to sit down and get some hobby done. I'm excited to give my glue gun a go. On a side note I'm happy that I finally found my Battlemaster. I had since replaced it but I found it when I was getting my stuff out of Storage. I also found my CAV terrain. My city is really coming together.

Back to Battletech

I finally got around to playing Alpha Strike a couple of weeks ago. It seems like a super easy game. Of course the rulebook is something like 100 pages or so. I now understand the Horizon Wars comparison. I want to get to know the rules in more depth. I also wouldn't mind learning Hardwar because that would probably be a more accurate description. Hardwar is based on Horizon Wars soo yeah it woukd be nice to see how they match up. Thanks to my Turkish arms dealer, I have a descent sized city for a big City Fight. Whelp let's see how it goes.

Random Thought of Lament

 Many have become jaded in this era of social media, algorthrims, and information gathering. I remember of time of hope. I remember a time when you could just stumble onto stuff just surfing the web without any real destination in sight. I miss the days when you could just search for something on the web without some algorithm parsing out a database based off of previous selections I may or may not have made. The old days when you would just get a sort of information dump and you had to sort it out for yourself. And now we have a different type of information dump. However this one doesn't let you decide for yourself. It has already been decided for you. Unless you are exceptionally cunning it can be difficult to fake out. You're put in a box and told what you can like and who your friends should be. The world which once seemed so full of possibility. It's not that it no longer seems hopeful, but hope seems to be strangled.  That makes me sad. 

Pile of Shame

 In my attempt to revive this blog as well as developing a real habit to write on a regular basis. While I am currently in the middle of the move some time ago I was looking at my pile of shame and it made me sad. I hope to complete this pile. (and others.) 

Armarauders: The Last Battalion Issue #1 Review

Armarauders: The Last Battalion Issue #1 Review
by Mecha Workshop
free comic available for digital download
link: http://www.mecha.ws/English_Wave01-04_Pages01-28.pdf

Intro:
Mecha Workshop release this comic online via their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/#!/Armarauders?fref=ts). They plan on releasing a line of toys (model kits maybe.) based on their mecha designs. Armarauders: the Last Battalion is intended provide some back ground fluff for their kits. It does look like they'll eventually release this in printed form.


The Story:
After engaging in a ground campaign against an alien foe called the wasters, an unidentified group of humans pulls out of the planet Runera. A comedy of errors ensues after two mech pilots fall into a waster mine and their unit tries to rescue them. Unfortunately, this happens just as the last of the division (I'm guessing) pulls out. After arguing with the ship's captain, one of the company commanders gets the general's permission to lead a rescue mission. Meanwhile back in the enemy mine (pun intended), the two mech pilots run into civilians that the wasters have been using as slaves. While briefly argueing, one of the pilots is shot by a waster mech. On the surface the rest of the unit tries in vain to contact their fallen comrades(pun unintended). As the rescue team arrives, the wasters find the ship and begin attacking it. The rescuers return to the ship just in time to see the wasters bring it down. The issue ends with that last battalion stranded on runera and the mech pilot leading the slaves to freedom only to be brought down by what I guess are only Runerian freedom fighters. It's at this point that it's revealed that the mech pilot is the son of the battalion commander.

My Review:

The Story seems to jump around. Destroying the ship trying to escape seemed a like forced dramatics. I do hope that the main fleet didn't wait around and got out of dodge before the Wasters got to them. It would have been nice to for the writer to not pull any punches and for the general to just leave the battalion on the ground as soon as the enemy showed up. I always wonder how a unit that's been left behind always seems to have more supplies than it should only to be saved time and time again due to plot magic.

The art kind of reminds me of Mech Destroyer (Image Comics 2001). Some of the lettering can be a bit hard to read at times. In places, it's kind of understandable. They were trying to recreate a sense that a transmission was breaking up, but in other place it was a bit blurry. That said, the coloring really gives the feel that you're on an alien planet. Also, the mecha design is phenomenal and keeps a faux-anime feel while remaining clearly western. Overall the art is really good.

It is a solid story even if it has the "ripped from the headlines" feel of pulling out of a seemingly endless conflict after an extended campaign. It is nice to see someone in the west trying to do an original mecha story that's not completely anime inspired. The commander looks a bit young to be a colonel and certainly doesn't look old enough to have a son in the military.

As a long time fan of giant robots, I have to say it's really refreshing to see something like this. I've already read most of issue #2 and I have to say that this is a very compelling story. It's nice to see a comic that doesn't have a protracted origin story arc. The story arc isn't without its holes of course, but they certainly give you more story than you get for comics cost $3.99. I really enjoyed what the guys at Mecha Workshop did. I hope it continues to improve. I'm giving this comic three and a half giants out of five.