Plamo: The WVR-6M Wolverine (BattleTech, Catalyst Game Labs, “dubious”)

I have three of these now. Da fuq?

What can I say about the Wolverine then? Well, throughout my Battletech experience, I've been trying to get a handle on what counts as a mass-produced generalist everyman in the setting. To an extent, BattleTech doesn't work like that. While things vary with era, your average battlemech is more a long-term investment, like a family estate with a leaky roof, or a naval asset refitted endlessly. Unless you go way back to the Star League, or an especially favoured unit, things are are bit piecemeal with mixed units everywhere. Furthermore, the rules are sufficiently granular that a mech chassis can be specialised in numerous ways, and then there's the easily forgotten non-mecha stuff you get in Total Warfare. The Wolverine does however edge closer than most to my idea of a grunt. The reason for this is a mix of weaponry with solid performance and no heat issues. It's relatively quick, durable, and can fire everything without stressing the heat sinks. It's a got an answer to most things, and the benefits of a humanoid body plan. It's main weaknesses though are it's reliance on physical ammunition and the circumstances where those weapons don't compliment each other. If the optional quirks are in play, of which it has 7, the Wolverine takes a command role but becomes tricky to pilot.

 

Having done two of these previously, and several in the same basic colours, this Wolverine was a fairly simple project. To a point. It came in the same “dubious” auction as the Catapult, so the flash and mould lines were similarly not ideal, but no great problem. I seem to have found my grove so far as table-worthy mechs go, and as it seems that colour scheme is going to be on a book cover, I feel less inclined to vary it. It works, if a little dark on this one, and I spent a lot of time figuring it out, so why not? Things went extremely well, until a point late in the process where I dropped the figure and the left arm detached at the shoulder in the manner of brittle resin. I was was more bewildered than annoyed. I don’t think I’ve ever had a plastic figure break like this before, if it is plastic, like I said, its dubious, so do let me know in the comments if this has happened to you. This prompted some careful gluing and repainting which will no doubt haunt me for sometime to come. Otherwise? He’s looking good, and I’m happy to call this 60 ton lance a success.

 

 

Up next? A boxed lance over a month or so.