Japanese Magna 3025 Battletech Mechs
Converted To
Inner Sphere Level III Mechs!
This web page is a very simple one that is here to share my custom mechs made using the artwork originally used by FASA for the Japanese version of Battletech. If you are a fan of Battletech you probably know that FASA went under and won't be producing anymore stuff. One of the more interesting technology bases was that found in the tactical handbook and other books such as Maximum Tech. However no mechs were really ever made using these interesting new weapons and equipment. So when my friend found this Japanese Magna I decided to update the mechs in a faithful fashion. This means that if a 3025 mech was 50 tons and had an AC/20 you will find that the new version is still 50 tons and has some sort of AC. Some modifications were made to keep things interesting especially with crappy mechs that had no armor or weapons. Some of the 3025 mechs were also found in 3050 so design elements were also taken from those mechs. The designs are printable with corresponding artwork in the same format used by FASA in the various technical readouts but without the page of written history and stuff. There are some important things to note about these designs and they are:
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Many use the Virtual Reality Piloting Pod (VRPP). This special CP is center torso mounted and was found in one of the many FASA source books. You have the option of either keeping this device on the mechs or outlawing the VRPP and modifying all of my mechs as such. It is however an interesting device so if you choose to keep it I have included the scanned rules for it here. I might also mention that much of the technology found in this same book was later included in the tactical handbook.
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I used the rules found in the Tactical Handbook and Master rules, which differ slightly compared to those found in other publications such as Max Tech. There are also several updates in Master Rules that supersede those found in the Tactical Hand Book. This means that weapon weight and size might be wrong compared to the rules you might want to use. You therefore have the option of modifying the mechs to make them both legal and make sense. So if you have too many heat sinks because the weapons make less heat in your rules feel free to add something different. I have created a weapon and equipment sheet using MS Excel that lists the parameters that I used. If you don't have Excel and want this sheet e-mail me and I'll work something out for you. Download.
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The Zeus, which sports the new command console, has 12 armor on his head. This is a slight alteration of the rule that a mech can only have 9 armor on his head. I saw some mechs in a source book for Solaris 7 once that had 12 armor on the head (named the Sasquatch and Werewolf.) and thought that if FASA did it once I might as well do so but only on mechs with the command console. I figure if a commanding officer is in the head there would be a way to put a little more armor up there. Take it off if you wish.
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You will notice that not all of the mechs found in 3025 are represented. This is for two reasons. First is that some of the artwork was used for mechs such as the Koto and Colossus in the box set Solaris VII. I didn't want to duplicate the artwork thus having more than one mech represented by one picture. Second is that unless I'm missing some of the designs the Japanese version simply did not use all of the 3025 mechs. Although the artwork is available in part on some American sites the only site I could find it all on was a German site.
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You will notice there is a mech called the Chameleon. This was apparently a training mech in the Japanese version. I took the liberty of making up some stats for him.
Each file is in MS Word format. Unlike FASA I actually proofread these designs so you shouldn't find many mistakes. However if you do please e-mail me. I would also really appreciate any feedback you might have on these mechs. Also, if you and a friend play a game using these designs I would really love to hear the details of your battle. Write a little story or something and with your permission I'll post it here:)
Here are the mechs: The Mechs!
The background art uses the artwork found on the counters or cardboard pieces. It makes a nice cover if you plan on putting all of these mechs in a binder or something. This version is not saturated white like the background.
This page was created on 12-17-2001 and was last updated 10-25-02.
