Mackie II

A place for submitting your designs to the MHB department head.

Is it legal? Does it fit? Do you recommend changes?

Poll ended at Fri Sep 10, 2021 4:52 am

Approve!
3
75%
Not legal!
0
No votes
Doesn't fit!
0
No votes
Recommend change! (Post your change please)
1
25%
 
Total votes: 4

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MrPig
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Mackie II

Postby MrPig » Sat Jun 12, 2021 4:52 am

The prototype, the original, the Mackie.

The Mackie had a brief comeback as a cheap Assault 'Mech for some cash-strapped (or just miserly) mercenary units. The Mackie II's origins date back to the Second Star League, when the idea was thrown around of building a modernized version of the Mackie as a defensive honor unit, a sort of 'big little brother' to the Urbanmech. The idea was that the new Mackie would be found on every Star League world with a garrison, one that was big, tough, and iconic.

Unfortunately, other, more advanced designs came to the forefront, and while a handful of design ideas were made over the years, mostly by engineering students, it never took off aside from a handful of refits, most notably by Felifious Bander of Bander Battlemechs, who got his hands on a series of parts and was able to build a prototype, 80-ton Mackie as a proof of concept.

When the Second Star League crumbled, and its government was reformed into the Liberty Holds, the subject of Battlemechs built for and by the Liberty Holds came to the forefront again. The Liberty Holds had a limited industrial capacity, and relied on donations from ComStar and the Great Houses to fill out its experienced but poorly supplied forces. As a result, the Liberty Holds invested heavily in defensive units to keep what little they had safe.

The Liberty Holds bought Bander's prototype, and studied the design, intending to use it as a training 'Mech and as a training piece. The idea of the Mackie II, however, didn't get out of the heads of many engineers within the Liberty Holds. As the Free Worlds League spread throughout the region and seized Terra itself, the Liberty Holds found itself needing to supply rebel groups throughout the Inner Sphere with cheap equipment. As many of these rebel groups began to identify themselves as Terran, rather than aligned with any single Great House, the push for an iconic Battlemech that could serve both on the front line and work as a symbol became too great, and so development of the Mackie II began.

Bander's original prototype was stripped down and studied and rebuilt. Using mostly imported parts, a second Mackie II was built. This second Mackie II had the armament of the original, matched its speed, and retained a massive amount of armor. Still, it wasn't enough to meet the needs of Operation: Tree of Liberty, the Liberty Holds' attempt to destabilize the Free Worlds League's grip on the region.

Liberty Holds engineers thought to turn to Clan technology, but while they had the expertise, they did not have the facilities, and any resulting product would be too expensive to build at scale. They did, however, study OmniMech technology, and that brought them back to the source: The Mercury. While the original Mercury was extinct in the Inner Sphere, ComStar had both production information and both new and old versions, and were happy to oblige the Liberty Holds with examples.

Study of the Mercury took over two years, but when they were completed, a third Mackie II prototype was built using the Mercury redundant power system. This made the Mackie II extremely simple to repair and refit, allowing new parts to be installed in hours, or even minutes. Additionally, modern construction and armor were used, stripping down the Mackie II from a bloated 100 tons to a 75 ton Heavy Battlemech, capable of going toe-to-toe with brawlers like the Orion ON1-K. Additionally, with the reduced weight, the Mackie II received a visual redesign, slimming its profile down and reducing its overall bulk. In addition, it doubled down on its perception as heavier Urbanmech by integrating a 360 Torso Twist, though this system was unreliable for such a large chassis, and the final production run limited it to 300 degrees for safety precautions.

Liberty Holds went one step further with the Mackie II by developing a generic power system. While not a true Omni system, the Mackie II could be taken to an adequate repair and refit facility, and rearrange the armament as needed, allowing local engineers to come up with their own configurations with little expense and time, though changes in the field were unlikely to be as stable or effective.

One shortcoming to this system was that only one weapon system or piece of equipment could be mounted on each arm or torso; you could not put two Medium lasers on the same spot without developing a custom adapter that spiked the cost of using the system, and increased the weight of the weapons. As such, the Mackie II favors using large, heavier weaponry, as it can't double up with them. Even a Beagle Active Prove in the left torso prevents so much as a Small Laser from being mounted in that same area.

Curiously, it was a simple matter to install old fashioned Chemical Lasers on the Mackie to bypass this shortcoming, though few commanders are interested in using that kind of retro tech on what is intended to be a modern war machine.

Once Liberty Hold engineers were satisfied with the final design, the Mackie II was put into production, and the design was shared with the Lyran Alliance, Draconis Combine, Federated Suns, the Aurigan Reach, and the Taurian Concordat. Licenses to build the Mackie II or develop variations on it were cheap and easily obtained, except to Free Worlds League corporations and interests. The only caveat to these licenses was that the Liberty Holds would call upon these manufacturers to construct chassis for them for distribution to anti-Marik forces in the Terran March. Happy to have a customer lined up, and not even needing to install many components as the weapons systems would be locally provided by Liberty & allied intelligence services, hundreds of Mackie II's were built and distributed throughout the Inner Sphere.

While using old technology, lacking even Double Heat Sinks, the Mackie II is a relatively cheap Battlemech that is easy to use and easier to maintain. Hardly a subtle machine, it is an economical choice, and often the only choice, for anti-Marik forces throughout the Terran March. While relatively untested in its newest state, the Mackie II is still a recognizable design that is sure to be loved by whoever is forced to pilot the thing, mostly because they don't have any other options.

Quirks:
Rugged
Easy to Maintain
Extended Torso Twist
Protected Actuators
Bad Reputation
Minimal Arms

Code: Select all

Heavy BattleMech Technical Readout
Mackie II
Mass: 75 tons
Chassis: Standard
Power Plant: Vlar 300 Fusion
Cruising Speed: 43 kph
Maximum Speed: 65 kph
Advanced Motive: none
Jump Jets: none
Jump Capacity: none
Armor: Standard
Cockpit: Standard

Armament:
Medium Laser
Medium Laser
PPC
AC/10

Manufacturer: Inner Sphere
Communications System: Standard
Targeting & Tracking System: Standard

Type: Mackie II
Technology Base: Inner Sphere / 3075
Ruleset: Standard (5th edition)
Tonnage: 75
Cost: 6,421,625 C-bills
Battle Value:
1,188 (BV1)
1,463 (BV2)

Equipment
Mass
Internal Structure: Standard 7.5 t
Engine:
300, 19.0 t
Type: Fusion
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 15 [15], 5.0 t
Gyro: Standard, 3.0 t
Cockpit: 3.0 t
Armor Factor: 231, 14.5 t

Internal
Structure
Armor
Value
Head
3
9
Center Torso
23
34
Center Torso (rear)
12
L/R Torso
16/16
24/24
L/R Torso (rear)
8/8
L/R Arms
12/12
24/24
L/R Legs
16/16
32/32

Weapons and Ammo
Location
Crits
Tons
Medium Laser
LT
1
1.0
Medium Laser
RT
1
1.0
PPC
LA
3
7.0
AC/10
RA
7
12.0
Ammo (AC/10) 10
RT
1
1.0
Ammo (AC/10) 10
RT
1
1.0


Special thanks to Simpleguy for calculating BV 2

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