Mecha Western Setting Riff

A Game Idea I'm Not Using (Right Now)

So, this is about mixing the tropes of the Western genre with mecha. I make no claims to this particular mashup. The idea's been floating around for awhile.

Ever get an idea for something completely different from the project that's sitting right in front of you? I should be finishing my notes on B4 The Lost City for my Old School Essentials "Nostalgia Tour" campaign. On the other hand, this is one of those ideas that will bother me until I jot something down. Feel free to borrow what you like and let me know how it goes.

Mecha keeping an eye out for bug rustlers.

Related Concepts

The mecha western draws from Westerns, space operas, and space westerns plus the whole giant robot thing.

"Space opera" is derived from "soap opera" and "horse opera" - the latter being a term for Western films and television series. Replace the horse with a spaceship, revolvers with rayguns, and the Wild West with the Final Frontier. Star Trek's "wagon train to the stars" is a well known example.

The space western is a space opera that invokes the themes and trappings of the Western. In many ways, it simply draws the existing relationship between the two genres closer together. For example, the Mandalorian places greater emphasis on the Western elements that have always been a part of Star Wars.

The mecha western is a different kind of space western. Spaceships are still around, but their role is more akin to a train or stagecoach than a horse. They are ways of crossing the frontier that the protagonists don't own or control. The Western's horse is instead swapped out with piloted robotic vehicles. This idea isn't exactly unprecedented - anime like Outlaw Star are inspirations.


Drilling Deeper

Placing mecha in space opera isn't enough - that's a significant portion of anime and video games. Mixing mecha and Westerns involves recycling classic Western plots and tropes with a sci-fi spin that includes giant robots. There is plenty of commentary on the Western genre - TV Tropes has a whole page - and I'm not going to be doing a deep dive here. I want to discuss how everything reacts after being combined.

A frontier is mandatory. The action has to take place far enough from settled areas for things to get out of hand. The conflict between those who employ the violence necessary to destroy threats to order and those who wish to build and live in that order is alive here. There is also the fact that explosive weapons and anti-authoritarian attitudes don't mix with artificial environments maintained by fragile life support systems. The tension between hired mecha jocks and those that pay them could be a valuable source of role playing drama.

Space westerns - such as Firefly - often feature a mix of technologies. This could be the result of a recent interstellar war. The effects of the conflict still disrupt trade, but left plenty of salvage around. Or it could be the simple fact that high tech gets less common and more crude the further out a place is from the centers of industry. In any event, there is a mix of technological aesthetics - steampunk, dieselpunk, cyberpunk, cassette future, rocketpunk, and glossy high tech. What is available depends on the sources that can be accessed, the means at hand, and what can be jury-rigged to fit to a purpose.

What to Call These Yahoos?

Space Cowboys? Taken.
Mecha Jockeys? Mech Jocks? Kinda also taken.
Hired Guns? Buckaroos? Gunslingers? Straight outta Westerns, not enough mecha.
Mecha Busters? Mecha Wranglers? Hmmm...

I'll workshop it later.


Adventure Ideas

"High Noon Mecha Showdown"
Chronometers count down to local noon, when the regular interplanetary transport arrives with a band of mecha equipped enforcers assigned to kill those getting too close in their investigation of the corrupt corporate government. The player characters need to make sure that all their mecha systems are nominal when the time comes.

Inspirations: "High Noon" (1952) and "Outland" (1981).

"The Great Brain Robbery"
A valuable corporate shipment is on the move, but that's just the cover story. Something even more valuable is hidden in one of the regular cargo modules - an AI core that corporate wants to stay off the books. Catching up to the shipment, boarding, and defeating corporate security is just the start. Recovering the core and keeping it long enough to reach a buyer will be an even greater challenge.
Inspirations: "The Great Train Robbery" (1903) and "The Train Job" (Firefly 1x2).

"Cattle Drive"
Hired on to protect dinosaur-like megafauna and the specialized mecha that herd them to market from rustlers. They have to get the herd from their ranch to the markets near the planetary space port while under constant harassment from mecha buckaroos in the pay of competing ranches.

"Lost Treasure"
Three parties race each other for a treasure. A crashed luxury space liner that went down before the war. Salvagers picked it clean long ago, but there are rumors that something was missed. The race ends in a Mexican standoff after a long journey and many dangers. Who will make the first move and provoke a fight in the wreck of the space liner?
Inspiration: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (1966).


Conclusion

Now that I've got some notes down, I'm putting this idea away for later. Maybe I'll dust it off after my preorder of the Lancer book arrives.

30 Minutes Missions Alto Option Kits by Bandai - First Impressions

This post continues a look at 30 Minutes Missions. The previous post with my first impressions of the Alto itself can be found by clicking this link. Here I'm examining two of the options kits available for the Alto.

Original recipe Alto compared with optional face plate, shoulder armor, and chest armor.

The option kits came as a bundle when I ordered the Dark Gray Alto on Amazon. Frankly, I'm not sure if I would go that route again. The cost of the bundle was only slightly cheaper than ordering the items from an import site like Hobbylink Japan. It also took about the same amount of time to ship. On the other hand, the bundle did have matching colors for the Alto and Option Armor kit, so that's nice.

Both kits are made specifically for the Alto. This makes sense for the armor, since the parts have to fit the shape of the model. However, I'm not sure why the weapons wouldn't work with other models. They are mostly handheld or fit on parts that should be universal within the 30MM line.

As before, I cut the parts off the runners and assembled them without any further tidying up.

Rosie examines the Alto's knee while Sarah looks on.

Option Armor for Long Range Sniping (Alto Exclusive/Dark Gray)

This kit comes in a bag containing the instructions and a single runner. A little disappointing, but the kit is only a couple of bucks USD before factoring shipping costs. Given the prices I've seen for a similar amount of plastic in the form a single miniature, that's not bad.

Shield option attached to the arm and shoulder.

The runner has parts for:

• A replacement face plate. It pulls off the appearance of some kind of telescopic sensor array, which fits the "Long Range Sniping" theme. A sticker for the lens would have been nice - I'll have to see about painting it sometime.
• Replacement armor plates for the chest and shoulders. These are more beefy than the ones that came with the Alto. I'm not sure why a sniper would need additional protection in these areas. The shoulder parts don't seem to have the snug fit of the originals - they pop off more easily.
• A shield that can attach to an arm or shoulder. I'm not sure why a sniper mecha would need a shield that looks like it could double as a melee weapon. Maybe I'm not part of the intended market for these things?

The chest and shoulder armor, combined with the shield, offers up the appearance of a brawler rather than a sniper. The original Alto face plate works to complete the close in fighter look. The sniper face plate works well with the Alto's original armor plating.

Roy Roy drone undergoing trials while an evaluation team in light duty vacc suits looks on.

Option Weapon 1 for Alto

This kit comes in a small box holding a pair of runners. The variety of parts offers a satisfying selection of firearms and melee weapons.

Submachine gun, assault rifle, and long rifle with telescopic sight and grip.

The choice of firearms starts with a duplicate of the submachine gun included in the Alto kit. The other firearm parts attach to the pistol grip/receiver of the submachine gun, replacing the short submachine gun barrel with one resembling an assault rifle with an underslung grenade launcher or a long barrel suitable for precision shooting. There are also two sights available - the one that come with the submachine gun (resembling a reflex sight) and a larger one that looks like a telescopic sight. Finally, there is  grip that can be attached to the side of either rifle.

Empty hand, stabby hand replacement, axe hand replacement. I tried the sword, but it just looked silly.

The melee weapons are based on the knuckle weapon included in the Alto kit, using it as a handle/hand guard. A duplicate of the knuckle weapon appears in this kit, allowing for dual wielding. The melee options include a combat knife, axe, and sword. They can be attached to the knuckle weapon or to a part that replaces a hand. There is also a shaft that can be combined with the melee options to create a variety of polearms.

Axe and sword attached to the polearm shaft.

Something I Forgot from the Last Post - The Roy Roy

This is a small robot that comes with the Alto kit. Not including it in my previous post was an oversight on my part. It works as a drone for either 15mm or 28mm scale. The body of the Roy Roy can be attached to the top of the Alto as an insectoid looking head alternative.

Roy Roy and Roy Roy head.

The option kits make the Alto more versatile, allowing it to be customized to better fit a particular role or setting. Combining the chest and shoulder armor with a submachine gun and melee weapon makes the Alto into a nifty close combat unit. Of course, outfitting giant stompy robots with pointy and stabby things doesn't fit every setting. In Battletech, for example, melee weapons for 'Mechs exist, but are an unusual design choice compared with guns, energy weapons, and missiles. However, 30MM is clearly more inspired by settings like Gundam, which feature melee weapons as standard issue for mobile suits. It really depends on the game - a giant robot with an equally big sword fits right into some, but is over the top for others.

I wasn't kidding about the look of the sword hand replacement.

The various guns should fit into a wider variety of settings. There are enough parts to build a pair of submachine guns, if dual wielding isn't just too much for the game in question. The assault rifle is a good choice to give the Alto the look of an infantryman. The long rifle with the sensor face plate sends the message that something in the neighboring time zone is going to get an unwelcome surprise. Again, it depends on the game.

30 Minutes Missions EEMX-17 Alto (Dark Gray) by Bandai - First Impressions

I purchased this model kit to see how it looks with 15mm scale miniatures. Also, building scale models is something I've been wanting to get back into and big stompy robots are as a good place to start as any. This is an initial look with general product information, a description of the build process, and a few comments on its potential for tabletop gaming. I also have a couple of accessory kits for this model that I plan on featuring in a follow up post.

Alto covering 15mm "Earth Exploration Team" members.

Bandai's 30 Minutes Missions (30MM) line is intended as a starting point for getting into Gundam models. The kits in this line are priced lower than comparable Gundam models since they aren't tied to that franchise and its associated licensing fees. A selling point of 30MM is the relative speed and ease of assembling a kit without sacrificing quality.

Bandai created its own lore for 30MM, based around an alien invasion. I'm not versed in Gundam lore, but I have picked up the broad strokes of the franchise over the decades it's been around. Even I can recognize that the Alto is loosely based on the concept of the GM - a mass produced unit deployed in quantity by an Earth-based military against a threat from space.

30MM is named for the amount of time it's supposed to take to assemble a kit. I took closer to an hour. Inexperience played a role, but I also found myself going slow to savor the process. Note that I still need to clean up the nubs left from clipping off the parts.

Close up of backpack. Note the holes where accessories can be attached and the melee weapon in the left hand.

The sprues (or runners) are laid out intuitively. Each runner holds parts of a particular color or type of plastic. Parts that go together on the model are grouped together on the runners. This reduces the need to squint and hunt for parts spread around a runner.

I choose the dark gray and black color scheme as something that would be plausible for a unit with a low observable coating. Military colors - green and tan - are available. These also come in brighter colors. I'm tempted to get the Alto's counterpart - the Portanova - in red or blue. I may see how well the plastic takes spray primer and paint sometime down the road.

Trying a more daring pose to test the articulation.

Although the Alto is a 1/144 scale model, it works well enough with 15mm miniatures using an eyeball comparison. It looks like there should be just enough space for a cockpit big enough for a 15mm scale pilot in the chest. It might be a tight squeeze, though - certainly not as roomy as some mecha cockpits I've seen in various media. I'll have to dig out more of my 15mm collection for further comparison.

Of course, the whole issue of "where's the cockpit?" can be dodged by declaring it a remotely piloted or AI controlled drone. That might be enough justification to make it work with 28mm scale miniatures. It might work as a major threat to a band of adventurers in a sci-fi RPG game.

The Alto is well articulated and stays in a pose without "drooping" - at least, when the joints are new. There is a good amount of detail, considering that this is supposed to be a starter model. The holes are attachment points for additional parts. That offers the ability to customize the model for a particular role - sniper, command vehicle, close combat variant, etc. Two option kits came in the bundle that I ordered - I'll post a follow up after I get a chance to assemble and play around with them.