I found a builder on Brickshelf that is a Mechaton player at heart without knowing it. I kept looking for the inevitable mention of the game, but it never came. He builds mechs that could be used in a micro-fig scale if the pilot is either recumbent or belly-surfing in the cockpit. They would make more sense in a two-plate scale game, as would most of his stations. He has several buildings and towers, as well as power-stations and weapon emplacements. He even has a mini sub for you aquatic sub-apoc types!
Mechs
Stations
This little squad of “suits” is perfect for Mechaton.
My favorite is the “Infiltration Suit.”
I found this cool build in Lord Dane’s photostream.
Very nice.
This is a bit of a convoluted story so hold on to your sense of reality. I have noticed a trend toward making MOC’s that intentionally make use of difficult to use parts. I have noticed this both on blogs and in Flikr photo captions. Well I set out to do the same, and this is the story of what resulted.
I decided to use the palm-tree top, because I have never used it for any reason other than its’ intended purpose. I thought at first that I might use it as the basis of some strange utility mechs hand, with fingers hinged off the multi-pronged end.
This was not going as I had envisioned, and then suddenly I had this!
I thought that it had shoulders, and when I added a five stud 1×1 on the “wrist” shaft, turning it into a “waist,” I knew what I had just done.
I had created a new micro mech frame.
After fleshing it out I decided to call it the “Linebacker.”
The legs owe their birth right to Squieu’s Mini-frame, Soren’s Conscript, and Malcom’s Mgn-302.
The legs are not Identical to any of the afor-mentioned frames but have elements of all three incorporated into their design.
Finding me very pleased with myself and my use of a “difficult” part at the heart of a micro mech, my sub-conscious ever the trickster handed me a way to make the frame without the part that I was so proud of having used.
So now I have the “Linebacker,” and the “Linebacker A-1.”
Keep it stompy!
The mecha models in Mechaton are the stars of the show, and in the gaming world they are very unique. I don’t think any other game has anything quite like them. There are games with mecha miniatures, games with things built along predictable lines, and games that use toys, but no other that has all three. I have come up with a rating system that I use for my own models. I call it T.A.G. It is a combination of three different ratings that all add up to how good or bad a particular model is for use in Mechaton.
The T is for TOY. Yes we “Swoosh,” we also “Boom, Thaka-thaka-kapow, Hiya, and Karate chop!” The more articulated the model is the better an action figure it makes. Can it be positioned in cool action poses? Can it raise its melee weapon over its head in a menacing manner? Can it raise one leg up in order to stand in a dominant manner atop the mangled remnants of its opponent? If the answer to all of these questions is yes, then you would give that particular model a high “Toy” rating.
The A is for Art. Anyone who has spent any time looking at “Brickshelf” knows that LEGO is an art medium, and that it can be used with many different degrees of success. As you may have guessed, a higher score in the “Art” category is given to the models that most look like what they are intended to represent, (and do it in the coolest looking way as well.) This rating has nothing to do with the first or third, it matters not how many joints the model has or even if it has any at all, just how good it looks standing still.
The G is for Gaming-piece. This may be the most complicated or multi-faceted of the three ratings. What makes for a great or even a good gaming-piece? Personally I feel that it is stability, and durability. The gaming table is going to get bumped, this is just a given. When that happens a better gaming-piece will stay in place, and not fall over. If it does fall over it certainly won’t break! One of the best gaming-pieces in the world is the checker! The checker has a low center of gravity, making it very hard to knock over, and most won’t break even when thrown full force at a wall. Now I am not suggesting you throw your LEGO mecha models at a wall, but how well do they hold together if you just tip them over? This can be very telling. I have seen many LEGO mecha models on-line that looked incredible, but also very obviously fragile. We have all seen the beautiful models made by great builders that have large assemblies held in place by a single stud connection. Personally after I have to rebuild a mech model twice in the same game I am looking at ways to make it more structurally sound. One way to keep a model from falling-apart when it falls over is to keep it from falling at all. The other mecha miniature games on the market use metal miniatures that are not articulated so they have a very low toy rating, what they do all have in common is that they are all mounted to bases to make them stable. The wider the “base” of the model, the more stable it will be. This method can be copied directly by mounting your mecha model on a LEGO plate. I prefer 4×6 stud plates for this.
Another way is to give the mecha model big feet,
or a wide legged stance that comes close to the outer dimensions of the 4×6 plate.
Stability can also refer to the miniatures “pose.” I went through a phase where I preferred the non-locking hinge-plates over the “locking hinge-plates. The problem with that is that the models don’t always stay in the same pose after being picked up and moved. When I use the clicking hinges the models keep their stance, and only need “repositioning “ when the “Battle” requires it.
Now I understand that most of this is subjective, and “personal-taste,” but it may help you to build better Mechaton mecha models.
I am adding two more frames to the list of Mechaton frames. The first is the “Mini-frame” by Squieu.
Mini-frame
And the second is the “Conscript” by Soren.
Conscript
I just edited the previous post. The picture was intended to link to the whole photo set, not just a larger version of itself. The link is now to the whole set.
I found this set of photos on Brickshelf in 2003. It was the first evidence I had seen of anyone other than my son and I, or Vincent and his friends playing Mechton, or at least of building mechs based on the “Classic” frame. I knew what it was right away! Confirmation that the disease was spreading!
Once you have your measurement you may quickly convert it to metric by visiting this site.
Cheers
Darrin
You may have noticed that Lego measurements are not very “round” in the metric system. This is because even though Lego is produced in a country that uses the metric system, on machines built to metric standards, the original dimensions of the basic Lego brick are in increments of an inch.
Armed with this knowledge it is possible to come up with scale measurements for any Lego model you may build, in whatever scale you chose to play in.
As we all know the basic 1×1 is not a cube, therefore it “stacks” to a different height on its side than it does when the studs are upright. I personally refer too these two types of measurement as “stud height,” and “block height.”
These two measurements types are both useful, but do come up with different measurements for the same model. This can be corrected by converting your measurement to a scale equivalent.
As different as these two types of measurement are they do converge periodically. It is another indication of Vincent’s intrinsic brilliance that he created the classic to exist at the first convergence.
The “Classic” is exactly six “studs” high, and five “blocks high.
In “Micro-fig Plus” scale our six foot tall soldier is seven plates high, so our measurements are:
Plate = 10.28 inches
Stud = 25.7 inches
Block = 30.84 inches
In “Micro-fig” scale our six foot tall soldier is five plates high, so our measurements are:
Plate = 14.4 inches
Stud = 36 inches 0r 1 yard
Block = 43.2 inches
In “Two Plate” scale our six foot tall soldier is two plates high, so our measurements are:
Plate = 3 feet
Stud = 7 feet and 5.5 inches
Block = 9 feet or 3 yards
In “Tile” scale our six foot tall soldier is one tile high, so our measurements are:
Plate = 6 feet
Stud = 15 feet
Block = 18 feet
Now go forth and measure your Mechaton MOC’s. Knowledge is power!
