Show me your Marauders

The Marauder was the design, which got me into BattleTech. Back in 1994 I was sitting in a friends room, playing Star Wars: TIE Fighter on his PC. I had only an Amiga back then and the game wasn't released on my aging computer.

So we played a hotseat session, everyone could do one mission or until the AI had blown you out of space. When he was playing, I had a look on this strange book, lying next to his PC: the Technical Readout 3025 of BattleTech. I fell at once in love with the Marauder on its cover.

Now after 34 years I own a few of them. Next to the ones on the picture, I have some unfinished Marauders: a RoboTech Tactical Pod Gauge, a MWO Marauder and in the near future one of the first BattleTech Marauders (with those thin AC5 barels). And a half Marauder II, missing his legs.

Until they are finished, those are my battle ready 75 tons favorite fighting machines (from right to left):

• Grey Marauder II (Gray Death Legion, merc unit)
• Blue Marauder (Tjorvens Fire, Ronin/merc unit)
• White-Gold Marauder (36th Dieron Regulars, Kurita)
• Red Marauder (5th Sword of Light, Kurita)
• Green Marauder (some merc)

About the Marauders in the making, the MWO design will become MacLarens machine of the command lance of the Black Widow Company. Concerning the other three, it is still undecided what they will be.