Lego Build 72 — Tundra Wolf

In a past post I stated that I intended to speak a bit about my view on the Dark Age. I know this is a controversial topic for many fans of the BattleTech setting, but due to a few reasons, my outlook is maybe more positive than that of most people.

But first a bit about this ‘Mech. The Tundra Wolf was the first truly new ‘Mech to be designed and developed by the Wolf Clan in the Inner Sphere. That it took them more than twenty years to do so, much more than to any other Spheroid Clan, was somewhat surprising. The Wolves tried to retain their technological superiority and protect their factories by keeping them in the Homeworlds. However, when the Wars of Reaving severed the links between the two regions, they found themselves in a desperate situation.

This is probably the reason why the Tundra Wolf is not really specialized in any role, but instead presents a large array of weapons meant for different tasks, while being only mobile enough to move around in most battlefields. It was a compromise to give the Clan some breathing room in those troubled times.

However, this lack of specialization also meant that there was always a role for the Tundra Wolf to fill. Decades later, when the collapse of the HPG net brought in the Dark Age, these machines would become prized assets throughout the Inner Sphere.

When this era of the BattleTech setting came into beign I was still a teenager and Internet was a relatively new thing. As stated previously, the Gray Death trilogy and the Mechwarrior games were my first forays into the setting. So, when I discovered that a new game and era for this setting was available, I was excited. I went to the website dedicated to the MechWarrior Dark Age miniature game and spent hours reading through it.

At first I found the new factions weird, but then they grew on me and I found them to be a natural evolution of the setting. Later the older factions came back, which whilst being welcome, also meant that the development I thought to be there never truly happened. It was still the same old Inner Sphere, all things considered.

Until recently, the specifics of this era and the Word of Blake Jihad that preceeded it were still very ambiguous, so my brother and I would imagine what transpired. What equipment the different factions were developing. Lacking games to explore these ideas, we re-imagined the stories of our favorite videogames as being set in these foggy periods and that was how we explored it. My first ever fanfiction was set in BattleTech’s Dark Age.

Thus, one thing that I wanted to do for a while, was to make missions packs for Apha Strike based on these stories we imagined and games that we converted. Much weirdness will follow, but I think I could make them into something fun for everyone to enjoy, much like these Lego builds. I’ve talked about this previously and I truly hope I’ll find the time and energy to make them into a reality.

But, generally, this is why I have this soft spot for the Dark Age. At the time it allowed me to release myself creatively and do some experimental stuff with story-telling. Helped me develop as a writer and even as a game designer.

Anyhow, the Tundra Wolf takes 84 parts to build. It is a medium-difficulty build and on this instance it comes in Steel Wolf colors.

Stay safe, everyone!