Lego Set 39 — Griffin

A question that we mecha fans eventually come across is also a simple one — which is one’s favorite mecha? I will admit that my tastes have gone back and forth a bit, albeit never straying too much from the tanky machines from Battletech. Maybe that’s why my favorite machine is probably one of the blandest.

As stated before, I have been a Battletech fan for decades. Mercenary’s Star was among the first books I’ve ever read. It left a mark on me and decidedly molded my interest in military sci-fi and the mecha genre.

As I expanded my knowledge about this setting I came across this Griffin. Design-wise, it is the blandest mecha one can find. A humanoid frame, not dissimilar from medieval armor with hard angles here and there and a jet fighter-like canopy on top. Add a gun and a missile launcher and that’s it. You have a Griffin.

Yet, I think that’s what I like about it. It is as generic as a Mech can be and thus embodies all that a Battlemech is. Large, with a no-nonsense logic behind it. It makes what is arguably a fantastical concept seem plausible. This is a theme transversal to this setting’s machines. Not always, though.

Like many things from the original publications, this design wasn’t original. It came from an anime called Fang of the Sun Dougram, like many others from that era. That show made the boring-yet-practical look a theme of its mechanical designs. It made sense as the plot was also quite grounded, even realistic for the most part. The tone and themes of this show would influence the nascent Battletech setting.

The model I present you here is in Wolf’s Dragoons colors. It takes around 60 parts but is quite straightforward and easy to emulate. I think it looks quite good.

Let me know what you think.