"What is your preferred "Mech" aesthetic?" Topic

Oh, but let's not forget the Mecha of ALL mecha.

Ginga Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan, a mecha the size of a Galaxy.

Yes, those are two Mecha standing atop that Galaxy.

This show's creator's learned about the Spinal Tap trope of "It goes to eleven" (or "Turn it up to eleven"), and turned their Mecha up to Eleven.

First, they put Gurren Lagan in a Huge Spaceship (with Gurren Lagan being the equivalent of the human pilot of a Mecha), and got Toppa Gurren Lagan (Piercing Gurren Lagan).

Then they put Toppa Gurren Lagan inside the Moon (which turned out to be an even BIGGER spaceship, that could transform into a Mecha) to make Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan (Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagan).

But, that wasn't enough… When they had to fight the Anti-Spiral King they had to Turn it Up to Eleven and have Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan climb inside another spaceship (where they were keeping it, I have never figured out, as it would have occupied most of the space in a galaxy. How do you keep it from collapsing into a black hole???) to produce Ginga Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan (Galaxy Heaven-Piercing Gurren Lagan).

"It goes to eleven."

And technically, I left a step or two out, as I forgot about the Dai Gurren Lagan which was a Gurren Lagan of gigantic proportions, it was actually the one that climbed into the first spaceship.

So, we have:

Gurren & Lagan combine to produce Gurren Lagan

Gurren Lagan ➔ Dai Gurren Lagan ➔ Toppa Gurren Lagan ➔ Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan ➔ Ginga Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan.

So, TECHNICALLY, they were only turning it up to eight and not eleven.

But that is pretty severe for even an anime that is mocking other giant robot shows (Specifically Robo Getter and Dai King Manzinger – and Space Battleship Yamato as well. They were always turning the Wave Motion gun up to Eleven).

Little Big Wars and Lion in the Stars. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who over analyzed Eva enough to understand it while everyone else scratches their heads and wonders if watching Eva is what being on acid feels like. Lol.

"Walking tank for heavies.

I'm heavily influenced by the old BattleTech Technical Readout 3025, the gold standard for mecha.

The BT Rifleman had it. The BT Warhammer had it.

For lighter mecha, I expect more flair and less tank-like qualities…Locust, Wasp, Stinger, Commando, Jenner, and the Hatchetman."

Quoted For Truth.

Although I really like the gritty style of the Heavy Gear mecha.

Well, it also help to have heard that Evangelion's writer was basically going through a nervous breakdown and writing Eva in an attempt to stay sane. I never expected it to totally make sense after that.

Gotta admit, the Rebuild of Eva movies are great from a visual standpoint. They're starting to run into the Avatar problem, though. Better visuals than story.

Evangelion is definitely a work of Psychotherapy for the Director and Writer.

Both were more than a little bit bonkers.

But they managed to really play into a lot of the Emo vibe that Male Anime characters tend to display (turned it up to eleven in fact).

And, the Epilog to Evangelion didn't exactly help things out any.

It did make a bit more sense than the way the series ended, but that ending was downright depressing as hell (Shinji destroys all life on Earth, turning it into a protoplasmic goo, then reconstructs Asuka so that he can play God/Adam & Eve with her).

The visuals were brilliant, true, but as I mentioned, for Mecha that large to be able to move like they did would have required, dare I say, God-Like amounts of power, and the Mecha would have had to be super-strong and super-lightweight (although they would still likely be MANY tons in weight each). They did briefly mention this in one episode, and revealed that each Mecha had a series of super-powerful reactors that was powering it via the umbilical (which, if removed, would leave them with like 30 seconds, or 2 minutes of power. I can't recall which).

Shinji's EV01, eventually gets an Sē Reactor, so that it doesn't need an umbilical anymore (which allows him to fight off the Production Evas. Asuka dies attempting to do this)…

You also have to remember that there is a LOT of the supernatural in Evangelion. The Evas are supposed to be the children of the primordial super-beings (Ubermensch), Adam and Lilith (or Eve, depending upon which Eva we are talking about). They are supposed to be Nephilim.

Chicken walkers, not too many weapons (a fault of much of the BattleTech line), and hands. Usually hands in these series are too anthropomorphic, so more mechanical-looking manipulators are better if available. No hands seems weird to me-- they're too damn useful and how do you get up if you fall?

And I don't like the overly-chunky designs because they don't look like they could walk even with a huge gyro.

I realy like Khurasans Dimog walkers, has a gritty and "real" feel to it that I especially like. I'm not a huge fan of manga style robots/walkers but like mine more like walking gun platforms.

Alex, if you listen carefully at the end of the second rebuild movie, Kaworu says '…this time…' implying that the rebuild is happening inside a closed timelike curve or something similar.

Back to the mech aesthetics question, it really depends on the control mechanism. Armslaves from Full Metal Panic and the Jovian Chronicles Exo-armors both use a linear frame for control. They're closer to being 'worn' than piloted, but they also have to be the most humanoid. Gundams, Tactical Armors, and Labors are piloted, so they don't have to be as humanoid. In fact, my favorite mecha from the Gundam line is pretty much non-human (the mechs from the start of Gundam 00), think it's called the Fanton or Anf. The one with the 30mm chaingun under the 'chin'. Wish they made a model of it!

Trebuchet
First mech I fell in love with

A bold choice, but I like this overlooked old Mech quite a bit also.

Yeah, Gurren Laggun was one mecha series I got tired of real quick. But then Gainax has been doing that for me for a while lately.

The Mobile Armors from Gundam are about as big as I like it to go.

link

I like Grandpa's mechs the best, and hearing how he fought those German combat walkers at Stavelot and Bastogne.

Yes, I definitely like the mechs that look like they could/should be real!

I have a set of 4 15mm DP9 Valkurie that I use as SdKfz221/222/223 replacements.

Aw!

Gurren Lagan was HILARIOUS!

It's whole point was the Turn it up to eleven trope.

It was a mecha anime that made fun of mecha anime.

The creator of Dead Leaves was also on the team that did Gurren Lagan (you can see a lot of similarities in those two anime, such as the spiral shaped things, often used as substitutes for male genitalia).

It's like saying that Spinal Tap was too silly.

@Lion, I really like the "functional combat mech" design approach at DP9's Gear Krieg line. So I'm not just a customer, I'm an investor now!

When DP9 created it, it was intended to be the WW2 back-story for Heavy Gear, and all the mech designs "feel" very much like that period. I started trying to game it in 15mm, but, my game group doesn't play 15's -- so I embarked on a multi-year personal quest to get 28mm Gears going.

First I tried kit-bashing. Honestly? I sucked. Then I contacted DP9 -- they had no plans to go beyond 15mm. Ok, how about getting something going?? I hooked up with Brent Dietrich at Company B and we did some experimental sculpts a few years back…but then I lost my job and the 28mm Gear Krieg project went sideways. Well, a few years later I dragged out the prototype hulls and decided to finish them off. Once again, I failed my kit-bashing skill test (trying to copy master modeler Agis Neugebauer's designs) -- so I went 3D, art that is.

I connected with a great artist at Shapeways, and he did the legs for me. Then Brent and I reconnected, and we formed a team with Agis (who had the DP9 rights to Gear Krieg for Battlefield Evolution) and John Bell, a Gear Krieg concept artist. Together with Shane at Sandman designs we got it going. Brent and I formed "Gears & Guts" as a sub to Company B, and for the last year this hobby business effort has been chugging along until we at last have our first kits for sale!!

So it's been a long haul, definitely a labor of love, but the great thing about 3D art/design and 3D printing is that creating great models is now within reach of many average gamers. I've financed my end of it mostly through hobby collection sales and game writing, so that keeps the "Oh my God, HOW MUCH ARE YOU SPENDING!?!?!" factor down on the home front!

Anyway, I love me my functional mechs, and the cool thing about Gear Krieg is that they are *practical* transformers in a way that makes sense -- from road movement to leg movement, etc. Well, I'm off the soap box now. If you want to see some of the stuff, check us out on Facebook:

link

I like mecha that are more stompy death machines than elegant mechanical constructs. Think mosh pit hooligan compared to ballet dancer. That being said, WH40k Epic Eldar titans are pretty kewl.

To me, the idea of a Functional Mech is more like these:

From the Video game:

Couldn't find an image from the anime for the other one:

@Alex…

It's Lagann, the tiny independent head-bot…

Gurren Lagann the conventional big ass robot…

Arc Gurren Lagann, when Gurren Lagann combines with the city sized starship Arc Gurren

Chouginga Gurren Lagann, when Arc Gurren Lagann combines with the Moon sized Super Dreadnought Chouginga Dai Gurren (Chouginga means Super Galactic)…

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which is basically the whole team getting their own Lagann mecha, combinin with each other and an entire alternate dimension which they basically stole from the anti-spiral (the Multi-Dimensional Labyrinth)…

And finally… Chou Gurren Lagann formed when Lord Genome tanks an attack with the energy output of the BIG BANG, and sacrifices himself to absorb it and convert it into usable spiral power which they uses to combine their various Galaxy sized mecha into one that is about half the size of the observable universe. Chou means super BTW.