Today we will be looking at one of the few 18" range pieces WizKids produced. The SH-1V Shiro. When Iron Wind Metals released the Battletech scale mini, we got a PDF record sheet that left many people scratching their heads and saying "meh...at least the mini looks cool". The mech is named after the Combine's founder, and is considered the highest honor to be able to pilot this mech. Officers are only considered for it after having earned a DCMS Honor. Oddly, it doesn't have the "Command Battlemech" quirk, even though it is only driven by commanders essentially. It does have "Distracting", which forces morale checks under morale rules.
The mech weighs 75 tons, which is the most a heavy class mech can weigh. It utilizes a Inner Sphere-tech Endo Steel chassis. As with the 'Kubi and Kozo, it doesn't rely heavily on Clan technologies, although, seriously, New Samarkand Metals and LAW should be cranking out Clantech equipment left and right at this point! It also uses a Ford 375 XL Engine to propel it to speeds of 5/7. The mech also has a XL Gyro, so it has zero open slots in the center torso. Once again, it uses Hardened Armor to protect itself, only this time, there's much more of it. Not sure if it is the max amount for the tonnage, but 21 tons, with 168 points of HARDENED ARMOR is no joke. As stated earlier, each point of armor can absorb two points of damage...so it effectively has 336 points of armor. There are assault mechs (I'm looking at you 3050 Clanners!) that don't have that much armor. Sadly, the rest of the mech is a little...well, read on.
At 75 tons, and with that large of an engine, and armor, there are plenty of Inner Sphere heavies that mount lots of weapons. With the Shiro -1V, we get 4 Clan LRM 10s, an Inner Sphere LB-2X Autocannon, and a TSM-less Sword. I would venture to say, that in the Battletech Game, this mech is the most undergunned mech in the game. First of all, an LB-2X is pretty useless. Sure, it has long range. And sure, it has a lot of ammo per ton. But the Shiro misses out on the slug/cluster capabilities of this gun by only getting one ton of ammo, which isn't even CASE'd. If you're gonna use an AC/2 of any kind, use more than one please. I can sort of forgive the Shiro, because four Clan LRM 10s have no minimum range and are solid. It has 36 shots, and all three tons are stored, like the Kozo, in a un-CASE'd side torso with an Inner Sphere Extra-Light Engine... Finally, Sword. So stand off at range and rain LRM/AC2 fire down on your opponent, then sprint/run forward and bring the Sword and LRMs to bear. Interestingly, it also carries a Guardian ECM Suite. So at least it is immune to those Streak LRMs, Artemis IV, and C3 spotters.
Pros of the -1V: Lots of armor, LRMs have decent ammo bins and can take different loads, ECM.
Cons: Lack of CASE, XL Engine, woefully undergunned.
A while back, an admin on the Btech forums had a 3145 fan PDF going on. In it, he described a Shiro that used ATM6s, and attributed that to "Hashira" Shiro somehow. Using ATM6s would've made sense, since the DCMS has access to Clantech via the Nova Cats, whom used it on their Shoden Assault Vehicle... but for now, here's the cannon variant! Yes, it has a PPC!
The -2P drops the AC2, ammo, and the Guardian ECM Suite in favor of a Clan ER PPC. It also drops the Hardened Armor for this Ballistic Reinforced Armor. Only Era Report: 3145 will tell us what this stuff actually does. Oh, and since it drops Hardened Armor, it actually gets to move its full 5/8. Sadly, it still lacks CASE! This variant is super rare; only a few examples have supposedly been seen.
To use a Shiro, treat this as an over armored, undergunned, sword-equipped Archer. Rain fire down on your opponent at range, then close and hack them to pieces and keep firing the LRMs. To counter one, bring really big Gauss Rifles/PPCs, and when they close range hit 'em with tandem charge SRMs. Like the Atlas III, this mech is why we have the Hellstar, artillery batteries, and airstrikes. Aim for its right torso and pop that ammo.
As for how to improve this mech, there a re a number of ways. Ditch the LB-2X. Add Clan CASE for those Clan LRMs and their Clan LRM ammo. Upgrade to an Angel ECM Suite, give it a C3 or Boosted C3 suite.
I've decided to also add in thoughts on how to convert and model the various mechs, which can be found at the end of these posts. To model the -2P Shiro, pop the AC/2 off, and use a sharp hobby knife to slice the ammo magazine off. Fill it in with Liquid Greenstuff. Use the PPC from either a DA Panther or a Mad Cat Mk. IV. File the attachment points down and glue it on underneath. I've had debate on the Facebook page about whether or not the DA Vixen arm would look better or not. I personally like my sci-fi guns big and bad, but not at compensation joke levels of big and bad (I'm looking at you, World of Tanks, whre the German high tier tanks have guns twice the length of the vehicle!), so maybe the Vixen's gun would work too. You'll see my -2P in a future post with actual pictures!
Speaking of pictures, I haven't posted any due to my camera situation. I mostly use my cell phone camera, and while it takes decent photos, I'm also attempting to garner interest in commissions, and I'd rather display my work for those purposes at a higher quality than a cell phone camera picture. To that end, I found my old digital camera, so maybe I can fiddle with it and get some good stuff posted up soon.
Enjoy y'all!
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