FS9-A Firestarter for Battletech

The Firestarter was designed by Argile Technologies of Skye in 2550 to perform as an incendiary 'Mech. The most popular and widely-used version of the Firestarter, the FS9-H, would debut in 2703 and become the standard to which all other incendiary 'Mechs were compared. The FS9-H was produced almost exclusively from its introduction up to the beginning of the Amaris Civil War in early 2776, with nearly 3,000 Firestarters in total seeing active duty. Because of the 'Mech's popularity with all of the Great Houses, Argile Industries continued to produce spare parts and new 'Mechs prior to and during the Succession Wars, until their Argile plant and headquarters were destroyed in the Third Succession War. When the company indicated that they would not rebuild their plant, Coventry Metal Works eventually picked up production.

Though most regiments contained a number of Firestarter 'Mechs, they were traditionally assigned at the company or regimental level rather than be attached to a lance, with the commander then deploying them to support an attack group or scout wooded areas. The reason for this was that the 'Mech had such a specialized role that it was deemed useless to assign it to lances. Though protected by five and a half tons of armor and capable of jumping distances of 180 meters with its six jump jets, the Firestarter could do little against medium or heavyweight opponents. Instead a whole series of tactics were developed around its ability to start wildfires, with skillfully-placed blazes routing an enemy or covering a retreat and hampering any pursuit. Firestarter MechWarriors were fond of setting on fire a heavily wooded area as enemy 'Mechs advanced through it or any buildings within which the enemy were sheltering. Other uses for the 'Mech included performing scorched earth tactics (though this lessened in later years as it became more imperative to capture the dwindling number of valuable resources rather than destroy them) or lead units of Wasps and Stingers in deep penetration scouting and light raiding missions.

This policy changed in the later Succession Wars as it was found that the Firestarter performed well as a scout, able to not only start fires to prevent an enemy from attempting to follow it but also clear ambush areas for the advancement of friendly forces. In the wake of the Fourth Succession War Firestarters also found themselves being assigned to lances as replacements for the losses of other light and medium 'Mechs, forcing the 'Mech to perform in a frontline role. This evolution would continue when the Federated Commonwealth unveiled a new version in 3049, the FS9-S, which featured a host of recovered lostech to enhance its scouting abilities.

Model is printed in a grey resin and supplied with a base.

Mech design by Matt Mason.