MechForce

This article is about the fan organisations. For the video game, see MechForce (Video Game).

MechForce was the moniker for several official BattleTech fan organisations that catered to the game's growing fan community with regular magazines, chapter fights, and other fan support. Most references to "MechForce" are meant to refer to the MFNA.

MechForce North America

The first and most important MechForce was the MechForce North America (MFNA, also occasionally called MechForce NA, MechForce US or MFUS). It is generally considered the "true" MechForce by virtue of having been the first MechForce established and also for being run directly by FASA, who took it over from the original founders after a short time.

Despite its name, the MFNA was in fact open to players from across the globe; besides North America, it was explicitly meant to include players from countries where no national MechForce existed.

The MFNA produced a regular magazine. This was initially the 'Mech magazine; later, under FASA, it was renamed to MechForce Quarterly. They could arguably be regarded an official product by virtue of being produced under a valid license from FASA in the former, and under FASA's direct aegis in the latter case; however, magazines ("even official ones like 'Mech") have explicitly been declared to be not among the canonical sources for BattleTech and can therefore be considered apocryphal at best.

Dwindling membership rendered the MFNA almost inactive since around the year 1999. When FASA ceased its activities in 2001, the MFNA's license ran out, terminating the MFNA for good.

Other MechForces

Several national MechForce organisations were also granted an official license from FASA to use the name. Although technically independent, they generally cooperated with the MFNA and adopted its modus operandi.

MechForce Germany

see MechForce Germany article for details.

Among the national organisations, the MechForce Germany (MFG) was the biggest and most active, allegedly even eclipsing the MFNA in membership size at its peak.

The only MechForce organisation still in existence today, the MFG went through three successive incarnations. Both earlier organisations spawned a successor organsiation before they lost their license (the Nice Dice e.V. BattleTech AG and the Sternenbund e.V.) but these, too, are defunct long since.

MechForce Germany produced the Life Support (8 issues), MechQuarterly (4 issues) and Terra Post (30+ issues and ongoing) magazines. The Nice Dice e.V. produced the Warrior's Guide magazine for BattleTech (36 issues). The Sternenbund e.V. had no dedicated BattleTech magazine; their Infobrief was largely limited to the club's administrative issues.

MechForce United Kingdom

see MechForce United Kingdom article for details.

The MechForce United Kingdom (MFUK) was relatively small and run by a mere handful of members for a decade. Yet it gained a reputation as a particularly creative and prolific producer of merchandise, house rules, scenario packs and new BattleMech designs. Notably, Ral Partha produced minitatures for a number of MFUK custom 'Mech designs (including the Dreadnought, Hades, Hydra, Katyusha, Tree Frog and Falcon Eyrie) which led many fans to believe them to be canon.

The MFUK ceased to exist when the last active member left the organisation for health reasons on August 31, 2001.

MFUK had a regular magazine called Comnet, 47 issued (the final issue mis-numbered 46).

Minor national MechForces

Other national MechForces with official license from FASA existed in Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, and Japan, but these never had the size or relevance of the aforementioned three organisations.

External links

• [1] - Homepage of the current MechForce Germany