FLEA FLE-4 6mm

thingiverse

Focused on speed and firepower, the lightly armored Flea was an extremely rare sight until the arrival of the Wolf's Dragoons mercenary unit, with the design experiencing a revival as an inexpensive recon and anti-personnel militia 'Mech. Initially called the Trooper when it was introduced as the Free Worlds League's first light scout BattleMech in 2475, the design was so heavily flawed that it took twenty-five years before all the issues were corrected, with a new name selected to escape the bad press. The early prototype was designed by Colonel J. Marcus Llewelyn-Jaymes and his hand-picked team at Toddlette Industries in a bid to create a dedicated reconnaissance BattleMech for the FWLM. The design was considered highly maneuverable and lightweight at the time, utilizing a basic chassis similar to their larger WorkMechs and appearing straightforward with a powerplant, gyroscope, cockpit, and other critical systems housed in an "armored-box" mounted on reinforced, armored "bird-walker" legs. Only with the help of Llewelyn-Jaymes contacts in the military and government circles, and according to rumors, possible bribery of politicians and decision makers, did the FWLM ultimately accept delivery of the Trooper. While it was considered easy to maintain by technicians and logisticians, it wasn't long before it gained a poor reputation among those that piloted it, since the design completely lacked any dedicated ejection mechanism; forcing pilots to manually exit should they become disabled. Additionally, the legs proved to be unable to cope with heavy combat, which became apparent in various failed trials before the FWLM's Minister of Defense. Despite these shortcomings, the League's Chief Armorer and Quartermaster General continued purchasing the prototype year after year, ultimately leading to the Trooper being selected as the very first FWLM 'Mech to be upgraded with "modern" technology in 2501 and rechristened as the FLE-4 Flea. The FLE-4 is built on a standard chassis and has a maximum speed of 97.2 km/h, armed with a Martell Large Laser allowing it to attempt to keep any heavier 'Mechs at a stand-off range if they attempt to engage. The 'Mech carries two Martell Small Lasers for close in work as well as an Olympian Flamer for anti-infantry purposes, the cost of its relatively heavy weaponry and high speed being its two tons of armor, half that of even the venerable Locust, and the reason why the 'Mech was discontinued.