American Monitor Class Bipod Walkers

The Americans have never really adopted the idea of colonialism on earth and this policy has been carried over on Mars. As of 1889 the U.S. had only a small armed military force stationed on Mars. In the trading center in Thymiamata there were three Companies of the 14th Infantry regiment, One Battery of the 2nd Artillery and One Troop of the 5th Cavalry. In addition there was one company of U.S. marines at the U.S. legation in Syrtis Major.

The major area of American interest was in gaining new trade markets (both legal and illegal). Openly the American traders will try to visit and set up trade relations with every Martian Kingdom or Princedom on Mars. This openness has led to the Americans expanding into trade areas previously blocked to other nations.
While the regular trading has met with good success the main portion of the American trading has involved illegal gun-running. The Americans have a large surplus of artillery and guns left over from the civil war and every bit of it is in demand on Mars. Most of the European nations on Mars turn a blind eye to the American activity but Britain and Belgium both are actively attempting to stop these illegal American guns from being brought to the red planet.

There is nothing the British can really do to the offending Americans without starting a war but those shipments that have been “found” by the British have all mysteriously been lost and apologies sent to the American shipping companies. With the extremely high demand for earth weapons it is very unlikely that this illegal activity will end anytime soon.

In fact the Americans have developed their own armored vehicle to assist in guarding such shipments. These new vehicles are two legged (bipodal) iron clad steam powered walkers. The actual turret is of medium armor, rotates and is of similar design to the original U.S.S. Monitor. Armed with a medium gun and two gatlings the American Monitor Class Walkers are formidable opponents.

Several nations both Earth and Martian have approached the Americans about the possibility of purchasing these new mechanical devices.
How the Machine was built:

The Monitor Class Walker was originally a six piece resin kit with an extra bag of white metal pieces (guns and such). The resin casting left much to be desired as most of the rivets were unformed and / or air bubbles. The turret top originally looked like it was supposed to be a wire type mesh or something I was never quite sure. Instead I covered the upper casement with styrene and made my own vision ports. Overall a nice kit that required a bit of extra work to get it serviceable. I would give the resin kit a “B -”. The white metal parts were really well cast (best gatlings I’ve ever seen) but the main gun supplied was way too large and barely fit in the turret. The main gun in the picture is a smaller Dahlgren I purchased separately.

I mounted it on a 3 x 3 base, painted it black; dry brushed it and then added the rust (Martian soil). Ready for Battle!
Questions? If so, you but need to ask!