Name: Shoddy Armor Division
History: In 1872, a scouting party of skigs
landed in Kansas. The United
States government had little idea what skigs were, so they consulted the
leading authorities on the subject-1824 Techno. The United States Army,
quickly disintegrating under repeated attacks by skigs, pleaded for help.
In a grueling three week period, 1824 Techno, with help from the government
in the form of money grants, made an entire division of armored robots
specially equipped for taking out the skig threat. This division,
consisting of over 100 robots, was so quickly made that before and after
battle, they would fall apart or malfunction. Gears and cranks were poorly
molded, the bolts weakly held the plates together, and the primitive
processors constantly overloaded. However, the robots held together and
pushed off the attacks. The government quickly covered up the skig attack
to the public and disbanded the Shoddy Armor Division.
Year Made: 1872
Weight: 1.32 tons
Height: 6 ft 5 in
Power Plant: Varied from robot to robot,
generally one castor oil fueled
steam engine
Armaments: Varied from robot to robot,
generally one Gatling gun and a
fingered crushing arm
Special Notes: Though the government
disbanded the Shoddy Armor Division
and impounded most of the robots, 1824 Techno hid a couple. One robot was
made somewhat well (well enough to not fall apart) and surprised 1824
Techno one night when it arrived at a show, covered with snow and wreaking
of burnt circuitry.
Present day: The newly arrived Shoddy Armor
Division robot enamored the
crowd during the show, but the rowdy New Year celebrants got caught up in
the festivities and demolished the robot. It was, needless to say, very
easy. In the photograph, we can see Buel F. Rawlings inside doing some
last second repairs (According to Buel, he "cut up his hands and arms in
the gears and cranks" while fixing it).