True and False Heirs of the SLDF Collide

So this past Saturday night I managed to get a game of Battletech in once more against Cheef. It was a match were I was outnumbered 2 to 1 as I took a full lance of medium and heavy mechs from my old Eridani Light Horse regiment with highly skilled pilots but ended up facing Cheef's Hell's Horses in a horde of 4 light mechs, 2 light tanks, a medium mech and a heavy tank.

I took a 2/4 Hunchback HBK-4P, a 2/4 Quickdraw QKD-5K (but flipped the 2 rear medium lasers with the SRM/4), a 3/4 Archer ARC-2Rb, and a 2/4 Crab CRB-27b.

After numerous rounds we were both hurting fairly badly. I had lost my Hunchback, the Archer was almost dead, and the Quickdraw and Crab were both fairly hurt. He'd lost both light tanks and a Stinger while having a Wolverine (which he tried call a Hellhound), Stinger, Locust, and Pirahna all one or two hits away from destroyed and then the Demolisher was in good shape. If we played it out I figure I'd lost the Archer and probably the Crab while finishing off his mechs but my Quickdraw would be jumping to stay out of line of sight from the Demolisher. So we called it a draw while we still had salvage worth salvaging.

I was really happy with how the Quickdraw and Crab did. The Hunchback was disappointing as with it's slow speed and layout it had to expose itself to a LOT of damage to be able to unload it's firepower into a target. The Archer was doing well but with the speed of the enemy force it soon had issues with keeping the range open for those LRM.20s. All in all it was a lot of fun and I'm planning on another post around the end of the week hopefully as I'm looking at at least one, possibly two, crazy long work weeks. That's all for now and thank's for stopping by!

Time For Updates

Alright, time for some updates on what all is going on. Work has been quite time consuming for quite a while now. Thankfully that job is about to change to one where I'll have two days off a week instead of just one that ends up being a day of just housework trying to keep up with it all. With that second day off will come a lot more time to spend on working on clearing out the backlog of miniatures that need painting.

I have managed to get some work in though so here's where things stand at the moment. First up is support elements for my 21st Striker Regiment of the Eridani Light Horse. Long Toms, MASH, Command unit, custom engineering vehicles and mechs, and some general trucks for supply and leg engineering troops.

Up after that is some progress on my Ozawa Urban Defense Brigade. I've about expanded this unit as far as I plan to and will be figuring out where the rest of the mechs sitting around are going to be pushed into. And that's where things stand. This is my last week of six (and occasionally seven) work days and I'm looking forward to getting a lot more done. That's all for now and I'll see you all next time.

Because We All Need Support

So continuing on the vein of last post, these are some models that I've worked into my Battletech collection that would end up being used as terrain pieces rather than active models in combat.  Yes the mech jockeys get all the glory, and the aerospace pilots get the girls, and even the tank drivers and infantry get some cheap beers in the bars.  But what about those poor guys who have to clean up after the fight or do the heavy lifting getting ready for the next fight?

First up is the flying portion of the collection.  I added some various bits to a couple Diecast Star Wars Rebels Ghost ships and they were easily done.  These would stand in as Avenger or Gazelle Dropships most likely due to size and overall appearance.  Both would need to be fairly well guarded when on the ground and would make for some nice space port or landing zone terrain.

Next up is a large model from the X-Wing tabletop fighter game.  I plan on using this as a basic Leopard Dropship.  Size looks right to hold a lance of mechs and definitely would fit in place for a small skirmish battlefield.  This didn't need any conversion at all and is ready to go as is.

Now let's look at some down in the dirt models.  I first did some conversions for my Eridani Light Horse by making a lance of Engineering vehicles just to have something different from more bases of basic infantry.  They started as an array of various Battletech and 40K Epic vehicles and have a wide range of bits added.  From bridge laying to excavation to replacement of pipelines to camouflaging of defensive emplacements, this lance is ready to get it done.

My new lance of conversions are going to be going into a Support Unit for my Caselton Militia.  We've got a couple construction mechs that started out as Bear Cubs (nice generic looking main bodies that lend themselves well for this) and went from there.  Then we have a couple engineering vehicles ready to use flame to clear terrain or hauled materials to establish a quick defensive position.  The rest of the support Company will consist of MASH vehicles, Engineers in trucks, and some heavy supply vehicles to haul all the supplies and tools that the engineers need.

So that's it for this update and I'll see you all next time.

Eridani Light Horse

As I said in the first post, I want to go through my collection and share it all here to get this new blog started.  First and foremost then has to be my 21st Stalker Regiment of the Eridani Light Horse.  Using the organizational structure listed in the original Mercenary's Handbook (I love the amount of detail some of those old source books had), I had a guide to the formation of the regiment.  Now I didn't do it mech for mech or vehicle for vehicle as there are some mechs I love and some that I can't stand, but I did keep pretty close to weight classes and unit types are all the same (is tanks for tanks, aerospace fighters for aerospace fighters).  They had a pretty interesting unit structure due to their Regimental Combat Team combined arms tactics and it made for some fun collecting.

As a quick note, an X means the model is fully painted, based, and Decaled, * is fully painted and based, and - means it's fully painted.  I haven't based any of the fighters as I haven't found any flight stands that are I both like and can afford a number of.

From L to R Command Com, 3rd Striker Bat, and 5th Striker Bat

21st Striker Regiment (Four Horsemen)
    Colonel Charles K. Winston
Command Company
Regimental Command Lance
*    Colonel Charles K. Winston, Cyclops
*    Captain George Horten, Awesome
*    Captain Xavier Trompe, Warhammer
*    Lt. Heather Broxtin, Quickdraw
Security Lance
*    Captain Paul Hauser, Hunchback
*    Lt. Kevin DeSoto, Archer
*    Lt. Tomas Gage, Dervish
*    Lt. Elliot Sheridan, Hunchback
Artillery Lance
    Captain Geoffrey Watkins
*    Lt. Greerson Holland, Long Tom
*    Lt. Carson Tainer, Long Tom
*    Lt. Howard Redmann, Long Tom
*    Lt. Olivia Winslowe, Long Tom
*    Lt, Oleg Planatov, Demolisher
*    Lt. Ian O'Kennesy, Demolisher
1st Infantry Platoon - Motorized Infantry
    Lt. Walter Allenby
*    Sgt. Douglas Haig, Trucks
*    Cpl. James Fisher, Trucks
*    Cpl. Henry Prescott, Trucks
*    Cpl. John Howe, Trucks
2nd Infantry Platoon - Mechanized Infantry
    Lt. Robert Paine
*    Sgt. Doug Steele - Hover Transport
*    Cpl. Amanda Hallister - Hover Transport
*    Cpl. Edmund Burdette - Hover Transport
*    Cpl. William Bagwell - Hover Transport

3rd Striker Battalion (Jamal's Plague)
Battalion Command Lance (Jamal's Guards)
*    Major Jamal Fallehy, Awesome
*    Captain Steven Bergstrom, Panther
*    Lt. Abigail Tawney, Awesome
*    Lt. Charles Hollister, Flashman
9th Company (Kentrick's Company)
Command Lance
*    Captain Brent Kentrick,, Crockett
*    Ian Mallory, Trebuchet
*    Byron Waters, Urbanmech
*    Timothy Beale, Panther
Strike Lance
*    Lt. Catelyn Robinette, Thorn
*    Jason Winthrop, Dervish
*    Eric Brentwood, Shadowhawk
*    Padraig O'Malley, Javelin
Recon Lance
*    Lt. Paul Straub, Cicada
*    Susan Hibson, Assassin
*    Victor Osborne, Commando
*    Todd Newland, Cicada
14th Company (Paulson's Roadrunners)
Command Lance
*    Captain Cynthia Paulson, Warhammer
*    Darius Albright, Commando
*    Hiroshi Yoshida, Panther
*    Timo Malinov, Rifleman
Strike Lance
*    Lt. Piotr Orlov, Warhammer
*    Jocelyn Tully, Archer
*    Ellinore Maitland, Dragon
*    Spencer Yeats, Archer
Recon Lance
*    Lt. Marcus Wolcott, Cicada
*    Antoine Kearns, Stinger
*    Nathan Pretloe, Locust
*    Otojiro Horii, Assassin
85th Company (Benton's Brown Bombers)
Command Lance
-    Captain Nathaniel Benton, Shilone Aerospace Fighter
-    Sylvester Callahan, Shilone Aerospace Fighter
Support Lance
-    Lt. Kevin Tobin, Shilone Aerospace Fighter
-    Iosef Serov, Shilone Aerospace Fighter
Strike Lance
-    Lt. Jacob Weiss, Shilone Aerospace Fighter
-    Astrid Kingsford, Shilone Aerospace Fighter
Recon Lance
-    Lt. Brian Lockesly, Transgressor Aerospace Fighter
-    Giles Crowelly, Transgressor Aerospace Fighter

5th Striker Battalion (Dirkson's Dragonslayers)
Battalion Command Lance (Dirkson's Guards)
*    Major Earl Dirkson, Cyclops
*    Captain Claude Tomaslin, Rifleman
*    Lt. Elise Pienaar, Awesome
*    Lt. Coleman Hauser, Orion
4th Company (Pinter's Axmen)
Command Lance
*    Captain Daniel Pinter, Phoenix Hawk
*    Ryan Wilson, Quickdraw
*    Jillian Giessepe, Orion
*    Quentin Veerland, Dragon
Strike Lance
*    Lt. Kevin Baird, Catapult
*    Ethan Burke, Enforcer
*    Phillip Cantrell, Crusader
*    Diane Lancaster, Catapult
Recon Lance
*    Lt. Charles Hawestead, Cicada
*    Jason Mannfred, Wolverine
*    Catherine Bennett, Grasshopper
*    Randall Waters, Wasp
Air Lance
-    Lt. Thomas Knowles, Seydlitz Aerospace Fighter
-    Anthony Wilson, Seydlitz Aerospace Fighter
7th Company (Tanaka's Company)
Command Lance
*    Captain Tian Tanaka, Javelin
*    Janet McCrory, Jagermech
*    Dennis O'Donnell, Trebuchet
*    Sergei Nakamura, Whitworth
Strike Lance
*    Lt. Shannon Bronskie, Trebuchet
*    Fiona Northbrooke, Dervish
*    Oleg Altunin, Dervish
*    Leonard Taussig, Catapult
Recon Lance
*    Lt. Eric Jacobs, Jenner
*    Vasiliy Krepkie, Cicada
*    Jillian Clarkson, Wasp
*    Samuel Young, Assassin
Air Lance
-    Lt. Irene Jameson, Lucifer Aerospace Fighter
-    Ian Brentley, Lucifer Aerospace Fighter
25th Heavy Assault Company (Seflo's Sledgehammers)
Command Lance
*    Captain Misha Selfo, Raven
*    Victor Longe, Grasshopper
*    Deidre Hauser, Wasp
*    Oliver Sternman, Jenner
Strike Lance
*    Lt. Cole Portson, Grasshopper
*    Hitoshi Katasumi, Whitworth
*    Natasha Solchava, Javelin
*     Alfred Lynch, Commando
1st Air Lance
-    Lt. Ian Andrassy, Sholagar Aerospace Fighter
-    Hans Coldewe, Sholagar Aerospace Fighter
2nd Air Lance
-    Lt. Kosei Masaki, Sholagar Aerospace Fighter
-    Aleksei Beregov, Sholagar Aerospace Fighter

From L to R, 7th Striker Bat and 1st Armored Infantry Bat

7th Striker Battalion (Nigel's Nightslayers)
Battalion Command Lance (Nigel's Guards)
X    Major Jameson Nigel, Flashman
*    Captain Ian Branscombe, Cyclops
*    Lt. Blake Holmes, Zeus
*    Lt. Emily Haerdesky, Victor
11th Company (Pelham's Company)
Red Seven Lance
*    Captain Timothy Pelham, Dragon
*    Madilyn Pritchart, Quickdraw
*    Paul Malherbe, Awesome
*    Douglas Brandei, Highlander
Blue Seven Lance
*    Lt. Li Hsien, Wolverine
*    Andrea Oates, Dervish
*    Matthew Tourni, Valkyrie
*    Elliot Sullivan, Valkyrie
Gold Seven Lance
*    Lt. Harold Crane, Catapult
X    Mark Bronson, Archer
*    Andrew Holbrook, Trebuchet
*    Elaine Hathoway, Catapult
12th Company (Lightning Company)
Silver Lance
*    Captain Elizabeth Henke, Wolverine
*    Jeffery Olmsted, Wolverine
*    Shannon Allenby, Panther
*    Eric Donovan, Thorn
Black Lance
*    Lt. Vincent McCrory, Griffin
*    Marc Baird, Hollander, Wolverine
*    James Cross, Quickdraw
*    Chelsea Dobbs, Grasshopper
Purple Lance
*    Lt. Lisa Brackhaven, Wolverine
X    Sean Boehlert, Jenner
X    Neil Crowley, Jenner
*    Sheila Banich, Raven
Brown Lance
-    Lt. Ivan Chernov, Dagger Aerospace Fighter
-    Trent Mayhew, Dagger Aerospace Fighter
27th Company (Wolfhounds)
Green Lance
*    Major Pierre Bouchard, Highlander
*    Andrea Clavell, Catapult
*    Malcolm Forbes, Enforcer
*    Ibrahim Ghosn, Dragon
White Lance
*    Lt. Lloyd Bancroft, Grasshopper
*    Timothy Leahy, Wolverine
*    Katherine Burke, Valkyrie
*    Roger Waterly, Valkyrie
Platinum Lance
*    Lt. Edmund Dempsey, Centurian
*    Elliot Watkinson. Wolfhound
*    Terrence Pretloe, Centurian
*    Jessica Hearns, Centurian

1st Armored Infantry Battalion (Mighty Mites)
Battalion Command Lance
*    Major Samuel Perrow, Victor
*    Captain Brian Braddock, Warhammer
*    Lt. Amanda Sydon, Warhammer
*    Lt. Tim Phillips, Rifleman
Tin Can Company
Command Lance
*    Captain Klaus Hesse, Von Luckner
*    Lt. Andrew Fisher. Von Luckner
*    Sgt. Will Yeats, Von Luckner
*    Sgt. Joe Fairmount, Rommel/Patton
*    Sgt. Bradley Sinclair, Rommel/Patton
o    Sgt. Roger Penrose, Rommel/Patton
Strike Lance
*    Lt Llewellyn Trent, Ontos
*    Sgt. Simon Griffith, Ontos
*    Sgt. Doug Puller, Ontos
*    Sgt. Jamie Redmund, Ontos
*    Sgt. Collin Westworth, Hetzer
*    Sgt. Linnet Paulus, Hetzer
Recon Lance
*    Lt. Owen Rache, Saladin
*    Sgt. Edward Niven, Saladin
*    Sgt. Amanda Downing, Saladin
*    Sgt. David Brogues, Saladin
*    Sgt. Victor Ramius, Pegasus
*    Sgt. Nikolai Bondarenko, Pegasus
Alpha Company
*    Captain Lila Oakwood, Mobile Command Vehicle
1st Platoon - Motorized Infantry
    Lt. Hector Torres
*    Sgt. Owen Yardley, Halftracks
*    Cpl. Chris Morrigan, Halftracks
*    Cpl. James Holmes, Halftracks
*    Cpl. Abigail O'Reilly, Halftracks
2nd Platoon - Mechanized Infantry
    Lt. Tuck Miller
*    Sgt. Steve MacGarrett, Halftracks
*    Cpl. Daniel Bull, Halftracks
*    Cpl. Olivet Theisman, Halftracks
*    Cpl. Seth Maerkas, Trucks
3rd Platoon - Mechanized Infantry
    Lt. Richard Diego
*    Sgt. Owen Yardley, Halftracks
*    Cpl. Chris Morrigan, Halftracks
*    Cpl. James Holmes, Halftracks
*    Cpl. Abigail O'Reilly, Halftracks
4th Platoon - Mechanized Infantry
    Lt. Vince Tulane
*    Sgt. Patricia Parks, Goblin Medium Tank
*    Cpl. Nathan Holmes, Goblin Medium Tank
*    Cpl. Richard Pressby, Goblin Medium Tank
*    Cpl. Dayvid Webley, Goblin Medium Tank
Bravo Company
*    Captain Katherine Burke, Mobile Command Vehicle
1st Platoon - Jump Infantry
    Lt. Nathaniel Greer
*    Sgt. Eduard Altunin
*    Cpl. David Tabanne
*    Cpl, Lionel Foley
*    Cpl. Percy Neville
2nd Platoon - Battle Armor Infantry
    Lt. Erica Tansey
*    Sgt. Franklin Owens
*    Cpl. Vincent Lewis
*    Cpl, Ernest Wexton
*    Cpl. Ilya Vaneyev
3rd Platoon - Battle Armor Infantry
    Lt. Jeffrey Moore
*    Sgt. Mikhail Taussig
*    Cpl. Sean Ambrose
*    Cpl, Grigori Dalmatov
*    Cpl. Elliot Slater
4th Platoon - Engineers
    Lt. Colin MacGuire
*    Sgt. Edward Harding, Engineering Vehicle
*    Cpl. Perry Gibbons, Engineering Vehicle
*    Cpl, James Candless, Engineering Vehicle
*    Cpl. Anthony Troubridge, Engineers
Boomer Company
Command Lance
*    Captain Paul Sandoval, Sturmfeur
*    Lt. Manfred VanGeller, Sturmfeur
*    Lt. Trevor Gillespee, LRM Carrier
*    Lt. Victoria Pollack, LRM Carrier
*    Lt. Emilio Ortiz, LRM Carrier
*    Lt. Sonya Lindh, LRM Carrier
AA Lance
*    Lt. Thomas Clavell, Rifleman
*    Jon Waverly, Rifleman
*    Gwen Herdez, Longbow
*    Eamon O'Neil, Longbow
1st Air Lance
-    Lt. Vincent Osborn, Stuka
-    Colleen Desmond, Stuka
2nd Air Lance
-    Lt. Qliver Blakeson, Stuka
-    Paul Lawes, Stuka

So that's my Eridani Light Horse collection.  It was a lot of fun organizing and collecting it, not as much fun to paint it (the painting side is the part I like the least of the hobby of miniature gaming).  Next time I think I'll do my Davion militia since the Eridani Light Horse have worked for House Davion for so long now.  Might as well finish up that part of the Inner Sphere before moving onward.  Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next time.