Mechanized March

So since there seems to be something for every month, I'll be doing my own for Battletech hence Mechanized March. To start off I've finished the last lance of tanks for my Lazy Eights. The two Schreks and two Alacorns make a nice support element for the maneuver portion of the unit. I think this is a nice flexible force able to scout, skirmish, and still have the firepower for a battle.

And then I'm starting the support side of my new Eridani Light Horse unit. There is a lance of coolant trucks, two lances of APCs, and then a small horde of infantry. I made the mistake of attaching some to bases before painting then got wiser about it for the rest of them. Previously I've used a pair of small Micro Armor APCs per hexbase to represent transports, but they don't stay on the bases as well and are a pain to deal with, so I'm going with larger vehicles this time around.

That's all for this first update and I'll see you all next time!

Lazy Eights and more Eridani Light Horse

So finished up the Lazy Eights mercenaries I was working on this week. They recieved washs and dry brushing and then the basing. I went with a desert sand base with them to offset the darker colors on the mechs. The plain sand was looking a little too bland so I grabbed a couple sticks outside and turned them into dead logs and debris on the bases. I still have a vehicle company to add to them and then this force will be completed. Models are based Vallejo Black with a Vallejo Oily Steel dry brush over the black and then Tamiya Copper and Vallejo Dark Red were the other colors with both getting a GW Nuln Oil wash. Bases recieved a border of Vallejo USA Tan-Earth and of course the sand. Twigs were added for a bit more detail and then they all received a clear matte spray coat.

And then some progress on the Eridani Light Horse front. I got 16 mechs base colored in green (Tamiya Field Grey) which will be added to eight others at that step. This week I'm hoping to get the Vallejo Old GOld and Vallejo Flat Red on them all before applying the Vallejo Olive Green wash layer.

So that's the progress so far. When the ELH models get finished that will leave me 12 vehicles for the Lazy Eights and then I have 8 other older mechs that I need to figure out what to do with. Once those are all done (hopefully by no more than a week or two into April) I'll finally have a clear deck on the paint front and I'll be able to tackle some other projects, including better organizing the storage for them all. That's all for now and I'll see you next time!

Eridani Light Horse and Lazy Eights

So I've made a bit of progress on clearing out the Battletech backlog. First of all the progress on the Eridani Light Horse. The Light and Medium mechs from the last post have all recieved their secondary colors. Still to go is some cleaning up, adding the wash layers, and then basing. Once this batch is done, I'll be moving on to another 5 Medium mechs and 19 Heavy and Assault Mechs. I'll probably put off the basing until all of them are painted to simply my assembly line method of doing things.

Then we have my new small unit that I'm making use of to clear out the last of my Inner Sphere metal and printed mechs. This is a unit that was serving the FedCom in the First Succession War and disappeared between then and the Second Succession War. In my Taurian Alternative Fiction story, I had this unit survive and to be honest if the unit fled into the Periphery it could survive for a long time while flying under the radar of the major realms and powers. This unit's paint is starting to come together but I seem to be stuck on what to use as a wash. Input and thoughts on it would be appreciated.

So that's where we stand for now and I'll be aiming for another update next week. Still not a fan of the painting but trying to keep myself on task to get all of this cleared out so I'm ready when the Kickstarter mechs and vehicles arrive. Thank's for stopping by and I'll see you all next time!

Eridani Light Horse Update

So I finally got back to putting some paint to miniatures this past week. I went with an assembly line sort of idea when breaking out the Tamiya Field Grey (which oddly enough is a really nice shade of green). I got a total of 18 light mechs and 7 medium mechs basecoated over the black primer to get them ready for the next steps.

This coming week I'm going to see about getting the bronze and red added to them and, if I make good progress, wash layer as well. I also have a dozen heavy and assault mechs, that aren't going to be in the ELH due to being old metal models or resin prints that scale just slightly different than the new Catalyst plastics that this regiment will be made of, which need a color scheme of some sort decided upon. I've gone through a lot of web pages considering different units and am starting to lean into just slapping together a small merc unit a la TBAG'ers. That's all for now and hopefully a new post next week.

Building An Eridani Light Horse Regiment Pt. 4

So work this past month has been quite time consuming though there seems to be a return to norming in the near future. I haven't managed much during this time but there has been a little progress. Mainling in the way of acquisitions.

So first of all, I've got green layers of two lances of mechs. The first lance is Phoenix Hawks for the 6th Recon Battalion which is going to be all jump capable. The second lance os the regimental command company command lance of a Cyclops, Awesome, and two Annihilators.

Then we've got an Etsy purchase of 8 APCs and 4 tanker trucks that I will be using as coolant vehicles.

And then last of all we have some infantry. I had three packs of these and for some reason starting basing them. After I finished the first pack I asked myself why wouldn't I paint them on the sprue first and THEN base them and stopped from doing any more. So this is what I've added for now and hopefully I'll start getting more painted soon.

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!

Building An Eridani Light Horse Regiment Pt. 3

So while it has been very busy at work I've managed to get some work done on some mechs. I've got a full lance of Wolverines done to go with the two Catapults. Somehow I forgot to take any in progess pictures and so there is just the final results (minus decal and then clearcoat). I am planning on this being a regiment that has a light/medium highly maneuverable battalion, a jump capable battalion, and then a heavy/assault battalion to be the anvil/hammer for the other battalions.

I've got a lance of Phoenix Hawks primed to work on this coming week and then I have a company of lights on the queue after that consisting of a lance each of Valkyries, Mercuries, and Wasps. While my original ELH force was a hodgepodge of mechs that I could aquire in dribs and drabs with a real late Succession Wars feel to the unit as a "this is what we have repaired and can afford to field" vibe, the new regiment I'm going for an "in their prime" theme with full lances of single mech types or at least no more than a couple types of mech per lance as a more deliberate force organization rather than salavaged and pieced together.

Of course behind that list of models is a further pile of plastic including Griffins, Wolfhounds, Trebuchets, Victors, Guillotines, Grasshoppers, and Thunderbolts. And of course the original two test models (the pair of Awesomes) need to be stripped and repainted as well. And then by the time all of these are done, the Catalyst Mercs Kickstarter should be arriving. I had planned on getting up to the Outpost in JC for some decal tutorials and practice with others who know what they're doing, but that went out the window under a pile of errands that I need to deal with today (including getting a bunch of stuff cleared out of the living room area as the rental I'm in is getting a new fridge on Tues).

So that's all for now and I'll see you all next time!

Still Raising Another Eridani Light Horse Regiment

So after the first two test models from the previous post, I really didn't fully like the outcome I achieved. The Citadel Contrast Creed Camo came out looking like the algae build up in a dirty aquarium filter. This second pair of models I switched out the Creed Camo for Vallejo Russian Green. I also switched the Vallejo Flat Red for the deeper Vallejo Dark Red and the Vallejo Oiled Steel for Vallejo Game Color Metallic. The final change I made was Tamiya Flat Brown for the sides of the base instead of the Vallejo Woodgrain. For all of these paints, I used a new Army Painter Wet Palette instead of the trial homemade ones I used previously. I did the same basing and first layer coats as before. I also tried something new for me in a more intricate layer of detailing by edging the cockpit panels of the mechs.

All in all I am much happier with the results this time around. The following picture is a comparison shot showing from left to right a Zeus from my old ELH regiment, the first trial attempt for new ELH Thunderbolt, and then the new attempt for new ELH Catapult that has received a light Nuln Oil wash after the previous picture above. I can definitely see the improvements from my old ELH massively batch painted to minimum standards and my new results and I definitely like the Catapult's results over the Thunderbolt's though I now need to look into striping down the two Thunderbolts.

All in all I am pleased with how it's looking so far and I think I am happy with the final results of the Catapults. I think this will be the "final" color scheme though I'm open to ideas and suggestions before finally locking it down and starting up on going through the rest of the models I already have for the 151st Light Horse Regiment. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you all next time!

Raising A New Eridani Light Horse Regiment

I normally speed paint through battletech units with a primer, base coat, a few highlights and simple basing. This time around I am trying to up my level of painting a bit. With all the new Catalyst plastic models and especially the new Kickstarter ones coming down the road, I decided to do more Eridani Light Horse. With my original ELH unit being a mix of olf metals and plastics from various sources, I decided to do an entire new unit of them, the 151st Light Horse Regiment. This is the results of my first two models in this project sort of as a test bed.

The models were primered white and then based with Army Painter Elf Green. I put GW's Creed Camo Contrast over that layer which was followed by a wash of GW Coelia Greenshade. Weapon mounts were done in Vallejo Old Gold and the maul/fists in Vallejo Gunmetal Grey. For the cockpit and laser barrel insides I used Vallejo Flat Red.

Base was done with a mix of small gravel and a fine grass flock. I then painted the base edge in Vallejo Woodgrain to compliment all the green.

I'll appreciate any feedback or suggestions. I'm still on the fence deciding myself. The Creed shade of green just keeps seeming a bit off somehow and I'm still not sure about it. Anyway, hope you enjoy and I'll see you all next time.

More Progress And More To Do

So I have made some more progress the past couple weeks. First up I took a lot of older plastic and a few metal models of mechs that either I don't care for the mech or at least that particular version of it. It's a group of mechs that aren't worth selling off and yet didn't just want to throw them away either. Thus I lumped them all together into an op force for use in any planned pics for blogs or such. So since this was for a force I wasn't going to care much about, I was looking for soemthing with a fairly simple paint scheme but still a unit I liked even if in a faction I don't like. Thus I landed upon the 15th Dracon. I've always like the unit's fluff and always felt sad that they never were given the chance to break away from the Liao chain around their neck. They have a nice simple grey color with green trim, then toss in a simple sand base with green trim around the base and they're done.

I've also invested in the Catalyst Games Battletech Mercenaries campaign. After initially looking at my Eridani Light Horse regiment with the idea of thinning it out to make room for the new models, I quickly ran into the issue that the new plastics are great looking and just don't match up well with the older plastics and metal models. So with Cheef no doubt laughing at this and saying that he told me so, I'm going to just start a second regiment of Eridani Light Horse with nothing but new models and a few 3D printed that fit well with them. I've already got some units to start shaping it out with the place of pride going to three of the Eridani Force Pack Thunderbolts that I picked up. I still need 1 more to have a full lance of them. However this has lead to a new issue, that being that I have to figure out how to paint jumpjet smoke plumes.

Next up I have another star of Snow Ravens to finish and they should be in the next update. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you all next time!

Time To Clear The Backlog

Alright, so now that I'm settled into the new job with normal work hours for a change, the first order of business is getting caught up on stuff. Using the new Catalyst Games Battletech Mercenaries Kickstarter as a motivator to make room for all the new plastic that will be arriving later this year, I've broke out the paints and brushes to get some mechs finished. I've gone to batch painting since I do basic paintjobs which allows me to make a lot of progress quickly. Over the past couple weeks I've completed the two engineer mechs for my Eridani Light Horse support forces, 19 mechs for the Ozawa Urban Defense Brigade, and then 15 Clan mechs for the Snow Ravens. I just couldn't get into the Ghost Bear schemes again but I now have a hatred of trying to paint diamonds on top of non-flat topped mechs.

As to the Kickstarter, I'm definitely looking forward to getting some ELH swag as part of the rewards, and any extra swag I get will be SLDF to go with the ELH as well. I'm definitely getting Support: Assault and Cavalry, Support: Objectives, Support: Recon and Hunter, and Security Lance Packs. I'm on the fence with the Recon Lance. Several of the other packs I'm only wanting a single mech out of so I guess I'll be hoping some of these hit the secondary market as singles on the cheap side. All in all I'm pretty pleased with what all is in the Kickstarter and how the rewards are stacking up. I knew it'd clear the goals easily based on the previous ones, but I didn't expect it to hit the base funding in under a minute and then all the original goals in under 16 hours.

I also would like to get some of the Eridani Light Horse Force Packs but with the only mech I want in the pack being the jumping Thunderbolt, I'll be passing on that pack for the time being. So that's where we stand at the moment, and I'll see you all next time for hopefully more progress.

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.

Continued Progress

 So over the past week I've finished the last seven mechs to re-complete my 21st Striker Regiment of the Eridani Light Horse.  This brings me back to just needing to talk someone into applying decals to 95% of them and still figuring out a way that I like to base the aerospace fighters.  So back to a place where I'm happier with the regiment than I was before I did the reshuffle with it.  All the Assassins and Ravens are out of it as well as most of the Jenners, Commandos, Panthers, and Centurions.  There are still some of the later but much fewer than there were before.  This let me get a lot of the newer Kickstarter and plastic starter box mechs into the force as well as some nicely detailed Shapeways mechs.

So here are some overview pics of the entire regiment now that it's filled back up.

Regimental Command Company and 3rd Striker Battalion

5th Striker Battalion

7th Striker Battalion

1st Armored Infantry Battalion

Next up we have the test model for the Urban(ies) Defense Force. 

I think I'm happy with the results.  Just a black primer coat then a dry brush layer of a dull metallic silver and lastly picking out a few small details in red to break up the dark.  For the base I just went with a plain gray concrete look to complete that urban environment feel for it.

So that's all for now and I'll give it a bit of time to see what input I get back on the test model before starting to roll out the rest of the unit.  Have a great time all and I'll see you next time!

Yeeesh, It's Been A While I Guess

 Well, with the way the past year has gone, I've done zero table top gaming and that meant I had very little motivation for painting and such as well.  I still haven't managed any gaming but I have at least got some hobby stuff accomplished.  So let's get into it then.

   First up I'll pick up with where the last post left off, the MI6 Rabid Fox Team Blue Delta.  I've done well on keeping this under control and it only has acquired a second lance in total.  A Kintao, Jenner, Mercury, and a Firefly seemed like a nice set of mechs for a special forces lance to back up the Phoenix Hawks.  Still playing around with the fluff ideas for them as I had a bad joke of an idea of calling the team H Gold, and that killed the fluff ideas for a while.

 Next up, with the arrival of a host of new mechs from Kickstarter, I went back and took some mechs I had used to bulk out my Eridani Light Horse out of the unit and Simple Green'd them.  With some other mechs I'd picked up, a host of Wolverines, Griffins, Grasshoppers, Crabs, Kintaros, Longbows, and others got their primer coat of ELH Green.  I have most of them fully painted and based but seven are still just at the base coated stage and need to be completed.  6 of the 7 (all but the Ostol) are new purchases off of Shapeways.

I've also got some BattleTech terrain worked on as well.  I added some detail features to the refinery terrain I had from before and I cobbled together a planetary defense station as well.  It should make for an interesting terrain piece as part of a star port game or as a possible game objective.

And then there came the interesting part, what to do with all the mechs culled out of the ELH ranks ... Well I started looking at the Davion Caselton Militia force I had, and that's where the Jenners, Panthers, Thorn, and other odds and ends are going.  But since I didn't want to expand that unit a lot either, I did a Cheef thing and pulled the UrbanMechs and Commandos out of the Militia and used them with the the new Urbans and Commandos plus a lance consisting of a new Locust sculpt and 3 Assassins to create a new mercenary unit, the Urban(ies) Defense Force.  4 Lances of UrbanMechs, 2 Commando Lances, and the above mentioned lance.  A totally useless force for anything other than defending a factory complex or city center, and even then marginally effective.  Using the rest of my Shapeways order (5 Demolishers and 4 LRM Carriers) to give the force a fire base of support and then I've got enough MicroArmor APCs to put together 8 bases of those to round out the new force.

 I've got the unit as being formed at the end of the 4th Succession War from Liao Militia forces partially destroyed and then passed up in the Davion steamroller offensive.  Hired by the new St Ives Compact and we have a new unit.  They're only primed currently but I plan on an urban camo scheme of some sort for them.

Alright, that's all for now, hopefully not too bad of an update and I'll try to keep new posts coming more regularly to keep me making progress on all of this.