Federated Suns Caselton Militia

So I want to cover my Caselton Militia in some detail in this post.  It's a Federated Suns world in the Robinson Operations Area of the Draconis March. It's a fairly minor system that really only has value as being located near Tikonov,  It's too cold and dry for major crops and has some minerals but not enough for exports.  This made it a perfect location for a DIY militia unit.

So first up we have the planetary ruler, Duke Robert Hendricks, whose family has ruled the system since early in the First Succession War.  Twice the world was occupied by the Capellans which has led to a strong anti-Liao sentiment across the planet.  Over time the Hendricks family has gained many of the positions of authority in business, government, and military as it grown larger and larger.  Service to the Federated Suns has always been a part of the family with many members serving in the various branches of the Federated Suns Military or the local militia.

 

The Caselton Militia is closely tied to Duke Robert Hendricks.  His uncle, Major Paul Hendricks, commands the heaviest force on the planet, the 38th Mech Defense Battalion.  This force is slightly under strength with Charlie Company currently consisting of only a single lance.  While the force is mainly light and medium mechs, the Duke spent generously to get a lance of Marauder II's to form the battalion command lance.  The force is supported by the 128th Armored Defense Battalion which consists of a company of heavy tanks, a support company, and an artillery / LRM/SRM carrier company, and the 443rd Reconnaissance Battalion which consists of a hover tank company and two companies of scout vehicles and mechanized infantry.  The defense force also can call upon a company of the 5022nd Support Battalion which consists of MASH units, engineers, and a logistics platoon.

So that's the expansion of the Caselton Militia so far.  I still want to finish off that 3rd Company but it'll come in time.  Hope you all enjoyed it and next up should be a recap of an expedition by the 8th Donegal Guard.  I'll be fielding a full three lance company of light mechs to see about a strike on some Marik Militia in the Croot System.  See you all next time.

Well, it's been a while

Things got a bit busy with work during the summer with a transfer to a different store which currently includes a hour long commute each way.  This has ate up a lot of my hobby time and I've not got to play a game in quite some time.  While I did manage to get some small progress here and there, none of them were really blog worthy in size.  But now that there have been quite a bit of progress over time, it's time to post some updates.

First of all, my Davion Caselton Militia.  The single mech company with command mech and supporting armor and infantry, the unit has grown to include a 2nd company, a start of a third, and a battalion command lance.  The support has gone from an armor battalion with 2 companies of recon/infantry to include an artillery company and a logistics company of engineers, MASH vehicles, and construction vehicles/mechs.

There is still some work to do on the artillery company and the support company, but the whole is coming along nicely.  I still need to come up with 2 more lances of mechs and a command mech to finish off the 3rd company of the mech battalion.  I've also been working on the fluff for the unit which will be covered in a later post.

I've also started on a new unit, the 7th Arkab.  I need one more mech to finish off the battalion and I need to base 2 lances of GQ half-tracks for 2 platoons of infantry to finish off the support forces.  Again, need to finish painting several of these units but I'm happy with the color scheme over all which is based on the Arkab entry in the CBT Camo Specs book.

There was also some terrain added to the collection but this will also be in a different post in the future.

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.

BattleTech Terrain (Because it's not all just hexmaps)

So I want to spend this post covering my BattleTech Terrain.

Please address all payments to ComStar, no WoBblies allowed

  First up is the one of the two I'm most happy with how it came out.  This is my HPG Station which makes a great objective.  It started out as a GI Joe MASS device from one of the DVD and figure sets they released a number of years back.  I then added some 40K bits and such and I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out.

We'll get it in orbit for you

Next up is my bit of LosTech which also makes a great objective for a game.  This is my Slingshot Mk.IV Mobile Satellite Launch Platform.  I wholly made this up but as I picture it in my head it dates back to the early days of the Terran Hegemony and was created to launch various satellites into orbit on colony worlds.  This was created from This is made from part of a GI Joe vehicle, the radar option from the AA Walker from the Weird War part of my former British Bolt Action, some 40K bits, and a 1/400 Delta II Rocket with Launch Pad.

Hmm, what shall we make today?

Next up is my factory block that was created from a switch box and some 40K bits.  Nothing stellar here but it works pretty well for what it's suppose to represent.

From here we'll move on to a power station and a warehouse.  The Power Station is a mix of Star Wars bits from two different scales/systems and then some 40K bits.  The warehouse is made from 40K bits entirely.

Then we have my oil tanks.  These were originally the containers that 40K basing bits came in and I flipped them over to make the tanks out of them.

Last up is what I consider my scatter terrain but it's mostly all based on hex bases so could be used on a hex map as well.  There are 4 sensor towers, 2 bunkers, 6 AA laser towers and 2 missile towers.  The AA towers are Star Wars bits and the rest come from 40K bits.

Terrain being used in the infamous UrbanMech Lance vs UrbanMech Lance

So that is all of my BattleTech terrain.  I'd like to do some more but need to figure out some ideas on what I need to find to make it or how to re-purpose some of what I already have.  Hope you all enjoyed seeing it as I had in putting it all together and I'll see you all next time.

Mechs That I Love And Hate

So I'm going to do something a bit different this time.  I'm going to talk about my few favorite mechs and then a few I can't stand.  Because the potential for mechs to hate goes up astronomically from the Clan Invasion onward and in keeping with the theme of 3025, all these mechs will be available in some variant in 3025.

First up is the mech that made me fall in love with the Battletech universe, the Wolverine.  When I was flipping through the CamoSpecs book, this is the mech that caught my eye.  I loved the look of it and have been a fan of the mech ever since.  That said, I'm not a fan of the look of the -8 versions that they released to get around the whole Unseen mechs debacle.  The newest sculpt in the new box set is a lot closer to the original but I'll always love that first version best.  It's a hearty designed medium mech with decent speed and maneuverability while still having pretty decent firepower.  The -6M and -6R are the versions I'm most likely to be fielding when I get this mech on the tabletop.

Second is going to be the Griffin.  Again that unseen aesthetic that really just clicks with me, and it was lucky enough that it's redesign to get it back as a Seen mech still came out nicely.  Again, another work horse medium mech with a bit more long range firepower this time.  It's an interesting mech that has the bonus of getting one of the coolest arctic color schemes I've seen in the CamoSpecs book (enough so that I actually commissioned a few mechs to be done in it that will appear down the road on the blog).  It also gets plenty of interesting fluff around it with the way it's used in the Lyran Commonwealth on Tharkad as guard mechs inside the throne room.

Last for the mechs that I love, we're going to look at the Hatchetman.  A light mech this time with a very unique look to it and a fluff that reads like it belongs in a sci-fi version of The Warriors movie.  It doesn't do quite as well on the table top, for me at least, but it's a fun mech with a great look and a great aesthetic.  Going into production in 3023 though has had me keep it just in my Donegal Guard unit as 2 years didn't seem reasonable enough to have it available as captured salvage in my Eridani Light Horse or Davion units.

And now moving on to the mechs I can't stand.  I will admit that this list is almost primarily driven by how they look and appeal to me.  I don't care how useful it might be on the table top, if I can't stand the look of it or at least be neutral toward it, I'm not going to get the mech.

First up is going to be the Crab.  I just can never get past the fact that it looks like it came out of a really bad low budget 1930's space fiction.  The design choices just do nothing for me and I just never got past that with this mech.  It's weapon load looks like it'd be a good table top brawler, but man, is it an ugly mech.

Second is going to be the Charger.  This one is not only an unappealing mech visually to me, it's also pretty useless as a mech as well with a horrendous weapons load out (seriously, an Assault Mech armed only with 5 small lasers?  How did this even get produced) that would make punching seem more effective than shooting..  That these things remained in production should be considered a war crime in the Inner Sphere.

And rounding out at number three we have the Goliath.  This one never made sense to me with it's let's take a slow assault mech and make it even slower and harder to use by giving it more legs, or taking an assault tank and giving it really long legs instead of tracks so everyone can see it now to target it.  It has the fire power of a heavy mech, the speed of an assault mech, and the maneuverability of a tired snail.  That any of these survived is a testament to the size of the Inner Sphere as it proves some of these can get deployed to a planet where they'll never see meaningful combat.

So there is my list of favorite and least favorite mechs in the 2025 part of the time frame.  Feel free to toss in agreements or disagreements in the comments.  Also, honorable mentions that just didn't make the cute for favorite mechs include the Valkyrie, Urbanmech, Stalker, Phoenix Hawk, and the Warhammer.  I look forward to seeing how my list matches up to those of you out there and I'll see you all next time.

Ghost Bears

So we're slipping a bit forward in time here I guess to cover this force.  I'm not a huge fan of the Clan invasion part of the Battletech Timeline.  It has some interesting stuff happens, and definitely leads to a tech revival in the Inner Sphere but there are parts of it that just rub me the wrong way.  Anyway, I'll get into all that in another post. Of all the Clans, Ghost Bear is the one that I like the most from a fluff perspective, though I'll admit that Snow Raven is a pretty close second.

Alpha Galaxy Insignia

1st Bear Guards Cluster (The Rage), Alpha Galaxy
Star Colonel Paul Bekker, Timberwolf (Madcat)

312th Assault Trinary
Star Captain Eddard Jamieson, Novacat

From left to right, 312th Assault Trinary, 23rd Support Binary, and 144th Provisional Garrison Trinary

Alpha Star
Star Commander Rachael Baird, Kingfisher
    Tomas Sarnow, Warhawk (Masakari)
    Lucian Pyne, Hellbringer (Loki)
    Coleen Groenewold, Summoner (Thor)
    Oscar Esterhaus, Mad Dog (Vulture)

Bravo Star
Star Commander Freyja Wycliffe, Grizzly
    Simon Paulk, Mad Dog (Vulture)
    Fionna Giscard, Timberwolf (Madcat)
    Wilhelm Forsythe, Novacat
    Iroku Ashigara, Timberwolf (Madcat)

Charlie Star
Star Commander Jayne Cardones, Timberwolf (Madcat)
    Hideoshi Nakamura, Blackhawk
    Kaitrin Ericsson, Solitaire
    Manfred Courvosier, Blackhawk
    Thorgeir Gaerwulf, Bearcub

23rd Elemental Support Binary
Star Captain Sarah Kabrinsky

Alpha Elemental Star
Star Commander Klaus Danitov
    5 Elemental Points

Bravo Elemental Star
Star Commander Travis Garroway
    5 Elemental Points

44th Provisional Garrison Cluster

144th Provisional Garrison Trinary
Star Captain Douglas Foyle

Alpha Star
Star Commander Paul Milne, Dragonfly
    Mad Dog (Vulture)
    Piranha
    Piranha
    Piranha

Bravo Star
Star Commander Nicholas Paulk, Timberwolf (Madcat)
    Summoner (Thor)
     Kingfisher
     Turkina
     Hellfire

Charlie Star
Star Commander Maria Jamieson, Marauder
    Gallowglas
    Flashman
    Flashman
    Banshee

So that's my Ghost Bear force in it's entirety.  Since I normally only get to play against Cheef, this unit has barely ever seen the table top, maybe once or twice in a game Rob or Screech was involved in.  It's a nice little force that gives some options from playing at the start of the Clan Invasion to much later in the timeline with the Pirahnas in the one Star.  It's an interesting mech that I got mainly to deal with the infantry that I know Cheef will field if we ever play that far up the timeline.  So that's all for now, and I'll see you all next time.

8th Donegal Guard

So this installment will be my 8th Donegal Guard Regiment.  I need to see about adding a Regimental Command team to it but that's down the road and will be considered another day.  While containing a number of heavy and assault mechs so common in Lyran service, it also has plenty of lighter forces for scouting and urban defense.  While having a lot of common mechs, I also included a fair number of mechs that are common in Marik, Liao, and Kurita service as the 8th was stationed commonly in the Skye region which was raided and staged raids from quite regularly and salvaged mechs would be common.

Donegal Brigade of Guard Insignia

 8th Donegal Guard Regiment
Colonel Reginald Sharpe

1st Battalion on the Left, 2nd Battalion on the Right

1st Battalion
Command Lance
*    Major Curtis Westbrook, Awesome
*    1st Lt. James Lannister, Black Knight
*    2nd Lt. Matthew Green, Victor
*    2nd Lt. Katherine Wright, Jagermech

A Company
First Lance
*    Captain Geoffrey Harroldson, Archer
*    1st Lt. Sarah Dorian, Quickdraw
*    Sinclair Halstead, Quickdraw
*    Clarissa Allenby, Dervish
Second Lance
*    2nd Lt. Colleen Tavish, Crusader
*    Rachael O'Connelly, Catapult
*    Miroki Aioba, Catapult
*    Michael Dunn, Trebuchet
Third Lance
*    2nd Lt. Lloyd Paulson, Crusader
*    Karen Owens, Catapult
*    Phillip Tannerman, Catapult
*    David Veerland, Trebuchet

B Company
First Lance
*    Captain Danae Adams, Hatchetman
*    1st Lt. Paula Matthews, Hunchback
*    Xavier Stoughton,  Hunchback
*    Kevin Barrows, Wasp
Second Lance
*    2nd Lt. Peter Laerniss, Hatchetman
*    Scott Hayes, Hatchetman
*    Oliva Webster, Hatchetman
*    Edmund Fitzhugh, Hatchetman
Third Lance
*    2nd Lt. Ian Coleman, Shadowhawk
*    Catelyn Hale, Shadowhawk
*    Jennifer Squires, Firestarter
*    Richard Groebben, Firestarter

C Company
First Lance
*    Captain Octavius Kreuger, Griffin
*    1st Lt. Nicole Summers, Valkyrie
*    Reginald Fisher, Valkyrie
*    Zachary Danvers, Jenner
Second Lance
*    2nd Lt. Rebecca Norman, Panther
*    Abigail Osborne, Panther
*    Dylan Baines, Javelin
*    Crystal Walker, Javelin
Third Lance
*    2nd Lt. Victor Hamilton, Dervish
*    Timothy Wilkes, Whitworth
*    Sharon Kilralry, Whitworth
*    Darius Barnes, Whitworth

Insignia for the 8th Donegal Guards, the "Mud Wrestlers"

2nd Battalion
Command Lance
*    Major Jessica Epps, Atlas
*    1st Lt. Tobin Hausmann, Zeus
*    2nd Lt. Sarah Mayhew, Zeus
*    2nd Lt. Vincent Conroy, Guillotine

D Company
1st Lance
*    Captain Peter Fitzcairn, Battlemaster
*    1st Lt. Sonja McTavish, Thunderbolt
*    Joseph Hyde, Dragon
*    Stephen St. Jaimes, Dragon
2nd Lance
*    2nd Lt. Paul Kearns, Griffin
*    Karen Tierny, Cicada
*    James Bruce, Cidada
*    Sean Ceirdwyn, Commando
3rd Lance
*    2nd Lt. Andrew Fisher, Jaegermech
*    Emily Bancroft, Trebuchet
*    Reginald Beckett, Trebuchet
*    Paul O'Sullivan, Blackjack

E Company
First Lance
*    Captain Ingrid Lowenstein, Orion
*    1st Lt. Bryan Mallister, Warhammer
*    William Gibson, Warhammer
*    Melissa Rabens, Warhammer
Second Lance
*    2nd Lt. Ian MacIntyre, Flashman
*    Clarissa Waterford, Grasshopper
*    Eric MacAllister, Grasshopper
*    Wendi Loomis, Grasshopper
Third Lance
*    2nd Lt. Nicholas Warrington, Battlemaster
*    Mark Immelman, Archer
*    Simone Hawthorne, Exterminator
*    Howard Laitnier, Exterminator

F Company
First Lance
*    Captain Jessica Dorsett, Atlas
*    1st Lt. Oliver McGinely, Atlas
*    Andrew Vortemann, Rifleman
*    Eric Carson, Rifleman
Second Lance
*    2nd Lt. Howard Anderson, Thug
*    Erica Sullivan, Stalker
*    Thomas Croft, Stalker
*    Cordelia Somners, Stalker
Third Lance
*    2nd Lt. Edward Hathaway, Griffin
*    Walther Zeiss, Griffin
*    Lise Dorsch, Wolverine
*    Heinrich Weiss, Wolverine

3rd Battalion

3rd Battalion
Command Lance
*    Captain Cole Lindon, Battlemaster
*    Lt. Lindsey Bartham, Cyclops
*    Ian Gallagher, Highlander
*    Edward Woods, Highlander

G Company
First Lance
*    Lt. Paul Vincetti, Awesome
*    Karla Kristofferson, Ostroc
*    Margaret Lancaster, Ostroc
*    Quentin Greene, Ostroc
Second Lance
*    Lt. Veronica Hamilton, Longbow
*    Oliver Mattis, Catapult
*    Samuel Hardies, Catapult
*    Emily Lowes, Catapult
Third Lance
*    Lt. Timothy Queens, Thunderbolt
*    Fran Owenby, Trebuchet
*    Burke Kramaer, Trebuchet
*    Linnet Urcher, Trebuchet

H Company
First Lance
*    Lt. Jean Paul Etienne, Crockett
*    Lincoln Georges, Zeus
*    Penelope Hardin, Victor
*    Donald Blakes, Catapult
Second Lance
*    Lt. Allison Stein, Hunchback
*    Tomas Georges, Hunchback
*    Jacques Rocheambeau, Blackjack
*    Allen Rodgers, Blackjack
Third Lance
*    Lt. Dane Halleck, Wasp
*    Portia Gibbons, Wasp
*    Apollo Janson, Stinger
*    Ralph Lewiston, Stinger

I Company
First Lance
*    Lt. Amanda Huxley, Hussar
*    Steven Gordon, Mercury
*    Jeremy Gionaelli, Mercury
*    Elizabeth Eisner, Mercury
Second Lance
*    Lt. Godfried Magnusson, Cicada
*    Julianne Hill, Valkyrie
*    Billy Campbell, Assassin
*    Jenny Levine, Assassin
Third Lance
*    Lt. Cliffford Seccord, Phoenix Hawk LAM
*    Paula Johnston, Phoenix Hawk LAM
*    Timothy Connelly, Phoenix Hawk LAM
*    Calvin Daulton, Phoenix Hawk LAM

Donegal Guards picture from CamoSpecs book

So that's my Lyran regiment which in recent history saw action here.  It's an interesting unit in an Inner Sphere realm with a number of interesting units.  It's a pretty easy paint scheme doing the gray/blue over black and a good ink wash over it.  It is also my first time using fall basing which I think looks really good with the dark color scheme.  Anyway, thanks for coming by and I'll see you all next time.