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Sorry, don't have any alliteration for the force, at least yet... So far it's the 2019 Beginner Set and A Game of Armored Combat, but I'm hoping to add in a lance or three when able... Oh yeah, totally forgot, I do also have some metal minis that will be added in over time as well (figured I'd get started on the new CGL plastics so I could teach myself edge highlighting...) Starting off, we have the lovely and wonderful Griffon! Originally the plan was to go with Crescent Hawks for colours, and I might stick with such, but for now I'm having fun with just blue and grey, so who knows where things will go from here... In all honesty, I'm probably going to go with a combination of blue, medium grey, and light grey for colours, as they seem to play together well enough. Wolverine from the Beginner Box is prepped and ready to go, while the AGoAC minis were primed earlier today, and will see prep tomorrow. Eventually they'll see some OpFor that's based off of the Kell Hounds colours, but that's an unknown amount of time from now. Yup, classic red vs blue - makes life reasonably easy to spot what's what on the table.

Note: This was formerly a Clan Hell's Horses thread, but they're being moved over into Sea Foxes because I greatly prefer their look... Hence why the sudden shift after several posts. Witty title not found. Honestly couldn't think of one, not even a unit name. I blame cramped up from assembly paws. Didn't want to go with "rides again" or something, that feels too silly... or something A while back another forum member here sent me what I've playfully called a "welcome back to the hobby" package which had a number of things in it, but specific to this thread would be five mechs - A Masakari Prime (aka Warhawk), Black Hawk Prime (aka Nova), Ryoken Prime (aka Stormcrow), Uller Prime (aka Kit fox), and Puma Prime (aka Adder). Now that I have an extra 3' of hobbying space that I'm hoping will be reserved as a "build-out" area, I figured it was best to get that particular use started out. But first, a soft lil "farewell, but this is not goodbye" set of pics to the previous use of the space - a hobby I was involved heavily in for over five years, and will return to at some point, but for the time being it just wasn't providing much in the way of joy. Skip the spoiler if not interested Okay, now what we're all really here for, the minis. ^As previously mentioned, I have enough to make an initial star of mechs. For those that don't know BattleTech, a star is what the clans use for their unit sizing. In this case, it's five mechs. ^First three, assembled! ^Ryoken/Stormcrow ^Blackhawk/Nova Uller/Kit Fox The other two will see assembly once my paws stop feeling so cramped up from holding tiny, tiny pieces and cleaning many mold lines... In short, things begin. Oh, and odds are I'll be going with Alpha Keshik for the paintjob. Sure, it's the "traditional" colour for them, and it's also hot rodder's delight, but eh. Such is life 😛

I hadn’t originally planned to do a work in progress on this as after a certain amount of time I kinda sputter out on them. But after I started thinking about it I decided to go ahead and do it. This is my home brewed Mercenary company the Blue Ravens. The mechs are in various stages of completion. First up is the Famous or infamous, Timberwolf AKA Mad cat. I confess that my freehand is not the greatest, but at least you can tell it’s a mouth. Next up is the Warbow the model for this one is a hybrid of a Warhammer and a Longbow. With the way the missile launchers look I’m attempting to give it a warplane look to a certain degree. and finally we have the Blackknight, a kintaro and a Catapult. Thankyou for looking!

The Blue Ravens are my home brewed mercenary company for Alpha Strike. I’ve have several mechs in a WIP thread however I do have a lance worth of finished models already I just haven’t taken the time to post them. These models have been 3d printed as have the bases which are 45mm with the models being in 6mm scale. first up is the hard hitting Warhammer 2C it does have a pair of custom made guns to make it looks a bit more unique. This thing is intended to be the Commanders personal ride during the Clan invasion after he manages to defeat its original owner in 1v1 combat at the cost of his own mech. Next up we have a marauder. This was actually a partial failure when it was printed. So I ended up cutting the cannon off my first failed custom Warhammer 2c and made one good mech out of the two. Next up is a Regular old Warhammer nothing special here. Save the biggest for last a 100 ton King Crab. Thankyou for Looking!

I painted the clan side of the recent Battletech kickstarter as clan novacat. There will be a part 2 when I get more mechs. Gladiator Nova and madcat Mongrels Puma and ryoken Dragonflys

These old Battletech miniatures were painted using some fairly recent techniques I’ve generally seen referred to as “Comic Book Style Painting.” In addition to normal dark lining, I added dark edging to areas that would normally be the highest highlights on the minis. This creates an interesting cell shaded effect. These particular minis were painted to match the old (and adequagely cheesy) Battletech Cartoons. Sometimes, they would forgo normal animation to employ then-state-of-the-art computer generated animation with everything outlined in green. This is why these minis are all in a transition state between the two styles.

The Black Widows independent company, part of the mercenary Wolf's Dragoons. In full cheesy-80s-action-movie fashion, they're a Dirty Dozen-style group of criminals and misfits molded by Capt. Natasha Kerensky into one of the most feared fighting forces in known space. Command Lance Fire Lance Recon Lance And because these are all canon characters, the pilots' names are marked.

Some stuff from my Clan Jade Falcon forces I finished a while back, and a Turkina finished more recently.

Painted in the colors of Clan Goliath Scorpion, Delta Galaxy.

The first few in what will eventually be a reinforced company from the Capellan Confederation's Warrior House Imarra: A Raven and a Yu Huang.

I don't play them that often these days, but the Northwind Highlanders mercenary regiments will always build a dear place in my heart, as their sourcebook was one of the very first Battletech products I ever bought. I'm especially happy with how the Locust turned out.

From the new Game of Armored Combat box, an Awesome painted in the colors of the Sixth Legion of the Marian Hegemony. Space Romans in giant robots!

So I don't know much about Battletech, more of a fantasy guy myself, but I do like these figures which are some Mech Warriors that were sculpted back in the eighties by Bob Charette that Ral Partha just recently re-released. They have eight per pack with different poses, and I got these first from the Liao Faction/Clan/Family. Going to eventually get through the whole group and I'll eventually photograph the whole group together, which is why I haven't based them yet. I've been told these are the pilots for the Mechs and it's very hot in the cockpit, which is why they are pretty scantily clad. These are eighties Partha, so they are some pretty small 25mm sized figures. More to come later as I finish them! Enjoy!

FINALLY back in a WarShip frame of mind, so here we go! First up is the Essex-class CDS Architeuthis: Up next is Alliance Naval Star, consisting of the Nightlord-class CSR Lynn McKenna, Essex-class CSR Marshal Ney and CSR Mulhacén, Whirlwind-class CSR William Adams, and Fredasa-class CSR Kutkh.

These are the first four BattleTech miniatures I've painted this year. They have been painted to tabletop quality. The WIP for them is over here. The four miniatures featured here are: (from left to right) Catalyst Game Labs Catapult, plastic, from the Fire Lance Pack. Iron Wind Metals 20-211, Archer ARC-8M, metal (standing in for an Archer ARC-2R). Iron Wind Metals 20-200, Griffin GRF-6S, metal (standing in for a Griffin GRF-3M). Catalyst Game Labs Cyclops, plastic, from the Fire Lance Pack. They are painted in the parade scheme of the Free Worlds League Marik Militia: "purple, with highlights in red on the right side, and in blue on the left". For an idea of size, here's the obligatory picture with Sir Forscale: Individual pictures of the minis are hidden under spoilers. Archer: Catapult: Cyclops: Griffin: The two metal miniatures have been based using Iron Wind Metals hex bases. The plastic minis were removed from their integral bases and based on Proxie Model hex bases. The basing is simply paver sand glued down with superglue and painted. The paints used were: (all Reaper paints) Primary purple: Amethyst Purple, highlighted with Sorcerous Mist and Spectral White Blue accents: Cyan Blue, highlighted with Ultramarine Highlight Red accents: Phoenix Red, highlighted with Fire Orange Weapon barrels: Honed Steel, highlighted with Blade Steel, Filigree Silver, and Shining Mithril Joints and other metals: Tarnished Steel, highlighted with Blade Steel, Filigree Silver, and Shining Mithril Hands and other "rubber" parts: Stone Grey, highlighted with Weathered Stone Cockpits: Adamantium Black, highlighted with Pearl White and Vallejo Metal Medium Base sand: Yellowed Ivory, highlighted with Creamy Ivory Base rim: Gem Purple Wash: A mix of Brown Wash and Flow Improver As noted in the WIP thread: There are some mold lines that didn't get filed down. There is some detail that should probably have been enhanced (for example, filing down more on the Griffin's missile pod and recreating that detail, or drilling some of the missile launcher holes deeper). Some detail in the Archer's missile launchers was obscured by CA glue. (Gluing on the missile launcher doors was painful.) When the Catapult was removed from its integral base, its outside toes were mangled. As always, constructive criticism and comments are welcome. I won't be doing further work on these minis (unless I break one) but I can always use advice for painting future minis.

BattleTech is one of my long time loves for games and it's what got me into the miniature hobby. I have actually been avoiding painting my BattleTech minis for a while so I'm hoping this will give me some amount of momentum. The four miniatures featured in this WIP thread are, from left to right: Catalyst Game Labs Cyclops, plastic, from the Fire Lance Pack. Iron Wind Metals 20-200, Griffin GRF-6S, metal (standing in for a Griffin GRF-3M). Iron Wind Metals 20-211, Archer ARC-8M, metal (standing in for an Archer ARC-2R). Catalyst Game Labs Catapult, plastic, from the Fire Lance Pack. These make up the Fire Lance of the Marik Militia company I have painting off-and-on (mostly off). The colors of the Marik Militia are purple, with blue highlights on one side and red highlights on another. Here's an example I've already painted: The metal minis have been based using Iron Wind Metals hex bases. The plastic minis have been removed from their integral plastic bases and based on Proxie Models plastic hex bases. All of the minis have been glued via glue gun onto little holders I made from spare parts (PVC pipe, a wooden dowel, and washers). These are mounted via magnets on my normal painting holders (plastic tubes with a squared base). The point of the holders is for easy removal from the holders for photography. (This was actually my first time using a glue gun so if some of the minis look crooked compared to the base, that's why.) The minis have been primed white using Reaper Brush-On Primer and then painted with a mix of Brown Liner, Brush-On Sealer, and water to show details. (All of them but the Archer were painted using a 1:2 mix of Brown Liner and Brush-On Sealer. The Archer was painted using a 1:1:1 mix of Brown Liner, Brush-On Sealer, and water.) The bases have been covered (or filled) with paver sand glued down with superglue. (I'm pretty sure I picked this up from @Weird-O.) Here's an obligatory picture with Sir Forscale: I've included pictures of the minis in spoilers: Archer Catapult Cyclops Griffin I'm going to point some of the obvious mistakes to get those out of the way: There are some mold lines that didn't get filed down. There is some detail that should probably have been enhanced (for example, filing down more on the Griffin's missile pod and recreating that detail, or drilling some of the missile launcher holes deeper). Some detail in the Archer's missile launchers has been obscured by CA glue and will need to be recreated with paint. (Gluing on the missile launcher doors was painful.) When the Catapult was removed from its integral base, it's outside toes were mangled. Neither of the metal minis are pinned. This is a pretty big mistake and will be painful if either of then fall. Some of these mistakes won't be addressed. I'm going to live with that. So let's talk painting. The guiding principle, beyond the Marik Militia parade scheme is "rule of cool". It doesn't make sense for weapon barrels and joints to be metallic but it looks cool. The planned colors are: Primary purple: Amethyst Purple Blue accents: Cyan Blue Red accents: Phoenix Red Weapon barrels: Honed Steel, enhanced with the Bones metallics Joints: Tarnished Steel, enhanced with the Bones metallics Hands and other rubbers: Stone Grey Base sand: Yellowed Ivory Base rim: Gem Purple I'm still trying to decide the cockpit glass color. On the other Marik Militia minis I've painted (like the Black Knight above), I've just used Adamantium Black. (An aside about base rims: When I paint BattleTech minis associated with a particular fashion, I paint the rim of the base a color based on the faction. Since the Marik Militia are part of the Free Worlds League Military (except for when the League doesn't exist), the base color is purple. I have a spreadsheet of faction colors I made some time ago, before the Bones paints came out. It uses some HD paints that aren't going to be rereleased, so I'll need to revisit that.) The challenge here is to paint all four minis to tabletop, in a timely manner, and without drybrushing (except the base sand, which will be drybrushed). Let's see if I can finish this by, say, the end of July.

Some Battletech stuff, painted in the colors of the Atrean Dragoons of the Free Worlds League. Orion: Trebaruna: Carronade:

So.. this is happening. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1141913215/mech-cockpit-simulator I'm not sure what I can say about this that isn't said on the page; other than it looks like a sheet management toy that could be a lot of fun to mess with. I'll let you guys judge effectiveness for yourselves. ;p

We all started somewhere. This is the first miniature I ever painted. (I think this was in May 2016.) This is a plastic Dervish for BattleTech from the then-current introductory box set. (click on the pictures for larger versions) This was painted using Privateer P3 paints (it's what my friend had at the time) based roughly on the mountain camouflage seen on this miniature on Camo Specs Online. I believe the colors are Rucksack Tan for the base, Bootstrap Leather for the camo stripes, and Arcane Blue for the cockpit. The basing is a simple flock and I remember having problems with it. (In fact, I still have problems with flock, which is why I try to avoid it.) I don't remember much else. It's been about three years (and still less than a hundred minis) since then. I'd say I've improved since then. (Or at least I hope I have!)

Been working on my Star League collection for a long time, in dribs and drabs. I think I've actually broken the halfway point, but more importantly, I've actually gotten one of the component companies of my 146th Dragoon Regiment army finished. So without further ado, here's my command company: The Black Knight is a very popular and effective machine for SLDF commanders that still find themselves on the actual battlefield on a regular basis. The Command 'Mech quirk aids in doing the actual job of command, while the 'mech's legendary toughness and solid firepower do a good job at keeping said commander alive during trouble and eliminating that trouble, respectively. The Mackie and Guillotine are no-nonsense bodyguards, with one being a giant imposing brute to draw fire(and eliminate it), while the other is a maneuverable brute to outflank attackers(and eliminate them). The Falcon provides local reconnaissance, and a mobile threat to keep headhunters wary. It should be noted that the presence of two Beagle Probes makes this a very hard lance to ambush, allows the commander to monitor several remote sensors simultaneously, and(in Alpha Strike) spot for very accurate artillery support. Though part of the Command Lance, the fifth member rarely fights alongside them, instead being told by his boss to take his Exterminator and "Go thataway *gestures vaguely in the direction of the enemy* and be a pain in someone else's behind." He then proceeds to do exactly that, seeking out supply caches, convoys, and other soft targets to hit. The 146th is not a Royal regiment, so it is very unlikely that this mech is one of those equipped with the stealth systems that make Exterminators so famous, so actually taking on enemy command lances is unlikely except in the most favorable conditions. Second Lance is a much less subtle formation, existing solely to bring the larger two members of the lance to the battlefield. The two Sniper pieces carried by Helepolis BattleMechs don't represent the most powerful artillery battery out there, but mounting them on mechs does provide them with notable advantages. They can move through any terrain other mechs can, allowing them to keep up with their compatriots even in situations where vehicular or towed guns would get left behind. The armor and conventional firepower of a Helepolis means they don't need near as Mich of an escort as other batteries. Finally, their armor makes them better able to handle counter-battery fire. While I wouldn't try to sit still and engage in an artillery duel, being able to tank even a Long Tom hit or two before being forced to move can make a big difference when your side is depending on every shell you can send downrange. After all that, the other two mechs might almost seem like afterthoughts, but the Kintaro makes for an effective and mobile bodyguard(especially when its NARC boosts the effectiveness of the Helepolis's own weapons), and the Hermes' flamer can create smoke cover. It is also an excellent scout/spotter, being one of the fastest mechs in the unit. I say "one of", because every mech in this next lance easily claims that title by a huge margin. You want recon, here's your recon. Two Phoenix Hawks, one Stinger and one Wasp make for a deadly quartet of LAMs, able to perform scout or strike missions all along a HUGE battlefield. They cannot engage in pitched combat against ground or air forces, but their mere presence means that opposing forces cannot leave anything unguarded, lest it be destroyed as quickly as it is found. If I'm using the WSP-100 model, then in permissive air environments the Wasp can circle the battlefield at high altitude, using a TAG pod in the bomb bay to light up targets for guided munitions.

Behold...Mjödnir!