"Trojan Horses" (Luthien Scenario Pack): Otomo Heavy Lance

Ta-daaa! An (minor) update: customs was friendly enough to finally let me have my miniatures. Heavy lance assembled and ready for painting.

Thunderbolt, Archer, Crusader and Warhammer, all metal unseen  minis from Ral Partha.

"Trojan Horses" (Luthien Scenario Pack): 1st Jaguar Guards Bravo Assault Star

My original plan was to always do one Lance of Inner Sphere Mechs and one Star of Clan Mechs, alternating between the two factions. Thanks to German Customs (it seems) my arrival of Inner Sphere reinforcements has been delayed. In order not to waste time, I instead build up my next Star of Smoke Jaguar Mechs. Those are a mix of old Ral Partha sculpts, newer Iron Wind Metals Omni Mech parts (SRM 6s on the Man O' War, Pulse Laser muzzles on the Nobori-Nin) and a plastic figure from 2nd edition Citytech. There was some minor conversion work on the Nobori-Nin, to bring it to "B" configuration standards (see his arms in foreground).

from left to right:
Gargoyle (Man O' War)
Summoner (Thor)
Huntsman (Nobori-Nin)
Hellbringer (Loki)
Nova (Black Hawk)

by the time of posting those are already primed and ready for painting.

Battletech turn based PC game Kickstarter went live

So, its finally online: the Kickstarter project for a new turn-based PC game (also for Mac and Linux) set in the Battletech 3025 era. It's gonna take a little while, but I am really looking forward to this

battletech Kickstarter project link

1st Jaguar Guards Command Star finished, group shot

The completed Command Star:

From left to right:

Star Colonel Fryne in a "Dire Wolf (Daishi) Prime"
Mechwarrior Nelson in a "Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) Prime" 
Mechwarrior Velika in a "Storm Crow (Ryoken) Prime"
Mechwarrior Traine in a "Hellbringer (Loki) Prime" 

Mechwarrior Marva in a "Mad Dog (Vulture) Prime"

1st Jaguar Guards Command Star "Loki" Mech

Today I have put final touches onto my "Loki" Mech for the 1st Jaguar Guard's Command Star.

With all five miniatures painted, that one is completed. Here are  a couple of shots from the miniature (old Ral Partha sculpt)..

1st Jaguar Guards Command Star "Daishi" Mech

Another week has passed, another Mech has been finished. This time its one more plastic figure from the old Citytech boxed set (2nd Edition). The "Daish" is the heaviest Mech those clanners are going to throw against the defenders of House Kurita.

 

 

 

 

1st Jaguar Guards Command Star "Vulture" Mech

The last weekend was busy. I had to attend various family related visits and Sunday also is our regular 40k gaming afternoon. Nonetheless, with no further delay here it is: another Mech for my Smoke Jaguar forces, a "Vulture".

Actually, this is a kitbash of the old Ral Partha arms and legs, combined with the newer re-sculpt parts of Iron Wind Metals' Vulture (centre torso, left and right missile bays).

How do you like it?

400,000 views - what's going to come in the future

Hi everybody. So, I came home today and here it is: 400,000 views on my humble little blog about miniatures and gaming...

Thanks a lot to each and every one out there, the followers as well as those that do return every now and then without actively following my progress. I really appreciate your comments, so keep them coming, please! ^^

What am I going to release in the future? Well, you can expect at least more of those three topics in the near future:

-more Classic Battletech and Alpha Strike,
-more 40k Rogue Trader
and
-Aliens Vs Predator Board Game.

Work on diverse 20mm projects is at a hold at this moment since I cannot work too many projects at once. But there will be a return onto those subjects, too!

My best wishes to all of you,

Chris

1st Jaguar Guards Command Star "Ryoken" Mech

Thanks to a few days off I found plenty of time to spend it on the table, painting more figures. The "Ryoken" is the next one finished for my 1st Jaguar Guards Command Star. The miniature is the old Ral Partha sculpt.

Enjoy.

 

 

1st Jaguar Guards Command Star "Mad Cat" Mech

This plastic Citytech "Mad Cat" (Timberwolf) is the first tester for the scheme I am going to paint my 1st Jaguar Guard Stars in.

According to Camospecs the Mechs of Beta Galaxy are painted in "a multilayered grey camouflage consisting of horizontal streaks, meant to represent a mist. Bloodnamed warriors paint large felid eyes on the torso of their 'Mechs, and may even add other felid features as well. Kills are marked by smaller pairs of eyes placed randomly on the 'Mech, though some warriors have taken to placing them near the weapons which delivered the final blow. The Elementals of Beta Galaxy have been seen in both this scheme and the traditional jaguar spot camo."

I wasn't sure about the "felid eyes" part. I looked at the painted examples provided on Camospecs and I did not really like that feature of the scheme, so I left it off.

Also, thinking of Luthien being the capital world of the Draconis Combine, cityfighting would more or less take place no matter what and that lead me to the conclusion that I could turn the "streaks representing mist" into a nice urban camo pattern.

Camospecs also painted the cockpit glass in blue which to me didn't make the most aggressive of all invading clans look as menacing as I would imagine them. I therefore turned those into an evil and dangerous looking red tone. I hope you like it.

Otomo Command Lance finished, group shot

I just realised how low the quality of the group shot was that I took of my Otomo Command Lance. So, for all of you out there here is a better one (actually it is even two) ;-)

From left to right:

Tai-i (= Captain) Kasugai Chisei in an "Orion"

Tai-sa (= Colonel) Oda Hideyoshi in a "Battlemaster"

Tai-i (= Captain) Suzuki Hitoshi in a "Marauder"

Sho-sa (= Major) Minimida Yosuke in an "Awesome"

"Trojan Horses" (Luthien Scenario Pack): 1st Jaguar Guards Command Star

With the Otomo Command Lance finished, I am going to paint up the Command Star of the 1st Jaguar Guards next.
With help of the community in the Battletech forum I was also able to decide whether the 1st Jaguar Guards are going to be part of Alpha or Beta Galaxy. Most sources claim them to be with Beta which will lead them to be painted in the scheme of the "Mistweavers". Unfortunately there are some inconsitencies with the lore in the older FASA book. :-/

The Star is a mix of 5 Omni Mechs of various weight class and consists out of two old Citytech plastics and three Ral Partha pewter figures.

Left to right:
Loki (Hellbringer), Daishi (Dire Wolf), Vulture (Mad Dog), Timberwolf (Mad Cat), Ryoken (Stormcrow)

Otomo Command Lance "Battlemaster" Mech

Finished off the Battlemaster mech this weekend. The Command Lance for my Otomo Regiment is completed and I can now concentrate on assembling and painting the first Clan troops as their opposing force.

Otomo Command Lance "Orion" Mech

Since yesterday was a holiday in this region I had plenty of time to paint again. It was enough to get the Orion done. This leaves me with only one more figure to go to finish the Command Lance.

The Orion is one of the plastic miniatures that came with Citytech (2nd Edition).

Anyways, here are the pictures: