Tomorrow's War meets Battletech: House Davion's "Chevalier" light tank lance painted

I was able to get these from people around the Battletech forums: they are small 1/144 scale plastic vehicles that originated from the Crab Gunner kit from Dougram.

Although not exactly the "Chevalier" design from Battletech, I was able to add a view details that allows me to field them as the latter nonetheless. I will call this one "Chevalier Mk.1b" and its going to support the infantry component that I have planned for my 3rd Crucis Lancers.

The full lance of 35 ton Chevalier light tanks in all its glory.
It's a rather tiny vehicle as you can see. Here, next to a Kurita infantry NCO and a coin for scale. Consider this a vehicle used for scouting and recon, just as the mid-80s German Bundeswehr Spähpanzer Luchs.

You might notice that one barrel looks slightly different - that's due to one kit missing the original part, so I had to replace it with something that looked similar.

My lance (=squad) commander, unbuttoned in its turret. For this one I had to cut away the hatch and glue it back into an open position. The figure is a Dougram Mecha pilot in 1/144 scale.

Though the Chevalier's armament is weak compared to modern designs, it has an extremely ammunition-efficient design, allowing it to stay in the fight for longer than other vehicles from the same weight class. For long range, it mounts an Large Laser in its turret. A pair of forward-mounted Streak-SRM-2 allow it to exploit any holes it may have made in an opponent's armor.
The SRM rack was salvaged from Mechwarrior Dark Age vehicles, its not part of the original kit.

Yes, the wheel is crooked. You have seen it. Argh. Oh well... :-)

Tomorrow's War meets Battletech: House Kurita's "Standard Foot Soldiers" early tests (WIP)

!!! Click the pics to enlarge them !!!

Tiny little things. A first work in progress batch of House Kurita standard foot soldiers. Conventional infantry. These are re-based old Mechwarrior Dark Age infantry miniatures that were removed off their base (they come in groups of five per base) and based individually.
As you can see their new bases bring them into scale with my Mech forces.
This should give a good impression on how tiny they really are. Their base is the same coin (1 Euro cent) that I placed next to the SRM gunner. To the left you can see a WH40K Space Marine shoulder pad for scale...

I repainted all of them, using the coloured picture of a female Kurita trooper (found one in the Mechwarrior Roleplaying Game core rules) as a guideline. Sand coloured boots, a maroon coloured jumpsuit with leather coloured body armour and dark red shoulder pads / helmets. The tiny bright red dot on the shoulder pad is supposed to resemble the House Kurita badge of the Dragon.

And yes - I even painted some gloves. :-)

As you can see the little troopers still come with lots of detail: even backpacks and power cells for the support weapons like this shoulder-launched SRM of the trooper on the right.

These were only some test pieces. Tell me what you think, please!

Beasts Of War reviews Force On Force core rules

Check it out: Beasts Of War have made a review on Force On Force

http://www.beastsofwar.com/spotlight/force-force-latest-modern-combat/

In my opinion they should have taken themselves more time to point out, what really makes FoF different compared to other games in a "modern" setting. Lots of details they could have gotten into but didn't.

At least they finally have found out it exists. :-)

Tomorrow's War meets Battletech: House Davion's "Archer" painted

And there it is: yet another Mech has been finished. This one is a modefied 1/200 scale Macross "Spartan" kit which I combined with parts from a Gashapon action figure from the same TV show.

Weighing in with an impressive 70 tons, the ARC-2R Archer is a heavy-hitting assault Mech, bombarding defenders over long distances with salvos of long-range-missiles.

This front shot shows my modifications to the upper torso (left and right). I cut off the original missile bays (cause you can't open them) and replaced them with those from an action figure from Macross.
Looking at the back of the Archer, you see no real difference to the original 1/200 kit.

Now here is what does make the difference: the Archer with opened missile bays.

Left and right, mounted into the battle fists, the Archer is equipped with Diverse Optics Type 18 Medium Lasers.

The main weapon system however is the twin racks of Doombud Long Range Missiles (LRM-20) mounted in the left and right torso.

In between the two missile bay doors you can see the barrels of the rear-mounted Diverse Optics Type 18 Medium Lasers. These aren't sufficient to sustain enough damage to any attacker but they are a nasty surprise nonetheless.

Ample bombardment for a long time period... the Archer feels at home in siege battle.

Tomorrow's War meets Battletech: House Davion's "Goliath" painted

Next Mech coming off the the assembly line is Brigadier Corporation's 80 ton GOL-1H "Goliath" four-legged Assault class weapon of destruction.

This is a rare plastic kit. It was available in 1/200 and 1/144 scale and is known as Abitate Crab Gunner or Tequila Gunner (there was a variant with infantry platforms) from Fang Of The Sun Dougram. The kit shown below is the larger version in 1/144. It is taller than any Mech I have built so far, although it is only marginal taller than the Warhammer I finished a couple of days ago.

I decided to add the rear legs the other way around. Normally the upper part would face the same direction as the frontside legs. I thought widening its stance by putting them on the other way around looks much nicer.
This dramatic shot of the Goliath striding shows my modification to the rear foot. I had to cut it off to make the strinding motion look more natural. Somehow the Goliath really is an ugly piece of machinery. But then, on the other hand - its a four-legged tank chassis. Whoever came up with this idea did so a long time before "Dust" and other WW2 Mecha games became popular.

Weapons of destruction: the hull mounted twin Holly LRM-10 systems, a Ramsey Machine Gun to keep infantry attacks at bay and its main system: the turret (head) mounted Rand Particle Projection Cannon.

The rear shot reveals the massive height of this Mech. It stands 3.5 inch tall !! But I guess it wasn't called "Goliath" for no reason. ;-)

Up to the next two Mechs (already built and based)....

Tomorrow's War meets Battletech: House Davion's "Warhammer" painted

The latest addition to my House Davion troops is an icon of the Classic Battletech universe and hence not to be missing in my force: the WHM-7M "Warhammer".

This miniature started its life as an 3" tall plastic toy/action figure for Exo Squad, where it is known as Destroid Tomahawk. I gave it a full repaint and a minor conversion (see below).

The front shot in a dynamic pose that every BattleTech fan will recognize immdiately. :-)
With a weight of 70 tons the Warhammer isn't the heaviest Mech of all times, nor is it on the upper end of the heavy class, but it is for sure a fearsome enemy. It stands taller than most other warmachines and its wide array of weapons left its mark on many battlefields.
The detail shot of the upper torso reveals the shoulder mounted Shannon SRM-6 rack and the O/P 1500 ARB tracking system on the opposite side. Below, just over the hip the muzzles of the two Martell Medium Lasers.

The left side arm-mounted Fusigon Longtooth Particle Projector Cannon has an extended range capacity. Visible above the PPC, mounted to the torso, you can see the gatling gun of the Anti Missile System.

The other arm bears the same PPC, increasing the deadly firepower significantly. Above, on the torso, the 7M variant bears a Lindblad LFN Machine Gun which enhances the anti-infantry capabilities.

This back shot reveals the details of the Magna 280 engine and heat sink grilles.

This pic shows a ship-mounted "Phalanx" gatling gun system. These are mounted on modern-day naval vessels to destroy incoming missiles before they hit the ship. My inspiration came from this pic to realize something similar on my Mech. The picture reveals torso details of the unpainted Exo Squad toy. As you can see it has two dome-shaped barrels to resemble the original 6R variant's two small lasers. I cut off the one marked with the red X and used the other as radar dome of the Anti-Missile-System. I bought 1/48 scale Minigun barrels made from resin that normally go onto an aircraft (AC 130 Spectre Gunship) and added on next to the "radar". See the results below:Note the torso mounted (right side of the pic) Lindblad Shotgun Anti-Missile-Sytem. The white dome resembles the radar and the minigun is my proxy for a rapid firing defense system that will destroy incoming missiles in mid air before they hit the Warhammer. Hope you like its look 'cause I think it looks awesome :-)

Tomorrow's War meets Battletech: House Davion's "Banshee" painted

Towering over her enemies, this 6-piece resin kit was a limited quantity run of an Elfbait design I was able to obtain a little while ago.

This kit resembles the 95 ton Defiance Industries BNC-5S "Banshee" with its expanded capabilities. This is going to be the heaviest of all Davion Mechs my force will receive.

The back shows the fine sculpt with all of its heat venting louvres. The panels received a pin wash with thinned down black oil paint. Note the rear-mounted twin Defiance B3M Medium Lasers that should keep all sneaky enemies at bay.

This front shot clearly shows why I spoke of "expanded" capabilities: The 5S variant has an increased arsenal of weapons it can bring to bear. A mix of missiles, energy-based weapons and a mighty Gauss rifle makes the "Banshee" a deadly opponent over various distances.

The Banshee's heaviest hitter: a mighty Poland Main Model A Gauss Rifle

On the opposite: the battle-fist that will punch and rip about every opponent into pieces, combined with another twin-configuration of Defiance's B3M Medium Lasers.

The head shows my attempt to paint the cockpit glass (eyes) just like on all other Davion Mechs. To the left you can see the shoulder-mounted TharHes Maxi SRM-6 Rack and to left and right, just over the hip, the two Defiance 1001 series Particle Projector Cannons.
Two Defiance B3S Small Lasers (center torso and head) give the Banshee ample back-up for the close fight.

Tomorrow's War meets Battletech: House Davion's "Zeus" painted

The pride of the Lyran Commonwealth, the ZEU-6S "Zeus", is the latest addition to my growing Davion forces. Some of the Mechs have found their way into House Davion's service.

Apart from the base this is an unmodified out-of-the-box built Ral Partha Europe Museum Scale "Zeus" Mech to add more heavy-weight fighting power to my Davion battleforce. As it is made from pewter it indeed is "heavy" :-p
The arm-mounted Coventry Star Fire LRM-15 system gives the heavy machine a hard punch over long distances.

The torso-mounted energy-based weapon systems include the Defiance B3M Medium Laser system (center) and a larger Thunderbolt A5M Laser system (left torso). These give the Zeus a really destructive output over medium and close ranges. The decals are from Fighting Pirannha Graphics.

Note the House Davion "Federated Suns" emblem on the right knee pad and the antennas I have added to the cockpit. I really like the TRO 3025 look of the Zeus - especially this mean shot of the "business end" of the large war machine :-)

The rear of the Mech shows various ports of the heat sinks. All panel lines were washed using thinned black oil paint.

The Zeus main weapon of choice: a Defiance Autocannon (AC/5).

Off to paint more Mechs now. Stay tuned!

Tomorrow's War meets Battletech: House Davion's "Locust" painted

Based upon the unseen Mech design, primarily for scouting and recon. This was a multi-part resin kit, based upon a scratchbuilt Mech. The N-scale community demanded copies, so the creator got his scratchbuilt custom Locust casted - and I was happy to obtain two of them.
Armed with only a Martel Medium Laser and two Sperry-Browning MGs, it cannot withstand any other Mech for a long time, but that's not its purpose in the first place.

I based the Locust on some rocky surface to increase the height slightly.

I wanted a striding pose, just as in the old FASA artwork of the TRO 3025.

The Locust is currently the smallest Mech used within the Inner Sphere.

A tiny, filigrane little BattleMech - I just love that thing.

Iraq Terrain - 2 storey residence/shop (work in progress)

Some of the latest pics show recent progress. I finished off most of the details that still were to paint and added posters and shop signs.
The sand that was put into place at the lower end of the building was to conceal the flaws of the house (many of them). I've painted it to match bases and my desert gaming board.

I also painted the sidewalk that goes all around the building. The yellow and white stripes are typical for Iraq (they really have them).

The water tank and the electrical collectors got their rusty finish.

You may have noticed that also the satellite dishes have been attached now.

The corrugated metal roof has turned out better than expected. Probably the part I like most on the building.

Rooftop air cons painted now and Pola lamps attached.