Another IS OmniMech!? This time a Strider -- it's like a Javelin, but even more so. This particular paintjob is nothing special, just more of the Arkab theme that's been touched on in previous posts. The model, however... This is the Strato Minis "Reiver" from their Retrobots line. Technically, it's made for their HardWar game, but c'mon. We all know what this guy is meant to be. Wink wink nudge nudge. Seriously, those guys made some amazing battletech proxies, and I hate hate hate to use the past tense, but their webstore has been mostly emptied out due to a corporate restructuring as they seek out an owner for their IP. Best of luck to them, but their stuff may, for now, be unobtanium.

Finally got one of these guys done. The Charger, patron saint of brass-balled Mechwarriors everywhere.... or maybe you're just on punishment detail. The PGI design that they used for MWO and MW5, of which this is, is just so iconic that it pains me to see the way CGL went for their new plastic Charger coming out next year.

Nothing special to say about the paint job except that Basilicanum Grey may be a bit too dark for a Legion of Vega paint scheme. Let's talk about that BASE, though. Not to toot my own warhorn too much, but damn I'm proud of it. Crackle paint on two sides, layered buildup of technical paint for the riverbed and banks, drybrushing shades of beige for highlights, ProAcryl pale ivory down the riverbed and then a mix of blue and green AMMO Crystal Acrylics (bit heavier on the green than I intended), gloss varnish on that, then 2mm Gamers Grass tufts mixed with terrain flock lets the scene just bloom.

Ope, here we go again.

The Battlemaster! Poster child of the A Game of Armored Combat box set, this guy has been in my to-do pile for at least a year, but that Davion Guards scheme is just so satisfying to do.

The keen-eyed may notice that it's not quite 1-to-1 with the original plastic. Despite the longstanding aesthetic tradition of giving mechs huge pistol-like armatures for their weapons, I remain a fan of the integrated approach. So... I very carefully carved the gun off of the fist, chopped off most of the pistol structure, and kitbashed it with some Strato Minis bits I had laying around to give it the vibe of the MWO Battlemaster. That was the easy part. The real flex, however, was carving away the remnants of the gun on the fist -- which is one solid plastic piece -- and etching out the panels and finger lines to match the opposite fist. Also I gave it better looking machine guns and and IWM launcher plate.

Also, Army Painter Highlord Blue speedpaint is top-tier for Davion Guards basecoat. Fuck that canopy, though. Canopy jeweling is a skill that as of yet escapes me, but the crystal acrylic technique came through on this one, especially since gravity helped pool it at the lower edges and give it a soft blending effect.

Ope, what's that? A non-canon mech? The Roughneck is a personal favorite of mine. Technically apocryphal due to being an invention by PGI for Mechwarrior Online, much like the Corsair and Sun Spider, I'm a dead sucker for the aesthetic of industrial machines refurbished into military equipment. Ellen Ripley, eat your heart out.

Check that base, too. Zip ties, window screen, toothpicks, and cardstock.

More mechs!

The Quickdraw! Often maligned, but evidently a fair sight better than most people give it credit for. I still think rear-mounted weapons are... not the best, especially on a 5/8 heavy that should be up in your face, but this guy gets decently better down the line, and comes in C3 flavors too.

The Wolverine WVR-7K. It's a Wolverine 6K, but BETTER. Double the missiles, and all the lasers are pulses for that sweet sweet accuracy, AND keeps the standard jump jets. Did this guy in Arkab Legion getup, and if you're interested in that, Camo Specs Online has a wonderful tutorial that I follow. Also, the base was my first attempt at using Crackle paint, and I love the way it turned out.

Vehicles!

The Partisan! There's just something so appealing about a tank specifically built to maximize pouring lead downrange. Aircraft beware!

The Condor! I admit I wasn't even familiar with this one until I received it as a gift, but a speedy (8/12!) hovertank with an AC/5 and 2xMLs is... hard to argue with.

These two guys were my first foray into using a recently-popular wash mixture called "Marine Juice." It's Lahmian Medium, Reikland Fleshshade, and AP Dark Tone in 4:3:3 mixture, respectively. Lemme tell ya... it's the sauce.

Also, Team Yankee decals go really well on tanks. Who knew?

...a voice will run

From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;

That is the Grasshopper’s—he takes the lead

Due to it being relatively underwhelming in Mechwarrior 5, I slept on the Grasshopper for a long time.

Yeah, I slept on a 4/6/4 70-ton scout brawler with more armor than a Victor, that comes in C3 flavors, too.

Lots of new experiments with this one, really diving deeper into the use of waterslide decals. The rocks were quite porous soft stone, and needed a couple layers of nuln oil before I could drybrush them white since they were so doggone porous. However. I think they contrast quite well with the bright green flock, especially with the color bits that look like wildflowers.

Wow my battletech posts got a lot of traction all of a sudden, very cool

Since I know how the btech fandom can be in some circles, let me make one thing unequivocally clear:

Battletech is for everyone.

If there's a problem with that, suck me nuts. If you're a terf or anti-TRA, find the nearest street so I can fight you in it.

Marauder! Another perpetually-in-progress finally complete. I'm especially a fan of the little antenna barbels I added, gives it vibes of the original unseen.

The Exterminator! The most sneeki-breeki stealth boy out there. The base color was a custom mix meant to evoke the radar-absorbing paint look from the SR-71 and F-117, and I'm especially proud of the freehand Star League emblem.

The Mongoose! Done up in the Arkab Legion's colors.

The Crockett, also in Legion camouflage.

The Sentinel, first one I did in legion getup.

Family photo.

Centurion! My first attempts at using decals. Very pleased with the result.

Catapult. Been sitting on my desk for over a year. Didn't intend for the base to be a toxic waste but it just ended up that way.

Battle Armor! A legally distinct item, but will likely run them as IS standard

Lyran Guard! A 5-piece done up for my FLGS's monthly painting contest (I did not win :c). Featuring:

The Zeus!

The Shadow Hawk!

My personal favorite of the bunch, the Hatchetman!

The Wolfhound!

And last but not least, the Commando!

First attempts at proper basing and drybrush highlights. Crystal Acrylics continue to be my new favorite toys for cockpits and laser apertures. I would add more glamour shots, but the mobile app only allows 10 pics at a time.

Up next... an Exterminator, perhaps?

Idle hands and all that! The urge to create rises once again.

Hatamoto-Chi, one of the most iconic mechs from the Draconis Combine short of the Dragon itself, and with quite the history behind it too.

The Enforcer. A quintessentially-FedSuns mech. Gotta have at least one.

Several "new" techniques here. Instead of rattlecanning, these were both primed AND basecoated with my airbrush. THAT involved much trial and error, including the realization that just because a paint says that it's airbrush-ready, doesn't mean it's ready for your airbrush. After that, several layers of graduating colors via progressively lighter drybrushing provides a subtle gradient that helps the edge highlights pop even more. The cockpit canopies were first done with Vallejo chrome, and then a layer of crystal Acrylics were put over that to create a glass-shine effect.

Really pleased with these fellas. Marauder next?

Some fedsuns stuff I've made