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Excellent work on the paladins aunty. The wizards are beautiful. Great stuff as usual.

aku-chan wrote:Lovely blue robes on those wizards!

Camkierhi wrote:Excellent work on the paladins aunty. The wizards are beautiful. Great stuff as usual.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm quite please with how both sets of models turned out.

As I've mentioned here in the past, I'm at the point where I have more than enough models to play any game I would want to, so I just paint what I feel like. My first choice is something for the monthly painting challenge, and then I hem and haw for a while until I decide what to do next. This past weekend, I remembered that I do have a game with zero painted models, and so for the forseeable future, I'll be revisiting Battletech:



I started with the Griffon and Wolverine from the Beginner Box. The griffon was originally just a military green (GW Waagh flesh-> AP Army Green->AP necrotic flesh), but that was too boring, so I added some camo stripes. I painted the wolverine in colors inspired by the comics character's costume from the mid 80's. That was kind of fun, but I don't want to have to agonize over how to paint each and every mech (at this point, anyway), so I switched back to camo for the Shadowhawk and Battlemaster. Once I get back into the swing of painting microarmor scale models, I'll probably add some variation.

Behind the spoiler tag are some more oddly-focused photos of the individual mechs.


I feel like the mechs need one more point of interest, like a unit insignia or something, but I haven't decided what or where. Any suggestions?

When painting my Cav Iwent for blue triangles (I was not going to try to paint aquilas on 6mm vehicles). More usefully they should go on the top and sides somewhere visible as they are IFF symbols D-Day invasion stripes are an excellent example. I like the red and white stripe thing and using that on a top plate or in some other areas would work well.

Honestly, I'd suggest using the red or a color with contrasting tone for the cockpit glass, as the current one is pretty close to the camo stripe color, but more use of the red/white flash would probably also work, on a knee or shoulder plate maybe? Still a nice set of color schemes

I agree with Cam about the valuable feedback being from comments from friends and people you respect, not faceless votes that probably aren't honest. That's why I set everything in my gallery to not allow voting, the comments on my blog are what's important to me.

I'm excited to see you revisiting Battletech. It's a game I have been tempted to pick up, but since I already have so many miniature games that I don't get to play, I have decided not to. If you have already played the new version, or get to in the future, let me know your thoughts

When painting mechs I go for the laser muzzles, PPCs and heat sinks as PoI. You can add insignias on the legs either a transfer or free hand if you feel bold enough.
Also antenas add a lot of character.

M.

Also there are no Griffons in Btech, only Griffins

Comments are what matter, for sure. Muzzle burn and heat sinks are especially battletech-y so go for the burn there.

Llamahead wrote:When painting my Cav Iwent for blue triangles (I was not going to try to paint aquilas on 6mm vehicles). More usefully they should go on the top and sides somewhere visible as they are IFF symbols D-Day invasion stripes are an excellent example. I like the red and white stripe thing and using that on a top plate or in some other areas would work well.

Thanks! The red/white patch is supposed to be a unit identifier (I foud it by googling "Tank Markings." I want to add something else, but not repeat this same mark. I'm still thinking...

Vejut wrote:Honestly, I'd suggest using the red or a color with contrasting tone for the cockpit glass, as the current one is pretty close to the camo stripe color, but more use of the red/white flash would probably also work, on a knee or shoulder plate maybe? Still a nice set of color schemes

Hm. These models have my default canopy colors-- AP gunmetal with a heavy coat (or three) of Soft Tone. I went back and redid the canopies as shown in the new models below.

Syro_ wrote:I agree with Cam about the valuable feedback being from comments from friends and people you respect, not faceless votes that probably aren't honest. That's why I set everything in my gallery to not allow voting, the comments on my blog are what's important to me.

I'm excited to see you revisiting Battletech. It's a game I have been tempted to pick up, but since I already have so many miniature games that I don't get to play, I have decided not to. If you have already played the new version, or get to in the future, let me know your thoughts

I'm too old the really care what some stranger on line says, and it wasn't so much the low marks as the unnecessarily nasty drive-by comment. In my experience, Dakka is almost entirely free of that.

I'm having a lot of fun painting mechs, and I hope to get in a game this weekend. At first readthrough, the rules don't seem to have changed much since the 80's. Just some tightening up here and there.

Miguelsan wrote:When painting mechs I go for the laser muzzles, PPCs and heat sinks as PoI. You can add insignias on the legs either a transfer or free hand if you feel bold enough.
Also antenas add a lot of character.

M.

Also there are no Griffons in Btech, only Griffins

I'm not confident enough in my OSL skills yet for energy effects.

inmygravenimage wrote:Comments are what matter, for sure. Muzzle burn and heat sinks are especially battletech-y so go for the burn there.

That's an idea, but would it be visible at this scale? Maybe I'll give it a try.

I finished a couple more 'mechs a few days ago. First, a Thunderbolt:



As per Vejut's suggestion, I changed my default canopy color from sepia to blue, so as to stand out against the green. The blue is Vallejo Stormy Blue, which is irreversibly separated-- the pigments are in a solid block at the bottom of the bottle, leaving the medium in a state akin to Contrast/Speedpaint.

I also painted this Locust:



Dakka SuperZoom does the model and it's paint job no favors...

Here they are together:


I have four more 'mechs from the AGOAC box in the works-- two are finished apart from the base rims, and two more are waiting for camo. After that, I have four lance boxes that I got in the last KS, as well as some Robotech Tactics models that I picked up on clearance. I'll probably do the RT models first, as most of what I have done so far were Dougram, and I want to try a different aesthetic.

Lovely locust mate. Always a fave.

You don't really need to go OSL for weapons. As mechs are so small usually I only bother painting a dark red as the base for most of my lasers and then a spot of bright orange on top for contrast.
Try adding a line of lighter blue to the Locust as you did to the Thunderbolt for extra coolness.

M.

inmygravenimage wrote:Lovely locust mate. Always a fave.

Same here. I've always been partial to chicken-walker mechs-- the Glaug/Marauder has always been my favorite.

Miguelsan wrote:You don't really need to go OSL for weapons. As mechs are so small usually I only bother painting a dark red as the base for most of my lasers and then a spot of bright orange on top for contrast.
Try adding a line of lighter blue to the Locust as you did to the Thunderbolt for extra coolness.

M.

Do you have photos? Also, I didn't paint anything on the T-bolt's canopy, that's just how the paint settled.

My latest batch.I base on a dark blue, then paint 2 lighter shades aimed towards a corner.

M.

Love the mechs. Camo pattern is fantastic. Always managed to resist the urge with this lot, but you and Miguelsan's have me looking again, damn you!

Really nice, loving the hex bases too

Nice mechs.

One problem with camo is that it does its job. Don’t be afraid to pop out the other aspects of the mini to make it more interesting as a sculpture/gaming piece. Brighten up the canopies and put some silver highlights on the guns, for example. How far to go depends on how “real” you want to end up.

You guys are making it real hard not to grab a couple of lances and rulebooks.

 Nevelon wrote:
Nice mechs.

One problem with camo is that it does its job. Don’t be afraid to pop out the other aspects of the mini to make it more interesting as a sculpture/gaming piece. Brighten up the canopies and put some silver highlights on the guns, for example. How far to go depends on how “real” you want to end up.

You guys are making it real hard not to grab a couple of lances and rulebooks.

Join the cult, join the cult!

@Josh It's incredible how we two gravitate to some games. One day we'll meet to play, and it will be glorious.

M.

Very nice! Definitely puts our Battledroids/Battletech models from the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s to shame.

Love that you have a camouflage scheme that is realistic but not muddled.

I do still like the older sculpts, but they seem to have gotten over some of the very ugly designs they’d been producing.

Valete,

JohnS

Camkierhi wrote:Love the mechs. Camo pattern is fantastic. Always managed to resist the urge with this lot, but you and Miguelsan's have me looking again, damn you!

It's hard to say "no" to big, stompy robots!

Slinky wrote:Really nice, loving the hex bases too

Thanks! Those are the default bases for BT-- it's supposed to be played on a hex map.

Nevelon wrote:Nice mechs.

One problem with camo is that it does its job. Don’t be afraid to pop out the other aspects of the mini to make it more interesting as a sculpture/gaming piece. Brighten up the canopies and put some silver highlights on the guns, for example. How far to go depends on how “real” you want to end up.

You guys are making it real hard not to grab a couple of lances and rulebooks.

As I said above, it's hard to go wrong with big, stompy robots.

I'm not sure how real I can make these models-- 1/285 is a pretty tiny scale, and any detailing at that scale will likely get lost at tabletop distances. I'll try upping the contrast on the next batch and see if that helps.

Miguelsan wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
Nice mechs.

One problem with camo is that it does its job. Don’t be afraid to pop out the other aspects of the mini to make it more interesting as a sculpture/gaming piece. Brighten up the canopies and put some silver highlights on the guns, for example. How far to go depends on how “real” you want to end up.

You guys are making it real hard not to grab a couple of lances and rulebooks.

Join the cult, join the cult!

@Josh It's incredible how we two gravitate to some games. One day we'll meet to play, and it will be glorious.

M.

I know I've asked before, but where in Japan are you located?

cygnnus wrote:Very nice! Definitely puts our Battledroids/Battletech models from the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s to shame.

Love that you have a camouflage scheme that is realistic but not muddled.

I do still like the older sculpts, but they seem to have gotten over some of the very ugly designs they’d been producing.

Valete,

JohnS

I'm still fond of the old Ral Partha sculpts, although I do find the Iron Wind models pretty "meh." The latest are pretty good, I have to say.

One advantage to painting the same patterns over and over is that it takes a lot less time as you practice:



I'm still having trouble getting my phone camera to focus, as you see. Here's this set all together:


And everything from the Starter and A Game of Armored Combat boxes:


This is a pretty good selection to start with, but of course I "need" some more variety. I mentioned in my last post that I would start on some Robotech Tactics models, but I have shelved those for the moment because (a) I need to get some hex bases for them, and (b) they come in about 7,000 pieces each. I'll be breaking open some of my BT lance boxes over the next few days.

You need to paint a Raven and an Archer, my absolute two favourite mechs.

Your colour scheme is really, really good. I love it and want to see more.

 Archer wrote:
You need to paint a Raven and an Archer, my absolute two favourite mechs.

Your colour scheme is really, really good. I love it and want to see more.

I have at least one Archer, but no Ravens, I'm afraid.

Kansai. Just 1/3 of the island away from you.

M.

Some of the old RP metals were OK, but others require some pretty thick nostalgia goggles. These new guys look a lot better than my old lead. And way better than the fist round of plastic mechs they did way back when.

Nice looking batch of mechs!

Miguelsan wrote:Kansai. Just 1/3 of the island away from you.

M.

We'll have to figure something out this year, then.

Nevelon wrote:Some of the old RP metals were OK, but others require some pretty thick nostalgia goggles. These new guys look a lot better than my old lead. And way better than the fist round of plastic mechs they did way back when.

Nice looking batch of mechs!

I'm still partial to the very earliest Ral Partha metals, back when they were essentially unlicensed Macross and Dougram models.

Those mechs look pretty awesome. Not gonna lie, been eyeballing Battletech a bit lately. Goonhammer did an article or two about it and how good of a deal the starters are. I really don't need yet another project though!

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Those mechs look pretty awesome. Not gonna lie, been eyeballing Battletech a bit lately. Goonhammer did an article or two about it and how good of a deal the starters are. I really don't need yet another project though!

Battletech was my first wargame (as opposed to RPGs-- I had been playing D&D for years when I started BT), and it was a lot of fun. Painting these 'mechs is really tickling the nostalgia bone.

After all that camo, I decided to try a slightly different approach with the next set:


Only one photo this time, as I can't seem to get my camera to focus properly. I think the black areas have a little too much grey, but I'm happy with the red. I kept the white stripe to keep these aligned with the ones I painted last time-- these may be commanders, or else painted for parade rather than battle. I think I'll keep the motif with whatever patterns I try next. I still need some sort of insignia, probably on the left lower leg, but I have yet to decide exactly what.

I rather like them as an ashy grey rather than a deeper tone. The accents in there look great.

Simple yet nice looking. I need to get mine moving. so many cammo stripes to paint.

M.

They look well smart! Really nice job bud.

Oh that's super cool!

Lots of Battletech-y goodness here but I like the grey/black & red ones best.