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WIP Clan Jade Falcon Remnant - Shadow Cat

Loose interpretation of ilClan-era Jade Falcon Remnant, 1st Falcon Sentinels.

Still owe more highlighting, cockpit work, basing. But having a lot more fun with Jade Turkeys than I thought I would!

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Mythological Creatures Lance!

Banshee, Grendel, Valkyrie, Cyclops.

I’ve decided to paint an Ymir in this scheme. Might gradually add more as other eligible ‘mechs pop into the collection.

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Firebee

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Completed Thunderbolt

Ah, that’s more like it.

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WIP Thunderbolt

Not much to write about, just finally got a few minutes to paint and wanted to post.

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Gladiator

Proliferation Pack. Pushed hard to finish this for a game yesterday—the varnish was literally drying in the car, so I didn't have time to throw down any base texture. Some parts were a bit rushed, but it's always good to have another one done.

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WIP Abandoned Factory for BattleTech

All of these still have a long way to go. But I got sick and tired of painting 'Mechs with no 3d terrain for them to romp in (sorry, mapsheets).

Purchased non-scratchbuilt buildings to make an "active" military base nestled in the factory for fun plotlines. But the BT terrain scene seems to be dominated by blocky 3d-printed structures or the cardboard rectangles that come in the Alpha Strike box, and I really want to break that up with some organic/found shapes like these.

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XI Hastati - Martyrs of Redoubt Panama

I'm fully on the RoTS Hastati train now. Plans for a full company at least, especially since I read about the XI Hastati's last stand defending Redoubt Panama against the Jade Falcons (ilClan sourcebook, p75-76).

Their desperate retreat up Yucatan with Jade Falcon's entire Omega Galaxy on their heels...

Knight Kristoff Erbe's offer of single combat to save the lives of his surrounded troops, only to be cut down by the Falcons in a dezgra act of treachery...

Catalyst doesn't make Erbe's mech yet, a Gallant, so my Iron Wind Metals version arrived today.

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Centurion of the Lost Legion

Finished my buddy's birthday gift, the battle-scarred Centurion from my last post.

For those who care, this is the Yen Lo Wang (CN9-YLW) variant. I just really liked the Matt Mason model/pose more than the traditional centurion.

This needed to feel "Roman" to tickle my friend's fancy, but I didn't want the variant with the gigantic shield. The Yen Lo Wang has that buckler-style shield, and I love this pose's aggressive stance—the left arm especially looks ready for action.

Sorry for the couple of cheesy CG backgrounds. My hobby table is very cluttered right now and I didn't have space to set up a real scene.

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WIP Centurion

Really happy with how this fella’s turning out. Most extensive battle damage and grime I’ve tried on a mech so far.

Bonus pics of half my (WIP) Republic of the Sphere Hastati lance. Falling in love with the RoTS and have plans for a lance each of Hastati, Principes, and Triarii. Plus maybe some additional Hastati and even some Stone’s Brigade.

Bonus: the chrome paint pen I’ve been trying out to add “scratches” to the Centurion.

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Undead Speedpaints

Two old Mage Knight (WizKids clix) figures completely rebased and repainted.

The rusty pauldron at right doesn't read well in the photo. Looks way better in person.

It's been a longstanding dream to paint everything in my Zombicide: Black Plague and Green Horde games. Have never actually tried because, as a "slow" painter, I was terrified of getting bogged down and leaving everything half-done.

The speed at which I was able to paint these guys with some new speedpaints and washes gives me the confidence that I can accomplish each box in a reasonable amount of time.

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Catch that plane!

Is there anything better than good games with good people?

Played a 5-person game of classic BattleTech today (2v3). 6 Mechs per side, 7500 BV. "Smash and grab" attacker/defender scenario of my own design, in which the raiders must successfully snatch electronic warfare tech out of the cockpit of an experimental aerospace fighter and run like hell.

*Everything on the table was mine, from mapsheets to record sheets, minis and dice. It was fun to fuel the party from top to bottom.

The scenario turned out even better than I hoped. Firm 10-turn limit. The raiders have up to 8 turns to smash the cockpit and grab the objective, then must escape toward their edge of the map for the next two turns (the two turns of escape, in which the defenders can try to snatch back the objective, are required).

Part of what made the scenario fun was the moving objective. The defenders can't just "camp the point" because the aircraft is taxiing every turn, so it actually carries the objective closer to the raiders before takeoff. I felt this was a good way to balance out how much the attackers must expose themselves to attempt the grab.

Long story short, we had a blast. My team's (defenders) MVP was actually my little UrbanMech R90, which held the center of the field like an absolute boss and refused to die.

Raiders' MVP was their Spider, which eventually slipped through the defenses and snapped up the objective in textbook fashion. We absolutely tore the armor off that speedy jerk, blew off an arm, got critical hits on weapons and engines...but it refused to go down and eventually carried the objective to safety for the win.

This is why we BattleTech.

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Countdown to Completed Intro Box

Finished another lance of my 2011 intro box with the old sculpts. Only 8 more ‘Mechs of it to go. I’m up to 24 painted ‘Mechs overall (16 from Intro Box).

Started out hating that dumpy JagerMech and now he’s my second favorite after the Atlas.

They are what they are. The only one I despise is the Banshee because I couldn’t get the face right.

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For the Love of Gnomes

My Dollar Tree had 10 different garden gnome huts that beautifully hit the vibe of my group's December Song of Blades & Heroes game.

So for $12, I've got myself a spritely forest village ripe for raiding. The scale is awesome for Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, etc. (sure, these would be one-room structures in real life, but they feel right on the table).

They'll look better if I repaint them someday, but it's awesome when something arrives "table ready" like this when you already have tons of other hobby priorities.

Full disclosure: I photoshopped the "skies" of the first two pics just to have some fun and make the scene a little more immersive. Real background is the brick you see in pics 3-4.

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WIP - New Color Tests

Trying out freshly-arrived Army Painter Speedpaints and Vallejo Xpress Colors this past week while painting time was short.

Left to Right: Icarus, Firebee, Thunderbolt, Cyclops, Banshee.

Love the saturation and coverage on all of these. I have some Green Stuff World "dips" arriving today, which is their speedpaint-style line. (Not to be confused with the Army Painter "dip" cans). Results/comparison to follow.

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The New Lads

Latest lance. Painted the Gray Death Legion box as my own WIP line unit, the 4th Jakarta Heavy Cav.

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Just some Infinity dudes

I’ve had the models forever, and actually did these paint jobs a couple of years ago. Always meant to go back and spruce them up more, but have other priorities now, so I’ve based them and am calling them done.

Not ever going to be favorites, but every finished mini is a victory.