Gearing Up To Go Again

Leftenant Franklin Smythe, newly graduated from Kilbourne Academy, was sorely disappointed when he was assigned command of an armored lance in a militia command no less.  But then Caselton was visited by a raiding lance of Marik Militia and he saw his chance for glory.  Using his personality to overwhelm his rather meek commanding officer, he was now on the way to lead a reprisal raid against the same militia unit that attacked Caselton.  He and his two platoons of armor will return to glory, promotions, and recognition.  He'd show them all he should be in charge of a line unit of mechs or die trying.

So the all UrbanMech battle was a lot of fun and we decided to follow it up with an all armor battle that will take place tomorrow evening.  It's set for 8,000 Battle Value per side which should shake out to right at 8 or so vehicles.  Well for me it was 8 anyway, a nice round 2 platoons.  We'll see how this round of battle comes out with the first round being a draw.  Considering the size of my BattleTech collection, it feels good to get some fo them on the table.

I also got a few more models for my Bolt Action heroes.  First up is a Dr. Mid-Nite.  A great classic JLA-er, he was one I definitely wanted to work into the collection.  He got a quick rebasing and into the group he went.  He had a great pose and detailing, so I'm happy I found this version of him.

I couldn't tell you who this model was orginally but he'll be acting as a Green Hornet in my force.  A nice pulp fiction favorite that has too much personality to not be included.  He's not quite the original but he's close enough that it'll work for me.

I also did a couple noncombatants up to represent scientists to be used as high value targets for Bolt Action games.  They're nice models and after a rebasing didn't need any touch ups and are good to go.

So that's all for now and I'm glad you all stopped by.  I should have the BattleTech BatRep up sometime early next week unless the weather causes some issues with playing the game.  That's all for now and I'll see you next time!

Frontline BattleTech Units In Action

So this past Saturday I got to celebrate part of my birthday with a game of BattleTech against Cheef.  To make it even more unique and memorable, we went with identical forces so no need to point up lists.  So we broke out the cutting edge of technology and pitted a lance of UrbanMechs from my Davion's Caselton Militia against his lance of UrbanMechs from the Marik Militia.  Once the terrain was set up, we would be having as Cheef put it "Urban Warfare in the Woods".

This was also a chance to get not only my larger BattleTech terrain that I've been working on onto the table but also all my finished scatter terrain as well.  We set up on a 4x4 table with plenty of room for our very slow mechs to maneuver.  I set up my terrain as the defender with HPG Station, mobile satellite launch platform, a new power station I've been working on (more on it in a post later this week), the storage tanks, and then the small terrain such as a couple bunkers, defensive towers, and sensor stations.  My small factory piece is on the hill and just off to the right bottom edge of the picture.

So here we see our antagonists for a pre-fight picture.  It was nice to have an all painted battle as the next table over featured a second BattleTech game that was silver on silver.  Whaaaaaat two BattleTech games being played at the same time?  I know, crazy right?  While we had the nice clean high tech looking lanced of painted and based UrbanMechs, they had a fugly Blitzkreig and some other stuff.  So winner our game for the cool factor.

Here we are all deployed in the picture above.  Marik has three mechs coming through the woods and the fourth up on a hill for support fire.  My Davions are looking to repel the invaders and hopefully gain enough scrap and parts to keep their own mechs in top fighting shape.  I mean it's always good when the replacements come to you right?

Early on we saw some ranged shots from all the AC/10s but few hits.  All of our pilots seemed quite rusty but since the mechs are lightly armored, even a single hit from an AC/10 does serious damage.

As we got closer to each other, the hits started to add up.  I was definitely more lucky than Cheef when it came to achieving critical hits but he was getting more hits overall.  We both had 3 mechs in the woods battling while my fourth had a long range duel with his fourth on the hill where they both battered each other senseless.

The first "kill" of the game was one of mine who lost a leg and was rendered combat ineffective.  I ended up finally taking out one of his as well by getting down to being able to pretty much hit it anywhere for it to die.  So about this point I managed to get a head shot with two criticals that take out the pilot with extreme efficiency.  So after having my 3 facing his 4, it's now in my advantage with 3 on 2.

Several mechs are getting to the point of barely functional at this point in the game.  I ended up with one mech that had lost both weapons, had no where left to absorb a hit left, and is too slow to retreat, so what to do .....

That's right, it still has jump jets so who WOULDN'T do a death from above attack?  It doesn't matter that he took a shot on the way in and denied the actual attack, the sight of an UrbanMech trying to Death From Above another UrbanMech is cool as all get out!

But as he DID get finished off ont he way in, this puts us both at two mechs upright, enough armor between them to have one intact UrbanMech, and 3 small lasers as their combined armament because we're all out of AC/10 ammo at this point.  I have one mech that is barely intact and the other while in much better shape, doesn't have a small laser.  Cheef has one mech that has taken both engine and heat sink crits to the point that shooting the small laser or even walking will overheat it and then a mech that was tottering with little left like mine was.  So at this point we called it a draw and the remnants of both sides withdrew before some squirrels or a possom came down out of one of the trees to finish them all off.

Cause yeah, UrbanMechs are THAT cool!

All in all it was a very fun game with some memorable moments.  I'm definitely looking forward to doing something similar again sometime.  So that's all we have for now and thanks for stopping by!  See you all next time!

BattleTech, BattleTech, and Then Some Bolt Action

So with a major retail holiday upon us, I've not really had any free hobby time.  Between family things and work, it's just been a hectic couple weeks for me.  However I did manage to get a few things done and this will be as much a progress report as anything else.

 

So first I got another shelf unit and finished getting my BattleTech forces organized.  Leading off is my beloved Eridani Light Horse, 21st Striker Regiment.  The first picture is the Command Company, the 3rd Striker Battalion, and the 5th Striker Battalion.  The second picture is the 7th Striker Battalion and the 1st Armored Infantry Battalion.  The only thing not complete about this regiment is that one day I need to talk someone into assisting me get the 3 pages of Fighting Piranha Graphics decals added to them all and then one day I need to find some bases that I like for the aerospace fighters.  Other than that, this is a 100% complete force.  This is an entirely pre-3025 force but could be played later in the timeline with newer variants of the models.

 

Next up is my 8th Donegal Guards Regiment.  This first picture is the 1st and 2nd Battalions and the 3rd Battalion is in the second picture.  This force is complete as far as painting and basing and it makes a nice pre-3025 force and of course could be used later in the timeline with more modern variants.

Then we have the Davion's Caselton Militia.  On the left is the 38th Defense Battalion and on the right is the 43rd Reconnaissance Battalion.  Definitely a defense style force with just a company of light mechs and then heavy tanks and artillery and then a company of hover tanks with 2 companies of recon vehicles and mechanized infantry.  This unit is 10% painted and based and I've no plans to expand it any further.

Then we come to my only Clan force, the Ghost.  We have from left to right, the Alpha Galaxy's 1st Bear Guards Cluster's 312th Assault Trinary and 23rd Elemental Support Binary.  The last unit on the far right is the 44th PGC's 144th Provisional Garrison Trinary.  This is another completed force and I've no plans to expand either unless I just stumble onto a really great deal on some Clan Mechs.

And then finally we've got a bit of Bolt Action.  I've finally based my Captain America, have rebased the Black Knight and Torch (of the Invaders not the Fantastic Four), and then after a light wash to give a bit of detail, have rebased the Namor as well.  So my version of the super humans to assist the Allies have finally made some progress.  Since this force will end up a mix of DC and Marvel characters, I'm still playing around with a name for the group with Justice Defenders being the current top choice.  Opinions and suggestions on this are as always welcome.

So that's all for now and going from how the rest of my week looks, I'll likely not be back for a new post until next weekend at the absolute earliest.  So I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and see you all next time.

Another Army Completed!

So I've continued to get more BattleTech completed this week.  Over the last couple days I've finished up my 8th Donegal Guard regiment.  I had two of the battalions completed previously and then the 3rd Battalion was just partially painted.  So without further ado, on to the models.

So first up is the Battalion Command Lance.  A nice sturdy force ready to stiffen a line or help assault an enemy strong point.

Next up is G Company of the Regiment.  This is the hard hitters of the battalion with plenty of fire support from the Catapults and Trebuchets and the Longbow of course.

H Company is still plenty of fire support but with a scout lance included as well.  Some maneuver there but it's a fairly brawler over all.

And for the last company, we have a couple of my favorite lances.  One is a Hussar leading a trio of Mercurys and then the other is a quartet of Phoenix Hawk LAMs.  Being RoboTech game models, they're a bit too large to be Stingers or Wasps, so Phoenix Hawks works well.

And with that, all 3 Battalions are done.  It's nice to start getting some armies done.  Next up is I want to get some more Primaris Marines painted now that I've got a color scheme locked in.  So pretty excited over all on how the hobby side of things has been going and hopefully it continues to go this smoothly.

So that's all for now and I'll see you all next time.

Back To Some BattleTech

So while Dreadtober was very exciting and feed into my love of Dreadnoughts, I had to take a break from them even though I still need to complete the Chaplain Dreadnought.  So it was time to get some stuff off the to do list and finish off some more armies.  I started a week of vacation when I got off work Friday afternoon so it was time to work on some hobby stuff.  I also managed to get up for Saturday Night Gaming in Johnson City for a match of Mage Knight card/board game against Murl.  It's an interesting game but after looking at some of the builds, the game could get real unbalanced depending on which is chosen.  Then I made it back up to Johnson City for a game of 8th Edition 40K against Neverness which will be discussed in another post.

I started with the BattleTech Saturday morning and then continued on into it all day Monday.  First up was the Davion Caselton Militia regiment.  I finished basing the first two Pegasus Hover Tanks.  Then the other two Pegasus were painted and based to finish the lance.  I also got the two Demolisher Heavy Tanks painted (no basing for them due to their size would hide the entire base).  This completely finishes this unit and it is in the done list.

Next up was my Eridani Light Horse.  First up I got the lone missing Rommel/Patton tank painted and based.  Then I tackled the Aerospace fighters.  6 Shilones, 4 Stukas, 4 Shologars, 2 Seydlitz, 2 Transgressors, and 2 Lucifers later my entire 21st Striker Regiment of the Eridani Light Horse is complete.  The fighters aren't based as I don't like the BattleTech bases for them and don't have an alternative that I like, but seeing as they're mainly just for show it doesn't really matter.

So that is two forces moved to the completed list to join the Ghost Bears.  Next up is getting that last battalion of the Donegal Guard done to finish off that regiment as well.  I'll be looking to tackle those Wednesday or Thursday and having them done before the week is over.  2 Companies just need to be based, 1 Company needs to be painted and then there is a command lance that is partially painted.

Then let's move on to the front of general geek stuff.  First of all, I got to see the new Thor 3 movie this past Friday night.  I'm not going to drop any spoilers, but it was very enjoyable and is in my top 3 favorite MCU movies right now along with Dr. Strange and the first Captain America movie.  I also picked up a present for myself to work onto my geek shelf of 4 Black Series Star Wars figures (Han, Leia, Luke, and Kenobi).  I've really like the look of some of the Black Series and this group is quite nicely done.

Oh, and before I forget, one of my dreadnoughts, a Leviathan no less, will be guest starring over on Cheef's blog as part of a paint exchange for a lance of BattleTech Manticore tanks.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how it comes out as he's quite a bit more talented than me with a paint brush.  Hopefully you'll all take a look over there and see how he does with it as well.  His blog is always a fun read as well so it'll be a fun adventure.

That's all for now and thanks for reading all.  I'll see you all next time!

No Dreads This Time

Well, this update is a bit later than I had planned and not on the subject I had wanted.  But between work being about to hit the yearly inventory and the sudden weather changes hitting me with plenty of allergy/sinus issues it's been a pain in the butt of a week or so.  So no update on the Dreadtober this time around but now that things are better on the health front and just a couple days away from getting a lot better on the work front, the Dreads are coming!

So a few weeks or so back I had made a small BattleTech purchase to get a Rommel Patton tank to finish off my Eridani Light Horse regiment.  Well the seller was from Florida but was up in East Tenn about 30 minutes away from where I live.  I got a message inviting me over to a yard sale he and where he was staying were holding to look through a lot of BattleTech stuff.  So there were 5 plastic trays of vehicles, a small box of mechs, and a pile of books.  I picked up 3 of the vehicle boxes and a few of the books for $300.  However, after setting aside a good portion to keep, I still sold or traded off the rest to make my money back which meant I had well over $100 of vehicles for free.  I'm pretty happy with how it all worked out.  So now onto the LOOT! or I guess the proper term for BattleTech would be salvage or a Brion's Cache.

So what I kept was the 5 Long Toms, 6 LRM Carriers, 2 SRM Carriers, 4 J Edgars, 4 Pegasus, 2 Packrats, 2 Skulkers, 8 Goblins, 4 Drillsons, 4 Manticores, 4 Alacorns, 4 Shreks, and then a batch of support vehicles including a number of GHQ trucks, some BattleTech Ammo Carriers, MASH Vehicles, and a Mobile Command Center.

I also traded for a trio each of Unseen Griffins and Unseen Wolverines.  I don't have any plans for any of this at the moment but I'm sure an idea will come along soon enough.  Looking for some type of combined arms reinforced battalion, perhaps mercenary rather than a house force.  Still digging around for ideas and possibilities so we'll see how it goes.

I also found what I was looking for and purchased a few HeroClix to convert to Bolt Action to join my Captain America and Union Jack to form my version of the Invaders.  There is a Human Torch figure that will just need rebased as I like the look of this model completely.  Then there is a Namor the Submariner that will need at least a wash layer, maybe another touch up or two and then rebasing as well.  And lastly while not part of the original group, or any of it's reincarnations, but I like the Black Knight too much as a character and he'll be joining the British representations on the team once he's rebased as well.  I'd also like to make it more inclusive of the other allies by including a Thor for Norway but I've yet to find a Clix version of him that I like yet.  Other members pending good ideas including perhaps even mixing universes for a representative from DC as well.

So that's where we stand and I'm looking forward to getting going again on the Dreads.  It looks like I'm going to hopefully get 5 painted by the end of the month if this weekend and coming week are as productive as the first couple weeks were.  Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you all the next go around.

Void Lions, Donegal Guard, and Dreadtober!!!

So let's start the month of October off with a blog post.  The past month or so of work has been a lot more demanding than it normally is but it hopefully looks like it's starting to calm down a lot more now.  But we'll see, cause as we all know, nothing is less predictable than retail during the holidays.  So let's get started.

 

First up, I think I've finally got a paint scheme for my Void Lion primaris marines.  I wanted a slightly spectral look for a lightning strike commando type force.  Hit hard, fast, and then gone on to the next trouble spot.  Hopefully it comes across that way but still has some color connections to their parent chapter, my Lions of Harlech.

 

 

Next up, I now have 8 lances of mechs for the 3rd Battalion of my Eighth Donegal Guard regiment ready to be based.  1 more lance is ready for highlight colors and the wash layer and 3 lances are just primered. It's nice getting a force close to completed and the end finally is getting into sight on this unit.

Last of all, it's DREADTOBER!!!  As we all know, my favorite unit in Warhammer 40K is the Space Marine Dreadnought in all it's variations, so a holiday for them sounds just about right.  I will be assembling my Primaris Dreadnought this month, but first of all I'm starting with paint on a pair of basic Dreadnoughts of my Lions of Harlech.  They're both Black Reach dreadnoughts and they've been stuck and just primered long enough.  Basecoat is down and next up will be the dark blue highlights and lots and lots and lots of washes with Nuln Oil.  I'm going to set my goal at getting 4 Dreadnoughts painted and the Primaris at least assembled if not one of the ones painted.

So that's all for now but thanks for visiting.  Looking forward to feedback on the Void Lion paint scheme and I'm still looking for storage ideas for bits!  I'll see you all next time and enjoy your Dreadtober festivities!

Ghost Bear's Return!

So other than a small touch up on the paint on the base edging, my Ghost Bear tourman's 44th Provisional Garrison Cluster is complete.  They're based same as my front line Ghost Bear units but the different shade of blue and bronze instead of silver easily marks them as a different unit.  I'm pleased with how they came out and helped to thin out my pile of unused mechs quite a bit.

The Piranhas are an interesting mech for chewing up infantry and light mechs and paired up with a Thor and a Dragonfly makes it an interesting force to deploy.  The non-Omni star of mechs helps mark it as a second line unit.  The two Flashmans have an interesting modification though.  Somehow I didn't notice that I was missing the piece that goes between the gun arms and the main body when I got them as loose parts at Iron Wind Miniatures way back here.  So the arm links are all metal BBs instead.  They fit with the rounded profile of the mechs well and join into the sockets on both parts quite nicely.

Next up is something I'm in the process of reading through that's been very interesting.  I've had the Reunification War and First Succession War for a while now, so it was nice to get a hold of the Second Succession War book this past week.  Even better was finding it on sale and saving about $15.  These books have been very interesting reads and it has been interesting to see how they expand on the stories and lore from those time periods.  I hope Catalyst Games keeps producing these books.

So the last thing is in regards to Warhammer 40K.  I've got a box of Intercessors, a Primaris Dreadnought, and the limited edition Captain to assemble.  The small force of primaris marines will be the now decided upon Void Lions, a fleet based group for more aggressive strikes against the alien (I'm looking at you Elite Grot Mountain Division), the traitor (you know, Khorne Berserkers, Black Legion, Space Wolves ... ), and anyone else wanting to deny the Emperor's will.  I'm still not settled on a paint scheme yet but I'm getting close.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing how the progress is going.  I'm happy to get an item off the to do list.  Next up is finishing painting all the GHQ APCs for the Caselton Militia.  After those are done I'll only need to acquire a pair Pegasus hover tanks and then paint a pair of Demolisher tanks to finish up the unit.  Still exploring storage ideas for bits so feel free to share any ideas.  See you all next time!

Working on the List

So I've started making progress on the giant to do list that was the last blog post.  First up is the 8th Donegal Guard.  I've got the Battalion Command lance and 2 other lances ready for basing material.  The Hussar leading 3 Mercuries is my favorite lance of the unit I think.  Nice classic pre-3025 mechs with lots of speed for scouting and harassing enemies.  There is still a lance to finish off the company in progress and then two more companies of mechs to get painted and based.

Next up is the Caselton Militia.  I got a lot of GHQ APC's primered and ready to get their red stripe added later this week.  I also got a batch of bases for said APC's to get added onto.  I still need to paint the edges of the bases and then get another batch prepped up.  There will be 4 platoons for a total of 16 bases so a bit of a ways to go here still.  I also need 8 bases for the already painted Pike and Hetzer lances.

 

And then finally the Ghost Bear PGC got primer coated as well.  I'm still not totally sure what color scheme these guys are getting but at least they're primered and ready for it.  While having some clan mechs in the unit, there is also a star of 5 Inner Sphere mechs that are Star League designs updated to Clan tech and the sort of non-Omni's that one would expect in a PGC.  There is a Marauder, a Banshee, a Gallowglas, and 2 Flashmans.  I still need another clan Omni to finish off the rest of the force but haven't found an option that I like yet.

So that's about all I've had time for but some progress beats no progress for sure.  Work is going to be a bit crazy for the next couple weeks so finding time to make sure there is progress taking place will hopefully keep me somewhat sane.  I'm in retail management and our store just lost a manager to promotion and another is out for maternity/paternity leave so it's made for some crazy work schedules.  Once we get past this week and next though, it should get a lot more normal though so it's all not too bad.

So thanks for stopping by all and don't forget I'm still looking for that great idea for getting all my bits organized and stored.  See you all next time.

Getting Organized

So the organization of my hobby storage, projects, and so on continues.  I'm still looking for a long term idea for bits storage, so keep sending me suggestions if you have them.  I'm also trying to get all my projects and such organized as well.  So here's where the state of my hobby and what's on the list to be worked on.  This is going to turn into a long one I think, so let's get going.

Battletech
Eridani Light Horse, 21st Striker Regiment
This is my unit closest to fully completed and should be able to finish it in the next couple weeks assuming I can track down the tank I'm missing.

1. Need a Rommel/Patton or Von Luckner tank to finish off 1st Arm. Inf. Bat.
2. Finish painting aerospace fighters

8th Donegal Guard
This one will also be done soon.  I've got all the mechs for the 3rd Battalion and it's just a matter of painting and basing.

1. Paint and Base 3rd Battalion of Mechs

Caselton Militia
This one isn't too far from being done as well.  Again it's mainly just painting and basing, though painting all those little GHQ apcs and halftracks .

1. Paint and Base rest of mech infantry platoons and Demolisher Tanks

Ghost Bears
I've got some clan and SLDF era mechs from trades and such that I've organized into a Provisional Garrison Cluster.  Since it's not part of the Alpha Galaxy like the rest of the completed Ghost Bears, they'll need a different paint scheme but still something that goes with them.

1. Paint and Base PGC unit 

20th Arcturan Guard
I have nothing to do to this unit.  It's two lances and no plans to add or mess with this unit any farther.

Terrain
I've got a few ideas of some pieces I want to do, but no immediate projects as I have to figure out the hows and with whats.

Warhammer 40K
Lions of Harlech
This is hands down my largest project to get done.  There are hundreds of marines plus dreadnoughts and vehicles that need painted.  I really need to get myself motivated to start clearing some off these up.  Out of the entire chapter, I'd say close to 35 to 40% of it is painted so a ton of work here to be done.

1. Finish 8th Company, missing 6 Assault Squads
2. Painting and Basing .... SOOOOOOO much painting

Void Lions
This is the successor for my Lions where all the Primaris marines are going.  I've got an Intercessor Box and a Primaris Dreadnought to assemble   I also need to get their background written as well as figure out a paint scheme.  With the Primaris marines from the 8th Edition Starter Box, that'll give me a nice small unit of them that I have no plans on growing.  I just wanted to have a few options of these for use on the table top.

1. Finish assembling Primaris Marines
2. Paint and Base the Primaris force
3. Finish writing fluff for Void Lions

X-Wing
For a while this was played in bulk but seems to have died down for a while.  I still love my ships though and no plans to thin it out any.  I do need to get it all reorganized as it's outgrown my original storage and organization plans.

1. Get cards and ships organized
2. Figure out if I need/want to add any ships

Bolt Action
British Airborne
This is pretty far down the priority list due to there being little interest in Bolt Action lately it seems like.  But I do want to get this group done at some point.

1. Paint and Base entire force
2. Assemble 2nd Bicycle Squad
3. Look into adding a few more Bren Carriers

Mordheim
Dwarf Band
With the news that Mordheim might be being re-released by Games Workshop as well as it's occasional resurgence among players around here, I need to look into getting this force finished.

1. Paint and Base the force 
2. Finish fluff for the force

Saga
Viking Warband
This group is somewhat partially painted and while it isn't played locally, I think I could talk Bob into giving the rules a try if I get the force finished.

1. Paint and Base the force
2. Finish the unit fluff

Space Fleets
This is more of a for fun project than something that will probably every see the table top.  I don't know anyone that plays these.  It includes my BattleTech Aerospace ships as well as generic ships from several systems to use for civilian ships or whatever.  Again no priority on this force at all, but it'll be a fun project to work on at times.

1. Get all the ships painted
2. Figure out basing solution

Organization
I still have a lot of work to do here as well, mainly in getting all the bits still floating on sprues to a final home so I can find what I'm looking for or at least have a decent idea where to look.  A pile of partial sprues on my desk, a large tote of partial sprues and about 4 random boxes with looks stuff in them just isn't working for me any more.

1. Finish sorting hobby source books into boxes
2. Bits storage solution and implementation

Well, that's pretty much it.  There are a few other small things that aren't on the list due to them being so far down the list of stuff to do that they aren't even on the radar.  These include 10mm stuff, Aeronef, Rogue Star force, and Guild Ball.  That's all for now and thanks for stopping by.  I'll see you all next time and don't forget to send those bits storage ideas.