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.

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.

All Over The Place

Oh we're in for a treat today.  We've got 40K, more BattleTech Ghost Bears, and even some Bolt Action.  So sit back and enjoy the ride.

First up, let's see the last of the BattleTech Ghost Bears.  All the Elementals are based so the entire force is 100% complete.  Now I just have to talk Murl or Screech or someone into a game to get them on the table top.  I don't enjoy the painting part of the hobby and I often have to force myself to make progress on this front, so for me to have an entire force of ANYTHING entirely painted is a real achievement I'm proud of.  Now I need to start clearing some more Eridani Light Horse off the list.

Next on the list is some reinforcements for my British Airborne forces.  I've been wanting to Paras on Bikes for a while now.  A three paycheck month happened to fall just as I got a discount code from Warlord.  So two squads of bikes were ordered and arrived the middle of this week.  Half of them are now assembled, and I should have the rest assembled sometime next week.  I also still need to finish the rest of that box of Commandos to use as Paras as well.

Now on to the biggie.  I finally bought a 40K (ok, technically 30K) Calth box.  With my love of almost all things Dreadnought, the Contemptor was the first thing to be assembled.  I used the spare arm on the armless Contemptor I've had for quite a while, so now it just needs one now.  And yes, that means I now have 5 Contemptor Dreadnoughts and 20 total Dreadnoughts of all types now.  And no, I don't have a problem, I could not buy any dreadnought that wasn't interesting or appealing anytime I want.

Ok, moving on!  The Chaplain model from the Calth box was next.  This will be Chaplain Tobyn Pyke, Master of Sanctity, head of all the Lions of Harlech's chaplains.  It's a great model and I love the Crozius and how the cloak looks on the model.  It's got a lot of personality and went together really easily.

Then I've got the Captain in terminator armor and four terminators put together.  The Captain will be Captain Pedr Dyfedd, Regent of Cymru, Commander of the First Company (the Icons of Honor).  All five have chainfists so are ready to dish out massive destruction to anything in their way.

But way I hear you say "the Calth box comes with FIVE terminators, not four."  No, I'm not missing one.  The last one I got having fun with the bits box to create another character from my chapter's fluff.  Using some bits from the Mechanicus Warstrider box (yes, I bought one of those a while back just to use the bits out of it) as well as some other bits, we now have Inquisitor Jaemes Kaelleon, Ordo Hereticus, Radical Inquisitor (Libricar), one of my chapter's allies.  Being a Radical Inquisitor, he has the sort of tech weapons that might be frowned upon in some quarters, but he gets the job down.  I really like how he came out and this is the sort of conversion that makes 40K so much fun.

So that's where we're at for now.  What's up for the next couple weeks?  The rest of the British Para Bikers, some Eridani Light Horse hopefully, the marines from the Calth box, ..oh there is so much more lined up that I need to get through.  I'm also planning to go back and start redoing the chapter pics and blog posts of the Lions.  I never got half of them done before and what was done is out of date now too.  There's lots and lots of fun stuff coming this summer and I hope you all are enjoying the ride.

Still More Ghost Bears

So we've got more progress on my force of Ghost Bears, and the force is nearing completion.  I had a Kingfisher waiting in the mail when I got home today so it will enable me to finish the 3rd star of mechs in my force.  I just have to remember to use the darker scheme so that it fits in with the other four.  The glue is drying for his arms and base, so he'll be ready to primer in the morning.

I managed to get the elementals first all painted in the two layer blue camo then got the wash layer on them.  I did NOT try and do the chip part of the camo scheme on them and left it with just the blues and wash over the white base.

Then I used clippers to cut the elementals apart and got them on hex bases in groups of five.  Next up is getting them all based to complete them.

There were two loose elementals left when I was done with that step so I decided to use them as embellishment for a couple of the mechs since they were already painted.  A Grizzly and a Novacat now have an elemental rider each which fits well with the way Ghost Bears do things I think.

So that's where I'm at for the moment with the end in sight for this project (or at least the current end of it.)  I'm heading into a week of vacation so I'm going to try and take a few days to really bear down and get some items off the queue here.  Notably I need to spend a day finish painting Light Horse mechs and getting a lot of those Light Horse mechs based.  I also want to spend at least an evening getting my Vikings for SAGA done, so that when Bob makes it back from France I can see about challenging him to a game.

That's all for now and I'll see you all early next week with a batrep of my Lions vs Neverness' Khorne forces.

Ghost Bears, Light Horse, and a Bit of Bolt Action

So a bit of progress on several fronts here in the hobby realm.  First of all, the Bear Cub was finished for the Ghost Bears to finish off the Charlie Star of scouts/recon.

Then it turns out that I got a great deal on some elementals on eBay, enough to do about 11 points for $16 and shipping.  Nothing in the 50th Striker Cluster has more than 5 Points of Elementals in it, so I needed to do a restructure of the force.  A quick peruse through the Invading Clans sourcebook at the Ghost Bears Tourman and I moved everything over into the 1st Bear Guards Cluster instead.  What I have will represent the 312th Assault Trinary (the Silver Kodiaks) and the 23rd Elemental Support Binary.  This uses up all 3 Stars of Omnimechs as well as all the elementals while still keeping in the Alpha Galaxy so nothing needs a repaint.  The elementals are all primed and I'm going to paint them before splitting them apart to get them on hex bases to finish them off.

1st Bear Guards Cluster (The Rage), Alpha Galaxy
Star Colonel Paul Bekker, Timberwolf (Madcat)

312th Assault Trinary (The Silver Kodiaks)
Star Captain Eddard Jamieson, Novacat

Alpha Star
Star Commander Rachael Baird, Hellbringer (Loki)
    Tomas Sarnow, Warhawk (Masakari)
    Lucian Pyne, Mad Dog (Vulture)
    Coleen Groenewold, Summoner (Thor)
    Oscar Esterhaus,

Bravo Star
Star Commander Freyja Wycliffe, Grizzly
    Simon Paulk, Mad Dog (Vulture)
    Fionna Giscard, Timberwolf (Madcat)
    Wilhelm Forsythe, Novacat
    Iroku Ashigara, Timberwolf (Madcat)

Charlie Star
Star Commander Jayne Cardones, Timberwolf (Madcat)
    Hideoshi Nakamura, Blackhawk
    Kaitrin Ericsson, Soiltaire
    Manfred Courvosier, Blackhawk
    Thorgeir Gaerwulf, Bearcub

23rd Elemental Support Binary
Star Captain Sarah Kabrinsky

Alpha Elemental Star
Star Commander Klaus Danitov
    5 Elemental Points

Bravo Elemental Star
Star Commander Travis Garroway
    5 Elemental Points

Next up we have something for my Eridani Light Horse.  The four LAMS (from way back here) were primed, got the base layer green, the brass highlights, and a wash layer.  I need to figure out what to paint the stand that holds them up off the base still then get them based as well.

And then my Bolt Action British Paras got a bit of love.  A while back I got a box of British Commandos to use as paras since they have the beret option.  I got the first five assembled for 2 rifles, 2 sten guns, and a PIAT launcher.  I'm aiming to get the other 20 in the box assembled over the next week.

So that's where we're at for now.  Goals for the coming week include getting the Elementals done, getting my Leviathan based when the ordered base finally shows up in the mail, and then getting more of the paras put together.  I also still need to come up with one more mech to finish off the Alpha Star of my Ghost Bears.  I've been trying to work out a trade or cheap purchase of a Kingfisher which would be a great fit but have yet to have any luck there.  We'll see how it all goes and I'll see you all next time.

Leviathan Progress and More Ghost Bears

So, let's start out with the Leviathan Dreadnought this time.  I acquired some vehicle heraldry bits via eBay.  They're technically Dark Angel bits but without all the skulls and death angels icons so they work for other chapters.  There is a great large bit that went on the right shoulder piece and then some scrolls and purity seals that were placed in various places on the Dreadnought.  I'm still waiting on the base that I ordered which should be here somewhere around the middle of next week.

The Leviathan Dreadnought is Gweirwys, who was originally an Imperial Fists veteran sergeant.  During the campaigns to re-establish control of the Empire after the Heresy, Vet Sgt Gweirwys was laid low by a Night Lord assault termninator and was then encased in a Leviathan Dreadnought.  When the Lions of Harlech were founded, he left the Imperial Fists to join the Chapter as a guide and advisor.  Gweirwys is one of the Chapter's most sacred relics due to his ties to their proginator chapter.  He seldom is awakened now and is roused only in the direst of situations, passing the decades and centuries being tended by chapter techmarines and serfs.

Next, while digging for some bits, I found an unopened Battletech Bearcub that somehow got misplaced and lost.  It's been assembled and primed and now needs painted to join the Charlie Star of my Ghost Bears.  That will finish off my Scout/Reconnaissance Star.

I also got the next four omnimechs painted.  They'll get me to most of the way to completion for my clan force.

Unfortunately, after I had finished, I realized that I had done the blue layers backwards with the darker on top.  Not sure how I made that mistake or didn't notice it before I moved on to later steps.  Quite irritating as the Trinary had been going so smoothly in the paint department so far.

can definitely see the difference

Not wanting to completely strip all four of them down and start over, all I can do now is paint one more mech in the darker scheme and put them all together in one star.  Then they'll fit into the scheme as a whole but don't look odd paired with other mechs.

Still making good progress and even doing well with keeping the blog active, so whoot go me.  That's all for now and I'll see you all next time.

Ghost Bears and Dreadnoughts

So the next four Clan Ghost Bears mechs are done now.  They got the chip pattern and I got them based though the wash layer on the basing is still drying.

 

The Masakari, Thor, and Loki are now primed and ready to start getting the blue camo pattern.  The last, a Vulture, is on it's second trip through the Simple Green bath due to some stubborn paint in the joints and recesses.

Next up, we have progress on the Leviathan Dreadnought, now identified as Gweirwys for my chapter fluff.  First of all I got the two gun barrels on the Storm Cannon straightened, then got that arm assembled as well as the Grav Flux Bombard arm.  Both of those then were added to the Leviathan Dreadnought.  I've got a base for it on order and I still need to come up with some bits to relic it out some, purity seals and so forth.

 

I also got the Betrayal at Calth Contemptor Dreadnought (originally seen here) primed and it has been named Bleddynwyr for the chapter fluff.  I'm such a fan of the Contemptor design.  While the Leviathan looks like a brute capable of massive destruction, the Contemptor has such a sleek deadly look about it.  It's like the Battlecruiser of 40K Dreadnoughts.

Then finally something that I purchased due to finding a great deal on eBay about 4 months back, but hasn't made the blog yet.  We have 3 Dual Twin-linked Autocannon Dreadnoughts.  It's a variant I've never owned before and it was a great price for the three together.  They've been designated Maldwyn, Braedwr, and Camedyr for the fluff.  They arrived a mix of black and rust colored, and have now been primed.

So that's where we stand for now and I'll see you all next time.  Should be some more Ghost Bears for sure and then need to get some of the Eridani Light Horse off the queue as well.

More Ghost Bears and Something Ominous

Some work still continues along with my Clan Ghost Bear Trinary.  The next four mechs now have both layers of the blue camo and then the black wash layer on them.  They still need the chip pattern added and basing.  The two Madcats and the Novacat will go towards filling out the Bravo Star and the Blackhawk will join the first Blackhawk and Solitaire in the Charlie Star.

I acquired a Thor and Loki which will finish off the Bravo Star.  There is also a Masakari which will be the Star Colonel's for the 50th Strike Cluster for when he tags along with the 43rd Striker Trinary.  Not pictured is a Vulture which is enjoying a soak in Simple Green.  It will be for the Trinary's Star Captain.

The last item that made it onto my work table for the past week is a Forge World Leviathan Dreadnought that I found on eBay.  From it's point of sale, I was figuring it was most likely a recast.  But if it's a recast, it's the best one I've ever seen.  The resin feels and looks like Forge World resin.  Two gun barrels even had the same bending curves that we all know and expect from FW items, so who knows.

 

Anyway, it's a vicious incarnation of a Dreadnought.  It's big, bulky, deadly looking, and boy is it's fire power quite deadly.  I got the one with the Grav Flux Bombard and Storm Cannon.  The amount of damage it can dish out is pretty impressive and it can definitely thin out a horde of troops or crumple tanks as needed.  It's the coolest dreadnought I've added to my collection so far which is saying something considering how much I like my Ironclads and Contemptors.

The next post will include any progress on the Leviathan as well as a repost of the Clan Ghost Bear Trinary and the state o all it's members.  So that's all for now and I'll see you all next time around.