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!

Let's Launch Things Into Space

So the last of what I needed arrived in the mail Friday and my special project for BattleTech terrain is now completed.  This is made from part of a GI Joe vehicle, the radar option from the AA Walker for my British Bolt Action, some 40K bits, and a 1/400 Delta II Rocket with Launch Pad.

 

This is a Slingshot Mk.IV Mobile Satellite Launch Platform.  This dates back to the early days of the Terran Hegemony.  It was designed to allow continued launch of various satellites into orbit, from weather to communications to others, during the colonization period of a planet.  It's capable of only minimal speed but that allows it to maneuver clear of adverse weather or other dangers.

I had the idea for this a while back but it's taken quite a while to find the right scale rocket that came with a launch pad to use.  I really like how this came out and it makes a great objective for my ComStar force to defend as it's just the kind of lostech that they'd be hiding from everyone else, but they'd still be using on sparsely populated worlds to keep an eye on things.

That's it on the hobby front for now.  My last paycheck had my yearly bonus on it and I picked up some DVDs of some of the shows I grew up with, namely Hanna-Barbera.  I got the complete series of Thundarr the Barbarian, Space Stars (which has Space Ghost, the Herculoids, and others), and then Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.  So needless to say, I've been relaxed in the living room with a big bowl of cereal and watching cartoons in the evenings after work lately.  So I'll see you all next time and thanks for visiting.

ComGuard Additions and Terrain

So the ComGuard in BattleTech, even though they use a funky 6 in a lance set-up, are a combined arms unit like the Star League Defense Force that was their predecessor.  While I have a number of tanks in the Eridani Light Horse Regiment and leftover from the same, the vast majority were created in the time between the fall of the Star League and the 3rd Succession War which is the time frame I'm building this unit for.  So with that in mind I went looking for some appropriate vehicles to use.

 

The first unit is a pair of Marksman Artillery Tanks, a pair of Alacorn Heavy Tanks, and then will get two bases of Mechanized Infantry.  The Marksmans provide plenty of long range artillery power while the Alacorns with their triple Gauss rifles will be murder on advancing enemy mechs.  With two mechanized platoons to screen them, it's a good force to provide supporting fire.

The second unit is a quartet of Puma Assault Tanks, which will also get two bases of Mechanized Infantry.  A PPC and 2 LRM/20s give the Puma plenty of ranged power with a pair of medium lasers and an SRM/6 for closer defense.  It even has a small laser and a flamer to deal with any pesky infantry that get past the two accompanying platoons of mechanized infantry.

Now after getting that terrain shown in the last post, I got an itch for getting some more CBT terrain.  So I hit the bits boxes and saw what I could come up with.  First up I had some old containers that ended turned into 5 storage tanks that will make a nice defense or attack objective/target.

Then I turned a couple Tau drone bodies into what will be a pair of bunkers/  Once they get flocked around, they should work quite well for that.  The last piece is going to be a small missile launch station with a comm tower and small bunker to go with the two launchers.

As far as mechs go, the Scout Level II of Hussar, triple Mercury, and dual Assassin got black paint highlights but still need to be touched up in a couple places with white and then get based.  They will hopefully make the next post.  So progress continues and I'm slowly accumulating a decent mix of BattleTech terrain.  I'll see you all next time and thanks for reading.

Battletech and a Bit More Battletech

So we've got some progress on the ComGuard force on both the miniature and fluff side of things.  The force is now part of the 7th ComGuard Division under Precentor Xavier Stoughton.  This unit is currently stationed on Galedon V in the Draconis Combine and is assigned to protect the HPG and other ComStar facilities on the planet.  It's a bit weird using 6 mech units rather than the normal 4 mech lance, and I'm still trying to figure out the Latin alphabet designation for the Level III layers when you figure in the infantry and vehicles.  But all in all, it's progressing well I think.

As to the painting, after using a test model to try black wash followed by touching up with white paint and then trying an ultra fine black modeling marker in place of the black wash .... I have discovered that I have the skill to pull off neither method on white models.  So they'll all get painted white, get a silver for the view ports, and then black to hit some of the weapon barrels and such, and that will just have to suffice.  I've got the first three Level II's through the two layers of white primer and then a layer of Vallejo White.

Level II Alpha Light
Adept Kevin Barrows
    Hussar Light Mech
    Mercury Light Mech
    Mercury Light Mech
    Mercury Light Mech
    Assassin Medium Mech
    Assassin Medium Mech

The first is a Light Scout Level II.  This is a nice fast and mobile unit made up of classic Star League Defense Force mechs.  It definitely should be able to perform it's role as scouts for the main force.  These are the first Mercurys and first Hussar that I have owned.  The Hussar blister was slightly intimidating with all the parts in it, but it went together quite easily.  I like this mix of mechs for this role and it makes a nice looking unit.

Level II Alpha Heavy
Adept Vincent Wellingsby
    Flashman Heavy Mech
    Grasshopper Heavy Mech
    Grasshopper Heavy Mech
    Grasshopper Heavy Mech
    Wolverine Medium Mech
    Wolverine Medium Mech

Next up is a striker/reaction force Level II.  All six mechs are in my list of favorites and offer good hitting power while maintaining good speed and maneuverability.  Again all are designs common to the SLDF and are what you'd expect to find in the hidden ComGuard force.

Level II Alpha Assault
Adept Carissa Allenby
    Orion Heavy Mech
    Stalker Assault Mech
    Stalker Assault Mech
    Stalker Assault Mech
    Exterminator Heavy Mech
    Exterminator Heavy Mech

This is the assault force of the unit.  It's a hard hitting force that's designed to punch through an opposing force.  Once more, common SLDF units and what you'd expect for a linebreaker force.

I also made some progress on some terrain for my BattleTech and thought I'd work it into this post as well.

The HPG Station that's been posted in this blog before.  A mix of GI Joe parts and various bits, it works well for the role I think and will give my ComGuard force something to protect.

Next is a factory complex that is numerous bits added to a switch box.  It's not the greatest but again should work well for what it represents.

Lastly we have a mix of small terrain options.  There is a small electrical station, two defense missile towers and a quartet of sensor towers or mining platforms as they could work for either depending on the map set up.  I think this gives a decent mix of terrain to work into the normal hills, forests, etc that go on the board and could lead to some interesting scenario driven games as well.

So that's it for the moment and I'll see you all next time.

Battletech Terrain

So I was digging in the bits box this morning as well as in some boxes of old stuff and I came across some things that gave me an idea for CBT terrain.  I give you my version of an HPG station.  (Bills will be via ComStar, no Wobblies allowed.)

 

 

 

 I think I'm happy with how it all came out, though I need to get it primed and some paint on it at some point.  It should make a nice addition to our terrain for these scale games anyway which mainly consists of low hills, some trees, and some rather interesting paper buildings that Master Cheef has.

On the Eridani Light Horse front, everything that is here is currently painted.  I'm still missing the 12 mechs that will be formed from the RoboTech pre-order that I placed.  Unfortunately they're still several shipping containers away from finishing all the Kickstarter orders before they get around to pre-orders.  My current hope is that I'll see these before February.  This will give me 4 Warhammers/Hammerhands, 4 Riflemen, 2 Longbows, and 2 Archers.  The Longbows and 2 Riflemen are slated for the AA lance in the 1st Armored Infantry Battalion with the rest rounding out Battalion and Company command lances.

 

I have managed some pretty good deals and trades on the Battletech Trade and Sell Facebook group, and other than the previously mentioned mechs, I've got full battalions completed and I'm ready to begin the last mech battalion of the 21st Striker Regiment.  That battalion is a bit heavy in aerospace so I'll be looking to add 28 Mechs and 8 aerospace fighters to build the entire battalion to the TOE.  I've got a trade in the works that exchanges 10 mechs from a Citytech box set for 10 mechs in the weight class and style I'm looking for.  I'm getting rid of a pair each of Daishis, Blackhawks, Victors, Ullers, and Centurians and receiving 3 Cicadas, 2 Commandos, 2 Assassins, a Trebuchet, a Javelin, and a Dervish.  This will get the 3rd Striker Battalion started, though it'll be far from complete.

So all in all it's going pretty decent on the Battletech front and hopefully I'll survive the upcoming holidays at work to be able to get a lot more gaming in the future.

That's all for now and I'll see you all later.

Fortifications

So this blog is on the fortifications that have slowly been acquired.  So far there is a nice bunker piece that I got off of RTVortil and then a pair of Bastions that came from eBay at a very reasonable price.  I put in best offers on the Bastions and ended up getting them for $26 each which I think isn't a bad deal at all.  No idea what the final paint idea for these will be, but I'm sure I'll come up with something at some point.  I'm half thinking the blue that my marines have for their shoulder pads and then lighter metals and such to help blend into the ice and snow of their homeworld of Cymru.

I've also got a set of the trenches and strong points via the Martyrs set from a while back that RTVortil has been working on off and on.

The other terrain in the future is a Kickstarter I've gone in on.  It's by Impudent Mortals and they're doing both 15mm and 28mm terrain as part of the Kickstarter.  I've gone in to get some industrial 15mm terrain to use in Battletech.  The product all looks nice and they've got a scheduled delivery date of August so all in all not too bad.  Since it's all laser cut wood, the actual production shouldn't be an issue so I'm expecting this one to come in on time.  Cheef has a decent mix of paper buildings for Battletech but their definitely showing signs of wear so this mix of terrain will hopefully give a nice mix of terrain for these games in the future.

That's all for now.  Up next time will be an Imperial Fist relic Landraider for my Lions.