Magistracy Infantry Platoon

 Hi!

I found myself a little distracted yesterday, having looked through my collection and decided to work on some more of my SD scale Battletech stuff and revisit a project that had kind of stalled out so following a bit of head scratching, I set to work on making some lowly foot sloggers for my Mechs to stomp

Now having decided to make said tiny infantry, I realised my last attempt at them had been overly complex as you can't really notice detail on small infantry figures, especially when they are going to get beaten up almost immediately so spending lots of time and effort on them seems like a wee bit of a waste!

With that in mind, I went for a simple body, head and weapon look that while simple does give the impression of a tiny infantryman and with a quick coat of paint, there we go! I went for a small 20mm round base for the figures as I felt that I larger 30mm was a bit of a waste and I can group the little guys together quite tightly to represent a mass of troops milling around.

Comparing them to the vehicles and mechs I've previously made they may be a wee bit on the big side but thats ok as they're more representative of a squad than an accurate squad of troops.

Having completed them, I'm rather pleased with how they've turned out and I'm seriously contemplating using a similar approach for my 4th edition 40k project as they're rather fun to work on so I may have a bit of a bash at putting together some sample stands of Imperial Guard, Space Marine, Eldar and Orky figures to see how they look!

My next task will be to add a fourth vehicle to my Magistracy light armour and I'm also thinking about adding some Technicals with a Periphery truck or two armed with a motley assortment of machine guns...

I've got a fair few other bits and bobs finished that need photographing but I just seem to be on a bit of a roll so will keep putting together figures and painting assorted gubbins and will try to get some games in too but in the meantime, All the best!

Magistracy Of Canopus Armour Reinforcements!

 Hi!

I am trying to work through painting all my sculpts that have sat languishing unpainted since I made them and this evening I rummaged out my Scorpion light tank for my Magistracy of Canopus armoured force:

Scorpion Light Tank accompanies a pair of Hunter Light Support Tanks

As with my other SD scale gubbins, I went for a super stylised sculpt that kept things simple and it took virtually no time to paint too which was a real boon too. I could do with picking up some decals to finish the trio but they're game ready as they are.

I really need to get the pirate Hunchback that I'd sculpted done too which will finish all the stuff for my Battletech project that's currently outstanding and I'm also pondering what to make next as I need a fourth vehicle for my Canopian lance and my Wilson's Hussars mercenaries need some tlc!

It's been super satisfying to paint something quick and easy and I want to keep the momentum going and keep blasting through whatever catches my eye from my unpainted pile, not to mention get some more games played but in the meantime, All the best!

Battletech Rumblings

 Hi!

I had planned on showing some pics of my latest additions to my Planet 28 forces this evening but was absolutely knackered when I got back from work so haven't had chance to get any pictures yet so hopefully tomorrow will see an update with some finished stuff in it.

Instead I've found myself shoving on some Death From Above Wargaming and Guerrilla Miniatures Games Battletech battle reports on Youtube and found myself once again drawn to the setting!

Interestingly it appears that many gamers are feeling the same way at the moment as a lot of GW gamers are making the move to the game of Armored Combat. Maybe its the fact that it hasn't changed much in 30 odd years or the rules are a bit like the old Rogue Trader, being a toolbox that allows you to really tinker with the size and complexity of game you want to play or the new and shiny and revamped miniatures which seem to be catching peoples attention but there is a real buzz about Battletech in the gaming community at the moment.

Coupled with the fairly readily available 3d printing tech that is increasingly allowing folks to print out their own customised mechs and the relatively low price point, with average forces being only four or five figures a side, it does seem that the latest round of kickstarters have got a lot of new folks interested in giving the game a try, be it classic Battletech on hexmaps, tabletop or the streamlined Alpha Strike.

I played quite a bit of both during the first lockdown but must admit that I've yet to play a game of it this year and am feeling the need to remedy this, either using my handy dandy cardboard counters, my own SD sculpted stuff or dare I say it, to buy some of those lovely new figures!

I'll need to rummage out my gubbins but annoyingly I've only got the digital editions which aren't that handy since my I-Pad went kaput a few years back so I'm thinking of investing in actually buying the box set, rules and tech readouts but have discovered that they are currently fiendishly difficult to get ones hands on, presumably as everybody else has had the same idea resulting in the usual sources drying up so I'll need to make do with what I've got for the time being. 

I'd be interested in hearing what other folks thoughts on the game are and if they've been tempted to dip their toes into the retro wonders of giant stompy robot combat.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 90

Hi!

It's been a bit of a mixed batch today. First up, there's the last of my Pirate Lance for my SD Battletech project:

Pirate Spider Mech

I've had him base coated for a little while now and have put off finishing him for various reasons (mostly due to the teeny infantry fiasco!) but finally sat down and got him finished last night.

 

I tried to give him a more dynamic pose and rather enjoyed adding all his jump jet gubbins too. Here's a pic of him with the rest of his lance:

 Panther, Spider, Jenner, Javelin

Here's the full force in action with Red's Marauders up against Wilson's Hussars!

Mech on Mech!

Speaking of Battletech, I managed to play another game and post a quick report over on TALES FROM THE INNER SPHERE which saw one of Wilson's Mercs tangle with an unknown opponent and will be the first of a series of games I hope to play out in the coming week.

Finally, here's a quick peek at the first of my cultists:

Pud Is Good!

They're a bit rough as it's been a while since I've worked in 15mm scale but should do the job. I've still got a bit of work to do with them such as the guns needing detailing and lots of little details but even if they turn out blobby, I'm not too bothered as they are masked goons so having them perfectly proportioned doesn't matter.

I think I'm going to have to get some serious sculpting practice in for 15mm scale as working in different scales requires different techniques so I shall use this project as an opportunity to get some practice and try and get some more finesse for working with smaller figures.

I'll see what I can get finished tomorrow and post up my progress as always but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 79

Hi!

I've finally finished the last of the Heavy and Assault Mechs for my Papertech project!

Heavy and Assault Mechs 3025

Battlemaster, Stalker, Cyclops, Banshee, Atlas, Zeus

Warhammer, Marauder, Orion, Awesome, Charger, Goliath, Victor

Huzzah! That's all the Mechs featured in the 3025 Technical Readout. My next challenge will be to get some of the vehicles from the 3026 Technical Readout.

Alas I've not had much time to work on much else today as commission work has kept me busy but I felt the need to get some more drawing done.

I'm still piling up supplies for my 6mm skirmish project and I spotted this on Facebook today:

Image courtesy of Mark Weddon

It's made of really simple pieces and looks awesome and I may have to steal elements for my own use!

It reminds me of PLANETARESVI who put together some really inspirational small scale skirmish scenery:

Planet Ares VI Micromunda terrain

Reading through the Planet Ares VI blog, his scenery is all magnetised so the teeny figures, also on magnets, stick to the table and don't get lost which is one of the worries about individually based 6mm skirmish. 

I'll need to get some more painting finished as time allows and we shall see what I can get completed for tomorrow but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 78

Hi!

Today I've had a bit of a mixed bag of solo gaming and painting as well as some bits and bobs of a sculpting sort.

First up, here's my Goff Nob Mob:

Goff Nobz

I tried to keep the little guys somewhat inspired by the 2nd edition 40k original pics I showed the other day so instead of just having utilitarian black and a smidge of white, I added some bright red with orange highlights which really livens up the figures.

Here's the current mob:

The Mob so far

This will represent a single formation for my warband as it expands but will probably have the nobz put into a separate unit with the Warboss and his ride once I have it finished...

Speaking of which, I was looking at the classic Epic Battlewagon and was uninspired by the little cheesy skull and spikes on the front so have spent a bit of time working on an upgraded one this afternoon:

 Battlewagon wip

I still have a bit of work to do on it as I am going to replace the weedy wheel spikes and add some impressive banner poles on it to give it the real Orky Warboss' personal super cool ride vibe that it deserves.

I'm also starting to pull together lots of odds and ends that I can use to bodge together the retro scenery I want as I am planning on adding funky cacti and all sorts of gubbins and trying to replicate the original scenics seen in the old 2nd edition battle reports on a small scale. Hopefully I'll have the first of it finished in the next few days and will show it when I can!

I also managed to play not one but two quick games of Battletech today using the introductory rules and found it to be rather fun!

Full information can be found HERE over on my Tales From the Inner Sphere blog but having heard about how plodding Battletech was with near wrecked mechs dragging themselves along with their only operational finger, I was pleasantly surprised.

I am also working on a commission at present so I don't have quite as much time on my hands but will try and keep the entertaining posts going every day while the lockdown continues and once I'm back at work, we shall see how things go.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 77

Hi!

I've just got a quick post this evening as I've got some Epic Orks getting worked on at present but not finished!

In other news, I'd mentioned yesterday that I was thinking of starting a new blog for my Battletech stuff. Essentially, it's going to be initially miniatures free so I don't want to clog up Tales From Farpoint with lots of ramblings and paper standees so have started TALES FROM THE INNER SPHERE.

In it I plan on exploring the setting of Battletech and playing games using both Classic Battletech and Alphastrike as well as introducing some RPG elements with small units conducting skulduggery and shady deeds.

I must admit that a large part of wanting to do this is that, as people have already mentioned, the Battletech universe is so vast and dense with 30+ years of background to lose oneself in. It can be intimidating to delve into and I hope to use it as a bit of a project log so I can share my experiences with it and if and when I add miniatures to it, I'll post them here too.

This doesn't mean that Tales From Farpoint is going anywhere as I have loads more stuff to work on of a more miniatures related slant so expect regular updates here as usual, in fact looking at my post count, I am rapidly approaching the total posts for the last three years in just six months of 2020!

We shall see how I get on with the project and I hope to keep it going over the course of the next six months or so and hopefully folks will find it interesting enough to have a peruse.

Tomorrow will hopefully see my initial 6mm Ork warband finished and I will be able to move onto the next stage which will involve more boyz and characters...

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 76

Hi!

Just a quick post this evening as is often the case, I've got lots of bits and bobs on the go but not much finished.

First up, I've got the first four bases of my Ork warband done:

Goff Boyz

Although clad in proper Goff Black, I feel they are possibly a bit dull so may reclassify this four bases as Skarboyz, the ded 'ard veterans of many a battle and I think I'll be adding a wee bit of red to the normal boyz as in this scale, a bit of brightness, especially 2nd edition 40k inspired is almost a requirement.

Almost as an afterthought, I added a little clan logo to the front of each base which I quite like! If they do become Skarboyz, I'll need to rework the glyph to represent their elite status but it will do for the time being. 

Hopefully a bit of tweaking tomorrow will see them looking more as I wanted them to!

Secondly, I've quickly thrown together a logo for my Battletech pirate force, Red's Marauders:

It's a bit simple and rather Orky but thats ok with me. I'm currently putting together a separate Battletech campaign blog so I can ramble on about my chosen forces, the setting and whatnot without clogging up this blog which is already sitting at over 900 posts!

While it's convenient for me to just post everything here, I suspect that my Battletech blog will be more of a stream of consciousness come RPG lite sort of affair with the possibility of several posts a day with whatever comes into my head and if it works out, I may do something similar for one or two other ideas I've had.

It may not work out as planned but we shall see how things go.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 75

Hi!

I've had a bit of a mixed day here with bits and bobs being worked on but not much to show for it!

First up, I've got a bit of a micro project underway with a tiny version of a 40k Ork warband started. The plan is to make a 2nd edition sized warband in 6mm and use my own rules to play some small skirmishes using them.

Classic 40k 2nd edition Ork warband

I decided to do this on a bit of a whim as I've got quite a pile of Epic gubbins lying around and have been wondering what to do with it. I plan on using 30mm lipped bases with five infantry, two bikers or one vehicle on each and recreating some teeny warbands from the golden days of 2nd edition.

Initially I've picked out 20 boyz, 5 nobz, a dread and battlewagon which should keep me entertained for the next day or so and hope to expand the force up to the technicolour excitement of a 2000 point Ork warband of many clans roughly identical to the first image.

This will require me to rummage out the following:

1x Warboss
1x Weirdboy plus Minders
5x Nobz
15x Goff Boyz
5x Goff Skarboyz
10x Deathskull Boyz
10x Evil Sunz Boyz
10x Badmoon Boyz
1x Shokk Attack Gun plus Snotling ammo
1x Battlewagon
1x Dreadnaught
1x Warbuggy
1x Wartrakk
2x Warbikes

Now reading the original battle report, the game was played on a 8'x4' board but I'm fairly sure that I play a game on a 2'x3' if I wanted. I'm also keen on copying some of the terrain in miniature so we shall see what I can bodge together!

In other news, I've ordered some maps from Ral Partha Europe for playing some games of Battletech with.

Maps aplenty!

According to the listing I'll be getting ten different map sheets covering a variety of terrain types and I look forward to seeing what I get. Not too bad for a tenner, especially when all the other map packs I've found cost considerably more!

I'll have to wait for them to arrive but I'm looking forward to trying out some classic Battletech using them with my paper standees and the old 3rd edition rules which I've managed to rummage out. It will be interesting to see how the game plays compared to Alphastrike. I'll post a review of them when they arrive and will see how I get on.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 74

Hi!

Just a quick update this evening with the next addition to my Papertech Battletech Mechs!

I've got the light, medium and some of the heavy Mechs from the 3025 Technical Readout at present and hopefully I'll have the last heavy and assault mechs done tomorrow.

 Rifleman, Catapult, Crusader, Jaegermech, Thunderbolt, Archer, Grasshopper

Shadowhawk, Scorpion, Wolverine, Dragon, Ostroc, Ostsol, Quickdraw

Vindicator, Centurian, Enforcer, Hunchback, Trebuchet, Dervish, Griffin

Clint, Hermes 2, Vulcan, Whitworth, Blackjack, Hatchetman, Phoenix Hawk

Valkyrie, Firestarter, Jenner, Ostscout, Panther, Assassin, Cicada

Locust, Wasp, Stinger, Commando, Javelin, Spider, Urbanmech

Feel free to print them out and colour them in and get playing some Battletech! 

I really need to get the fourth battle from my campaign played out and as I've got my new mat, I think it would be a good opportunity to get a game played on the cheap!

Tomorrow I'll try and get a couple of different games put together, one with my Land Ironclads and another with the last Battletech campaign game and will endeavour to get at least one of them posted up.

Looking at my Papertech gubbins, I still have a bunch of Kryomek stuff needing done, namely the last of the Kryomek warriors and the Warmaster options. I'll try and get the Nexus troops some walkers drawn up too. 

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 73

Hi!

I've managed to get the last two of my Dwarven Land Ironclads finished at last!

Firestorm Class Rocket Ironclad and Battle Forge Class Command Ironclad

The Firestorm is a development of the Anvil class Ironclad which the Dwarven engineers have developed to give their landfleet a long range support vehicle. Armed with a battery of Firestorm rockets which give the vehicle its name as well as two sponson guns to give it some direct fire defences, the Firestorm is a rare design still undergoing trials but the fearsome amount of devastation it can bring upon its target is making it a popular choice in Dwarven expeditions.

Battle Forge

The Battle Forge is an old design amongst the Dwarven Landfleet as most of its firepower is concentrated on the vehicles flanks giving a terrifying broadside but only one heavy turret mounted on a turret with a limited traverse means that it often struggles to bring its full weight to bear when in the defensive form of combat the Dwarves tend to rely on. Combined with a traction assembly that is barely able to move the behemoth at much more than a walking pace means that it is only a matter of time before this class is retired for the newer and more advanced designs.

With that being said, the Battle Forge is a venerable design, still popular with its crew so it is expected to be in service for some time to come.

I've had this vehicle for a while in pieces as it just didn't look right being so tall and stubby but I finally decided to get it painted and into a game as a somewhat obsolete design that till trudles around blasting at stuff.

I think the problem is that I should have gone for a 40x60mm base and stretched the thing a bit with longer tracks and a lower hull which I suspect will be how my next heavy hitter will be based once I finalise a design for it!

Here's the Battle Forge compared to the Capo di Capo from the Vongola city state:

Capo di Capo and Battle Forge

Both are older designs which rely on broadside volleys to crush their foes with only a single turret mounting heavy guns with a traverse. Game wise, the Battle Forge will be a bit of a beast with tons of guns and armour but moves at a snailspace.

Speaking of games, here's a few shots of the two full armies in action:

Vongola and Dwarven landfleets engage

I'm going to try out a game of my own devising in the next day or two which takes elements from Song of Blades, Full Thrust and several others to see how the two armies work. I do need to look at putting together some infantry and cavalry but am not too sure how they'd fare against the destructive power of such mighty iron beasts!

Lancia class Ironclads

I'm interested in seeing how a fast but not very well armoured force works against a very heavily armoured but slow one. I suspect that I'm going to have to finish the last two of my Vongola heavy ironclads to even things up a bit as the Dwarves have currently got the advantage in firepower.

I'll also need to get some more scale suitable scenics finished as the two landfleets need some objectives to fight over too!

Dwarven Ironclads and Gyrocopters engage a formation of Lambo class Vongola ironclads.

I have got some small steamtanks for each side and really should get them painted up too but feel it's important to see how the bigger vehicles cope. There's also some more air assets for the two forces needing painted up but I shall get round to that eventually too.

 Dwarven and Vongola heavies steam towards each other

I have also got my Orcs who will play very differently from both of my existing fleets as they use living transport in the form of giant lizards but they need quite a bit of work before they are a suitable fighting force of their own so maybe I should aim to get them done at some point in the coming months.

 Vongola Zephyrs scream towards a lumbering Dwarf dig bomber

Looking at the original forces from Leviathan, I still need to work on designs for the Barbarians and the Elves, not to mention a host of other interesting races and factions who are vying for control of Aeroth too...

Vintage Aerial picture!

In other news, I've finished the papertech versions of the light and medium Mechs from the 3025 tech readout:

Papertech!

Clint, Hermes 2, Vulcan, Whitworth, Blackjack, Hatchetman, Phoenix Hawk

Valkyre, Firestarter, Jenner, Ostscout, Panther, Assassin, Cicada

Locust, Wasp, Stinger, Commando, Javelin, Spider, Urbanmech

I'll try and get the heavy and assault mechs done next so watch this space and they will be added to my Papertech page asap!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 70

Hi!

At last I've managed to get another of my pirate mechs finished!

Javelin

My Pirates now have a three Mechs finished and a fourth almost done which is quite exciting! It's taken quite a bit of work to get to this stage but I'm edging closer to having a full lance.

Wilson's Hussars ambush a Pirate raiding party.

It's not all big stompy robots I've been working on today either, I've got a couple of squads of Canopian infantry sculpted too:

Canopian Volunteers

According to the background, Canopia hasn't got much of a standing army, relying on militia and Gendarme units so I thought I'd represent the former here all armed with light rifles and somewhat mismatched armour. Each figure stands about 10mm tall which is larger than I had planned but I couldn't bear making 6mm infantry. I still have to detail their guns and they'll be ready to paint in the next day or two.

Finally, I've got the first four of my Penguin troops done for Critter Commandos:

Penguin troops with Guppy combat rifles.

The photo is a bit naff but they are armed with little fish shaped guns and some have fish tied onto their belts for mid battle snacking.

I'm hoping to get more photos of painted gubbins up tomorrow but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 69

Hi!

I've been busily painting away today but I find myself having a bit of a ponder on the possibility of gaming further in the Battletech universe but in different scales and with different rules.

I've really enjoyed the setting and am keen to explore it more, be it the earlier stuff or a revamped version of my own.

Almost at random, I settled on initially having the action set in the Magistracy of Canopus, one of the larger of the Periphery states. Reading through the background, I'm struck by how interesting the writing is as the whole of the Periphery is pretty much a backward wasteland following two centuries of almost constant warfare and as such the military units of said state are struggling to rebuild and protect their planets at the same time.

Canopian Space

This is part of the reason that the Canopians have hired the rather down at heel mercenaries Wilson's Hussars who have thus far done a steady job of protecting their new factory at Rynn's Steading.

I'm planning on building some small scale gubbins to give me some skirmish possibilities featuring espionage and skulduggery as the Canopians try to acquire new tech from nearby Inner Sphere states and other Periphery powers seek to disrupt them. With this in mind, I'm looking at putting together some small space ships too as I quite like the idea of skirmishes with free traders, pirates and other bits and bobs.

We shall see how it goes but I am really impressed with the sheer breadth and depth of the background that Battletech has developed over the last thirty odd years and am surprised more folks haven't explored it.

Hopefully tomorrow will see the last of the Pirate lance finished and then I want to finish off my Canopian vehicle lance and then finally get the infantry put together!

I seem to be slowly ramping up to a bit of a long term campaign featuring a number of different elements all tying into an overall narrative. For the short term, I think there's going to be more Papertech stuff but I hope I'll get more of my assorted random sculpts put together.

In the meantime, All the best!