Author Topic: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)  (Read 7436 times)

Hayden.

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1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« on: 10 February 2017, 01:39:09 »
(Renamed from Hayden's Minis)

Hi All,
Long-time viewer on this thread, after years of experimenting (and gallons of simple green) I finally have a few pieces I want to share.  I will be adding more as I finish them.

This first one is a Compact-Era 1st. St. Ives Lancers Wolverine.
From the front...

...and the back.


More to come!

I want to give a HUGE thank you to B1BFlyer and the broader CamoSpecs team/community for all the excellent painting resources (Many of the techniques I used on these minis are straight from the CamoSpecs youtube channel, especially for the decals), and to Fighting Pirannha Graphics for offering such a great selection of high-quality decals.  The paints are all FolkArt or Apple Barrel by Plaid Enterprises, Inc.  To help shape the decals I used Micro Sol by Microscale Industries, Inc.  My brushes are chiefly by Loew-Cornell.  The terrain piece was purpose-built by me to serve as a backdrop for photographing minis.
« Last Edit: 21 February 2017, 01:17:07 by Hayden. »
Hayden

Rinahe

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Re: Hayden's Minis
« Reply #1 on: 10 February 2017, 07:59:39 »

Very nice...

 O0

I love the decals you used, makes the 'Mechs look real "walking tanks"

 ;D

Rinahe
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Louie N

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Re: Hayden's Minis
« Reply #2 on: 10 February 2017, 13:50:20 »
Great old school.  Well done

jimdigris

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Re: Hayden's Minis
« Reply #3 on: 10 February 2017, 17:24:06 »
 O0

Ronin Actual

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Re: Hayden's Minis
« Reply #4 on: 10 February 2017, 18:16:38 »
They look great. Thanks for sharing.

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #5 on: 21 February 2017, 01:16:21 »


This is a random lance pic.  There's no rhyme or reason to the numbers, this showcases some earlier work.  The Panther was started first, went through a number of revisions and was worked on most recently.  The Warhammer and Rifleman are contemporaries from about a year ago, and the wolverine is the one posted earlier, just to bring it up to a full lance.  I've got a few more 'mechs I'm working on finishing up, hope to post them soon.
Hayden

avon1985

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #6 on: 01 March 2017, 05:43:14 »
Sweet! O0

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #7 on: 16 March 2017, 01:50:38 »
Thanks all.

These wolverines were painted up at the same time and are meant to be distributed across the regiment, but I thought it would be fun to show them together.  Given that the Capellan Confederation had possessed a large Wolverine factory on Nanking prior to the 4th succession war, and that the factory landed in the hands of the newly-allied Federated Commonwealth after the 4th Succession War, it seems likely that at least a lance worth of Wolverines would have been distributed across  the regiment, if not more.

My aspiration is to eventually field a regiment of 1st St. Ives Lancers 'mechs.  Since I'm focused on the 3029-3063 era, I expect to field several duplicates (and in the case of the Crusader and Vindicator, about two lances to a company's worth of each distributed throughout the unit, based on the older 1980s House Liao source book).





« Last Edit: 16 March 2017, 01:54:38 by Hayden. »
Hayden

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #8 on: 16 March 2017, 19:45:00 »
A couple Crusaders.  Painted along with the Wolverines.

Hayden

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #9 on: 18 March 2017, 14:20:57 »
This next one is something a bit different.  I received the Black Widow Company lance pack a few years ago from my Brother for Christmas.  I've never been a particular fan of the Dragoons so I decided to paint these machines in different schemes (The Griffin will be in a St. Ives lancers scheme, the other two will probably be different).  I just treat this as a generic BattleMaster counter, rather than intending it to represent a particular unit.

Hayden

Wotan

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #10 on: 18 March 2017, 14:49:53 »
Good to see someone else working on a complete mech regiment in one camo. I like your worn look.
Thanks for the insight in your planning. I agree with you that multiple mechs of one type are very likely.
For a Liao unit you also need Blackjacks and Urbanmechs. ;) Some Raven and Charger would be good, too.

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #11 on: 18 March 2017, 16:04:50 »
Good to see someone else working on a complete mech regiment in one camo. I like your worn look.
Thanks for the insight in your planning. I agree with you that multiple mechs of one type are very likely.
For a Liao unit you also need Blackjacks and Urbanmechs. ;) Some Raven and Charger would be good, too.

You were partially responsible for inspiring the regimental approach, I adore your Crucis Lancers work and wanted to do something similar (I'll probably crib off your ideas for support vehicles).  Right now, I'm mainly working with what I have on hand, but I totally intend to implement those four 'mechs (likely the odd charger, maybe a lance of Ravens, and probably two lances each of the Blackjacks (omni and regular, due to in-house production by the 50s) and Urbanmechs (due to TWO 3039 stating how common they are).  I also intend to include several CTF-0X 'mechs, representative of the machines that came under St. Ives control following the 4th succession war (Again, TRO 3039).

I also intend to represent the constituent units, namely the 1st Air Lancers Wing (Which will feature the traditional green/yellow scheme and markings of the Lancers 'mechs), and a collection of vehicle lances and smattering of support vehicles (These will feature the same green paint, but not the yellow highlights, and will omit the 1st lancers insignia).  I've already got a couple transits and vedettes that I am working on.
« Last Edit: 18 March 2017, 16:45:47 by Hayden. »
Hayden

Wotan

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #12 on: 18 March 2017, 16:42:42 »
I'm happy to inspire you. :)
Looking forward to see your progress.

B1Bflyer

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #13 on: 18 March 2017, 22:52:46 »
Great looking unit so far. Your weathered green and chipped paint looks better and better with each post of new miniatures, especially on the yellow portions. Keep up the good work!

Ryan

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #14 on: 19 March 2017, 00:21:03 »
Great looking unit so far. Your weathered green and chipped paint looks better and better with each post of new miniatures, especially on the yellow portions. Keep up the good work!

Ryan

Thanks, but I owe a lot to your camo specs tutorials on youtube!  A lot of really great info there!  I'm looking forward to getting some more done soon, once the weather around here improves I can get these sealed and prime the next bunch.
Hayden

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #15 on: 22 March 2017, 22:05:55 »
Two St. Ives Armored Cavalry Vedettes escorted by a St. Ives Lancers Wolverine.  The St. Ives vehicles I paint up will be in the green paint, but won't have unit-specific markings  and trim (Other than the St. Ives roundel and the St. Ives Armored Cavalry keystone).

Hayden

IAMCLANWOLF

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #16 on: 24 March 2017, 09:48:37 »
Very cool. I love the consistent use of decals, aerials/antenna's, and base-work across the entire unit. The picture of paired Crusaders especially makes me nostalgic. Thank you.

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #17 on: 25 March 2017, 14:11:52 »
Very cool. I love the consistent use of decals, aerials/antenna's, and base-work across the entire unit. The picture of paired Crusaders especially makes me nostalgic. Thank you.

Thanks a lot, awesome to hear that you like them!

Also, have an awesome (I painted this up for Mini of the Fortnight #13, but I'm throwing it on here, too)
Hayden

Vash The Stampede

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #18 on: 26 March 2017, 17:10:50 »
I love the rough-and-tumble look you got going on, especially on the that Wolverine. Great work!
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Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #19 on: 27 March 2017, 00:17:50 »
I love the rough-and-tumble look you got going on, especially on the that Wolverine. Great work!

I appreciate it, Vash.  I plan on having the "older" units (think the Unseens or 3025 era) look a bit more worn, while newer units (such as that late-model Awesome) will look a bit "neater"/newer.

I've also got a neat new tool that I built up for these photography projects.  I've assembled a very cheap light box out of inexpensive canvas frames, old office lamps, wood glue, and tissue paper (with the back canvas intact and painted with a simple sky box.  The pic below (featuring the favored Crusaders and a Wolverine) showcases some of the functionality and possibilities (I.E. I'm not longer stuck with that awkward angle).
Hayden

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #20 on: 04 August 2017, 21:01:07 »

Marauder I worked on this week.  Long-time dream realized, this particular mini was one of my first.  I had painted it in a woodland camouflage pattern about 20 years ago, but because I hadn't properly prepped the mini or used the right adhesives, the arms and gun fell off.  Since I didn't want to risk further damage before I knew what I was doing, I ended up putting the wreckage aside until I could really do it justice.

My head-canon: I'd always thought of the "checker" marks as clan analogs to D-Day invasion stripes (when the idea formed, several key pieces of clan art that I was exposed to featured these, chiefly the 1990 Compendium and MechWarrior 2 cover art).  During Operation Bulldog, when the IS took the fight to the clans, some IS mechwarriors (including this marauder's pilot) adopted the "invasion markings" the clans had used almost a decade earlier.
Hayden

Phobos101

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #21 on: 04 August 2017, 21:12:51 »
Wow. Your marauder looks awesome. I particularly like the safety striping on the antennas. What did you use to make them? I've been thinking about chopping up a guitar string for similar purposes, but haven't got any old scummy ones at the moment I want to get rid of.

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #22 on: 04 August 2017, 21:36:23 »
Wow. Your marauder looks awesome. I particularly like the safety striping on the antennas. What did you use to make them? I've been thinking about chopping up a guitar string for similar purposes, but haven't got any old scummy ones at the moment I want to get rid of.

Thanks! All of my aerials/antennas are made from fresh (unused) tooth brush bristles.  Just buy a new brush (In principal most should work, I use some kind of Oral-B, I believe this one has nylon bristles) and trim them off with  a small scissors I use for decal work.  Many miniatures have a small pilot "divot" for antenna holes, I coat the end of the bristle with Loctite professional glue (my adhesive of choice) and using a tweezers I place the glued end into the divot.  It dries fairly quickly, about 30 seconds until you can let go and then a while longer to let it sit and solidify.  Because the nylon bristles are so light (and flexible!) they readily stay in and can take a fair amount of abuse.  Once the glue dries (I usually let it sit a few hours, just to be sure), I trim down the excess antenna and then go in and paint the bristles with Ceramcoat Charcoal (in the case of the marauder, I used a base of Apple Barrel White for the candy stripe), and once that dries I'll sometimes add "highlight" colors on the tips or rarely striping.

I'm personally adverse to wire because it generally requires drilling (total pain) and I find wire to be less forgiving than nylon bristles.  But some people get very good results with wire, and if you can pull it off and you're happy with the process, more power to you!

I've also heard of people using paint brush bristles (larger ones, like for painting walls or fences), which should work like the tooth brush bristles I use.
Hayden

Valkerie

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #23 on: 04 August 2017, 22:31:29 »
Nice work there sir!  Keeps getting better and better with each post.

Makes me wish I'd never lost all my unseens though... :(
There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.   -Machiavelli

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Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #24 on: 04 August 2017, 23:08:15 »
Nice work there sir!  Keeps getting better and better with each post.

Makes me wish I'd never lost all my unseens though... :(

That's a shame  :'(

On one hand, I feel like these new classics are finally the ticket.  On the other, the wait...
Hayden

Phobos101

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #25 on: 05 August 2017, 01:38:31 »
tooth brush bristles.

Thats a waaaay better idea than wire! I'm actually going to go chop up a toothbrush now, I'm a bit excited. Thanks Hayden!

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #26 on: 06 August 2017, 20:19:05 »
Thats a waaaay better idea than wire! I'm actually going to go chop up a toothbrush now, I'm a bit excited. Thanks Hayden!

I sincerely hope it works well for you, please try to share the results sometime!

And now, just a few generic St. Ives vehicles...


Hayden

Valkerie

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #27 on: 06 August 2017, 20:24:58 »
Just a few?!  Damn dude, you're making me jealous.  ;)

The terrain you're shooting on; large board or small one just for photos?
There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.   -Machiavelli

Greetings, Mechwarrior!  You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against...Oops, wrong universe.  -unknown SLDF Recruiter

Because overkill is underrated my friend.  -John "Hannibal" Smith

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Wotan

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #28 on: 07 August 2017, 07:25:02 »
You can't have too many Shrek or SRM Carriers in your force. >:D

Hayden.

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Re: 1st St. Ives Lancers (St. Ives Compact Era)
« Reply #29 on: 07 August 2017, 07:45:05 »
Just a few?!  Damn dude, you're making me jealous.  ;)

The terrain you're shooting on; large board or small one just for photos?

Everything is done in a lightbox of my own design (super cheap solution, I bought some discounted painting canvases, pulled the frames from these (except for the back one, which I kept intact and painted as a background), glued the frames together, and tissue papered the top and sides.  I then have three second hand desk lamps to provide illumination.


Most of my pictures are done on a small set piece I made specifically for the task of photographing Battletech Miniatures.  It's in two pieces, a foreground which gets used in all pictures (and can be rotated for variety), and an optional "mountainous" background which is meant to add variety and help compensate for gaps in the foreground piece.


A few pictures are done without this set piece.  Generally these are made with a Woodland Scenics Project Sheet ("Summer Grass", in this case) as a background and often feature terrain templates that I've made.


For Aerospace miniatures, I generally leave out any ground elements and just photograph against the "sky" portion of the backdrop.


You can't have too many Shrek or SRM Carriers in your force. >:D

And this is absolutely correct.
« Last Edit: 07 August 2017, 09:48:27 by Hayden. »
Hayden