A Call to War: 4th Tau Ceti Rangers

[worktroll]

As some of you may be aware, for the last several years I've been working on a number of combined arms battalions for different factions, for different eras. The eventual plan is to have a force for each House, and for clans I like, for different major eras. While I've been doing this mainly out of personal interest, the arrival of Alpha Strike has actually raised the prospect of reaching a point where I could play these units against each other in something approaching real-time (no offence, but handling these sized games under Total Warfare rules just wasn't going to happen for me.)

Despite all this work, I'd shamefully neglected the forces of the Capellan Confederation. I've done a 3025-era force for Devon's Armoured Infantry, but it was about time I addressed this deficiency. So when Savage Coyote raised this project, it was time to say Xin Sheng and buckle down!

So why the 4th Tau Ceti? Three reasons mainly.;

1) They're not your Warrior House/DBoG/whatever popinjays. They're grunts - skilled grunts, who like it that way.

2) They're a storied unit. Born in the Star League, but who refused to leave with Kerensky; Featuring (as supporting characters) to Justin Alliard's story in the Warrior trilogy; their long service to House Liao recognised when invited to join the Citizen's Honoured; surviving the Jihad and appearing in the Dark Age.

3) Their colours. I've done brown, green, blue, black, white, and red. It was about time for something different, and the Ranger's two-tone metallics looked like just the thing - good looking, and not requiring insane skills (such as Savage Coyote's clanners ;) )

To that end, I did some proof of concepts, and came out with this:



Ignore the Javelin; the Clint is where I'll be going on this journey. A good choice for mass production, it had:

- base coat of black
- dry brush of bronze
- detail in metallic & gold
- red cockpit (although I think I'll be going green for this job)
- fix up messes
- Flock.

(By the way, this is a great use for the older CGL plastics - testing paintschemes. If they work on the older plastics, it'll work on nuPlastic or metal for sure!)


So I have the unit. Now, the forces.

Okay, I admit - I'm riding "A Call to War" on the back of my battalion effort. I've chosen Civil War/Jihad time period, to let me have access to cool toys, without needing to buy too many new minis. I did buy all the new lance packs, which added some signature Capellan minis which I will definitely be using. And I decided to go augumented.

Capellan augumented lances typically consist of four 'Mechs or vehicles, plus two vehicles, two 'Mechs, or four squads of BA. Two aug lances make an augumented company; four aug companies, plus a command aug lance, make an augumented battalion. Obviously an augumented battalion exceeds the Alpha Strike point range we're aiming at here, so I've selected three augumented companies.

Let the planning begin!



Next post: what will I come up with? Some hints can be found in the picture ...

[ColBosch]

The juxtaposition of your tablet and hand-scrawled notes on cardboard made me laugh.

I'm really curious as to how the color scheme will come out.

[nckestrel]

Love the Tau Ceti Rangers!  Looking forward to seeing more of them :).

[worktroll]

There's madness to my method ;)

The cardboard is where I started mapping out the whole battalion. Basically, my "map" was (M='Mechj, V=Vehicle, B=Battle armour):

Command lance: MMMMVV

Assault company
1st lance: MMMMBBBB (bruisers plus Fa Shih)
2nd lance: VVVVMM (more bruisers)

Support company:
1st lance: MMMMVV (LRM support)
2nd lance: VVVVBBBB (Artillery plus security)

Cavalry company:
1st lance: MMMMVV (fast movers)
2nd lance: VVVVBBBB (Regulators with Fa Shih)

Recon company:
1st lance: MMMMVV (scouts)
2nd lance: VVVVMM (more scouts)

Then this project came along. Now augumented lances currently don't fit into the ASC formation rules, but I decided to anticipate the Capellan Combat Manual and apply the requirements across the full aug. elements. So if 75% had to be role X, then 4 had to be X. Note that the BA-augumented lances sneak in as "IS Novas", which was a bonus.

So, what to submit for A Call to War? I decided to pull three of the lighter lances - the full Cavalry company, with the 1st Recon lance detached to make a fast striker force.

Then came the juggling (the piece of paper), as I mapped variants, roles, and requirements.


And this is what I ended up with. It's a little heavy by Savage Coyote's goal, but - heck! - it's my unit, and I'll pad if I want to  O:-)


So first up is 1st Lance (Aug), Recon Company:

Raven 4L, Scout, 26 points
Firestarter 9S, Scout, 22 points'
Assassin ASN-99, Scout, 22 points
Stinger 6L, Scout, 17 points
Galleon 102, Striker, 23 points
Galleon 102, Striker, 23 points

This meets the Recon lance requirements, and totals 143 points. There's a buttload of electronics and probes, and I've decided to give three units in this lance the Eagle Eyes SPA - specifically the Raven, Firestarter, and one of the Galleons.

The ASN-is a little bit out of time, but I really wanted to use one - having a number of the high-quality nuPlastic versions. The chance to fit a dao-wielder into this lance couldn't be passed up. Note that by using this (admittedly speedy) medium 'Mech, I prevented myself from meeting the Light Recon Lance requirement. Unfortunately, the need for dao surpassed the need for lightness here ;)

Next up, the 1st Lance, Cavalry company:

Men Shen OA, Striker, 36 points
Vindicator 5L, Skirmisher, 31 points
Vulcan 4M, Striker, 22 points
Blackjack Omni OA, Missile Boat, 33 points
Saracen, Striker, 22 points
Saracen, Striker, 22 points

for a PV total of 166 points. This handily meets the requirements for Striker lances, with the Blackjack Omni using it's jump-jets to meet the mobility requirement.  I've been dying to field some Blackjack omnis - it really reproduces many of the classic 3025 Heavy configs on a medum chassis. Here it's being a mini-Archer. The Men Shen OA lets me do a mod to give it a torso-mounted LB-10X, always a pleasure, while the Vindicator allows me another dao ;) The Saracens - well, I had some, and they're actually a great fit - they have speed, they have a range of weapons, and if the enemy's foolish enough to ignore them, hilarity can ensue.

I've chosen to give the Speed Demon SPA to the Blackjack (he tries harder!), Vindicator (he slices! he dices!), and Men Shen.


And lastly, the 2nd Lance, Cavalry  company:

Regulator Standard, Sniper, 23 points
Regulator Standard, Sniper, 23 points
Regulator Standard, Sniper, 23 points
Regulator Standard, Sniper, 23 points
Fa Shih squad LRR, Ambusher, 13 points
Fa Shih squad LRR, Ambusher, 13 points
Fa Shih squad light TAG, Ambusher, 8 points
Fa Shih squad light TAG, Ambusher, 8 points

for a total of 132 points. Now this was something I had in my head from the beginning. Can't you just picture the Regulators, power-sliding across the countryside, with Fa Shih clamped to them, screaming "WOOOOOO!" The opportunities for creative havoc are limitless. So I had to find a way to slide it in. And fortunately, Pursuit Lance beckoned. Not a favourite, from what I see on the forums, we give the Blood Stalker SPAs to the three (non-lance commander) Regulators.

And so there you have it - a hunter-killer taskforce with wide eyes, long legs, and hard hands. The recon lance can spot and run from most things it can't handle, the striker lance stings and fades, and no-one really enjoys hitting a minefield, or being hit by four gauss slugs per turn (no reason they can't all blood stalk the same unit, no?)


So there's the force I'm building. Next update - painting prep!

Comments, as always, actively welcomed.

W.

[Scotty]

And I do believe Worktroll now holds the lead in the "most figures in an A Call to Arms unit" race, beating out my Covenant Guards by two figures. :D

[worktroll]

What can I say? "If you're not cheating, you're not trying" should be the unofficial motto of the CC ;)

[cavingjan]

That just begs for me to order a binaries worth of protos. No wait, 25 battle armor are bad enough. I don't want to do 50 protos. Although that is intriguing.

[worktroll]

[worktroll]

Okay, weekend progress!

Which ... was shouldered aside by something more important. Today was our wedding anniversary, and to mark it I decided to make my good lady wife a representation of our lives intertwining, via our interests:



But once that was done, on to the Rangers!


So here we are with the pursuit lance's Regulators, ready to go. The Demolisher happened to be passing, while testing it's new Gauss Rifle rig.



Two new, two from separate trades. First step, file down the rough patches on the back where the mould join was, and fix on the hover bases:



"Whaddya reckon, Clint - they going to make the grade?"

"Dunno, Demos. They look like they're having trouble telling up from down right now ..."

Unfortunately the next picture didn't work - not too much blood in my caffiene supply, probably ;) Basically with the hover stands dried, they're stuck onto half clothpegs, which are my vehicle painting stands. They then got hand-primed black. I'm using Lifecolour paints - great range, great colours, go on really thin. Which can be a problem when you touch'em. So I'll be priming in black and basing in black, to make sure I get good coverage.

While they were drying I started on the Recon Lance:



I'm into production line painting, so getting things ready all at once helps my output. Raven, Firestarter, Assassin, and Stinger. Stinger's arms are off - needs a small mod for the 6L version, and trimming down the RLs. So I'm just whacking them on the bases so the araldite has time to dry. I did, however.mod the Assassin for a running pose. It's a really easy mod I've done before, here with an old intro box plastic one:



So here's the mod. First, slice under the foot.



I like to use a short, stiffer blade for this sort of work, so my Stanley knife suits this down to the ground. Always cut away from any fingers or other appurtenances you might not want to lose ;) Once the foot's free, then slice up from the groin inside the hip, so the leg comes free.

Now I just drilled & pinned the joint, because - frankly - it's so **** easy with plastics!



Give the one side time to dry, then glue at the pose you want. And it really does add a nicely dynamic look to what's meant to be a speedy mini. Dao comes later ...


So next week: more mods, more priming, and the beginnings of the drybrushing!

Cheers,

W.

[Fletch]

Ba-Na-Naaaa! *shudder*

[Louie N]

Very nice conversion on the Assassin.  it is effective. 

[worktroll]

Small roster change to the Cavalry lance.

Dropping the Men Shen for the Sha Yu. I want them both in my eventual battalion, but the Sha Yu didn't fit in well anywhere else. SO Striker now:

Sha Yu 6B, Striker, 27 points
Vindicator 5L, Skirmisher, 31 points
Vulcan 4M, Striker, 22 points
Blackjack Omni OA, Missile Boat, 33 points
Saracen, Striker, 22 points
Saracen, Striker, 22 points

THat's the twin Snubbie version. Would have been happy with the 2B, but that's a Sniper, and would have been pushing the formation requirements.

[Fletch]

...That's the twin Snubbie version  >:D.

 [drool]

[worktroll]

Okay, fair warning. This next post is a modding/painting blog. I'm not by any stretch a CSO painter. So the techniques below are aimed at reproducable tabletop quality outcomes, with a high return on invested time, and low skill barriers.

You have been warned ...


SO we last left the 4th TCR with a reposed Assassin. Let's just pick this mini up again, next to another from the Recon lance:



The Firestarter got two simple mods - the right lower arm swung to face forwards, and the left arm pivoted up to aim ahead. Folks, I can't stress how flippin' simple modding plastics are. I pinned these, but I didn't need to. But again it's so simple ...

Also shown is the sword I'm going to use for the ASN-99. A while back my wife picked up a tray of WFB bitz - arms clutching swords, pikes, macuahuitls etc. The sword I've picked is probably for an Orc or similar. I plan to slice off the pommel & blade, remove the Assassin's thumb, drill a hole through the hand, and stick a wire through. In other words ...



Pin vices, beloved of plastic modellers, made this all a one-minute job. Before the glue holding the wire in the hand was set, I whacked on the ends, to get



Face it - any 'Mech called an Assassin isn't going to be using a tiny shank, no? We want a gutting knife ... and some assorted bitz make up the light PPC.



The Stinger needed the rocket pods removed. Now full removal would be a big job, so I sliced the tops of the pods off flat with my trusty Stanley knife and put some clay over the remaining RL tubes.



Now the Recon lance needed to be put aside to set, and to get primed, so in the meantime, let's talk ... drybrushing!


Okay, if you know drybrushing, zoom ahead. I won't mind. But if this isn't something you do now, be prepared to be amazed at how easily you can get great results.

SO here I'm laying down the basic brass for the Tau Ceti Rangers scheme. But we don't want metallic toys - we want tiny war machines, right? This is how we're going to achieve that. Remember how my Regulators were all primed & based black? This is the reason.

So we start with our materials.



In this case,

1) A black painted mini. Happens to be a Regulator; could be a battlesuit, a 'Mech, anything. Preferably something with details and panels - so not watermelons.
2) Paint. Here brass; this works just as well with green, brown, etc.
3) Given I'm using this one Vallejo paint (I hate bottled paints, but I'm not wasting something I did buy), I need a pallette to drip paint on.
4) A large, sable, round-tipped brush. All three properties are really important. You need coverage, sable lasts way longer under punishment than synthetic in my experience, and - as I believe Savage Coyote pointed out many years ago - large rounded brushes just work better. My experience supports this.

So first ...



Dip the end of the brush into the paint. Only the tip. THen,



Wipe most of the paint off. Yes, this seems contra-intuitive. I'm using an old piece of towelling here; others use paper towel, handy pets, or whatever. You don't really want to see paint on the brush. Trust me -



This is what you're looking for. THen ..



Swab the brish over the mini. Sorry, focus slipped here, but see how it's goong on thin? This is what you want. Using nice sweeping strokes, cover the mini repeatedly. Paint builds up on the flats, and avoids the panels & details. If you find one area doesn't seem to pick up the paint, dab it with the brush repeatedly.

When the brush dries, and the little paint on it is rubbed off, dip/wipe/repeat. If you're finding paint gets into the panel lines, you need to wipe more off.

And  after you've done this for a little while, what you end up with, is:



THis. See how all the details, panels, etc are there? Believe me - the first time you do this you won't believe it. After you've done it, you'll never forget it. Pick a mini like the Hunchback - somehow it's impossible to make a Hunchback look bad in any paintscheme - or a Lao Hu, or anything covered in panels. Do this in green, then go over again and lay down some stripes or blobs in brown, and you've got a simple table-ready mini - just add black cockpit & metal weapons if you want!

I'm going to drop the detail level here. I hope someone out there finds this useful, and is inspired to give this a go. Drybrushing is only slightly harder than using magic dip/ink wash, and on the right minis gives brilliant results for small effort.


So with the brass laid down, I just loaded up my second-smallest brush with some gold & laid down some panels.



Oh, notice those guys infiltrating in the background? I got to the brass stage with my Fa Shih before the "A Call to War" project was mooted. So they've been sitting patiently for some loving. Now is their day ...



Basic brass on black on the left, gold details on the right. BA are small, you don't need to kill yourself - here I did a central stripe. shoulder pads, mine tops and the stripe around the mine containers on the back (not shown).

(And yes, I tend to mount my BA on half-hexes. The rules say you can fit two in a hex, after all!)

So here's the lance, with that Gauss Demolisher photobombing once again ... Everything up to this point in 2 hours.




Came back in the afternoon and put in another hour. First, I painted the intake grilles & a few details on the Regulators black, including the hover skirts.



I then drybrushed those black details with steel, and did a grey drybrush on the hoverskirts. The driver's panel got a green detail.



I'd also filled the hex bases for the vehicles, and around the bases for the 'Mech minis. As shown below, I use Polyfilla interior large cracks:



This is my wonder base filler. It's dry, flexible, not sticky, but stays in place. Unlike clay, it doesn't shrink, nor does glue peel off a thin layer. It takes glue & paint brilliantly, and dries usefully in an hour and fully in a few hours. As you can see, I get lumps of various sizes in a container, and then apply it with my knife. Scraps go back in the tube for next time. A tube lasts forever.

The BA, having been base-filled long ago, get a coat of paint over the base. The aim here is to go with whatever I'll flock them with, so if I have a flocking error it won't look too flocking bad.



So with the bases filled & dried, guess what!



Time for more drybrushing! But this time I'll just cut to the chase:



And that's all - enough?! for this week. I may do more tomorrow, but I promise not to go on at such length again  O:-)

MOre seriously, I hope someone finds this useful. We learn by doing. There are all sorts of great tutorials online, including at CSO, but I think there's a place for a simple, not-to-technical explanation, and place for people who know CSO-level isn't in scope.

Comments welcomed, questions even more so - at least then I know people are reading this ;)

Cheers,

W.

[Deathrider6]

WT I would love to see this as a Tutorial in a non Web format so I can print it out. This actually goes for anyone doing this project. Just my .02 C-bills. The metallic schime looks really good at the stage you are at I'll bet it looks sharp once it is washed/inked/dry-brushed.

[cavingjan]

Is there much of a contrast between the brass and gold?

[jimdigris]

I'm looking forward to seeing more. O0

[Louie N]

Thanks for the detail.  It is a nice write up to teach and encourage others.

[ColBosch]

Great stuff, WT! I'd like to see more posts like this for this event. O0

[worktroll]

Thanks for the comments!

Cavingjan, there is more resolution by eye. I'm taking the photos hand-held in my painting area, not setting up my "light rig" in another room where I take most of my mini photos. When these get their matte varnish the difference also gets emphasised - you're seeing less direct reflection, more colour.

And this is after all the canon scheme.

Thought question - I've been thinking of adding some very small jade trim patches. Non-canonical, but might look good. Opinions?

W>

[cavingjan]

I could see an arm band or stripe to symbolize a fallen lancemate.

[Vash The Stampede]

WOW!!! Just...WOW!!!

[Wotan]

It is nearly the way i do my Tau Ceti. I just add a wash with a warm Brown or with smoke. It gives the metalic a warm tone and helps to bring out the Panel lines.

[worktroll]

And we're back!

Be warned - there will be extraneous details on flocking, for those who are already there on that. But I do want - in a whole bunch of ways - to go through this step by step each time I do something new, so folks who may not have lifted a brush before, or wielded a hoby knife in anger,  can see what's involved. And it's not that frightening.

(By the way, these folks, don't forget to check out Abou's "A Call to War" 1st Avalon Irregulars. Great example of wonderful results via magic dip! Or Scotty's Mariks for more ink magic! Or the rest of the ACTW crew!)


So where were we?



So Regulators and Fa Shish pretty much done with painting. I then brough the Recon Lance up to similar points - primed, bronzed, golded, and based. I covered basing material above. Note that I've painted the tops of the bases a neutral green - this is so if I do make a whoopsie while flocking the bases, it won't really glare out.

So flock camoflauge - sorry, in joke ;) - let's get flocking! I'm using:



- white glue (why not? It's cheap, easy to work, does take a while drying though)
- locally sourced dirt. I found some really great looking brown sandy material in a racetrack car-park (there for a farmer's market). I always keep a few mint tins in the car just for this sort of opportunity - just sift it once you get home, discard bugs/bark, and perfect!
- A pot to flock in. Mainly so the stuff doesn't spread out.
- An old, stiff but thinnish brush to spread the glue with.

So, dab on some glue!



I'm going to do half earth, half grass, and doing the dirt first (so I can add some little bushes later). Main hint here - make sure the glue gets all the way to the edge of the base. You can wipe excess off with your thumb. Then



Sprinkle with dirt! Shake it over the pot, blow on it, then run your thumb around the base side to remove any overspill. And you have:



So here's the BA and vehicle bases with dirt:




THen, after some hemming & hawing, I decided to give the minis a light brown ink wash. I used 50/50 Citadel brown ink & water (I keep pots specially for this). It gave a little more differentiation between the gold & brown (remember, not proper lighting here:)



The'Mechs, now with ink:



Inks and dips do similar things, but are different. The key difference is that dips are thick and pool slowly, while inks run and pool quickly. I'm not aiming for the shading effects Abou got with his Basilikoi here, I'm just after an overall shade change and more panel definition. Horses for courses!

I then went back & did the vehicle & BA bases with GW burt grass, which goes well (I think) with dirt. Also put down a couple of "loose" blobs of grass:



Blob of araldite under the hover bases, or along the tracks, and ... voila!



Meanwhile, here's my el-cheapo cockpit "costume jewellry" technique:

1) Paint black
2) Add curves in white



3) Brush on some green ink:



(note that this is a great stage to do while waiting for flocking to dry!)

4) Done!

So now that all the Recon & Pursuit aug lances are done, it's time to varnish. Good varnishing weather today ... I do always varnish, but when I do, I like to get value for money. And I do use pallettes, just not for painting:



Upside down paint pallette glued to the bottom of a salsa jar. WHen it's time to varnish, I just spray & rotate, changing the angles to get coverage. Works pretty well for me! Except, I just realised I haven't put the unit marking on (Thanks, Schwerpunkt Studios for donating some FP 4th TCR unit transfers!) So that'll be after lunch.


In the meantime, I've also gotten started on the Striker lance:



Vindicator becoming a 5L, Blackjack Omni OA with missile pods from MW:DA, Vulcan becoming a 5M, and a Sha Yu 6B (some assembly required). I'm using MW:DA Cizin weapons for snubbies here. Moving along,



The Vulcan's replaced the AC-2 with an LPL (may do some more detailing there), the Blackjack O has its first prime, the Vindie looks rather armless as it waits for some reposing, and the Sha Yu has it together (almost) except for one leg to be put in a running pose.

Decided to go with another WHFB weapon for my Vindicator's sword, with the Scimitars primed in the background:



Just waiting for the Sha Yu's hip to cure, and then onwards!


May get another chance to add to this in the afternoon. There's about 3-4 hours work over 2 days in total in the work involved in this post.

Comments, questions, and reasons why you love the Blackjack Omni all welcome!

W.

[glitterboy2098]

Then this project came along. Now augumented lances currently don't fit into the ASC formation rules, but I decided to anticipate the Capellan Combat Manual and apply the requirements across the full aug. elements. So if 75% had to be role X, then 4 had to be X. Note that the BA-augumented lances sneak in as "IS Novas", which was a bonus.

when i was working on an augmented company, i was told pretty much the same.

http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=47354.msg1092596#msg1092596

[worktroll]

Snuck in some photos following decals & varnishing!



Pursuit lance - the Regulators idling while their battle riders prepare a suprise for oncoming Davion scum!



Closeup on the BA and a Regulator. I'm using the poor man's magnets - blu-tak - to keep the turrets in place, and there is a 4th TCR logo on the prow.



This Pillager is for an assault lance. I put an insert in at the waist; not quite 1/4", but makes all the difference on this beautifully detailed mini. Much more imposing now!



The recon lance in all it's glory!





Individual closeups.




And a bad day for someone else!

Cheers,

W.

[Louie N]

Shiny

[IAMCLANWOLF]

Very COOL. I especially dig the Pillager in this scheme. Nicely done, work!

[worktroll]

Thanks! I was planning on doing a lot of mods on the Pillager to bulk it up - once I'd separated the waist, I was planning on bulking up the chest and building out the shoulders to give it more mass, bring it more in line with the Thunder Hawk mini. But I think the waist plug is enough - that, and I added some muzzles for the gauss rifles.

I love the detail on the mini, too - all those grilles & expansion joints, etc. Comes up right nicely!

As I suspect I'll be finished this force in a couple of weeks, I'm going to keep on with the rest of the aug battalion. Already lining up is an aug lance for the assault company - two Demolishers, two Gauss demolishers, a Cyclops 11B and an Awesome. They ain't fast, but you aren't going to stand in their way long.  Then there's the fire support lance - two Partisan Air Defense, two Partisan LRM, a Crusader 7L, and something which escapes my mind at the moment ...

W.

[Cidwm]

Great stuff as usual Worktroll.  O0

Liking the modded Assassin.