The Republic Eras - The Stoner AgeThis Kell Hounds mixed force was for fun - set in the shortly post-Jihad, early Republic era, it let me mix things up with an infantry & BA heavy force. The 'Mechs here are less emphasised, which fits into the period. I like to imagine them enforcing Stone's forced emigration and disarmament programs ...
Now the Lyrans aren't my favourite faction, but I decided the Donegals needed some attention. I'd done half a dozen assaults & heavy 'Mechs in their colours before accidentally leaving the lid off the paint I was using. Paint-matching against one of the "lost" Citadel colours was a real pain, but I'm very happy with the outcome.
Some Republic loving - the RotS Standing Guard from Skye allowed me to use a lot of minis I'd have trouble deploying in other periods & factions, and I really liked the paintscheme:
The fractured League gets attention, even in the midst of its troubles. The 40th Marik Militia enter the scene, in their variation of the "Grapes of Wrath" scheme. A later creation, we're starting to see some of the more recent minis popping up.
And Taurian time at last! The 1st Taurian Lancers, with a mix of old and new equipment.
The Okina Shigoto merc unit won its name while in service to the Draconis Combine, facing off against the Bear Dominion. They then decided they wanted life a little more interesting, and have taken a contract with the Lyrans facing the Jade Falcons ...
(And this is why I put all my "big jobs" into one unit ... when the Javelin is giving the Banshee feelings of insecurity ;))
The Okina Shigoto might well face opposition such as this Cluster from the 8th Falcon Regulars, Epsilon Galaxy. Built to experiment with combined-arms combat, the Cluster failed to survive the Rending, remaining hostile to Malvina Hazen to the end.
The Drawing of the Dark - or at least, the paintingMoving into the Dark Age timeline, the Raging Horde mercs maintain their all-BA, all-the-time brand of mayhem in a snazzy Martian-inspired camo scheme. TO be honest, this unit was more or less to settle a bet - can you make Alpha Strike formations from just BA? Yes, and here we have Command, Fire Support, and Recon formations!
I've tended to avoud Clan Hell's Horses - they're too rational & sensible for Clanners, I always felt. But their Dark Age Mongol philosophy makes them interesting again! So here'a heavy Trinary from the 65th Mechanised Strike Cluster, Delta Galaxy:
Now I've always enjoyed most of the earlier MechWarrior paintjobs. They were well done, with considerable detail, and attractive colour schemes on the whole. So I'm going to do battalions in those schemes, based on the units referenced in the MW literature. First of these was this augmented battalion of the 9th Confederation Reserve Cavalry. Aug battalions are so much fun to organise and assemble, and so versatile!
Then we have the 43rd Benjamin Regulars for the DCMS, in a nicely restrained red-brown. They include the first Saladin IIs I've seen anywhere ...
And that's it for the moment. Currently in the pipeline:
* Fusiliers of Oriente, Dark Age
* Davion battalion, Dark Age (tbd)
* The Red Hunters - Duke Ricol's personal guard, 4th War era
* 2nd St Ives Lancers, FCCW era
* 12th Falcon Regulars, Invasion era
* Dark Keshick, Clan Wolf Omega Galexy, FCCW era
* Tikonov Republican Guards, of the Free Tikonov Republic, 4th War (blink and you'll miss them too)
* Bannson's Raiders, Dark Age
I've got most of the bits I need for the first 4-5, so that'll keep me busy for a little while.
For the record, my most productive year was 2016 with 10 units completed, and my most productive month seems to be March. Go figure ;)
Cheers, and thanks for making it this far. And if anyone wants to talk bulk painting techniques, let me know!
W.
