.RL's Miniature Pictures (updated 4/15/2020)

[.RL]

Awesome paint jobs  :thumbsup:. How do you do your decals? I've just started using them and the first batch turned out Meh, I can still see the clear sections around the decals.

Do you use a matte sealant on your minis, such as dullcote? I do, and that's all i can think of which would make the clear border less apparent.

[Hayden.]

Very impressive selection!

[.RL]

Decided to re-shoot these with the little studio I got.

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Star League in Exile
(SLDF 331st / Clan Wolverine / Minnesota Tribe)
Circa Star League, exodus, Operation Klondike, Annihilation.

Photo Editing = Google Photos, Pop to 35%, Light -10%, Color +10% - cropping/centering. No Flash used.

Album link for individual 'Mech Photos and larger size pictures = https://photos.app.goo.gl/EH8pYmFywGqp6AqX9
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1st Company



Pulverizer, Spartan, Thug, Shootist


Excalibur, Wolverine II, Champion, Bombardier


Talon, Mongoose, Mercury, Hussar

2nd Company



Stag, Spartan, Pulverizer, Flashman


Cestus, Exterminator, Crab, Lancelot


Sling, Spector, Vulcan, Mercury II

3rd Company



Archer, Shadow Hawk, Guillotine, Black Knight


Sentinel, Lynx, Thorn, Starslayer


Vulcan, Falcon, Firefly, Night Hawk

[Valkerie]

Beautifully done and with some excellent basing to boot. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: 8)

[.RL]

"If you have a club, you bludgeon your attacker."
"If you have a knife, you stab your foe."
"If you have a gun, you shoot it."
"If you have a tank, you roll it over the opposing ranks"
"If you have an aerofighter, you bomb them."
"If you have a 'Mech, you win."
"You are always the victor."
"When the blood is spilled, the bloodname is earned."
"We are the Clan."

The Jade Phoenix Trilogy were the first BattleTech novels I read, and I loved every page of them.
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Clan Jade Falcon
Gamma Galaxy, Made-up Cluster.
Circa Clan Invasion.

Photo Editing = Google Photos, Pop to 35%, Light -10%, Color +10% - cropping/centering. No Flash used.

Album link for individual 'Mech Photos and larger size pictures = https://photos.app.goo.gl/wNWTirr8NzcvrnLy9

Camo scheme was based on Wackrabbit’s Clan Jade Falcon, Gamma Galaxy Hunchback IIC, found on Camospecs.com

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Com Nova




Elementals


Night Gyr, Kit Fox, Turkina, Summoner, Hellbringer

Talon Binary


Talon Star Alpha

Summoner, Dire Wolf, Executioner, Warhawk, Gargoyle

Talon Star Beta

Hellbringer, Mad Dog, Gargoyle, Timber Wolf, Summoner

Beak Binary


Beak Star Alpha

Mad Dog, Adder, Summoner, Timber Wolf, Warhawk

Beak Star Beta

Summoner, Ice Ferret, Hellbringer, Kit Fox, Storm Crow

Eyrie Binary


Probe Star

Arctic Cheetah, Shadow Cat, Hellbringer, Mist Lynx, Viper

Dark Wing Star

Kit Fox, Hunchback IIC, Wakazashi, Conjurer, Nova



The Falcons and the Wolves together in their glass cabinet.

[Valkerie]

 :clap: Those look fantastic!  Well done and excellent photos. 8) :thumbsup:

[worktroll]

Very impressive, and I appreciate the level of effort going into whole 'Mech battalions.

Have you ever considered vehicles?

[.RL]

:clap: Those look fantastic!  Well done and excellent photos. 8) :thumbsup:

Very impressive, and I appreciate the level of effort going into whole 'Mech battalions.

Have you ever considered vehicles?

Thank you and all the others for the appreciation. I'm pretty happy with them so far. Next, improve overall. I'll be working on my next battalion, which is going to be very very slow to be done. 3/4ths to go.

---

Worktroll, I have but haven't really acted on it. My first battalion (40 'Mechs), which I am heavily contemplating dumping in acetone (I haven't posted it) is the only one with vehicles. It has 12 hovers. The names escape me a bit, I think it's 4 maxim transports with some battle armor, 4 J edgar hoovers, 2 condors and 2 others which are similar to the condors, and an additional 4 long toms. 

The reality is that the people I've played with, mostly use 'Mechs, and frankly I haven't been very open to using them when asked either. I don't find them attractive (aesthetically), and I've preferred spending my money on 'Mechs.  Though I have seen how devastating they can be, especially if entrenched and the opposition is somewhat out in the open. Savage fire power.

[.RL]

Hello again BattleTech enthusiast! Remember Kentares!

Here is 3/4's of my AFFS 7th Crucis Lancers Battalion. I still need to buy some infantry to complete the 4rth Company which will be mostly hover-crafts (will post that company when done).

This is my first use of Citadel's contrast paints. Overall, I am not unhappy with the results. Though the base coat took longer than using an airbrush, the use of this paint did save me from doing many highlights... which, typically I do not do, and simply concentrate on important edges. So with that in mind: not bad.

I was worried at first (after applying the contrast paint) at what the results would be, but looking at them in the end, I am satisfied with the results. 
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AFFS
7th Crucis Lancers
Circa 3039-3050

Photo Editing = Google Photos, Pop to 25%, Light -10%, Color +10% - cropping/centering. No Flash used.

Album link for individual Photos = https://photos.app.goo.gl/eAyPT4GaRwT8mZGi6
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Command Lance

Orion, Battlemaster, Devastator, Atlas

1st Company - Pursuit


Pursuit Lance

Javelin, Phoenix Hawk, Firestarter, Vulcan

Support Lance

Valkyrie, Blackjack, Dervish, Whitworth

Harasser Lance

Victor, Wolverine, Grasshopper, Griffin

2nd Company - Striker


Recon Lance

Locust, Commando, Raven, Stinger

Striker Lance

Wolfhound, Clint, Hatchetman, Wolfhound

Fire Support Lance

trebuchet, Longbow, JagerMech, Hammerhands

3rd Company – Battle


Brawler Lance

Centurion, Enforcer, Hunchback, Centurion

Fire Support Lance

Warhammer, Hatamoto-chi, Awesome, Thunderhawk

Battle

Thunderbolt, Ostroc, Cataphract, Zeus

[Valkerie]

More Davion support! :beer:  They look great, so the paints served you well.  Cockpits and basing are also top notch. 8) 8) :thumbsup:

[Daryk]

Excellent paint jobs all around!  I don't recognize all the models, but love the unit anyway!  :thumbsup:

[.RL]

More Davion support! :beer:  They look great, so the paints served you well.  Cockpits and basing are also top notch. 8) 8) :thumbsup:

Excellent paint jobs all around!  I don't recognize all the models, but love the unit anyway!  :thumbsup:

Thank you!

[avon1985]

WOW!  they get better and better!  Very sweet! :thumbsup:

[IAMCLANWOLF]

Falcons and the Wolves together in their glass cabinet."

Nothing good can come from this!  ;)

Brilliant collection, sir!! 

[.RL]

WOW!  they get better and better!  Very sweet! :thumbsup:

Thanks!

Nothing good can come from this!  ;)

Brilliant collection, sir!! 

LOL! The unfinished Smoke Jaguars and primed Ghost Bears are in the cabinet below, looking up in envy :-P

[worktroll]

I love the unit building, as much as I love the paintjobs.

How do you design/build your units? Happy to discuss how I do my battalions if you're interested. Building the battalions is as much fun as finishing them!

[.RL]

I love the unit building, as much as I love the paintjobs.

How do you design/build your units? Happy to discuss how I do my battalions if you're interested. Building the battalions is as much fun as finishing them!

If you are referring to unit allocation to a specific army, yeah I'd love to discuss it, but this thread might not be the place? I'm happy to share my method and toolbox, and learn yours.

It sometimes takes me many tries... and realistically, many people can probably shoot huge holes in some of my selections... Between when I first create the list, vs. when I actually get ready to painting it, the TO&E gets revised multiple times.

[Daryk]

The Non-Canon Units forum isn't too much further down the list...  ^-^

[.RL]

Hello again BattleTech community. I hope everyone is doing well.

This battalion was error after error. I started by referencing Camospecs Buena War College Training Battalion Banshee BNC-3E painted by Psycho. I loved the scheme the moment I saw it.

I thought I had chosen the color right (Citadel Sotek Green). I was wrong - oh well (error 1: color). I started painting a Hammerhands, I had the mini, I love the mini, but I had no idea where to fit it in… so my justification for it being in the Battalion was that the AFFC had donated it for the war college. After the majority of it was complete, I failed at making a lime green and baby blue checkered pattern on it’s left arm. Unhappy with it, I tore the arm off, bathed it in acetone, primed it gray, and stuck it back on to the Hammerhands to start over.

I loved how it looked with the white arm, so instead of repainting it teal (Sotek Green), I decided to again modify the Camospecs scheme (error 2: pattern deviation). After adding white highlights, it somewhat resembled the stereotypical Lyran scheme. Half a company into this new scheme, and after dipping the original ‘mech (the Hammerhands) in acetone so that I could place it with my Davion force instead, I realized that no Lyran scheme had the white on the left. It was always on the right (error 3: Not doing my homework).

At this point, I decided that I would make each company have a different blue/white pattern, so to better hide my error of putting the white on the left, this way, it would look more deliberate.

• White in the center with a purple accent would be the Command Lance.
• White on the sides with a blue accent would be the first Company.
• White on the left with a green accent would be the second Company.
• White on the right with a red accent would be the third Company.

In the end, it’s my own custom Buena Training Battalion scheme. 


The battalion can fit into many eras by removing few Battlemech’s, but it is mostly made for the War of ’39 (minus the axman) and the Clan Invasion. I do not think a Training Battalion would possess these kind of ‘Mechs, as many are way to valuable to be used in this manner, or like the Thunder Hawk, are so rare that it would more likely be attached to an elite line unit (I had the mini, and I wanted to use it somewhere).

Despite this, and the many other reasons why many of these ‘Mechs would not be in a training battalion, my thought or justification if you will, is that they are there to teach the different configurations, tonnages, and battle roles. In addition, to teach how to counter common enemy ‘Mechs which Buena War College cadets could/would face from the Lyran Alliance's bordering nations - somewhat how the USAF used German Luftwaffe Mig-29’s to learn and teach strengths and weaknesses of their fighters against the Mig-29, after the German Reunification. These 'Mechs are mostly salvage and older models (represented by the older minis).
 
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LCAF
Buena War College Training Battalion
Circa War of '39 - Clan Invasion

Photo Editing = Google Photos, Pop to 25%, Light -10%, Color +10% - cropping/centering. No Flash used.

Album link for individual Photos = https://photos.app.goo.gl/1mB6ERZ7FKTdwQ7E8
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Command Lance

Cyclops (CP-10-Z), Atlas (AS7-D-DC), Daboku (DCMS-MX90-D), Highlander (HGN-733P)



First Company



Medium Battle Lance

Centurion (CN9-A), Commando (COM-3A), Wyvern (WVE-6N), Whitworth (WTH-1)

Heavy Battle Lance

Thunderbolt (TDR-5SE), Hunchback (HBK-4G), Crusader (CRD-3D), Ostroc (OSR-2C)

Direct Fire Lance

Battlemaster (BLR-1S), Hatamoto-Chi (HTM-26T), Warhammer (WHM-6R), Banshee (BNC-3S)


Second Company



Recon Lance

Valkyrie (VLK-QA), Wasp (WSP-1W), Stinger (STG-3G), Wolfhound (WLF-1A)

Striker Lance

Assassin (ASN-21), Hatchetman (HCT-3F), Axman (AXM-1N), Dragon (DRG-1N)
Ode to Bombtech’s Fox’s teeth Hatchetman


Assault Lance

Orion (ON1-V), Zeus (ZEU-6S), Warhammer (WHM-6K), Banshee (BNC-3S)



Third Company



Sweep Lance

Spider (SDR-5D), Clint (CLNT-2-3T), Firestarter (FS9-A), Cicada (CDA-3C)

Cavalry Lance

Wolverine (WVR-6R), Griffin (GRF-1S), Shadow Hawk (SHD-2H), Guillotine (GLT-4L)

Fire Support Lance

Thunder Hawk (TDK-7X), Bombardier (BMB-10D), Archer (ARC-2S), Rifleman (3N)


Bonus picture:

Side by side of all 4 patterns.

Cheers,

[Daryk]

Fantastic work, mistakes or no!  :thumbsup:

[worktroll]

These are ... glorious!

.RL had shared his Ostsol in 1st Company colours before I started my "Jolly Roger" division. I liked it so much I stole it, and took it in a different direction. The sheer magnitude in the details of these put my work in the shadows, but that's not inappropriate for a 'false flag' operation ;)

W.

[agen2]

 8)