Author Topic: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era  (Read 2044 times)

worktroll

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So the Dark Age minis never came up with Free Worlds League colours, so for my DA-era FWLM unit I decided to go classic - the Fusiliers of Oriente. Specifically the 3rd, who (as far as we know) survived the breakup of the League. Specifically this unit is presented at or around 3149, when units involved in the fall of the Principality came back with some nice Regulan loot kit issued to replace combat losses.



The Fast Assault Lance is made up of a Marauder II MAD-6M, Emperor EMP-6M2, Anzu ZU-J70, and Warhammer IIC 8.



The Fire Support/Direct Fire lance consists of a Sarath SRTH-1OA, Catapult CPLT-C2, Longbow LGB-8V, and Ostwar OWR-3M.



While the Recon Lance is composed of a Phoenix Hawk PXH-1c "Special", Phoenix Hawk L PXH-11K, Dasher II 3, and Hammer "Peinhammer" HMR-3P.



The armour company from the 4th Zion Heavy Armour is actually quite light, but nonetheless supports the heavier Mechws well: platoons of Main Gauche IFVs, Joust BE700s, and Scimitar Mk IIs.







Finally, the infantry from the 76th Oriente Rifles is an experienced, all-mechanised battle armour company.  The platoon of Achileus suits use a pair of Zahn transports, the Phalanxes ride inside the Main Gauche IFV with the Longinus MAG platoon riding on the outside, and the Tornado PA(L) platoon - well, they specialise in urban clearance, and ride in their custom "Battle Bus"- a Morningstar CCV captured from the Capellans, stripped of all its electronics and most of its weaponry, providing more than ample carrying capacity for a platoon of armoured infantry.





So the Marik DA battalion is done, filling in that gap in the Grand Plan. It's my 60th unit, and the 10th this year. It gave me a chance to use some 'Mechs I'd be unlikely to use otherwise, and I had a lot of fun painting them up.

I do like the "Clown Cars"- the Main Gauches with double the fun. I'm biased - I designed that variant - but it has always appealed as one of the best IFVs, with an ideal weapon for BA support and general hilarity. Yes, a turret would be nice, but you just have to use wingmen, as it were. And the Scimitar IIs are some of my favourite minis - these are DA ones, but the IWM ones arn't much smaller.

Plenty of 'Mech mods. Specifically, the Phoenix Hawk and the Fenikkusu Taka:



The big'un is a DA mini, the little'un an IWM mini with MML arm from a DA PXH-L, and 'Mech taser from a DA Manteuffel.  Until a HXK-L mini comes out, this is going to do nicely. ANd I think I got a nice dynamic pose, more or less by accident - while it has more pieces than I would really like, they fit together really well.

And last extra - two years ago I needed an Anzu before the mini came out, so I scratched one up. I think it came out OK .. the mini is, however, nicer ;)



Questions, comments, critiques all sought. Don't leave me dangling, folks!

Cheers,

W.
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

worktroll

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #1 on: 10 December 2019, 16:46:28 »
And a quick note - yes, that is a BattleDroids Marauder with Marauder II fins.

The IWM Unseen Marauder II is just a Marauder mini with fins and a chin turret. No size increase. This has always bothered me. Some time ago, I ended up getting two BattleDroids Marauders and three Unseen Marauder II minis. I made one of each up normally, traded the third Marauder II to a friend, and then decided to 'transplant' fins to get a suitably bulky Marauder II. The fins went on really nicely; it's just a shame the old BD mini lacks a lot of detail. But I think it came out nicely.
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

jimdigris

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #2 on: 10 December 2019, 16:57:44 »
Interesting take on the Emperor. :thumbsup:

worktroll

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #3 on: 10 December 2019, 16:59:39 »
Twin LGRs. Didn't feel like replacing the whole lower arms ...
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

Valkerie

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #4 on: 10 December 2019, 23:37:20 »
The whole group looks great, but extra kudos on the Phoenix Hawks. 8) :thumbsup:
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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Greywind

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #5 on: 11 December 2019, 19:03:42 »
Looks like a very green unit.

worktroll

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #6 on: 11 December 2019, 19:23:09 »
Reliable, Veteran actually ;)

(Yes, they are more verdant than veteran ...)
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

Colt Ward

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #7 on: 12 December 2019, 10:44:32 »
Are those DA Joust or a IWM mini?

Surprised you did not cut down the DA PXH thigh a bit.  I thought about it, but I never saw a good place to trim it . . . and until I get my hands on a KS Classic PXH, it works pretty well.  The PP Phoenix Hawk I always thought worked pretty well.
Colt Ward
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"We come in peace, please ignore the bloodstains."

"Greetings, Mechwarrior. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Daoshen and the Capellan armada."

worktroll

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #8 on: 12 December 2019, 12:06:22 »
The DA PXH works pretty well with later IWM minis that do tend to be a little bigger than the oldies. My main aim here was to emphasise the size difference of the L version, so no cuts needed.

The Jousts are IWM minis - the DA Joust is a lovely mini but huge. It'd be a super-heavy tank with a turreted HGR ;)
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

Colt Ward

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #9 on: 12 December 2019, 12:37:46 »
Yeah, but the details looked spot on and when you paint them its hard to tell the difference sometimes.  But that lets me know I need to add that mini to my list!  The Joust is one of the best tanks in the game IMO since it mounts the best gun in the game.
Colt Ward
Clan Invasion Backer #149, Leviathans #104

"We come in peace, please ignore the bloodstains."

"Greetings, Mechwarrior. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Daoshen and the Capellan armada."

worktroll

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #10 on: 12 December 2019, 14:17:46 »
The 701 is very nice, but the 700 is nicer.
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

chongobongo

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #11 on: 12 December 2019, 21:34:43 »
Nice unit . Do all of your units contain a kit bash or scratch built mech ?

thecybersmily

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #12 on: 15 December 2019, 21:38:39 »
 :thumbsup:

worktroll

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #13 on: 15 December 2019, 22:30:31 »
Nice unit . Do all of your units contain a kit bash or scratch built mech ?

Pretty much! As you've probably noticed, I like building battalion or binary/trinary sized units, and I use the Alpha Strike formation rules to build lances/stars. So the pressures are:

1) Does the unit meet the needs?
2) I like to show variants as variants (and like to have different versions of the same chassis), and
3) Economy - or cost-effectiveness.

The 3rd reason is why I use a lot of MW:DA and RTT minis, because they're cheap, and work well. MW:DA infantry and BA are my preferred choices, and I have collected lots over the years (although the unpainted collection is dwindling).

Plus, of course, I enjoy doing it!
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

avon1985

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Re: 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente, Combined Arms Battalion, Dark Age era
« Reply #14 on: 17 December 2019, 20:02:16 »
Sweet! :thumbsup: