Maybe it is because the Marauder was on the cover of the original TRO:3025, or maybe because it was featured so prominently in the Gray Death Saga, but for me the Marauder is the most iconic of all the Mechs. The funny thing about that though is that while I've been playing BattleTech since the late 80's, I didn't actually paint my first Marauder until mid 2009.
Albion Military AcademyThis is the first Marauder I ever painted. It represents a period of time before I started swapping parts in my bashes (technically this is suppose to represent a MAD-3D), and was still experimenting with my painting style (I hadn't really gotten my transitions down, as evident by the sudden change from light grey to white, and I was playing with glints of light on raised surfaces). This is also one of the intermediate steps in my Albion Military Academy set, as I have changed to the official blue/white/gold scheme (my earlier works were done in the early 90's before the scheme had been set and therefore ended up being brown), but have not yet adopted the official unit patch and instead am using the insignia from House Book: Davion. My bases were also much weaker back then, as I they were more of an afterthought then they are today.
Personality - Duke Hassid Alexander RicolThis Mech was painted for the Lords of the Battlefield May 2010 monthly miniature contest. It is a simple repose, my first attempt at red and has a freehand insignia. While not pictured here, it also has a companion piece, Baron Harimandir Singh's Crusader, which fits behind and to the right of Ricol's and has the second half of the runway.
Custom - Stormbringers / 349th DragoonsBuilt in August of 2010, this represents a custom Marik built MAD-4M Marauder (Large lasers instead of PPCs, a LRM-15 instead of the AC/5, and 4 extra heat sinks). At this point I have abandon the glints of light on raised surfaces style and settled into the style I pretty much still use today. I've begun to replace parts in my bashes and am using green stuff to integrate the parts in more seamlessly. I'm experimenting with more dynamic poses based on the way things should move and using rods to support a single leg. I've also started my habit of jeweling certain laser lens (those about to fire), have my color code down (Large Lasers = purple, Medium Lasers = red, Small Lasers = green) and am starting to experiment with flames... Where this Mech falls short though, is due to a misconception. I figured the head/torso area would bob up and down, but it has since been point out that it would be a very wild ride if it did that and that animals like the ostrich do not have that much upper body motion when they run. So instead of it looking like it is running, I get a "what did I just step in?!" look.
Custom - Stormbringers / 349th DragoonsThis Mech represents a Marik built MAD-3M Marauder and was done in February of 2013. Constructed mainly from the torso of a Reaper Nightshade, the legs of an IWM Marauder IIc 2 <20-236>, Mad Cat E arms and a few other parts thrown in for good measure. It was part of my reimaging project as a means of making Mechs to represent the unseen, since I wasn't a fan of most of the Project Phoenix stuff or many of the variants that had been released. Since the Classics have started to come out and I like them enough that the need to create something better has abated. Also, Reaper has converted their CAV line over to the new Bones material (which I'm not sure I want to mix and match with metal parts) as well as having discontinued their Robot Supply Depot. This makes parts scarce and between the Classics and Reaper, may be the death of this whole project.
Custom - Stormbringers / 349th Dragoons --- <abandon>As I mentioned above, CGL's release of the new Classics images and the miniatures based on them has given those of us that love the Unseen something to look forward to. But just before all the Classic goodness was teased and released to the public, the MAD-4X showed up. Lots of people took the -4X and converted it to -3Rs, but no one had produced a version that I really liked, so I did one myself... Below is what was going to be a Davion built MAD-3D, made from -4X torso and legs, with the arms of a Reaper CAV Tomahawk and a MFUK variant dorsal cannon. Now that the Classics are coming, and all the trouble getting Reaper parts, I'm not sure I will even finish it. Added to that, is my Caz-a-Verse project, that defines not only which Mechs come from which Houses and where, but also which facility makes which image of each Mech. The Marauder is already the most varied Mech in my universe and I'm not sure if I need yet another image. So for now, the mini sits unfinished and abandon. Normally I don't show WIPs, but since this one is as likely to be converted back to parts as it is to be finished, I figured I would throw up a couple of pictures of it.
Anyway... These are all my Marauders
Caz