Reposed Starter Set Mechs made a Great First Lance

[Camarones]

So I jumped into this game head-first after ogling technical readouts ever since seeing them as a kid. I swear one of my earliest memories is obsessing over the super cool "robots" in my Dad's 3050 TRO.

Years later after much Mechwarrior and Battletech love I finally got my hands on some models. Ended up picking up the 2007 Introductory Box Set off of eBay for only $59 (if you can believe it!). I opened the box, and was shocked to see just how bad the sculpts/castings in this box were :-[ . I haven't let this stop me from enjoying the game, so I set out to make it mine and make these mech better!

I chose some models to build my first lance, opting to choose frames that I had never given much love - be it in drooling over designs or selecting 'mechs in the various video games.
The selected mechs are as follows: BNC-3E Banshee, WTH-1 Whitworth, GHR-5H Grasshopper, and the VND-1R Vindicator.

Like I said, the sculpts were abysmal, and it took some serious cleanup work. After working so long on the mold lines and flashing (I still see some in the finished products, ugh :-\ ), I thought that these models could use some reposing. So I set to work, and built my first lance in the colors of the 15th Arcturan Guard
The Lance ( https://imgur.com/a/BrdJHgc )

The BNC-3E Banshee

The GHR-5H Grasshopper

The VND-1R Vindicator

The WTH-1 Whitworth (Only stock pose in this group)

These mechs were a fun exploration of reposing/converting mech models. Here's a gratuitous shot of the reposes before painting, before I expound on the most complicated work. These show how much putty work went into each.

As you may be able to tell, the Grasshopper underwent a TON of love. The original sculpt/casting was so bad I had to really do so much more than the rest. All of the lasers were basically devoid of detail, so they have been either sculpted on, or added (as in the case of the two medium lasers on center torso). The reposing left a ton of gaps, so I've had to add extensive putty work around the joints. The details along the sides of this mech were really bad, so I had to completely sculpt in the ridges present in the artwork. While I was at it, I added a single jump jet going off - as if to suggest a rocket-powered kick. My Grasshopper's pilot (Melinda Ragheb) operates this old lady like a graceful fairy, and I wanted to express that with the pose.

[Major Headcase]

You know, as bad as those old plastic minis were, I still kinda love them...  :)
Your reposes look terrific! I especially like the Grasshopper, you really made it look fast and flexible. In the first pic though, I thought at first the Banshee was dabbing...  ;D

[worktroll]

Years later after much Mechwarrior and Battletech love I finally got my hands on some models. Ended up picking up the 2007 Introductory Box Set off of eBay for only $59 (if you can believe it!). I opened the box, and was shocked to see just how bad the sculpts/castings in this box were :-[ . I haven't let this stop me from enjoying the game, so I set out to make it mine and make these mech better!

That's some truly great work, Camarones! I love the plastics because they're so easy to repose & customise, but usually don't aspire to as much accurisation as you have done here! Bravo!

Question - are these the first 'Mech minis you've painted? If so, what have you worked on before?

Second, mind walking us through the painting process? White's always a pain; I'm moving to using Citadel Contrast for it, but that requires features to work with, and the old plastics as you've used would be completely unsuitable.

Third, wait until you get hold of the Alpha Strike plastics - much much improved. But not as much as the new KS minis, which (based on experience with the AGoAC set) are a joy to paint.

CHeers!  :thumbsup:

[Mecha82]

Those are very nice indeed. :thumbsup:

[jimdigris]

 :thumbsup:

[Camarones]

Question - are these the first 'Mech minis you've painted? If so, what have you worked on before?

I've been painting for about 15 years now. My portfolio involves a ton of Warhammer 40k (Space Marines, Chaos, Tau, Orks), Various DnD sculpts, and an extensive Infinty Haqqislam army. I usually dedicate up to 10 hours per model and I really wanted to switch to a more economical style for my Battletech stuff. I think the process I've worked up looks good enough for immersive play and makes it possible to actually get your force done.

Second, mind walking us through the painting process? White's always a pain; I'm moving to using Citadel Contrast for it, but that requires features to work with, and the old plastics as you've used would be completely unsuitable.

Funny enough, these models were done with the contrast paint ;) . You're right in that some of the detail is not enough for proper function, but a little bit of love with GreenStuff makes all the difference. The following steps only take a few hours to finish:

• I start with a white primer. I've had bad luck using off-white with the contrast and zenithal priming doesn't really do the trick. I just use good ol' Krylon white primer, and it works beautifully. No need to overspend on GW or Army Painter in my humble opinion.
• Slap on a coat of Apothecary White Contrast paint right out of the pot. Once it dries, use some slightly thinned white paint to do some limited edge higlights. Really focus on just the most prominent and highest edges. Less is truly more at this point.
• Time for some regular basecoats: coat the shoulders brown and all of the metallic areas whatever silver tone you prefer. I actually prefer FolkArt cheap-o acrylic paints for my metallics.
• Drybrush the brown area with a fairly bright orange.
• Now's a great time to do the ink washes - I use a brown ink on the orange shoulders (Agrax Earthshade) and a black ink on all the metallics (Nuln Oil).
• Revisit the orange shoulders with a light drybrushing of a SUPER BRIGHT orange on the uppermost portion. This will serve as the highlights, so build it up sparingly.
• Use some thinned down black paint to draw on the tiger stripes. I prefer a fat 0 or 1 brush with a really sharp tip for this step. Go ahead and basecoat the cockpit glass and laser lenses now with the same black.
• Cockpit glass and laser jeweling as per the CamoSpecs tutorial @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO66C_FJa2o
• Freehand the unit and regiment markings, as well as any numerals. Again, I refer to CamoSpecs for any questions about this part. There's a great video @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFHy3y3xFEM

Finally, I finish the models with a clear coat. I prefer a good flat finish, so I use my favorite - Army Painter Anti-Shine Matt Varnish. It's about $15 a can but well worth it. If you don't have a local hobby shop that carries it, amazon has it with free prime shipping. (https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-CP3003-Anti-Shine-Varnish/dp/B005WH4C2S)

I hope that these steps help you on your quest to paint white models easily, and that this reply wasn't too much to digest! Happy wargaming  :))

[Jhousdan]

Is.... your banshee.... is your banshee... DABBING?