The somewhat improbably named Black Heart Roses has its roots in two former Mercenary commands: the Stone Hearts BattleMech company and the Briar Patch Guard. Inheriting the unit from her father, under her command the Stone Hearts largely become a means to fulfill Sara Heart's eccentric hobby - collecting famous and rare BattleMechs. Johann Rose's Briar Patch Guard's history was conventional, highly skilled but in serious financial trouble. With both units hired to garrison the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon world of Great X in the late 3050s, the dashing and handsome Rose saw the more plain-looking Heart as a means of bailing his unit out of debt. Unaware of his true interest in her, both commanders seemingly fell in love and married following a whirlwind romance, combining their commands into the Black Heart Roses.
Following the conclusion of the FedComCivil War, the Roses sought new employment (and new opportunities to increase Sara Heart's collection.) The Niops Association's continuing concerns over the strengthened Marian Hegemony's intentions led them to hire the Roses to bolster their growing Niops Association Militia, the mercenaries providing skilled troops to operate the NAM's surplus of new equipment (including a battalion of Nighthawk light Powered Armour), and the Association provided components and technical assistance from their Project Workshops to assist in refurbishing some of the Star League era machines in Heart's collection.
The unit is better known for collecting 'mechs than anything. Painting them up in the colors of various famous units. The unit even sold their only dropship, a Union, to supply the funds to buy more 'mechs. The unit has built up enough technical support to maintain a regiment's worth. At one point they tried to acquire Morgan Kell's Archer from the Kell Hounds as part of negotiations for a contract, but the Hounds refused.
Her unit, a full battalion of functional combat capable 'mechs, has another battalion's worth of 'mechs in various states of repair. It also says her First Company has Adam Steiner's Axman, Grey Noton's "Legend Killer" Rifleman, a Victor sold for scrap by Katherine Steiner-Davion, an antique Striker and a couple of rare Spartans. But we're not showing this here - this is her Second Company, with PA(L) support.
The Company's Command Lance consists of:
- a St Florian Firemech. Introduced in 3063, and built by Star Corps on a number of surplus Highlander chasses, it's most unusual to find this 'Mech operating on other than capital or major industrial worlds.
- an Eisenfaust EFT-4J, produced in the 26th Century. This Eisenfaust was painted in Lyran Regulars colours, and used in development of the modern EFT-7X.
- a Blackjack BJ-1DC. Swapping the -1D's jump jets for two small lasers and more heat sinks, this particular unit was piloted by Michael Udobo, victor in the battle against Mercer Ravannion's "Swarm" attack. Note that Udobo didn't pilot this Blackjack in that battle; he was issued it in the wake of the battle, but soon traded it for a BJ-1DB.
- And a Ymir BWP-X1. This Ymir had been in the possession of the Neerabup MTM and used in AsTech training, but following the MTM's attack on the Jade Falcons on Black Earth, they ended up selling the inoperable chassis in order to raise funds.
The Battle Lance is made up of:
- a Star League era Spartan SPT-N1. Originally an N2, Heart had this unit restored (with Association help) to the original configuration, replacing the cooling system completely with single heat sinks, for authenticity's sake.
- a Shorty Sneede Rifleman. No, not "the" - "a", a near perfect reproduction sourced from Galatea's active chop shops. There's quite a niche market for such 'Mechs, with (for example) the Battle Corps having one. This one is painted in the best understanding of Sneede's original colours.
- a Grasshopper GHR-5H, reputedly operated by the Bounty Hunter prior to his moving up to the Warhammer he used in his famous clash with Natasha Kerensky of Wolf's Dragoons in 3014.
- And a ClanTech Hunchback IIC, captured by the Knights of the Inner Sphere on Huntress during Task Force Huntress, restored to its original Omega Galaxy colours.
The currently understrength Assault Lance includes:
- a Mackie MSK-8B. Originally a 6S, it was piloted by Captain Gorka Torrente. Originally in the SLDF, when facing court-martial he defected to the Rim Worlds forces serving Stefan Amaris. Torrente was killed on Elbar, and his machine hastily upgraded and restored to action with the 90th Heavy Assault Battalion, serving in support of the infamous 171st Volunteer Auxiliary Division.
- The "Red Queen", a BNC-3EA famously taking part in the BattleChess games in the Noisel Summer Games. The 3EA swaps the PPC for a large laser, and adds two rear-facing small lasers and a centre-torso mounted medium laser.
- and a Defiance DFN-3C, the original prototype version. This was aquired at the same time as the Eisenfaust shown above, and has been painted in Lyran Guards colours.
The missing element is still in transit, making it's slow way to Niops via interstellar fulfilment services. The Hatamoto HTM-ON is a prototype secured by ronin loyalists for Marcus Kurita who dubbed it "Onimaru" before his death, passing to the hands of his eldest son Alexander Kurita after the Ronin War. Extracting this from Combine space has proven a frustrating wait for Sara Heart.
And finally, 2nd Company of the Roses' infantry. Yellow and Orange platoons are equipped with Nighthawk Mk XXI suits, while Red platoon has the rarer Mk II, mounting an autoloading grenade launcher on each left shoulder.
Whew! I know it's a bit of a history dump, but that's the whole point of building a unit for something like the Black Heart Roses. I had a lot of fun making choices - picking deliberately rare (and often crappy) designs, including more than a few MWO designs, and generally enjoying myself. After all, how many Sneede's Riflemen does one need (two, in my case), and it's a great excuse to field a Defiance, which I'd normally be embarrassed to own up to ;)
And in a break from the usual bulk painting, each 'Mech had to be separate, so I got to try a bunch of quick techniques. Used lots of shades, some drybrushing, lots of contrast paints, often all of the above. Happy to discuss individual schemes.
And the modding! The St Florian lost its lower arms, replaced by those from a MW:DA Mercury. The Highlander's right arm moved to the Banshee - having removed the stock PPC and SRM6. I think the transplant worked extremely well! And the Mackie 8X has PPCs from CAV minis, the AC20 is based on an old Night Gyr arm, and eagle eyes will spot part of a metal Mackie mini making up the deal!
This is the fourth full unit I've painted since March or so, which is held up waiting on KS Mercs delivery for completion. I decided "sod it" - it's been too long since I varnished and photographed, and posted something. So here it is, and whenever I see the KS minis, I'll complete the Hatamoto with mods in Pesht Regulars colours.
Happy to answer any question, and feedback always welcomed!
