Have you ever worked with Bones? I don't find the price attractive enough to make up for the extra hassle.
They're fine to paint, it's cleaning the mold lines that I find so unbearable. If you haven't worked with them I'd recommend buying a figure and trying it out before spending a bunch of money on Bones.
I bought into the first Bones Kickstarter, and have mixed feelings about it. Giant pile of fantasy figs for cheap? Fantastic. Detail of the sculpts? Acceptable. Difficulty dealing with cleaning/painting? Eeeehhhhhhhhhh.
At least for fantasy figs, having a giant pile of ok-to-good looking miniatures is a nice problem to have. Even the mold lines (what there are to speak of) aren't even that big a deal to me. It's that soft-plastic loss-of-definition that kind of kills it for me, especially on figs that are supposed to be super angular and sharp looking.....like the entire CAV line.
Thanks for posting those scale pics @lowlylowlycook! I didn't realize how much bigger the CAV models were versus the BT line. Definitely helps me put my wallet back in my pocket.
Second rule for Mech aesthetics: Mech weapons should be leveled and ready to fire. Even if mechwarriors relax by doing Michel Jackson impressions, do not use those poses for miniatures.
I'm not up on my lore, so can you guys help me out? I'd like to paint my Intro Box figs in 4 groups or 4-5 in faction colours (rest will be Oosiks). But, I don't know how the mechs fit in their factions. Is it possible to sort them this way? Is it possible to make the groups semi-balanced?
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IanatorGaze upon my works, ye mightyand facepalm.Registered Userregular
I'm not up on my lore, so can you guys help me out? I'd like to paint my Intro Box figs in 4 groups or 4-5 in faction colours (rest will be Oosiks). But, I don't know how the mechs fit in their factions. Is it possible to sort them this way? Is it possible to make the groups semi-balanced?
Almost all the 'Mechs in the set are House-agnostic. Far as I can tell only the Zeus is limited to one house (and mercs).
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I'm not up on my lore, so can you guys help me out? I'd like to paint my Intro Box figs in 4 groups or 4-5 in faction colours (rest will be Oosiks). But, I don't know how the mechs fit in their factions. Is it possible to sort them this way? Is it possible to make the groups semi-balanced?
Almost all the 'Mechs in the set are House-agnostic. Far as I can tell only the Zeus is limited to one house (and mercs).
Any thoughts on how I could divide them into 4 roughly balanced forces or 6 mechs each? I could probably do it by weight or BV, but that doesn't take role into consideration.
Whatever smack I've talked about some of these mech designs, I've been inspired enough to actually finish (including basing!) that Desert Lance. Trust me, that never happens.
Also still working on a simpler color scheme. I'm kind of digging this pair of schemes but I need to pick some kind of highlight color.
Also, do you guys know of a good tutorial for painting cockpits. I can somewhat see what's done in photos but I think a tutorial might work better than my attempts at reverse engineering.
I dropped by my FLGS and they were having a kind of yard sale where people could bring stuff in for consignment sale. I got pretty excited when I saw an older version of the Starter Box, but on I didn't see any of the premium model when I took a look through the box. Still for $10 I couldn't resist a second copy of the plastics.
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I dropped by my FLGS and they were having a kind of yard sale where people could bring stuff in for consignment sale. I got pretty excited when I saw an older version of the Starter Box, but on I didn't see any of the premium model when I took a look through the box. Still for $10 I couldn't resist a second copy of the plastics.
I take it when you looked through the box, you looked at the figures? The quality of the figs in the old Intro box is...not good. Especially not good when compared to the revised, current box.
I mean, for $10 bucks, yeah, I'd probably jump on it too. But, urgh, those minis. So much prep to make them look reasonable.
Huh, I guess that all my eyes registered was that they mostly seemed to be the same sculpts that I already had. I only noticed that some bits seemed glued on rather than having come ready for play. But on a second look, I can see what you mean. Some look fineish but others are pretty rough.
At the very worst, they will make good bits for bases, scenery and wrecks.
I would say that you ruined my day but luckily Reaper was feeling generous and included the final stretch goals that were revealed but not reached so I can't complain, really.
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Same painter, but glare is in opposite corner. So, which way to go? Blend to light at top with glare on bottom or vice-versa?
Guess it depends on how you want it to look, and (if you're a crazy artist type) determining the incident light source to figure out the most realistic effect.
So I know about Fighting Pirannha, but is there a good source for something more generic. Like the equivalent of tail numbers.
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
I'm not sure of particular sources, but ze Googles sure seems to have a lot of them.
Honestly, I've been hemming and hawing over decals for months now. As much as I like the FP ones (even had them in hand at Gen Con, nearly pulled out my wallet) I don't need an entire sheet of a single unit emblem. I wish they had a variety sheet, or something.
I've actually instead been looking at printing out my own decals, but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet.
I haven't found the perfect set of numbers yet but I have found a solution to the high cost of maintaining and repairing your fusion powered death machine.
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Now I can't help but imagine a Solaris mech, plastered all over with logos like a NASCAR rig.
Same painter, but glare is in opposite corner. So, which way to go? Blend to light at top with glare on bottom or vice-versa?
Guess it depends on how you want it to look, and (if you're a crazy artist type) determining the incident light source to figure out the most realistic effect.
I guess I qualify as the crazy artist type, because I was thinking that if the sun was high in the sky then the jeweling should lighten towards the bottom with the glare at the top. Thanks for posting a photo that proves it.
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Same painter, but glare is in opposite corner. So, which way to go? Blend to light at top with glare on bottom or vice-versa?
Guess it depends on how you want it to look, and (if you're a crazy artist type) determining the incident light source to figure out the most realistic effect.
I guess I qualify as the crazy artist type, because I was thinking that if the sun was high in the sky then the jeweling should lighten towards the bottom with the glare at the top. Thanks for posting a photo that proves it.
For the record, I found that image after about 14 seconds of Google searching. It's hard to tell where the light source is relative to the cockpit in that pic, so it's probably worth doing a 20-second search to see if you can find comparable examples. My 18-second search didn't turn up much. Searching for this lighting effect is hard; I haven't quite found the magical search terms.
Just grabbed these real quick in the hangar (light source is LED strips overhead and windows behind/above). If you're looking for a different lighting direction I'll be back in tomorrow until 1330
So here is my first attempt at cockpit jeweling. And as that article states the results really seem to differ depending at what distance and angle you view from. Well more so in my case to to sloppiness, etc. Still, I kind of like it and can see how if you do it a squad at a time it wouldn't be too hard or time consuming.
The guy I play Warhammer with happened to have some CAV figures that he picked up with some other stuff in an ebay auction. Since he didn't want them he traded them for some rats I had laying about.
Yeah, these guys are pretty hefty and the style is quite different from the more humanoid BT stuff. Not that I didn't know that but seeing them really brings it home.
Also, they don't have a ton of busy detail (panels,etc.) so I'm not so sure how good a basecoat + wash will look and if I wanted to do the desert pattern that I did on the BT figs, I'd have to do a lot more free hand.
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Alright guys, I need some help. I'm looking for a canonical IS unit, House-aligned or merc, that uses either gold or yellow as its majority color in its paints.
Right now, I've ended up doubled up on the Magistracy of Canopus with two of my lances. The 1st Light Horse is largely gold, and the 1st Cuirassiers is yellow. I'd prefer that I have as much unit diversity in my collection as possible.
Bonus points if one of the following lances is also canonically represented in the unit's TOE that you suggest:
Lance 1: Mongoose, Vulcan, Centurion, Orion
Lance 2: Hammer, Hermes II, Assassin, Vindicator
Here is a scale shot I took of some BT CAV and Dropzone Commander minis:
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IanatorGaze upon my works, ye mightyand facepalm.Registered Userregular
A little on the big side, as I've heard. Though some of the Smalls, Mediums and Larges may still be useful for custom-built 'Mechs.
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Honestly, if there-abouts is where the CAV scale is at, i don't think I mind it much. It's not like the scale of the Battletech range is particularly consistent (see also; Vulture Mk IV (60 tons) vs Stone Rhino (100 tons)). As long as everything roughly fits on a 1" hex base, then you're good to go.
Yeah, both CAV and DZC are 10mm. I think I read somewhere else that people like the DZC APC for a battle armor carrier.
I'm kind of mulling over the idea of using mostly CAV models for mechs and using some of the smaller BT minis for protomechs. But then I always have to be different and do things the hard way.
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Ian, if you have the skill to pull it off, why not do it? I know I'd love to have a YLW painted appropriately.
Also, you're such a tease. This is a much clearer view of the YLW's paint job, for reference.
(spoiler for size; also, not trolling here, I swear)
I bought into the first Bones Kickstarter, and have mixed feelings about it. Giant pile of fantasy figs for cheap? Fantastic. Detail of the sculpts? Acceptable. Difficulty dealing with cleaning/painting? Eeeehhhhhhhhhh.
At least for fantasy figs, having a giant pile of ok-to-good looking miniatures is a nice problem to have. Even the mold lines (what there are to speak of) aren't even that big a deal to me. It's that soft-plastic loss-of-definition that kind of kills it for me, especially on figs that are supposed to be super angular and sharp looking.....like the entire CAV line.
Thanks for posting those scale pics @lowlylowlycook! I didn't realize how much bigger the CAV models were versus the BT line. Definitely helps me put my wallet back in my pocket.
Though you might want to check out the vehicles before the KS ends.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Second rule for Mech aesthetics: Mech weapons should be leveled and ready to fire. Even if mechwarriors relax by doing Michel Jackson impressions, do not use those poses for miniatures.
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Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
Whatever you do, don't pick up the box and feel how heavy it is, how packed with BattleTech goodness it is.
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Almost all the 'Mechs in the set are House-agnostic. Far as I can tell only the Zeus is limited to one house (and mercs).
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Any thoughts on how I could divide them into 4 roughly balanced forces or 6 mechs each? I could probably do it by weight or BV, but that doesn't take role into consideration.
Also still working on a simpler color scheme. I'm kind of digging this pair of schemes but I need to pick some kind of highlight color.
Also, do you guys know of a good tutorial for painting cockpits. I can somewhat see what's done in photos but I think a tutorial might work better than my attempts at reverse engineering.
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If there's some other example you're aiming at post a pic and maybe we can help you out.
Cockpit jeweling:
http://camospecs.com/Article.asp?FictionID=19
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I think I like that better than what I did. Curse you Nips!
I mean, the results are fantastic. But it's about eleventybillion more steps than I think I can manage with the skills I've got right now.
I take it when you looked through the box, you looked at the figures? The quality of the figs in the old Intro box is...not good. Especially not good when compared to the revised, current box.
I mean, for $10 bucks, yeah, I'd probably jump on it too. But, urgh, those minis. So much prep to make them look reasonable.
Same painter, but glare is in opposite corner. So, which way to go? Blend to light at top with glare on bottom or vice-versa?
At the very worst, they will make good bits for bases, scenery and wrecks.
I would say that you ruined my day but luckily Reaper was feeling generous and included the final stretch goals that were revealed but not reached so I can't complain, really.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Yeah, well I probably won't bother doing all the gradients Ross did. I'll probably stick to 5 or so.
You should give it a shot. It's not nearly as hard as it looks. And if you do several mechs at a time it's pretty quick too.
Guess it depends on how you want it to look, and (if you're a crazy artist type) determining the incident light source to figure out the most realistic effect.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Honestly, I've been hemming and hawing over decals for months now. As much as I like the FP ones (even had them in hand at Gen Con, nearly pulled out my wallet) I don't need an entire sheet of a single unit emblem. I wish they had a variety sheet, or something.
I've actually instead been looking at printing out my own decals, but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
I guess I qualify as the crazy artist type, because I was thinking that if the sun was high in the sky then the jeweling should lighten towards the bottom with the glare at the top. Thanks for posting a photo that proves it.
For the record, I found that image after about 14 seconds of Google searching. It's hard to tell where the light source is relative to the cockpit in that pic, so it's probably worth doing a 20-second search to see if you can find comparable examples. My 18-second search didn't turn up much. Searching for this lighting effect is hard; I haven't quite found the magical search terms.
Just grabbed these real quick in the hangar (light source is LED strips overhead and windows behind/above). If you're looking for a different lighting direction I'll be back in tomorrow until 1330
Spoilered for "Lean back in your chairs, please."
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Nothing says loving like getting hit from five directions with ten ER Medium Lasers.
Stefan Amaris would probably get along well with Gihren Zabi. At least until one decided to backstab the other with weapons of mass destruction.
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Yeah, these guys are pretty hefty and the style is quite different from the more humanoid BT stuff. Not that I didn't know that but seeing them really brings it home.
Also, they don't have a ton of busy detail (panels,etc.) so I'm not so sure how good a basecoat + wash will look and if I wanted to do the desert pattern that I did on the BT figs, I'd have to do a lot more free hand.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Right now, I've ended up doubled up on the Magistracy of Canopus with two of my lances. The 1st Light Horse is largely gold, and the 1st Cuirassiers is yellow. I'd prefer that I have as much unit diversity in my collection as possible.
Bonus points if one of the following lances is also canonically represented in the unit's TOE that you suggest:
Lance 1: Mongoose, Vulcan, Centurion, Orion
Lance 2: Hammer, Hermes II, Assassin, Vindicator
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
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I do like the scale of that DZC tank, though.
I'm kind of mulling over the idea of using mostly CAV models for mechs and using some of the smaller BT minis for protomechs. But then I always have to be different and do things the hard way.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)