This is why battleforce needs a new rule printing. Making combined arms RCTs is a super fun process mapping out different commands, logistics and support units... The whole kit and kabang. Mechs are fun and all, but it's even more fun making them be used more as detachments to augment strength for other companies, battalions or command structures.
Almost want to get the new ilClan book or the sole purpose of pouring over the combat operation overview. This delicious NATO style units, maps and arrows all over the map. Yum!
Funny you mention Battleforce, they're literally in the process of updating and revising it for a new release of Interstellar Operations.
"Soon"
ive heard slight rustlings, but im not holding my breath.
They've been redoing all the Core Rule books in order. They just, just released the redone Campaign Operations so Interstellar would be the next and final.
edit- Correction, I guess they're not doing it in order, but still!
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
If I were a betting man, I'd say a pack of Firefly/Hoplite/Gallowglas/Annihilator would make for a good set. I'd easily see the Flea in the Light slot instead though, just out of popularity.
Kinda feeling the Imp over the Gallowglas but I’m thinking it’ll be close to to that
0
H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
Potentially, we get two WD lance packs, and only two mechs get left out (since the Marauder II's in one of the kickstarter IS packs, and the Highlander IIC will almost certainly be in a future Clan pack, if anything). But yeah, they usually try to spread out the weight classes in each pack, so I'd be surprised if we got both the Annie and the Imp in one box.
If I were a betting man, I'd say a pack of Firefly/Hoplite/Gallowglas/Annihilator would make for a good set. I'd easily see the Flea in the Light slot instead though, just out of popularity.
Flea would be my guess since it is so popular.
Not just popular, but so ubiquitous to the Capellan Confederation that I legit forgot it was a Mech the Wolf's Dragoons (re)introduced.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
If I were a betting man, I'd say a pack of Firefly/Hoplite/Gallowglas/Annihilator would make for a good set. I'd easily see the Flea in the Light slot instead though, just out of popularity.
Flea would be my guess since it is so popular.
Not just popular, but so ubiquitous to the Capellan Confederation that I legit forgot it was a Mech the Wolf's Dragoons (re)introduced.
There's the rub, eh? In the wild world where we end up getting a cycle of faction packs, where else but the CapCon pack would you put a Flea? Or, contrariwise, what Light would you put in a CapCon lance otherwise?
Another reason for a Firefly: the current sculpt is bad. The Flea has a newer sculpt that is good!
Nips on
0
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
I was about to say Raven, but that is a part of the starter box. I don't know if they'd be willing to double up like that. I could see people being maybe a bit annoyed. Though it honestly wouldn't bother me at all.
Though I think a better idea might be to sell the two Starter Box lances as their own separate Force Packs. For people who want more of the plastic minis, but don't want to have to rebuy the starter set.
edit- DAMMIT ALL! I am always getting the Raven and Locust confused!
Okay, Raven for Capellan force pack!
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
+2
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
Ok, probably the last round of Operation Frantically Build All The Things before a white, purple, and orange dropship launches reinforcements to my location (Tomorrow! Supposedly!). Knocking onsie-twosie things off my list!
Fire Moth (Alt. B?), Fire Falcon (Prime), Ice Ferret (Alt. F). All older sculpts, all bought on a crazy knee-jerk whim when they showed up in a discount eBay listing and I desperately needed a F.Falcon for my collection all of a sudden. This was probably retail therapy as I was waiting for Wave 2. It was late at night, who knows.
Seriously though, what variant does that old Moth sculpt represent? I honestly don't think it represents any canon variant. It has paired barrels on the top of each forearm, so...what?
Seriously though, what variant does that old Moth sculpt represent? I honestly don't think it represents any canon variant. It has paired barrels on the top of each forearm, so...what?
I think you're right about it being a B, if you assume that two of the barrels are lasers and two are machine guns.
A close combat configuration, the Fire Moth B replaces the ER Medium Lasers with Medium Pulse Lasers. Dual Machine Guns easily dispose of any infantry the 'Mech may encounter, and an A-Pod secures the 'Mech's legs against any that manage to close in. BV (1.0) = 840[2], BV (2.0) = 922[3], 639[9]
But then, how often does classic Battletech art match the actual tech specs 100%?
I remember reading in some old tech manual or something that some of the things that look like guns may actually be ports for coolant or something.
+1
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
So IWM has the original Ral Partha sculpt, AR20-612, with the arms like in the original TRO 3050 art above. They also have a resculpt based on TRO 3050 Upgrades, catalog number 20-373, which more accurately reflects the Prime loadout.
So it's weird to me that the original 612 sculpt didn't get a canon variant down the line anywhere, to make sense of the sculpt that's still kept available.
I might have to sit down and figure out what paired guns might work on the arms once you strip the Prime armaments off, if it's not supposed to be the B, just to let my brain rest from this niggling detail.
God, that swirly bit with the circle on the right torso in the TRO art you posted is probably supposed to be a launcher of some kind; a lot of the old RO sculpts had that motif for launchers. Gah.
You could probably run it as a B, D (just gotta figure out how you want to represent the 5th ERML), or a G (virtually no work needed, but it's a Dark Age variant so...)
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Oooh, G is niiice, but the 'Mech's slated for a Fire Mandrill star, so that's....not strictly gonna be right with the timeline. Maybe if I move some units around...
I've been taking stock of my new Clan mechs and trying to figure out what Clan I want to run them under. After doing a bit of surface research, it looks like the most common Clan is a tie between Diamond Shark/Sea Fox and Smoke Jaguars.
Mechs in question:
Adder
Crossbow
Dire Wolf
Ebon Jaguar
Executioner
Grendel
Hunchback IIC
Huntsman
Ice Ferret
Kingfisher
Marauder IIC
Mist Lynx
Nova
Stone Rhino
Supernova
2xTimber Wolf
Turkina
Viper
Warhammer IIC
Smoke Jaguars is very tempting because my IS mechs are going to be painted in Kurita colors, so it works in a "most likely opponent" sense, however a few mechs (mainly the Timber Wolves and Turkina) make this exceptionally unlikely, so I'm probably going to be researching Diamond Shark colors (especially color schemes that'd work with reconstituted Sea Fox) as they'd be the most likely to travel between the other Clans and picking up the rare mech in trade (and occasionally as isorla).
Secondary choice would probably be Goliath Scorpion since they seem to have picked up more than a few manufacturing lines, but they aren't in a good position to really get any of the rarer mechs.
I've been taking stock of my new Clan mechs and trying to figure out what Clan I want to run them under. After doing a bit of surface research, it looks like the most common Clan is a tie between Diamond Shark/Sea Fox and Smoke Jaguars.
Mechs in question:
Adder
Crossbow
Dire Wolf
Ebon Jaguar
Executioner
Grendel
Hunchback IIC
Huntsman
Ice Ferret
Kingfisher
Marauder IIC
Mist Lynx
Nova
Stone Rhino
Supernova
2xTimber Wolf
Turkina
Viper
Warhammer IIC
Smoke Jaguars is very tempting because my IS mechs are going to be painted in Kurita colors, so it works in a "most likely opponent" sense, however a few mechs (mainly the Timber Wolves and Turkina) make this exceptionally unlikely, so I'm probably going to be researching Diamond Shark colors (especially color schemes that'd work with reconstituted Sea Fox) as they'd be the most likely to travel between the other Clans and picking up the rare mech in trade (and occasionally as isorla).
Secondary choice would probably be Goliath Scorpion since they seem to have picked up more than a few manufacturing lines, but they aren't in a good position to really get any of the rarer mechs.
Neither of those would make me raise an eyebrow for the Jags. The Timber Wolf is mostly associated with the Wolves, sure, but it's also over a century old at the time of the invasion, and every Clan had a few. The Turkina was a lot newer, but the Master Unit List explicitly says it was available to the Smoke Jaguars. Maybe a bit of Crusader Clan solidarity? Plus the Falcons had some territory on the main Jaguar world, Huntress.
I've been taking stock of my new Clan mechs and trying to figure out what Clan I want to run them under. After doing a bit of surface research, it looks like the most common Clan is a tie between Diamond Shark/Sea Fox and Smoke Jaguars.
Mechs in question:
Adder
Crossbow
Dire Wolf
Ebon Jaguar
Executioner
Grendel
Hunchback IIC
Huntsman
Ice Ferret
Kingfisher
Marauder IIC
Mist Lynx
Nova
Stone Rhino
Supernova
2xTimber Wolf
Turkina
Viper
Warhammer IIC
Smoke Jaguars is very tempting because my IS mechs are going to be painted in Kurita colors, so it works in a "most likely opponent" sense, however a few mechs (mainly the Timber Wolves and Turkina) make this exceptionally unlikely, so I'm probably going to be researching Diamond Shark colors (especially color schemes that'd work with reconstituted Sea Fox) as they'd be the most likely to travel between the other Clans and picking up the rare mech in trade (and occasionally as isorla).
Secondary choice would probably be Goliath Scorpion since they seem to have picked up more than a few manufacturing lines, but they aren't in a good position to really get any of the rarer mechs.
Neither of those would make me raise an eyebrow for the Jags. The Timber Wolf is mostly associated with the Wolves, sure, but it's also over a century old at the time of the invasion, and every Clan had a few. The Turkina was a lot newer, but the Master Unit List explicitly says it was available to the Smoke Jaguars. Maybe a bit of Crusader Clan solidarity? Plus the Falcons had some territory on the main Jaguar world, Huntress.
Hmm, lemme look at color schemes for Jaguars, I have a feeling they’d be pretty similar to the Ryuken though (shades of gray with some color highlights)
Last night I fell down a massive hole looking at Z scale terrain stuff. I really need a friend with a 3D printer.
Train stuff is legit the best terrain making stuff for hobbies out there.
+3
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
While the scale is technically not correct I am of the opinion that Mechs alongside Z-scale buildings looks “right”.
Z-scale is 1:220
Old IWM minis are 1:285
New IWM and Plastic minis are 1:265
Outlands Models is a 3D printed brand (can get off Amazon) that has a nice selection for a decent price. They even have a fair number of destroyed buildings to. I haven’t bought any yet but I am interested.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
While the scale is technically not correct I am of the opinion that Mechs alongside Z-scale buildings looks “right”.
Z-scale is 1:220
Old IWM minis are 1:285
New IWM and Plastic minis are 1:265
Outlands Models is a 3D printed brand (can get off Amazon) that has a nice selection for a decent price. They even have a fair number of destroyed buildings to. I haven’t bought any yet but I am interested.
Z scale looks right because it works out to be like 6.5mm. BattleTech is 6mm. So thats 1:220 vs 1:285. Which seems large, but when things are tiny, its kinda hard to tell.
Last night I fell down a massive hole looking at Z scale terrain stuff. I really need a friend with a 3D printer.
Train stuff is legit the best terrain making stuff for hobbies out there.
The problem is that Z scale is just so rare. But I really don't want to use any of the others and downplay the size of mechs. The mech minis are already scaled oddly enough to each other, I like seeing them as gigantic, stompy robots.
My FIL had to deal with a lot of smaller resellers to build his table.
I do know that Amazon carries quite a few buildings at this point (“Z scale buildings” should get you there), but shipping will be a good chunk of what you’ll pay.
Edit: looks like a good amount of them are 3D print on demand, hrm
Yeah I surfed all of Amazon. At the prices you might pay for Amazon z scale 3D printers you might honestly think about picking up your own 3D printer. Spent a good bit of time also looking into competitive railroad design in Z scale which also confirmed that basic idea: Z scale is largely about building your own custom stuff.
What is this I don't even.
+3
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
If you do 3D print stuff a handy metric to keep in mind is that an Atlas is roughly 3 stories tall. So you can use that as kind of a yardstick of sorts.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
I think the assaults might be the worst to plan around tbh. Or maybe they're the only ones at the right scale and the lights are the most wrong? Planning to just standardize terrain to Z scale so that the terrain scales to itself, and then the mechs just kinda do what they're going to do.
Also, does anyone have any sort of unit planner tool? I want to organize my stars to finalize a trade/buy list.
What is this I don't even.
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
The one thing that kills me most on these solid sculpts is the fixed nature of them. If I want to have a full star of a single mech, I'm probably going to be chopping some up and trying to get more diverse poses.
What is this I don't even.
0
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
I think the assaults might be the worst to plan around tbh. Or maybe they're the only ones at the right scale and the lights are the most wrong? Planning to just standardize terrain to Z scale so that the terrain scales to itself, and then the mechs just kinda do what they're going to do.
Also, does anyone have any sort of unit planner tool? I want to organize my stars to finalize a trade/buy list.
The Atlas is the only Mech (AFAIK) that we have a reasonable idea on the exact-ish height.
But only because the fluff says something about how BattleMechs are war machines ranging in height from 12 to 16 meters tall. Followed by the fluff that says the Atlas was the tallest Mech (at the time anyway).
So it’s the closest we got to a point of reference.
But yeah all the mechs are all over the place for scale.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
The one thing that kills me most on these solid sculpts is the fixed nature of them. If I want to have a full star of a single mech, I'm probably going to be chopping some up and trying to get more diverse poses.
I'm super excited to take my few dupes, chop 'em up, CAD sculpt and print some parts, and go ham making some alt versions. I've been having a lot of fun doing this on the old plastics.
Nips on
+4
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
So, Pack Hunter. I think we were all mostly agreed that the new art was at least a little out there. So I'm looking at the one from my pack, and I'm like Woof, You Ugly.
Then I stared at it some more.
Something's off, the stance isn't right, it's got a weird lean...
...the whole top half of the 'mech is on backwards. LOL. No wonder my fig looks weird!
So since I'm gonna have to fix that, I think this one will be Patient #1 for a repose.
I missed the ad hoc clan star and therefore missed the Pack Hunter. I deeply regret not getting that, plus I'd have gotten a Kodiak. I don't love the model but you can't have a wolf in exile touman without it.
Darkewolfe on
What is this I don't even.
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
I mean, look at this beauty:
So damn good!
[Edit] Now I've got the F.Falcon next to an AGoAC Locust, and I'm thinking the F.Falcon could've been a smidge bigger. Still, gorgeous.
[Edit 2] OMFG, the new Howler model is impeccable. So. Fucking. Good.
And the Kodiak is like, so much Peak Assault Mech I just can't even. All the new Assaults are **chef's kiss**. I mean, all of the sculpts are amazing, but holding any of the Assaults in hand they're just on another level.
Posts
They've been redoing all the Core Rule books in order. They just, just released the redone Campaign Operations so Interstellar would be the next and final.
edit- Correction, I guess they're not doing it in order, but still!
If I were a betting man, I'd say a pack of Firefly/Hoplite/Gallowglas/Annihilator would make for a good set. I'd easily see the Flea in the Light slot instead though, just out of popularity.
Flea would be my guess since it is so popular.
Not just popular, but so ubiquitous to the Capellan Confederation that I legit forgot it was a Mech the Wolf's Dragoons (re)introduced.
There's the rub, eh? In the wild world where we end up getting a cycle of faction packs, where else but the CapCon pack would you put a Flea? Or, contrariwise, what Light would you put in a CapCon lance otherwise?
Another reason for a Firefly: the current sculpt is bad. The Flea has a newer sculpt that is good!
Though I think a better idea might be to sell the two Starter Box lances as their own separate Force Packs. For people who want more of the plastic minis, but don't want to have to rebuy the starter set.
edit- DAMMIT ALL! I am always getting the Raven and Locust confused!
Okay, Raven for Capellan force pack!
Fire Moth (Alt. B?), Fire Falcon (Prime), Ice Ferret (Alt. F). All older sculpts, all bought on a crazy knee-jerk whim when they showed up in a discount eBay listing and I desperately needed a F.Falcon for my collection all of a sudden. This was probably retail therapy as I was waiting for Wave 2. It was late at night, who knows.
Seriously though, what variant does that old Moth sculpt represent? I honestly don't think it represents any canon variant. It has paired barrels on the top of each forearm, so...what?
ref: https://www.ironwindmetals.com/index.php/product-listing/product/battletech-ar20-612/category_pathway-2
Which you can probably blame the mismatched weapon barrels on the drawing of the original Fire Moth:
I think you're right about it being a B, if you assume that two of the barrels are lasers and two are machine guns.
But then, how often does classic Battletech art match the actual tech specs 100%?
I remember reading in some old tech manual or something that some of the things that look like guns may actually be ports for coolant or something.
So it's weird to me that the original 612 sculpt didn't get a canon variant down the line anywhere, to make sense of the sculpt that's still kept available.
I might have to sit down and figure out what paired guns might work on the arms once you strip the Prime armaments off, if it's not supposed to be the B, just to let my brain rest from this niggling detail.
God, that swirly bit with the circle on the right torso in the TRO art you posted is probably supposed to be a launcher of some kind; a lot of the old RO sculpts had that motif for launchers. Gah.
Mechs in question:
Crossbow
Dire Wolf
Ebon Jaguar
Executioner
Grendel
Hunchback IIC
Huntsman
Ice Ferret
Kingfisher
Marauder IIC
Mist Lynx
Nova
Stone Rhino
Supernova
2xTimber Wolf
Turkina
Viper
Warhammer IIC
Smoke Jaguars is very tempting because my IS mechs are going to be painted in Kurita colors, so it works in a "most likely opponent" sense, however a few mechs (mainly the Timber Wolves and Turkina) make this exceptionally unlikely, so I'm probably going to be researching Diamond Shark colors (especially color schemes that'd work with reconstituted Sea Fox) as they'd be the most likely to travel between the other Clans and picking up the rare mech in trade (and occasionally as isorla).
Secondary choice would probably be Goliath Scorpion since they seem to have picked up more than a few manufacturing lines, but they aren't in a good position to really get any of the rarer mechs.
Neither of those would make me raise an eyebrow for the Jags. The Timber Wolf is mostly associated with the Wolves, sure, but it's also over a century old at the time of the invasion, and every Clan had a few. The Turkina was a lot newer, but the Master Unit List explicitly says it was available to the Smoke Jaguars. Maybe a bit of Crusader Clan solidarity? Plus the Falcons had some territory on the main Jaguar world, Huntress.
Hmm, lemme look at color schemes for Jaguars, I have a feeling they’d be pretty similar to the Ryuken though (shades of gray with some color highlights)
Train stuff is legit the best terrain making stuff for hobbies out there.
Z-scale is 1:220
Old IWM minis are 1:285
New IWM and Plastic minis are 1:265
Outlands Models is a 3D printed brand (can get off Amazon) that has a nice selection for a decent price. They even have a fair number of destroyed buildings to. I haven’t bought any yet but I am interested.
May need to update with a running IS vs Clan battle….
Z scale looks right because it works out to be like 6.5mm. BattleTech is 6mm. So thats 1:220 vs 1:285. Which seems large, but when things are tiny, its kinda hard to tell.
The problem is that Z scale is just so rare. But I really don't want to use any of the others and downplay the size of mechs. The mech minis are already scaled oddly enough to each other, I like seeing them as gigantic, stompy robots.
I do know that Amazon carries quite a few buildings at this point (“Z scale buildings” should get you there), but shipping will be a good chunk of what you’ll pay.
Edit: looks like a good amount of them are 3D print on demand, hrm
Also, does anyone have any sort of unit planner tool? I want to organize my stars to finalize a trade/buy list.
OMFG those sculpts are sooo good!
*feints*
Nips, you need to retire to have enough time between your backlog for painting and the VR MW5.
Steam: betsuni7
The box arrived just in time for my daughter to start preschool this week.
That's an extra 2-4 hours of hobby time a week! Maybe! 🤣
[Edit] God, looking through these sculpts, I just want to side-by-side all of them with their original sculpts.
What did you get, Nips? I wanna know dem blind boxes.
It was like...Ice Ferret, Stormcrow, Timber Wolf, Mist Lynx I believe.
Almost landed a whole Light Scout Star, which put some wrenches in my unit planning.
[Edit] OMFG THE AMS ON THE HUNTSMAN IS LIKE THE CUTEST EFFING THING!
And the Black Lanner is hyper cute! Bit of mis-molding on the LT launcher though, which'll be tricky to clean up.
Yes, this has now become a Nips Reacts To Plastic Robots Thread. Sorry Not Sorry!
[Edit] Wow, the Warhawk got proper swole, so damn chunky. It reminds me a lot of the new Tomahawk II sculpt with its legs and the bulk of its torso.
My first ever was a Locust and I need to actually pick one up in plastic just for memories.
The Atlas is the only Mech (AFAIK) that we have a reasonable idea on the exact-ish height.
But only because the fluff says something about how BattleMechs are war machines ranging in height from 12 to 16 meters tall. Followed by the fluff that says the Atlas was the tallest Mech (at the time anyway).
So it’s the closest we got to a point of reference.
But yeah all the mechs are all over the place for scale.
I'm super excited to take my few dupes, chop 'em up, CAD sculpt and print some parts, and go ham making some alt versions. I've been having a lot of fun doing this on the old plastics.
Then I stared at it some more.
Something's off, the stance isn't right, it's got a weird lean...
...the whole top half of the 'mech is on backwards. LOL. No wonder my fig looks weird!
So since I'm gonna have to fix that, I think this one will be Patient #1 for a repose.
So damn good!
[Edit] Now I've got the F.Falcon next to an AGoAC Locust, and I'm thinking the F.Falcon could've been a smidge bigger. Still, gorgeous.
[Edit 2] OMFG, the new Howler model is impeccable. So. Fucking. Good.
And the Kodiak is like, so much Peak Assault Mech I just can't even. All the new Assaults are **chef's kiss**. I mean, all of the sculpts are amazing, but holding any of the Assaults in hand they're just on another level.