Adding whip aerials to mechs is easily one of my favorite parts of this hobby.
I do it very sparingly, because for most 'mechs I actually prefer them without. But there's 'mechs here and there where it's super duper obvious they are supposed to have wicked-ass whip antennas, and then I love to go ham on it.
The Wasp is exceptionally good in this regard, and I'm overjoyed I'm a canon pilot of one.
Whoops, posted my initial query in the digital thread.
So I picked up the beginner Battletech box to try and play with my 8yo, and while they love giant robot game, it was kind of a slog to try and learn the rules and play for him. So I figured I'd grab AlphaStrike, thinking the simplified rules would help out but...
...dang, this game is ALSO really complicated in its own ways. Is there a simple learn to play video I could watch to help me teach this better? The only video series youtube wants me to watch is from Death From Above, and I bet these folks are great and rad, but I can't hear them or learn anything with the wavy camera. https://youtu.be/05ZGXFAwLKg
Only about 10 pages are the rules, with a single page of the needed lookup tables once you get a feel for it.
I think this is is a decent tutorial. He also covers the multiple hit roll optional rule, which I don't consider optional for AS as it cuts down on one hit kills. He also explains the nice SATOR mnemonic for your to-hit roll numbers:
Skill modifier of the pilot
Attacker's movement modifier
Target's movement modifier
Other modifiers (terrain, heat, cover)
Range modifier
So between that, the one page of tables, and the info on the unit cards themselves, you shouldn't need any other references to get started.
Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
+5
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
I'm right on the cusp of completing my second Smoke Jaguar star, just need to base them. So I'm lining up the next projects, and trying to clear out my bench space, so what do I inflict on myself?
Grey Death Legion. You would think I'd pick something NOT FUCKING GREY, but here we are!
Gah, Painting Stockholm Syndrome is real, my friends.
Main reason I was looking for anything other than Smoke Jaguars for my Clan mechs, my IS mechs are going to be either Genyosha or Ryuken
I could always go Sword of Light for my IS stuff, but I’ve mentioned it before how Sword of Light really does tend to be the Heels and Jobbers for the Dracs
+1
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
To be fair, this is Battletech.
It's Heels and Jobbers everywhere, all the way down.
On some level yeah, but when it comes to stories where the Draconis Combine is the antagonist it's virtually guaranteed to be a SoL unit.
When it's the Drac's turns as protagonists? Legion of Vega, Ryuken, Genyosha, etc. Occasionally a SoL unit will show up as "and they were there too" but...
Another hot drop onto the battlefield last night after a few weeks hiatus. We fought well for a change, crippling the OPFORs HBK-4P and nearly legging the WVR-6M. We lost the Flashman to a gyro knockout after him soaking up a ton of damage. And our Trebuchet was "killed" by losing a leg and 2 arms. Our Wolverine and Griffin made a tactical retreat, but not before they grabbed some prime salvage on the way back to the drop ship.
Buddies friend is moving over seas so he gave him his painting gear. And since he doesnt really paint any more hes passed it on to me! So i need to clean and rehab the guns a bit, and then learn how to use them after getting a spot set up somewhere TO actually use them. Im hyped. Didnt want to throw down money for the gear before i had space or time to learn. But its been thrust upon me! My days of rattle can primer will soon be behind! I guess i owe him a nice set of painted mechs in return because this is a huge gift. And since he has zero of the new models or box sets i'll grab a copy of AGoAC and paint it up for him.
so in the interests of giving the AP quick shades another chance, i decided to slap some on one of the new Clan models. I figured they are lot more detailed, less panels and more grooves which should play to the paints advantages. And boy howdy does it deliver.
Look at these lines!
LOOK AT IT!
Glorious.
It really needs some edge highlights witch i reeeeeeeealy suck at. So we'll see if i can figure that out. I also had to pick up some primer and i figured id give the exorbitantly overpriced can of citadel white a try since my hardware store primer is gunked up and gave a splotchy/grainy finish last time. It is almost worth the price. so... smooth...
Annnnnnd, a pure white dry brushing on the edge is the key to definition. Need to remember how to dry brush better, its been a while. the effects are subtle but noticeable, makes all the difference really. Its not so muddy and bland.
So a nice light coat of white primer (they grey is actually showing through a bit), pure white dry brush, slap on the speed paint where you want it (but wait for neighboring color blocks to fully dry so they dont run together), then come back with some metallics for guns, jump jets, cockpit, maybe actuators. done! Again, no awards, but it gets the point across and wont kill 2 hours of your day doing one mech. I can see batching up a company of IS mechs and being done in an afternoon easily. Which will probably be my next task when the new box set comes in.
And i would like to add that these pictures look far worse that what it does here at my desk. no justice what so ever.
HydroSqueegee on
+9
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited June 2022
Again, no awards, but it gets the point across and wont kill 2 hours of your day doing one mech.
Ha ha haaaa, yeaaaaaah, only two hours per 'mech. Definitely only two hours and not more.
No, I'm not crying into my workbench towel, what are you talking about?
In other news that isn't me sobbing into my paints, I just finally did a data sort on my master spreadsheet and....um.....
I somehow, in my maddened wandering, planned out six separate Combine lances on my sheet. Some of it makes sense!
The first two are already painted, the rest are just planned. I accidentally fell into second SoL lance through deals on ebay, with 'mechs that are painfully Kuritan, so whoops. I wanted to paint the Genyosha because Dark Age, and the Ryuken-Yon is from the Dragon Roars sourcebook with Operation BIRD DOG (the precursor to BULLDOG) and holds a weird place in my heart.
I think I might have to give that Hussars lance over to a different faction. The next closest sized faction on my spreadsheet is the SLDF, for cryin' out loud and it's only six lances because one's a Royal Black Watch.
@Nips you may need a dry towel. I'm super proud of this guy and it took maybe 30-40 minutes. Him and his 4 buddies will look SHARP killing some freebirth scum.
Added some gold for the cockpit, silver for the guns and jump jets. black wash over those and a nice black base. DONE! should be even quicker per mech batching the last 4 guys.
yes... the gold needs a touch up.
He looks way better from the 2ft test
HydroSqueegee on
+7
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Fuckin' sharp, Hydro. Keep the hits coming!
Other fun discoveries from my newly-sorted master sheet:
House Davion: 4 Lances
House Liao: 4 Lances, one of which is MacCarron's Armored Cavalry
House Marik: 3 Lances
House Steiner: 3 Lances (maybe I put that Hussar's lance here instead)
And the smaller fish:
FRR: 2 Lances
Wolf's Dragoons: 2 Lances plus Natasha's Widowmaker
ComStar: 2 Level IIs
Word of Blake: 2 Level IIs, plus an Omega Superheavy
And things we already knew:
The Oosik Irregulars: 7 Lances completed, 3 additional planned as of right now. That's right, we could take the Combine on! If we weren't so lazy, tired, distracted, or drunk.
My Clanners are much less interesting, because it's mostly 1 Star for Homeworld Clans, 2 Stars for lesser Inner Sphere Clans, and 3 Stars for the big fish (Wolf, Falcon, Bears). Wolf sorta gets a fourth with Wolf-In-Exile, and Snow Ravens are technically 3 Stars but one is an R-Team: two 'Mechs, two points of Elementals, a "Combat Tech" infantry squad, and two "Recovery Vehicles". Their entire job is live-combat battlefield salvage, and that's fucking baller, and apparently none of the other Clans do this. Yay, uniqueness!
+1
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
edited July 2022
Huzzah, progress! I've finally finished this Star of Delta Galaxy Smokin' Hot Jaguars.
For the dark grey mottle I tried using a sponge technique, but I'm not 100% happy with how it came out. Conversely, except for the Nova Cat, I used a combination of chrome and light yellow ghost tint on the joint accents, and I fuckin' love how they turned out. The yellow is so subtle, I don't know that it shows up in pics, but in person it unifies with the hard yellow accent panels just right.
In the end, I'm pretty happy with how the Star came out, and can officially say I've painted all my Smoke Jaguars (for now...)!
I guess the PM in charge of acquisitions for logistics command forgot to tick the box on the contract specifying factory build... The techs need to find their glue.
+6
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Looks like the Barnes & Noble exclusivity period is up on the Wolf's Dragoons box; it's now up for sale in the CGL webstore.
That said, if you can find it at a B&N it's probably going to be cheaper there due to discounts and no shipping.
Welp, imma call these guys done. Rough and crude, but each one got better as i went along trying to remember how to paint properly. Biggest take away was my eyes have gotten REALLY bad in the last couple years since ive really painted properly. Need some magnifying glasses or something. And the hand going numb after just a bit of painting sucks too. 5 down, a couple regiments left to go.
HydroSqueegee on
+9
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Honestly? "Rough and crude" isn't giving yourself enough credit, Hydro. Those are great looking! Doubly so for the expedient manner you've gone from start to finish. Plus, your detailing is clean, along with the lines between color breaks. 10/10, would ogle again.
Honestly? "Rough and crude" isn't giving yourself enough credit, Hydro. Those are great looking! Doubly so for the expedient manner you've gone from start to finish. Plus, your detailing is clean, along with the lines between color breaks. 10/10, would ogle again.
first time ive run highlights over the initial gun barrel on a mini. came out looking sharp on the Gargoyle with them twin LBXs. Think i maaaaaybe spent 3 hours total on these 5 guys.
im really liking the speed paint method. Huge time saver. And i can use that time to focus on the shiny bits and bobs to add detail.
The Hammerhead is a unique choice for a premium model, because it's a post-Dark Age Clan Sea Fox 'mech that was introduced via the RecGuides.
Like, on a lineup of what I'd consider even as a reasonably-iconic 'mech to go premium with, I don't know that I'd have ever picked this one from the list.
It gets extra points for being a clan mech that looks to be expressley melee focused, but then again seafox does tend to be hinky like that.
0
H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
@Nips I'm not a big DCMS fan, but if I were putting together a list of units to call out, I'd have picked the Legion of Vega before the Proserpina Hussars or doubling up on Sword of Light & Ryuken. They have a fun history as the dumping ground for 'rag-tag misfits' that were briefly the personal command of Theodore Kurita himself.
@Nips I'm not a big DCMS fan, but if I were putting together a list of units to call out, I'd have picked the Legion of Vega before the Proserpina Hussars or doubling up on Sword of Light & Ryuken. They have a fun history as the dumping ground for 'rag-tag misfits' that were briefly the personal command of Theodore Kurita himself.
Hmmm.
The Legion regiments lack a formal color scheme, though most units lean towards reds and grays.
I don't hate it, despite having done a lot of it, but I originally picked the Hussars for their more-unique colors and scheme within the DCMS. That said the Legion outlives the Hussars, and it looks like they're a Free-Floating Regiment, so points in their favor.
Funny enough, after some reading, only four of the 12 Ghost regiments survive into the 3150's.
That certainly cuts down on potential choices.
It's honestly not as bad as it sounds; by 3150 the Ghostbear touman heavily integrated the rasalhague militias into a more comprehensive force; true some units were hit hard either by dealing with external threats (Looking at you Wolf, hells horses, Blakists and Combine) along with a bioweapon that was targetting bloodlines, but the majority of their "lost" units were probably merged with conventional forces where they would work as elite units.
So those 4 regiments/galaxies are probably amongst the most elite units anywhere in the galaxy.
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Funny enough, after some reading, only four of the 12 Ghost regiments survive into the 3150's.
That certainly cuts down on potential choices.
It's honestly not as bad as it sounds; by 3150 the Ghostbear touman heavily integrated the rasalhague militias into a more comprehensive force; true some units were hit hard either by dealing with external threats (Looking at you Wolf, hells horses, Blakists and Combine) along with a bioweapon that was targetting bloodlines, but the majority of their "lost" units were probably merged with conventional forces where they would work as elite units.
So those 4 regiments/galaxies are probably amongst the most elite units anywhere in the galaxy.
Nobody and I are talking about the Draconis Combine Ghost regiments, formed from the "undesirables" of Combine society: "women***, lower classes and the Yakuza". Which were then barely supplied, and used as fodder along whatever front line they were needed on. To whit, of the twelve regiments listed per Sarna:
The 2nd Ghost was destroyed in 3052.
The 3rd Ghost was destroyed.
The 4th Ghost was disbanded.
The 6th Ghost was destroyed in 3068.
The 8th Ghost was disbanded.
The 9th Ghost was disbanded.
The 10th Ghost deserted in 3068. (Now we're fuckin' talking! Gonna dig into this one...)
The 12th Ghost was disbanded.
That said, despite being poorly supplied, you get real good at your job if you happen to survive long enough, and find other sources *cough Yakuza cough* to supply your unit.
And yes, I can see why naming a force Ghost when your neighbor also has Ghost in its name basically everywhere is confusing.
***What The Fucking Hell, FASA? I mean, what in the actual fuck?
Honestly I don’t even remember that part, I thought they were all raised from Yakuza clans.
The 10th didn’t desert, they were so badly savaged during the Jihad that their remnants were folded into the 11th.
Nobody on
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
All I've got is Sarna, telling me:
Quentin
Gretchen took command of the unit, the unit remained on Quentin for two years. In 3070, received orders from DCMS High command to redeploy back to Dieron after not receiving enough supplies and with little repair, the unit believed it would be suicide if they returned. Gretchen by now was more than angry about the unit's treatment by DCMS and the death of her husband because of the high command's orders. Gretchen executed the ISF planted spies in the unit, and consolidated her power in 3071 and began conducting independent actions without the permission of the DCMS.[11]
Rezak's Hole and the Birth of the Ronin
The unit traveled to Rezak's Hole where the unit wiped out the last of that scorched world's pirates lurking in the system. While on planet, Unit incorporated some of the "saner" pirates into the unit to becoming known as mercenary unit known as Ronin. While on planet, they raided an Interstellar Expeditions base camp, where they helped themselves to two lances worth of Star League era BattleMechs.[12] They managed to escape DCMS patrol that were summoned to the world by IE's distress calls. The League equipment allowed the unit to rebuilt itself to battalion. In October 7th 3072, the Draconis Combine Mustery Service officially label the 10th Ghost as Ronin unit, with orders for the unit to be destroyed on sight.[13] The unit became unknowingly employed by Chandrasekhar Kurita through being hired by StarCorps Industries. In course of service with StarCorps, their Tai-sa Gretchen developed a reputation of being a hotheaded commander and a contract breaker.[14]
So the original 10th goes rogue and becomes the Ronin mercenary command, eventually ending up working for the FedSuns in 3145, while a new 10th Ghost is raised sometime in the Late Republic Era, which then gets mauled fighting the FedSuns and then folded into the 11th Ghost at that time.
AGoAC picked up and mechs primed. Im dividing them into 2 lances as shown on the stir sticks. Looking for recommendations on color schemes/great house to paint each force. need some recommendations.
HydroSqueegee on
+6
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Marik Militia in purple, Capellan Syn's Hussars in dark and jade green.
@Nips i didnt have any Jade, and the FLGS is closed today, so i went with gold trim. And the Panther looks to be a good fit for the Free Worlds League.
Dunno if you all knew this but Battlemechs are cool.
Thanks for showing off, Nips and Hydro!
+5
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
That's great work Hydro! One nitpick: that dull green with yellow highlight makes it look much more like a Davion 3rd Crucis Lancer 'mech (a really spot-on one, btw!), than a Syn's Hussars ride.
3rd Crucis
Syn's Hussars
But that's just me being a gatekeepy lore nerd, so feel free to ignore me.
Posts
I do it very sparingly, because for most 'mechs I actually prefer them without. But there's 'mechs here and there where it's super duper obvious they are supposed to have wicked-ass whip antennas, and then I love to go ham on it.
The Wasp is exceptionally good in this regard, and I'm overjoyed I'm a canon pilot of one.
So I picked up the beginner Battletech box to try and play with my 8yo, and while they love giant robot game, it was kind of a slog to try and learn the rules and play for him. So I figured I'd grab AlphaStrike, thinking the simplified rules would help out but...
...dang, this game is ALSO really complicated in its own ways. Is there a simple learn to play video I could watch to help me teach this better? The only video series youtube wants me to watch is from Death From Above, and I bet these folks are great and rad, but I can't hear them or learn anything with the wavy camera.
Steam ID: Obos Vent: Obos
Only about 10 pages are the rules, with a single page of the needed lookup tables once you get a feel for it.
I think this is is a decent tutorial. He also covers the multiple hit roll optional rule, which I don't consider optional for AS as it cuts down on one hit kills. He also explains the nice SATOR mnemonic for your to-hit roll numbers:
Skill modifier of the pilot
Attacker's movement modifier
Target's movement modifier
Other modifiers (terrain, heat, cover)
Range modifier
So between that, the one page of tables, and the info on the unit cards themselves, you shouldn't need any other references to get started.
Were there any specific questions you had?
Grey Death Legion. You would think I'd pick something NOT FUCKING GREY, but here we are!
Gah, Painting Stockholm Syndrome is real, my friends.
I could always go Sword of Light for my IS stuff, but I’ve mentioned it before how Sword of Light really does tend to be the Heels and Jobbers for the Dracs
It's Heels and Jobbers everywhere, all the way down.
When it's the Drac's turns as protagonists? Legion of Vega, Ryuken, Genyosha, etc. Occasionally a SoL unit will show up as "and they were there too" but...
Buddies friend is moving over seas so he gave him his painting gear. And since he doesnt really paint any more hes passed it on to me! So i need to clean and rehab the guns a bit, and then learn how to use them after getting a spot set up somewhere TO actually use them. Im hyped. Didnt want to throw down money for the gear before i had space or time to learn. But its been thrust upon me! My days of rattle can primer will soon be behind! I guess i owe him a nice set of painted mechs in return because this is a huge gift. And since he has zero of the new models or box sets i'll grab a copy of AGoAC and paint it up for him.
Look at these lines!
LOOK AT IT!
Glorious.
It really needs some edge highlights witch i reeeeeeeealy suck at. So we'll see if i can figure that out. I also had to pick up some primer and i figured id give the exorbitantly overpriced can of citadel white a try since my hardware store primer is gunked up and gave a splotchy/grainy finish last time. It is almost worth the price. so... smooth...
So a nice light coat of white primer (they grey is actually showing through a bit), pure white dry brush, slap on the speed paint where you want it (but wait for neighboring color blocks to fully dry so they dont run together), then come back with some metallics for guns, jump jets, cockpit, maybe actuators. done! Again, no awards, but it gets the point across and wont kill 2 hours of your day doing one mech. I can see batching up a company of IS mechs and being done in an afternoon easily. Which will probably be my next task when the new box set comes in.
And i would like to add that these pictures look far worse that what it does here at my desk. no justice what so ever.
Ha ha haaaa, yeaaaaaah, only two hours per 'mech. Definitely only two hours and not more.
No, I'm not crying into my workbench towel, what are you talking about?
In other news that isn't me sobbing into my paints, I just finally did a data sort on my master spreadsheet and....um.....
I somehow, in my maddened wandering, planned out six separate Combine lances on my sheet. Some of it makes sense!
The first two are already painted, the rest are just planned. I accidentally fell into second SoL lance through deals on ebay, with 'mechs that are painfully Kuritan, so whoops. I wanted to paint the Genyosha because Dark Age, and the Ryuken-Yon is from the Dragon Roars sourcebook with Operation BIRD DOG (the precursor to BULLDOG) and holds a weird place in my heart.
I think I might have to give that Hussars lance over to a different faction. The next closest sized faction on my spreadsheet is the SLDF, for cryin' out loud and it's only six lances because one's a Royal Black Watch.
Added some gold for the cockpit, silver for the guns and jump jets. black wash over those and a nice black base. DONE! should be even quicker per mech batching the last 4 guys.
yes... the gold needs a touch up.
He looks way better from the 2ft test
Other fun discoveries from my newly-sorted master sheet:
House Davion: 4 Lances
House Liao: 4 Lances, one of which is MacCarron's Armored Cavalry
House Marik: 3 Lances
House Steiner: 3 Lances (maybe I put that Hussar's lance here instead)
And the smaller fish:
FRR: 2 Lances
Wolf's Dragoons: 2 Lances plus Natasha's Widowmaker
ComStar: 2 Level IIs
Word of Blake: 2 Level IIs, plus an Omega Superheavy
And things we already knew:
The Oosik Irregulars: 7 Lances completed, 3 additional planned as of right now. That's right, we could take the Combine on! If we weren't so lazy, tired, distracted, or drunk.
My Clanners are much less interesting, because it's mostly 1 Star for Homeworld Clans, 2 Stars for lesser Inner Sphere Clans, and 3 Stars for the big fish (Wolf, Falcon, Bears). Wolf sorta gets a fourth with Wolf-In-Exile, and Snow Ravens are technically 3 Stars but one is an R-Team: two 'Mechs, two points of Elementals, a "Combat Tech" infantry squad, and two "Recovery Vehicles". Their entire job is live-combat battlefield salvage, and that's fucking baller, and apparently none of the other Clans do this. Yay, uniqueness!
For the dark grey mottle I tried using a sponge technique, but I'm not 100% happy with how it came out. Conversely, except for the Nova Cat, I used a combination of chrome and light yellow ghost tint on the joint accents, and I fuckin' love how they turned out. The yellow is so subtle, I don't know that it shows up in pics, but in person it unifies with the hard yellow accent panels just right.
In the end, I'm pretty happy with how the Star came out, and can officially say I've painted all my Smoke Jaguars (for now...)!
That said, if you can find it at a B&N it's probably going to be cheaper there due to discounts and no shipping.
first time ive run highlights over the initial gun barrel on a mini. came out looking sharp on the Gargoyle with them twin LBXs. Think i maaaaaybe spent 3 hours total on these 5 guys.
im really liking the speed paint method. Huge time saver. And i can use that time to focus on the shiny bits and bobs to add detail.
Steam: betsuni7
It gets extra points for being a clan mech that looks to be expressley melee focused, but then again seafox does tend to be hinky like that.
Hmmm.
I don't hate it, despite having done a lot of it, but I originally picked the Hussars for their more-unique colors and scheme within the DCMS. That said the Legion outlives the Hussars, and it looks like they're a Free-Floating Regiment, so points in their favor.
That certainly cuts down on potential choices.
It's honestly not as bad as it sounds; by 3150 the Ghostbear touman heavily integrated the rasalhague militias into a more comprehensive force; true some units were hit hard either by dealing with external threats (Looking at you Wolf, hells horses, Blakists and Combine) along with a bioweapon that was targetting bloodlines, but the majority of their "lost" units were probably merged with conventional forces where they would work as elite units.
So those 4 regiments/galaxies are probably amongst the most elite units anywhere in the galaxy.
Nobody and I are talking about the Draconis Combine Ghost regiments, formed from the "undesirables" of Combine society: "women***, lower classes and the Yakuza". Which were then barely supplied, and used as fodder along whatever front line they were needed on. To whit, of the twelve regiments listed per Sarna:
That said, despite being poorly supplied, you get real good at your job if you happen to survive long enough, and find other sources *cough Yakuza cough* to supply your unit.
And yes, I can see why naming a force Ghost when your neighbor also has Ghost in its name basically everywhere is confusing.
***What The Fucking Hell, FASA? I mean, what in the actual fuck?
The 10th didn’t desert, they were so badly savaged during the Jihad that their remnants were folded into the 11th.
So the original 10th goes rogue and becomes the Ronin mercenary command, eventually ending up working for the FedSuns in 3145, while a new 10th Ghost is raised sometime in the Late Republic Era, which then gets mauled fighting the FedSuns and then folded into the 11th Ghost at that time.
Thanks for showing off, Nips and Hydro!
3rd Crucis
Syn's Hussars
But that's just me being a gatekeepy lore nerd, so feel free to ignore me.
Also, that Panther is On Point. So good!
Tell me your secrets, because those are fantastic.