u/MikeBanzai38

Two Sword of Light mechs. On one, I did the red base coat with “slapchop”/speedpaint, and on the other I built up slowly in three shades of red acrylic.

I’ll probably just do my base coats in speedpaint from now on. The results are hardly any different, particularly for the level of effort involved, and I’m only trying to paint for “tabletop standard” anyway. These are toys for playing with, not for art competitions.

Only thing I’d do different is the wash on the Dragon. I used “Dark Tone” all over it, which dulled the red a little too much. On the Akuma I used “Strong Tone”, which leans brown rather than black, and it kept the red a bit stronger while emphasizing the gaps and edges more.

Other than the wash difference, can you tell which is which? I obviously can, but I also painted them, and so can’t separate myself from the process. I know I’m not a pro painter, but one of these took four times longer without being four times better.

So I have a 19th century (maybe) German workshop fiddle. Has the characteristic high Stainer-copy arching and aggressively inset f-holes. Also, like many of those old German fiddles, a weird twist to the neck and scroll.

Got it for a pittance, had some work done to get it playable, and it’s honestly just a joy to play.

The label is weird. No information, no date, none of the fluff that I’ve seen on other “Glass” fiddles, like “blahdy blah Cremona blah blah 18xx). It almost even looks like a partial label based on the uneven bottom edge under the name. Who would put in a label like this?

Thoughts? I know Fried. Aug. Glass isn’t exactly a premier luthier name, but if someone were to place an oddball fake label, perhaps make it a more impressive one?

These are my two Legion of Vega troopers. Couple of thoughts:

1. Why does the CGL T-Bolt have the big missile can on the left torso, when almost every single official sheet has it on the right torso?

2. I would really like a mini of the WVR-7Kh. Hatchet/pulse laser Wolverine is one of my favorite Kurita brawlers. Please make this, CGL. Also, why does the official sheet for the -7Kh move the SRM rack to the right side with all the guns? Why not disperse the ranged weapon arcs, and keep it on the left?

That’s all. I know there aren’t rules for accurate “WYSIWYG” in this game. I personally like accuracy when possible because it often helps me remember at a glance where my stuff is though.

As the title says, just trying to figure out if that’s an “official” unit/faction, or someone’s homebrew. I like the white and orange.

The latest, a TR-1 Wraith in Night Stalkers colors.

I love the blues and blacks of the Night Stalkers, and indigo blue is arguably more traditionally “samurai” than Kurita/Sword of Light red. Too bad the Night Stalkers are canonically no more.

Also, with my son having his forces in Davion Guards, the map is getting confusing with all the blue mechs battling each other. Going to have to paint more in Sword of Light and Genyosha for the contrast on the game table.

Then it will look really weird when I mix my Night Stalkers and Sword of Light minis on the table!

These are some recently completed minis: a couple of Night Stalkers, and two from the Legion of Vega. I have some thoughts about the mechs and units.

First, the Night Stalkers always struck me as a bizarre, almost nonsensical unit. Highly decorated, veteran, injured, beat up, old senior officer mechwarrior is so fanatically loyal to the Draconis Combine that he wants to keep fighting even when that government says “no thanks, you’ve done your part”. So he uses his pull and connections to start his own unit to keep on fighting, and then seems shocked at the fact that the DCMS wants to use them in entirely predictable ways. As if, after his long career, he thought it would be different. Even more surprisingly, in his supreme loyalty to keep fighting for the Dragon, he suddenly get an independent streak when he doesn’t like the orders.

Also, the DCMS doctrinally eschews medium mechs, yet arguably some of the BEST variants of medium mechs are the Kurita variants. Of the early Phoenix Hawks, the ones shedding the jump jets for armor and heat sinks are plainly better, and later I think it’s the 3K variant that makes the best use of Lostech. Finally, their Wolverine variants are absolutely the best.

I know, searching for consistency in Battletech “lore” is a fool’s errand, but I wanted to discuss anyway.

Here it is. I’ve now painted every mini in the AGOAC box, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.

As a DCMS loyalist, the Genyosha are one of my favorite units. Back in the 90s, I won a tournament fielding a Genyosha unit. However, their paint scheme is really, utterly, completely, unaccountably boring. I tried to do more “depth” to this gray than most Genyosha mechs have, which may mean it leans a little too dark, but oh well. Also went with the 2nd solely so I could spice up the mini with some black stripes, and went ahead and just copied the Battlemaster in the Kurita Force Manual.

My other favorite Kurita unit is the Ryuken-go, which has a similarly boring paint scheme. Because of this, I find myself mostly painting Sword of Light and Legion of Vega so they pop more obviously on the table as “Kurita”.

Here we have a couple of Night Stalkers, some Legion of Vega scoundrels, and a Grand Dragon from the 1st Sword of Light.

I should probably brighten up the cockpit on that Phoenix Hawk a little bit. It looked pretty nice under my magnifying light, but not so much there.

Working on a 2nd Genyosha Battlemaster. Before I go finish the details like the canopy and everything, how is this shade of gray? I’m concerned it might be too dark for the Genyosha.

Tried to take the picture in dimmer light. In good light, the phone camera makes the contrast pop a lot more than it does to the naked eye.

My wife got me this cool miniature painting handle (I had previously been fixing them to 1 1/4” diameter round wood sections with a dab of glue for a handle) and the handle came with a box of these clips on flexible stalks with magnetic bases.

What are they for? The handle is incredibly useful, but I have no idea what these things are for.

Glory to the Dragon and the Chrysanthemum Throne!

If there was a big lesson learned here, it was that I should have lightened up that griselle dry brush considerably more so the colors wouldn’t be so “grimdark”.

I was aiming for “Sword of Light”, but between the dark red and the amount of gray accents I opted for, I think I actually hit “Legion of Vega”.

It’s a good allegory for life, I suppose. Aspire to Sword of Light - achieve Legion of Vega.

Not sure what rabbit hole led me to this design…probably searching for the rare medium mech employed by the DCMS…but I stumbled on the Lynx.

It kind of looks like if aliens - actual extraterrestrials, not Clan - were introduced to the game with their own Battlemechs.

Spec-wise it’s very close to a homemade mech I used to play in the 90s. I think I used a Crusader mini for my home brew mech. Looks wise…well, the Lynx really looks very alien. And apparently it needs that bulbous round left arm stub for two Med lasers?

It’s so bizarre I almost want to find a mini of it.