Battletech Mechs

Battletech! I have been a fan of Battletech since I was a kid playing Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. How could the idea of big, stompy robots slugging it out not appeal to someone? I read plenty of the old novels (some good, some bad), but I was never able to get my hands on the tabletop rules. If I remember correctly, I built mechs out of discarded wood scraps, colored them with colored chalk and glitter-paint, and made up my own rules to fight across the basement floor.

One of the nice things about being an adult is that you can buy a reasonable amount of cool stuff that you couldn't get as a kid. I have a decent set of unpainted mech miniatures now, just shy of fifty, I think, but I also painted up a few.

All of these painted miniatures are from the Alpha Strike plastic sets, though I do have the newer sculpts from the more recent Battletech beginner box and game of armored combat box. The Alpha Strike figures aren't great, but neither is my paint job, so it balances out.

First up, my Draconis Combine lance. It's a fairly typical Combine force from the Aka-Oni Regulars, featuring (from left to right) a Dragon (60 tons), a Trebuchet (50 tons), a Jenner (35 tons), and a Panther (35 tons).

Total tonnage: 180 tons
Total Battle Value: 3960

I made these as the opposing force for my mercenaries (below), but I'm happy with how they turned out. They're simple block colors with my normal cheap acrylic paints, but they have a bold character about them.

Here we have my mercenary lance, Leland's Fusiliers. Aligned with the Federated Suns, they're a small outfit with their own Leopard-class dropship. The mechs from left to right are a Guillotine (70 tons), a Centurion (50 tons), a Dervish (55 tons), and a Wolfhound (35 tons). Technically, though, they don't actually use the Dervish, but have a Commando (25 tons, COM-3AN variant, clearly) instead. I just didn't have a Commando miniature at the time.

Total tons: 180
Total Battle Value: 3886

Finally, two little "neutral" light mechs, a Clint (40 tons) and a Spider (30 tons). These can be used for any faction. Some have pointed out how useless it would be to have camouflage on a many-ton, many-meter-tall stompy robot. On the other hand, I like how it looks and it's quick to paint up, so there we go!