Battletech - Patchwork Mercenary Guild - Federated Suns Pattern

 The plan is to have, with the Patchwork Guild mercenary faction for Battletech, mechs using a paint scheme that I will be using for each of the five house factions. This will represent mechs that have been captured or traded that belongs to each of those factions, further amplifying the fact that they are a combination of many across the human sphere. Also the mechs chosen for each of the five House patterns, will be the most common types of mechs used by those factions. 

With that in mind, here are the Federated Suns scheme mechs from frount to back, left to right: Centurion, Hatchetman, Blackjack, Enforcer, Blackjack from the late 80's plastic box set, Victor, and Nightsky.

The arms and legs use the modified Federated Suns paintjob I have used before, here and here. The torso and heads were painted the same way I painted the Elite Unseen of the patchwork guild using all the colours with black gaps. It turned out looking like a modern era painting which although not planned that way I like the look of them. They should be quite distinctive on the tabletop.

The Free Worlds League will be the next batch once I finish some Marvel Crisis Protocol and Malifaux models.

Battletech - Patchwork Mercenary Guild - The Elite Unseen

The Mercenary group, the Patchwork Guild and their elites, the Unseen, were mentioned in two previous posts, here and here, when I had only painted a few. They are a made up Battletech group and not part of Battletech cannon. They are mostly from the Great Houses in the Inner Sphere, Periphery groups, Mercenary companies, and Clan warriors who had become disillusioned with their factions. They take contracts that do not target innocents and and fight with honour. Even though the are picky about their contracts the Patchwork Guild never seems to lack spare parts. When in public they wear patchwork jumpsuits and black full head masks with mirrored frounts, as some are wanted by their original factions. This mirrored visors are mimicked for on their mechs plus the Unseen have entirely black cockpits.

The elite Unseen will be made up of mechs where, in the real world history of Battletech's original maker FASA, went through legal troubles. Before Battletech was printed, FASA paid money to a company that claimed it had exclusive rights to the mech images outside of Japan on behalf of the original Japanese anime the mechs came from. In the mid-90's FASA was sued by Harmony Gold, who owned the Macross Saga rights in the USA, because of the use of several mech images that Harmony Gold owned the rights to. FASA lost the legal battle initially and all the mech images used from any Japanese Anime were severely altered going forward. The originals of these mechs were called "The Unseen" because of this. After several decades Topps, the current holders of the Battletech license, won the rights to use the original images. Since I played Battletech when the original images were used, I wanted to make a mercenary company as a nod to these original mechs. A good article on SarnaNet goes into more detail.

Until the Battletech Mercenaries kickstarter is delivered, I have for "The Unseen" mechs: four light (Valkyrie, Wasp, Stinger, and Locust), 4 medium (Wolverine, Shadowhawk, Griffin, and Phoenix Hawk), six heavy (Thunderbolt, Warhammer, Marauder, Crusader, Rifleman, and Archer), and three assault (Longbow, Marauder 2, and Battlemaster).

The four lights.

Four mediums.

Three of the heavies.

The other three heavies.

Three assault.

Primed black and heavily drybrushed either Khador Red Base, Khador red Highlight, Cygnar Yellow, Iosian Green, Cygnar Blue Highlight, Murderous Magenta, or Beaten Purple. They were then drybrushed a mix of the primary colour and Menoth White Highlight or TTCombat Ivory. Patches of the other primary colours were then applied in patches over the mech. Cold Steel was applied on metal parts. Model washed with GW Nuln Oil. Sulfur Yellow for missiles, Khador Red Base for lasers, and Thamar Black for projectile weapon barrels. PPCs painted Meridis Blue and TTCombat White.  For jump jets, the same previous colours were used except Arcane Blue was used asa middle colour. Thamar Black applied to head area with Cryx Bane Base drybrushed on, then Cryx Bane Highlight lightly drybrushed on, and Army Painter Gloss used on cockpit window. Base painted cheap black then GW Technical Armageddon Dunes used on base. Lichen was then glued to the base. Army Painter Matt White applied on frount and back base arcs, and finally paint pen was used to write the name of the mech.

Federated Suns Assault Mechs and Modified Paint Scheme

 Here are my nine assault mechs for the Federated Suns faction, at least until the Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter is delivered. By row, from back left, back to frount: Marauder 2, Atlas, Nightstar, Cyclops, Awesome, Stalker, Battlemaster, Victor, Longbow.

Battlemaster is a solid 85 ton mech. Not fancy but solid. The Victor is an 80 ton jumping mech that is a versatile short and mid range striker for close support of other mechs. The Longbow is an 85 ton long range monster that can take the hits.

The Cyclops is an old common 90 ton mech that was designed as a headquarters for large conflict zones. It is weak in armament and armour which meant many variants over the eras. The old 90 ton Awesome is a long and medium range mech feared for its three PPCs, delivering devastating attacks that can be kept up consistently. It is common for all factions and eras, but is more common in the Free Worlds League. The Stalker is an old 85 ton mech used by all factions. It provides excellent damage across all ranges but does not have enough heat sinks to fire everything at once, without gaining  a lot of internal heat.

The Marauder 2 is a 100 ton improvement on the 75 ton Marauder. It was designed by the Wolf's Dragoons mercenary company during the Late Succession War (Lostech) era but was available for most factions from the Civil War era onwards. The Atlas is an old mech at 100 tons and is a feared opponent on the battlefield. It is common through all eras from the Early Succession War onwards and all factions. The Nighstar, at 95 tons, is common in the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth. It has been produced since the Clan Invasion era and its advanced technology is effective at all ranges but best at long.

Their paint scheme is a combination of my original here and additions here.

Federated Suns Heavy Mechs and Modified Paint Scheme

 Here are my 12 heavy mechs for the Federated Suns faction, at least until the Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter is delivered. By row, from back left, back to frount: Black Knight, Marauder, Guillotine, Orion, Cataphract, Grasshopper, Warhammer, Axeman, Thunderbolt, Rifleman, Catapult, Crusader.

The Black Knight at 75 tons is an old design that has lasted through the eras. The Marauder is a classic 75 ton mech that can intimidate the battlefield with its capabilities at all ranges. The Guillotine is an old design more common in the Federated Suns and Free Worlds League. Although excellent in early eras, it became undergunned until Lostech became available for upgrades.

The 70 ton Grasshopper is a superb short to medium range jumping mech that can maneuver around similar heavy mechs. The 70 ton Warhammer is a classic mech with great long range capabilities that can take a beating. The Orion is a 75 ton mech made in the older era that is good at all ranges.

The 65 ton Crusader is a classic mech that is also decent at all ranges and common with all factions. The 65 ton Axeman is more common with Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth and was manufactured during the Late Succession Wars (Renaissance) era. It has jump jets and newer technology with a melee weapon, but is best at medium and short ranges. The Catapult is a 65 ton mech common through all factions, except the Lyran Commonwealth who gave up on its usage by the time of the Early Republic era. It is a decent long range mech with jump capability.

The 65 ton Thunderbolt is a classic mech with strong long range capability. The Catapract, at 70 tons, was originally a Capellan Confederation mech but the factory was taken by Federated Suns forces just before the Fourth Succession War. It has good capability at all ranges. The Rifleman is a classic 60 ton mech with excellent long range capability that was improved with newer technology during the FedCom civil war.

Their paint scheme is a combination of my original here and additions here.

Federated Suns Medium Mechs and Modified Paint Scheme

 Here are my 12 medium mechs for the Federated Suns faction, at least until the Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter is delivered. By row, from back left, back to frount: Shadowhawk, two Wolverines, Centurion,Enforcer, Bushwacker, Phoenix Hawk, second Enforcer,  Blackjack, Hatchetman, second and third Blackjack.

Federated Suns is the faction that has consistently used the 45 ton Blackjack mech from the early succession wars to the ilClan era. Therefore I wanted three of them available. By having multiples of favored House mechs, I wanted to ensure I would not have a vanilla group of mechs in each faction. This fits the setting of the game more.

The 55 ton Bushwacker is a good utility mech favored by the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth. It is also a new mech that was put into service during the Clan Invasion era. The 45 ton Hatchetman was one of the first mechs with a melee weapon in the game and is more common with the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth factions, although the Draconis Combine uses it too. The 45 ton Phoenix Hawk is one of the original mechs and used by all factions as a heavy scout and striker mech.

The 50 ton Enforcer is almost exclusively used by the Federated Suns. It is a good utility mech. The 50 ton Centurion has great long range offence and is common amongst all the factions, more so with the Federated Suns.

The 55 ton Wolverines and Shadow Hawk are common amongst all the factions. Both are good utility strikers, due to their speed and jump capabilities. The Wolverine has slightly more variants through the eras with Federated Sun, so I painted up two of them for this faction.

Their paint scheme is a combination of my original here and additions here.

Federated Suns Light Mechs and Modified Paint Scheme

Here are my eight (8) light mechs for the Federated Suns faction, at least until the Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter is delivered. From back left, clockwise: Jenner/Rattlesnake, Urbanmech, Valkyrie, Wolfhound, Stinger, second Valkyrie, Wasp, Locust.

The Wasp, Stinger, and Locust were one of the original mechs that were in the original rulebook. At 20 tons they are common throughout the world of Battletech and used by all non-clan factions.

The Jenner/Rattlesnake at 35 tons is used mostly by the Draconis Combine but used in limited degree by other factions from the Early Succession War to the Jihad period. The Federated Suns experimented on a newer version of the Jenner and called it the Rattlesnake, used until the Dark Ages. The Urbanmech is a 30 ton prolific mech, used by everyone but under armored and armed, but cheap.

The Valkyrie is rare or uncommon in factions other than Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth. Within the Federated Suns they are quite prolific, which is why I have painted two of them for this faction. They are good scouts with long range ability. The Wolfhound has the same commonality as the Valkyrie but the prevalence is reversed, and the Lyran Commonwealth has more of them. Good firepower but lacking jump ability means they have to seek cover while advancing.

One of the things I have been busy with is painting new Federated Suns mechs and adding some touches to my existing paint scheme for this faction. My original paint scheme was first shown here but I have made additions. One of those was the jump jets, now painted Meridius Blue, then some Arcane Blue, then TTCombat White. The other was the cockpit which I applied Armypainter gloss to make it look more like glass. I used these two additions for the newer and previously painted models for this faction.

Lack of Game Posts in the last Six Months

Sorry for not posting anything in the last six months. Things have been busy with a trip to Spain and a new phase in my life in April...retirement. Therefore I have been cleaning up the house, basement, and downsizing as well as helping others. 

I have not been idle with my hobbies though, as I have been assembling and priming a lot of models before the rainy weather arrives. Clockwise from the upper left are models for: Malifaux, miscellaneous terrain, Flintstones Bedrock building playset, small scale ruins and everything scale terrain, Batman/Marvel Crisis Protocol terrain, Marvel Crisis Protocol models, Mantic modern terrain, Dollarama wooden steamroller, Guildball terrain set, and in the center Star Wars Legion terrain and models. I may not get them all done but I will take a good stab at it. These do not include the other models I have had primed for a while but are not for games I currently play or wish to play.

Models I have been painting are Malifaux Leviticus crew and Outcast variable models as well as Battletech Federated Suns and my Battletech mercenary company, The Patchwork Guild. Below is a sample of the progress.

I have also been reading miniature and roleplaying game books. Expect to see weekly posts on items as I finish them and the gaming books I have read.