Friday, December 21, 2012

Battletech Battle Report

Here I bring you the latest Battletech Battle Report. I wanted to play a game of battletech during the week with Matser Cheef and he thought to play the game on a Saturday for more time and bigger units. The game was set, it was long, and it was pure fun. Plus I got the chance to test drive some unused mechs and to try out some new mechs. Masta Cheef certainly delivered one heck of a game as always. Enjoy.

Battle Setup


Tech level

3060

Mapsheets

Two similar open field mapsheets on opposite sides of a large military base mapsheet.


Mission

Military Base Capture

Whether actual engagement or mock training exercise neither the Draconis Combine or the Taurian authorities have released any information. It is left to information originating from a local populace as to when this occurrence happened. Contact with this local populace has not been established.

Battletech Forces


Attackers

Draconis Combine

Fire Lance

Archer ARC-5S   4/4
Awesome AWS-9Q   4/4
Mauler MAL-1R   4/4
Akuma AKU-1X   4/4

C3 Command Lance

Catapult CPLT-K5   4/4
Orion ONI-3M   4/4
Hatamoto-Chi HTM-28T   4/4
Atlas AS7-CM   4/4

Defenders

Tuarians

Medium Lance

Hunchback HBK-6S   4/5
Cicada CDA-3G   4/5
Dervish DV-8D   4/5
Hoplite HOP-4B    4/5

Assault Lance

Victor VTR-9K   4/4
Awesome AWS-9M   4/4
Stalker STK-6M   4/4
Dragon DRG-7N   4/4

Conventional Armor Lance

Maxim AFV (Fire Support)  4/5
Scorpion Light Tank (SRM)  4/5
Scorpion Light Tank (LRM)  4/5
AC-2 Carrier     4/5

Conventional Infantry Company

Foot Platoon (LRM) - BBQ Squad!
Foot Platoon (LRM)
Foot Platoon (LRM)


Battle Report



Turn 1

Nothing major happened besides both attacking and defending forces moving at full speed towards the military base. The Draconis Combine units moved in there respective lances while the Taurian forces moved in three separate packages.


Turn 2

All units on both sides were still moving at full speed towards the military base. The Taurian Maxim arrived in the base first and deployed its famous infantry platoon affectionately known as BBQ Platoon.

BBQ Platoon deploys and promptly set up grilling operations.

Turn 3

A lance worth of Taurian battlmechs had entered through the gate or jumped the outer ways into the military base while the Draconis Combine units only had two assault mechs make it to the gate.



Turn 4

Left front

All the Draconis units scaled or jumped the walls to enter the military base except the Atlas which walked right in through the gate. The Taurians began pushing units through the previously announced choke point gate.  The Hunchback bypassed the recently spotted Draconis Mechs and speed off to support the rest of the Taurians approaching the other gate.


The Dragon's pilot had rushed towards the Draconis units scaling the walls hoping for some early damage dealing and got a GR shot off at the Archer shredding half its armor off its right arm. The dragon was also left alone to whatever the enemy could throw at him and throw at him they did. The dragon was the assaulted by waves of LRM missile fire, blazing by ER LL shots, searing by PPCs, and AC/2 shots chinking his armor. The Dragon was spared to the effects from the Akuma who had sights for destruction.
The Taurian units behind the Dragon returned what fire they could resulting in negligible damage, but the Hoplite's small LRMs managed to strike the Draconis Awesome's head armor.


Right front

The Taurian battlemechs used speed to breakup any line of sight from the nearby Draconis units. The Draconis Hatamoto-Chi pilot caught the Dervish with a single ER PPC shot to a leg. The Atlas also caught the Maxim damaging its center torso.

Turn 5

Left front

All the Draconis mechs stayed up on the birm to keep long range superiority.  Having scared off the Dragon, the Akuma went further into the base to bring its deadly arsenal to bear against the approaching Stalker.

The Akuma missed everything to the Stalker except an LBX10 cluster while the being traded some LRMs. The Dragon sneakingly shot the Akuma with its AC/5 and and its GR. The Mauler shot the Stalker from above with a barrage of LRM, ER LL, and AC/2 firepower. The Draconis Awesome fired PPCs at the Stalker with one registering a head shot removing all the outer armor and leaving barely anything left to protect the pilot. The Taurian Awesome fired its ER PPCs at the Archer damaging its head as well in the same fashion. The Archer failed to add anything to the pool against the Stalker.

Right front

The Draconis unis skillfully moved towards the Taurian units having the Catapult act as a spotter for their C3 network. The Taurian units lead by the victor examined the situation and moved for the Catapult.

The Dervish opened up on the Catapult with some LRMs. The Catapult wanting to smash the Victor with raw MRM firepower missed to do so along with the Victor missing the chance to add to the Catapult pool. The Hunchback missed with its impressive LBX20 and only managed to strike the Catapult with an ER ML. The Orion with perfect C2 feedback made up for some of the Catapults loss by sending 21 MRMs and an LBX10 cluster shot to the Victor. The Victor was given a another beating from the Atlas's GR and LRMs ripping into the internal right arm armor and reducing the overall protection its right torso to a slim amount.

Infantry deploy from the Cell phone class dropship.

Turn 6

Left front

The Stalker and the Awesome moved upon the Akuma while other units continued to move past the gate.

The Dragon now believed to be at a safe range fire its GR and MRM 10 at the Akuma removing the rest of the right arm armor and hitting the head. The Stalker in better range to the Akuma gave a powerful light show of ER laser firepower helping to reduce the Akuma tough outer armor. The Taurian Awesome fired its full ER PPC compliment at the Akuma which melted into the left leg internal armor. The Dracons Awesome fired at the Taurian Awesome to try and push it back from the Akuma's current dueling partner. The Cicada having abandoned the fighting on the right front got an ER LL shot into the Akuma's center torso. The SRM Scorpion scored a head hit on the Akuma, destroyed its ML, and damaged the right arm shoulder as well. The Hoplite missed the Akuma. The AC/2 Carrier damaged the Akuma's right arm upper arm actuator.
BBQ squad also destroyed a chemical vat in hopes to clear some of the terrain projecting into line of sight.


The Akuma Rages

The Akuma battlemech took a beating, but the mechwarrior kept his mech up he unloaded 10 SSRMs into the Stalker which is shrugged it off, but a follow up  LBX10 cluster shot for good measure struck the Stalker's head twice destroying all the remaining internal head armour. 
The Stalker was down Battlemech Destroyed!


Right front

All forces closed in upon each other.

The Dervish switched to using ER MLs against the Catapult. The Catapult switching targets to the Hunchback missed with its MRMs again while succeeding with two MPLs. The Hunchback fired its LBX20 with a loaded cluster shot and shredded all the remaining outer armor off the Catapult's left arm and right torso. The Orion changed targeting to the Hunchback as well releasing 30 MRMs and a LBX10 cluster shot. The resulting explosions and slug rounds tore into the left arm and right arm internal armor damaging the L arm actuator and damaging the R arm ER ML laser. The Victor split targeting between the Catapult and the Hatamoto. The Catapult suffered a ML which seared through the L arm armor damaging the MRM launcher thereby silencing half of the Catapult's MRM barrage power. The Hamato received a well placed GR shot to the center torso. The Hamato returned fire to the Victor with 12 SSRMs and some ERPPC and ER ML fire which destroyed the right arm, struck the engine, and damaged the battlemech's head armor twice. The Maxim sought to help against the Hamato by bombarding it with a hefty 15 LRMs. The Atlas took the opportunity to shoot the Maxim as its only target with another round of GR and LRM fire which remove all the remaining outer armor off the turret and damaging the air skirts and driving mechanisms.


Turn 7

Left front

Kill Steal

The Archer fired ER LL and LRM fire towards the Hopelite to discourage it from entering the frey.
The Cicada having previously entered the frey unannounced fire at the Archer for a quick kill. The Cicada's laser fire destroyed its right arm and seared away the last remaining amount head armor taking the Archer out of action. Battlemech Destroyed!

The Dragon now knowing the Akuma took out the Stalker and was going for the Awesome and probably the Dragon next. The Dragon fired everything it had available at the Akuma. The attack damaged the Akuma's left arm shoulder along with the left arm actuator and also scored a head hit.
The Mauler seeing the Dragon now in full view did as it did with the Akuma and released a torrent of weapons fire towards the Dragon. The Dragon took 24 LRMs and an ER LL resulting in two engine hits, but the following AC/2 firepower ripped into the right torso detonating the ammo causing an expplosion. The Dragon's pilot ejected. Battlemech Destroyed!

The Taurian Awesome unleashed combined ER PPC and SSRM fire upon the Akuma in an attempt to break the Akuma's advance. The damage damaged the right arm hand, along with the left leg upper leg actuator and lower leg actuator.

The SRM tank also joined the support and damaged the Akuma's head armor.
The Akuma once again having taken a beating had its sights upon the Awesome. The MRM30 missed while an LB10X A/C solid shot failed to show any power. The Awesome stood, but not against the Akuma's two SSRM launchers unleashing 10 SSRM missiles striking the Awesome's head twice destroying the remaining armor and taking the mech out of action. Battlemech Destroyed!

The Raging Akuma!

Right front

The Hunchback's increased movement was rewarded with a generous helping of damage to the Catapult by its LBX20 cluster shot followed by SRM and ER ML fire. The attack removed all of the remaining armor on the Catapult's right torso. The Catapult in reponse sent 18 MRMs from its remaining launcher along with two MPLs back at the Hunchback. The damage destroyed the Hunchback's right torso.
The Hatamoto-Chi missed in helping out the Catapult, but managed another eg shot to the far away Dervish.
The Maxim aimed its LRMs to the occupied Hatamoto-Chi and damaged its gyro.
The Dervish followed suit to the Catapult missing with its LRMs, but a lone ML scored a hit which damaged the gyro.

It is unsure who had the kill, but at some point the Hunchback went down due to the overwhelming amount of short and medium range firepower. Battlemech Destroyed!

The Victor attacked the Orion from below only managing two lousy SRM hits. The Orion in response fired an astounding 40 MRMs with an LBX10 A/C cluster shot back to the Victor. The Victor's right arm was destroyed along with the engine being hit.



Turn 8

Left front

Both forces made minor position adjustments. The Cicada jumped far from the Akuma, while the SRM Scorpion moved towards the heavily wounded Akuma.

The Akuma turned its attention towards the SRM Scorpion and watched as it survived the same SSRM LBX10 cluster combo. The Scorpion did not come out fully unscathed as its drive and mechanic systems were damaged. The Scorpion returned fire and watched as its SRMs tore into the Akuma's ceter torso interior and damaged the gyro. The Scorpion's machine guns were also in range and they were hitting unprotected internal components and the Akuma's gyro was struck again. The Akuma dropped to the ground rumbling the ground before the Scorpion crew. The SRM Scorpion crew had ended the costly Akuma's rage. Battlemech Destroyed.


Throwing stones at a giant.
The Scorpion's crew cheered in a moment of success, but not long after they heard ding against the armor. The SRM Scorpion being the Mauler only target endured more torment from its AC/2 cannons dinging its hull to pieces causing the already damaged drive to be struck again.

The Awesome and the Hoplite briefly engaged weapons fire to little effect.

The Draconis Awesome gazes upon the Taurian Hoptlie.

Right front

The Taurian mechs dispersed after the loss of the Hunchback and remained out of sight from the Draconis mechs while the lone Maxim provided fire support.

The Atlas and Hatamoto-Chi had a chance to end the exposed Maxim, but it was not so.


Turn 9

Left front

The Draconis mechs still held the high ground and stood fast. The Taurians kept their mechs fast or far while pushing their vehicles further into the base past and under the fallen giants.

The Hoplite fired upon the Awesome with no effect. The Awesome had switched its attention to the Cicada which was too fast and the newly emerged LRM carrier which took some drive damage.
The Cicada shot the Awesome in the back armor with laser fire, but was unable to do any major harm.
The slow AC/2 Carrier scored a trio of AC/2 hits to the Awesome's center torso causing internal damage resulting in an engine hit

The Mauler open fired again on the SRM Scorpion and after a hail of LRM, Laser, and AC/2 firepower the SRM Scorpion's entire right side was gone leaving the vehicle a smoking hulk. Vehicle Destroyed!



The Mapsheet had not yet deleted the fallen mech.

Right front

The Taurain repeated their previous movement plan and stayed out of the sight on the Draconis Combine mechs. The Draconis mechs lead by the Atlas prepared to exit the now collapsed enemy right front and move towards the enemy left front. The Catapult and the Hatamoto-Chi both adjusted position to carefully move off the roof top. The Orion gave chase to the Dervish although combat with it was futile at the moment.

The Maxim fled the right front towards the buildings nearby for cover.

No combat was reported except the Atlas firing at the SRM Tank briefly.



Turn 10


Left front

The Mauler stayed on the high ground while the Awesome moved to the low ground. The Cicada abandoned the Awesome and moved behind the Mauler. The remaining Taurians adjusted position.

The Maxim fired some LRMs at the Awesome which was now on the ground and moving towards the Maxim's general direction. The Awesome returned fire which failed to hit the Maxim. The Cicada and LRM Scorpion both engaged the Mauler. The LRM Scorprion fired some LRMS and the Cicada fire some lasers. The Mauler standing and shrugging off everything thrown at it. The Mauler sent a mirror LRM package back to the LRM Scorpion damaging its motor and sent a mirror ER LL to the Cicada. The Hoplite fired at the Awesome and missed.  The AC/2 Carrier's shot were good enough to strike the Awesome head armor.

Right front

The Catapult began dumping all of its remaining MRM ammunition.

The Atlas moved towards the left front while the Catapult and the Hatamoto-Chi moved off the rooftop safely. The Orion gave up chasing the Dervish on orders from the Atlas to join the others. The Dervish jumped the wall back into the right front.

The Dervish tried a surprise attack on the Hatamoto-Chi and missed. The Atlas attempted to return fire to the Dervish and missed as well. The Hatamto-Chi delivered a punishing ER PPC blast melting its center torso armor and hitting the engine.

Turn 11

Final Assault

Left front

Though exposed to the Atlas, the Maxim fired LRMs at the Awesome in an attempt to overwhelm the mech and bring it down. The Maxim's LRMs did not prove to be enough. The Hoplite fired LRMs at the Awesome with better effect. The LRMs causing explosions which tore apart the right arm lower arm actuator and damaged a double heat sink inside the arm. The Awesome returned three PPCs shots to the Hoplite and removed its right arm. The Hoplite began to sway and fell to the ground. The Hoplite's pilot was good enough to keep himself unharmed during the fall. BBQ Platoon having finished grilling operations made a precise LRM attack against the Awesome with multiple explosions damaging the same double heat sink along with strikes against  the center torso causing internal gyro damage. The Mauler struck the AC/2 Carrier with AC/2 fire and damaged its drive systems. The Cicada as before shot the Mauler with ER laser fire and failed to do anything significant.

Right front

The Atlas moved further to the left to somewhat join up and support the Awesome closely followed by the Orion and slowly by the Catapult and Hatamoto-Chi.The Victor made a move for the vulnerable Catapult.

The Atlas, having moved well to the left to make a presence and threat joined the left front fight. The Atlas fired a GR at the AC/2 Carrier which had armor to survive the shot. The Atlas also fired its LRM and ER LL at the Maxim destroying the turret and destroyed the Maxim's armor altogether leaving it a smoking hulk. The Atlas had finally caught the Maxim.Vehicle Destroyed!

The Catapult was fast enough to get two MPLs which melted away the rest of the Victor's right torso. The Victor only managed a small amount of SRMs with enough luck to strike internal armor and not enough luck to cause serious harm. The Dervish fired laser at the rear armor of the Hatamoto-Chi and despite the melting the armor held.

The Hatamoto-Chi  wanted the Victor down as a prize kill and unleased 12 SSRMs, twin ER MLs, and an ER PPC upon the Victor causing server damage to the center torso beyond what the armor could handle melting away to the internal structure and into the engine in two locations. The Victor shut down in place before the Draconis mech in the midst of a desperate final assault. Battlemech Destroyed!


End Game


Once the Hoplite fell, the pilot gather his thoughts and signaled any remaining Taurian forces for a status report. The Victor was down, all remaining vehicles heavily damaged or crippled and the remaining mechs were no match for the opposing mechs. The mechwarrior ordered a general retreat having lost the base.



Draconis Combine
Not sure what is up with the Orion's sexy pose. Plus the Orion is missing the attached missile launcher I have been working on. I thought the Mauler would have been able to magically grow its arms as with the Hatamoto-Chi's cannons, but it was not so.

Taurian

Foot platoons 1 and 2 never joined the reindeer games.


Carnage Report


Attackers

Draconis Combine


Fire Lance

Archer ARC-5S
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
R Arm destroyed
Battlemech Destroyed!
Awesome AWS-9Q
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Engine hit
R Arm lower arm actuator
Double heat sink
Gyro hit
Battlemech Critically Damaged
Mauler MAL-1R
Akuma AKU-1X
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Gyro hit
Gyro hit
ML destroyed
R. Arm shoulder damaged
R. Arm upper arm actuator damaged
R. Arm lower arm actuator damaged
R Arm hand actuator damaged
L Leg hip damaged
L Leg upper leg actuator damaged
L leg lower leg actuator damaged
Battlemech Destroyed!

C3 Command Lance

Catapult CPLT-K5
MRM 30 damaged
Gyro hit
Remaining MRM30 ammo dumped
Battlemech Critically Damaged
Orion ONI-3M
Hatamoto-Chi HTM-28T
Gyro hit
Battlemech Critically Damaged
Atlas AS7-CM   4/4

Casualties

25%   Battlemechs destroyed
0%     Mechwarriors killed


Defenders

Tuarians


Medium Lance

Hunchback HBK-6S
L Arm actuator damaged
ER ML destroyed
R Torso destroyed
Battlemech Destroyed!
Cicada CDA-3G
Dervish DV-8D
Engine hit
Hoplite HOP-4B
R Arm destroyed

Assault Lance

Victor VTR-9K
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
R Arm destroyed
Engine hit
R Torso destroyed
Engine hit
Engine hit
Battlemech Destroyed!
Awesome AWS-9M
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Battlemech Destroyed!
Stalker STK-6M
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Pilot damaged - Head hit
Battlemech Destroyed!
Dragon DRG-7N
Engine hit
Engine hit
Ammo explosion
Battlemech Destroyed!

Conventional Armor Lance

Maxim AFV (Fire Support)
Air skirt damaged
Drive system damaged
Turret destroyed
Armor destroyed
Vehicle Destroyed!
Scorpion Light Tank (SRM)
Drive system damaged
Drive system damaged
Motor damaged
Armor destroyed
Vehicle Destroyed!
Scorpion Light Tank (LRM)
Drive system damaged
Motor damaged
AC-2 Carrier
Drive system damaged

Conventional Infantry Company

Foot Platoon (LRM) - BBQ Platoon!
Foot Platoon (LRM)
Foot Platoon (LRM)

Casualties

63%   Battlemechs destroyed
0%     Mechwarriors killed
50%   Vehicles destroyed
0%     Crew killed
0%     Infantry destroyed

Collateral Damage

1        Chemical Storage Tank destroyed


Thoughts


Picture help to tell the tale better and everyone likes pictures.

I went with the initial idea of bringing two lances with different roles in mind and keeping them together and it worked well. My ranged units were kept back which kept them safe and gave them the most advantage.

The Mauler was an awesome mech to use and I agree keeping it back is the best position for its survival.

The C3 lance was amazing and gave the MRM launchers a chance to shine, sort of. I think my unit selection for it was good for the game, but it might not be the best.

The Akuma had to close the distance and was a heck of a mech to play. Despite fearing an ammo explosion it died from two gyro hits. The Akuma missed with a lot of MRMs. I later found out I could have used the 2X which remedies the ammo explosion issue and switches the MRM and SSRM loudout slightly. I like the Akuma very much and this game it was on a rage till it was brought down my MG fire, lol.

There were entirely way too many head kills and some awful "2" rolls critical hits. Having some insight into the floating critical, I would like to try the optional rule in the future to avoid these oddities. This would also limit lucky shots from smaller entities and prolong expectancy. I am not sure if there is hope for the head armor issue.

Masta Cheef is developing strategy. This game was entertaining as it went through various phases from movement to fire fights to blood bath to retreat to regroup and final assault. Both of his units were working together, except the Cicada which was acting as a lone wolf. The head hits caused his left front to collapse early in my opinion. The rest of the mechs were brought down from shear damage down to internal armor and not "2" critical rolls.

Considering the mapsheet military base, Cheef initially identified the main gates as choke points. Funny thing is the gate on his map edge became his own choke point sort of.

Using LRM indirect fire rules might improve choke point issues, but I don't think either of us want to have a sit and fire away boring game. We tend to like to bash each other apart.

The Hunchback as always had to be deprived of all its armor before going down for good. I think his few shot with the LBX20 might have been better served with a solid round, but he has more experience with the weapon. Honorable mention goes to the Victor and Maxim as they took some heavy hits as well. One day I will feel the damage. When he runs an AC variant I worry or fret to some degree.

I believe dumping the Catapult's MRM ammo saved it from the Victor final assault. The Victor was getting some rasher crap roles when the rolls were not to hard to achieve.

Considering my MRM usage, I either missed altogether or fire very few missiles, something Masta Cheef rolled with all game and did not fear one bit.

Bonus


Scavenger hunt

Find the following items for 10 points each find.

1. Battletech 3rd Edition Box
2. Droid
3. Warhammer Fantasy miniatures box
4. File
5. GW Red range ruler
6. Cell Phone
7. Tissue box
8. Mountain dew
9. Hex Pack Lakes and Rivers
10. Glue
11. Calculator
12. Mechanical pencil eraser

Questions

1. What was for dinner?
2. Had the sun set past turn 7?
3. Which Taurian has a metal base?



Stay tuned for another exciting Battletech Battle Report coming soon.


Monday, December 17, 2012

Land Raider WIP Part 3

No new painting has been done as of yet, but I am well into the post internal painting assembly stage. Most weekends lately I have been busy, not wanting, or weather stopping. The weekdays only allow a small window and I still get wind.

Either way I want to show I am still working, not giving up temporarily, or stopping completely.

Here is how the model looks so far.


One key detail is the side sponsor pieces which hold the hurricane bolters are glued in place to the outer hold. The side panels will be held in place with something to allow them to be spray painted and protect the interior painted portions. The cupolas above are all unglued as well so they can be swapped and so forth for specific vehicle loadouts.



The two opening flaps which make the load/unload ramp I stripped of paint and spray them red as it will look much better once the outer hull is red. The red paint will get an inking like the outer hull to match.

Why so Serious?

Here is a final shot of the computer panel as well. Bad picture which makes me sad since it is glued in now. I ended up using a two tone panel scheme along with light green lines and dots, and a final white dot in the upper corner. A final gloss varnish was applied to the screens.


I did some work with the screen on the right interior hull as well. I tried to make a grid pattern with red and green squares and movement markers. I think it came out fine, but hard to work with, but good for a first try.


Here are two great tools which helped me with the computer screens.



The first is a ZIG calligraphy pigment ink marker with 0.5 and 1.2 tips. This works great for making any dark marks. I wanted to use it on the purity seals on the engine, but decided not to. I did use it on the screen with great success. However applying a wash can make it run so care and patience is advised.

It was in a pack of four different colors and I got them back in the 90's and have never really used them till now.


The second was gamble being a Treehouse paint marker. The glowing green colored match scorpion green quite well and the tip was small enough to work with.

I purchased this marker at Hobby Lobby for around $4 and I forgot the % off coupon, nice.



Hope you enjoy and find something useful.














Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Landraider Crusader WIP Part 2.5 and Chemistry Class

Where is Land Raider?


What? Expecting a lame random picture of Waldo? LOL

The Interior Front


The good news is my the part I ordered from the UK arrived last week Being stuck on whether I could work on it at the in laws place I decided to leave it for when I returned. Speaking of coming from the UK, I used Bitzbox and they came through having the package delivered within the guesstimated time so I will gladly use them again. I ordered a few other parts, but I will discuss those later on. My only con would be the lack of shipping information, but its not a big deal as they had a refund policy if your parts go AWOL after a certain point.

Sunday I cleaned up the part I needed (Sensor) and attached it to the new part I had to order (Front Hull) to get the missing part. I added a bit of gap filling material on the back on sensor on the interior side. Hopefully this will help cut down on the small amount of dust spray which gets in when spraying the actual exterior hull. Red dust from the red spray setting on the bone interior somewhats ruins all the hard work placed within. I then sprayed the interior side with a white prime and a bone base.

Exterior

Interior

I need to make a few minor interior paint adjustments and then it is assembly time. Wait, what you had all this time, lol. Halo4 came out remember. Might I add my wife won't play 40K, but she plays multiplayer with me and she is good enough to rumble with the rest of the uncoordinated team members so I am 1 uped for coolness.

The Exterior Front


Last week I did spray the interior portions of the side hulls where the side doors will be placed. My last Land Raider I did the same so I could remove the doors. However, one will not come off and the other fall off on its own. This spraying left a bunch of over spray on the sides. I know I can simply leave it, but the light color under the red spray later might through off the color slightly. I needed to find a way to remove the excess spray paint without having to redo the spraying.

Upon conducting some research for alternate ways of removing paint beyond what I already use I decided to take a trip to my local Walgreens for some Distilled water and some Non Acetone Nail Polish Remover. When I was there I was wondering if people would wonder what I would be doing

product image
Remove paint better with studio beauty!

Plus, not a random picture.
Be warned, this stuff smells to high hell and its pink tone and mental effects will temp you to Slaanesh.

Sort of, not really. Masta Cheef is the disciple of that territory as he is the Master of the plasma spam fun fest. It reminds me of the movie Killer Klowns From Outer Space. The Clowns shot popcorn from their guns. In turn, I think the plasma chaos marines shoot confetti from there guns. However, some die on both sides so it probably is plasma.

The nail polish remover had to be tested first to avoid damage, despite using the non acetone remover. I grabbed three test pieces and placed nail polish remover on the side of two pieces with paint and on the side of one piece with bare plastic. Research mentioned this product removes paint in minutes so I return to the pieces after about five minutes.

No effect.


Glitter Text Generator

No, not actually though.


I remembered one of the painted pieces came off slightly as I swiped the product on with a q-tip. Plus the bare plastic was still bare plastic unchanged. I then took some and rubbed it on the Land Raider hull and it started stripping the paint right off the plastic. Not only did it strip the paint, it stripped through two layers of spray paint. Often I find it difficult to remove the lower layer of spray paint. This improves the overall power to strip paint in a matter of seconds compared to minutes.

With the Walking Dead on I commenced to strip paint off both exterior hull pieces and was highly successful. Only a small trace amount of color form the spray remained from each spot. The trace amounts I can leave without worry.

Here is the end result showing three important ideals and proof using Non Acetone Nail Polish Remover works to safely remove paint from plastic.

1: The actual color of the interior spray
2: The trace amounts of color left over
3: The undamaged bare plastic

Exterior

Undamaged
Interior between hull

Undamaged
Overall I would recommend using Non Acetone Nail Polish Remover as a targeted paint removing medium and continue to use other full paint removal mediums as normal. If any would like additional test subject evidence feel free to ask and I can see what else the Dok can work on.

Prior to gaming over the weekend I heard the silent lash crack of where is Landraider Crusader WIP Part 3. With this in mind assembly of the Land Raider should take place sometime this week.

The Masta Cheef and I just might get some Battletech in before Sunday. So look for another battle report.



Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Landraider Crusader WIP Part 2

Here is a progress update from Part 1

I wanted to show everything post Part 1 with some black washes applied to the metal parts and some cleanup paint applied to the hull along with all the new painted portions.

First up since I forgot it last time is the glorious Engine block.


Engine Block



The engine block is always the pride and joy of the interior for me. I originally was going to go for a red mechanicus symbol and decided against it. To not compete with the purity seals, I went with the previously used black/white as it stands out better as an over all seal. I might paint to more buttons perhaps, but otherwise it looks good. The black wash went well, not sure on the main engine block though as it is an easy fix.

The green pipes I am also cooking an idea on how to show a light see through black pipe look. I am thinking of apply very light black paint or wash on the sides and working to the middle slightly and then start from the middle and working to the side. I may have to test the idea. The pipes are fine as is and a mess up can ruin it.

Mechanicus Approved?


Computer Panel



The Computer panel I am glad how it has turned out so far. It is done unless I do anything else to it. The only thing I would do and I have had encouragement to do is the screens. White dot them or even apply some scorpion green to the upper portions perhaps.

One idea I have thought about is the design of the interface. A Land Raider carries a full ten marine squad or a full five terminators and in the case of a Crusader more than ten marines or more than five terminators. I consider the nine screen on the right side of the panel are separate from the two screens on the left for a reason. The two panels on the left are for command communications and the nine panels on the right are for squad members. If I was a damn good painter i won't paint miniature helmets or HUDs on each panel.

The HUD idea I think I can acomplish. Dots in the lower corner for ammo and so forth. I'm going to have to watch Aliens again. :) Lines in upper corner for health. I went looking through my stuff last night for a Blood Angels transfer sheet and could not find a single sheet. Maybe I can use yellow skull/wings for command and normal black skull/wings for troops. Question is which of the two screens to the left is the squad leader? I would say the top left is the squad leader. Even if a commander is riding within or part of the deployed squad he would have access to the left screen which is turned slightly to whomever is watching the panel. The rest of the screens are for checking on the deployed squad. The large radar type screen is for position.

Gotta love the shinny mirror!



Left Side Hull



The left side hull is almost done. It still needs to have the blue light painting on the top of the steel pipe, a small black wash on the seats, and maybe something done to the screens. I am so afraid of messing it up at least I can try a white dot or something.

If I can find them I want to add a set of special weapons to the weapons rack. Plastic melta and plasma are expensive to purchase, but I think I have a spare flamer which will look cool on it. Time to pay the Ork toll and dive into Masta Cheefs bitz bin of doom.

Right Side Hull



The right side hull is almost done. I need to paint the candle fire and the left and right arrow buttons on the panel next to the door. I figure I will have a green "open" button, an orange "close" button, and a red "stop" button. Also a simple black wash against the seats.

I have noticed in the picture you can't really see the difference from the bone spray cleaned up with the bone paint. Makes me happy.

In between painting the various pieces I am assembling the Hurricane Bolters which are a big pain and don't let me mention the metal Multi Melta which will be a nightmare.

My goal of having this assembled in in sight. I need to come to a perfection decision on red spray paint, figure out an ink recipe for my part. The weather need to stop being so stupid as wind completely halts spray paint operations.

Either way I am a happy camper for the meantime.

Halo 4 releases November 6th!


Friday, October 26, 2012

Landraider Crusader WIP Part 1

Here is an update of the interior of my Blood Angel's Land Raider Crusader I am painting.

Recently I have been in a good mood and willing to pick up my brush and paint this vehicle some more plus I feel a drive to finish it. I have joined a forums based paint per points challenge so this might be the driving force, but for the most part it is working for me. I think what helps the most is feedback and questions answered, especially for me because I can really get stuck on decisions a lot.

I found myself wanting to paint my previous Land Raider one night and I did. Don't get to excited as I was just painting a lot of black, but i painted a lot of black so this is progress. It would be nice to see both my Land Raider fully assembled and painted for once. The Crusader has only been in the box for about 10 years now, lol.


Left hull interior


The left hull interior piece I feel is coming along well. I am still debating upon painting the upper portion of the seats a leather color. I know it sounds silly, but then again all the metal armor sliding around on metal seats sounds silly. The screen I will probably keep a plain green. Me and designs are not their yet to be honest. The yellow light I have been able to work a bit better as well. The metal valves I am thinking about using a light blue wash to give them kind of a blue steel glow. Finally there is the clean up and touch up and its done.

Right hull interior


The right hull piece is at the same level as the left. Only the small debatable decisions and painting the buttons towards the entrance. I also need to paint the tips of the candles. The silver mirror in between the candles is really shinny so kind of throws off the eyes a bit.

Control panel


The control panel I am pleased with and all the smaller buttons are what is left. The screens look better than my last Land Raider I painted. I used a different green first and then applied the current color. I have also applied a glaze as well. The top two small  screens to the left of the largest screen I messed up a bit including the middle, but I like how they are now as it gives a more older and perhaps broken screen feel.

Engine block

I forgot to take a picture of the engine block.

Please check back later for the engine block.

My goal is to finish all of the interior pieces and assemble the main hull together within the next few weeks at most. I feel I can achieve this goal easily.



Monday, October 22, 2012

Battletech Battle Report

My last game of Battletech was probably one of the most intense matches yet and was pure fun. I think my opponent Masta Cheef at some point found a drive (Mountain Dew or not) and stuck with it till very late.

If you are in for some Battletech and in for a story then read and enjoy the newest installment of my Battletech combat tales set in the 3025ish era.


Monday, October 15, 2012

Lego for life!

Lego Minifigures Series 8

Besides my love for Battletech and 40K I have a bigger love for collecting Legos which predates any of my days of table top games by at least a decade. Before I started 40K I have a large Lego collection and throughout the years I amassed a large collection. When I was dating my wife, my love for Legos rubbed off and we both collect them now. In fact I am using a software to help us get a near count by set pieces and I am at about 46 thousand pieces of Legos.

Saturday while out running errands near the local mall I decided to have a quick run by Toys R US which to me is still fun to go no matter what age you are. Usually I check out all the new Lego sets and look for an interesting Transformers to add to my collection. I came across a custom storage case for Lego's minifigure series 8 line. Bonus!


My daughter lost the Space alien gun. :(
Duplicate I want.

With the price at $3.99 I couldn't pass it up. The storage case has a big picture of all 16 Series 8 minifigures along with three separate sorting bins. I had a big smile when I found this and I also picked up three more minifigure packs. When I opened the packs I scored two new unique minifigures getting my total for Series 8 to eight unique minifigures and one duplicate minifigure.

Lego Heroica

My wife happened to spot a great find as well. Sometime last year Lego released their version of a light fast paced dungeon crawler game called Heroica. I immediately bought into the game upon release picking up the  large set called Castle Fortaan and one of the medium sized sets called Waldurk Forest. The cool thing about Heroica is you can use as little as one set up to all of the sets to run a game. Anyway a little after Heroica's release date a large storage case was released to hold all the contents for the first four adventures. The price point dictated me not purchasing it, but my wife found it on clearance for $14.99. Bonus 2.0!


The case includes a large foldout map and a plastic storage bins made to fit all the pieces from the first four sets. I was smiling again.

Last but not least I picked up a new Heroica set called Ilrion which I thought was part of the original four sets. To my amazement it is part of the 2012 Heroica set line which increases the total amount of Heroica sets to six. Plus since I spent $19.99 I also received a free Lego Hobbit poster. Bonus 3.0! 

My daughter thinks it will look good up in the computer room where all our game stuff is stored, but she thinks it might be moved to her room. Bonus 3.0 minus 1.0 still equals Bonus 2.0!


Sometime this week I will have a great Battletech battle report post  ready for your reading enjoyment so I'll see you next post. 


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Replacing Citadel Blood Red Spray Paint

Here lies the quest to replace the beloved out of stock supplies

Citadel Blood Red spray paint
Citadel Red ink
Citadel Chestnut ink

Trying to fill the gaps still held by great products now long out of production is difficult. However I have been somewhat successful is locating a few possible replacements. I want to remedy this issue as it has now made a definite halt in painting and further assembly of new models for my Blood Angels army.

This will be a long write up with plenty of photographic evidence for discovery and acquisition. So please follow me to the beginning of Part 1 in the great journey to replace Citadel Blood Red Spray paint.


Sunday, September 30, 2012

Blood Angels 6th Edition Battle Update

Wednesday evening I played my first game of 6th edition against Masta Cheef's Speed Freaks Ork army sporting a lovely choo choo train looking center piece. We kept the game simple by avoiding psykers and using 1,000 point army.

At 1,000 points a my army list was as follows.

Headquarters (Warlord)
Recluse with JP

Command Trait - Coordinated Assault

Elites
Furioso Dreadnought with Blood Talons

Troops
Assault Squad with 2 x Melta gun and PW - (All headless as always, lol)
Tactical Squad with Plasma gun and Lascannon

Fast Attack
Bal Predator with HB sponsors
Land Speeder with 2 x HB

Heavy Support
Predator Destructor with HB sponsors

I went with a variable selection of units to try and see how everything would play out in the new rule set.

The Reclusiarc, although expensive, his extra +2 strength in combat was nice.

The dreadnought I counted as an anti-tank asset, despite having claws versus fists. The dreadnought never got to infantry combat, but got a lucky shot and blew up the grot choo choo. The dreadnought also took down a  killer can before be destroyed by one.

The assault squad was fine. I kept them away from taking out the killer cans for fear of being assaulted and killed off. Be honest I am not sure of the Reclusiarc' +2 strength could win the day. The assault squad was lacking the power first. Normally I add a sanguinary priest to the squad so it was good to see how they would fare.
The tactical squad was fine and this time I gave them no rhino and no special weapon to save some points. The lascannon and plasma rifle was a good change. Funny thing is the time both the lascannon and plasma got to fire in the same turn was when the squad was on the move towards the objective. The lascannon killed an ork out of snap fire and the plasma over heated killing the marine.

The Bal predator was a pure assault tank. I seized the initiative and forgot to scout move it closer.
The land speeder with two bolter is a great harassment unit and I really like taking them. Plus the move 12, fire two weapons and still receive a 5+ save is really good.

The Predator Destructor was a good all around tank. I wanted to take the Annihilator or maybe the lascannon side sponsors, but the cost was it bit hard to get in.


The game went well and it was good to finally try out the 6th edition rules. I rarely get to fight Masta Cheef's orks and I understand his reasons. I put so much fear into thinking I was going to get pulverized, but I really have no idea why. He almost won by having his killer kans sit on the objective while the warboss trotted along to retrieve it. Once I destroyed the rest of the killer kans it took almost two turns of a stupid amount of shooting to kill the warboss, his right hand ork, and a few of his boyz.

The game was really like a game of two yodas.

From the start of the game I had an overwhelming fear of being shot to pieces and assaulted to death by mobs of truck fast orks. Masta Cheef could smell the fear and was constantly asking why.

Yoda of the Orks


While Masta Cheef use this against me in the future?

Turn after turn of the game, the fear of being shot at and being assaulted turned the other way around. My Blood Angels destroyed every vehicle and killed every ork. Around the second turn I was wondering about my opponents ork's demise.

Yoda of the Blood Angels



I did lose a handful of assault marines, the dreadnaught, and I immobilized my predator. (Go Me!) He also managed to assault my assault squad first again.

Masta Cheef did have some nice comments for a power sword held by the tactical squad sergeant I painted long ago. I know I am a good painter, but a slow painter and I often am distracted and flat out quit I suppose. I need to get going with it already. The sergeant belongs to an all beak helmet tactical squad. The sergeant has both frag and crack grenades and has his beak helmet attached to his waste. The segeant also follows the squad with an ammo pouch on the right shoulder pad and an ammo pouch on the back pack. Lets not forget all members of the squad have a pointy stick attached to their weapon.


Tactical squad sergeant with power sword.





My next post will describe my current road block with painting my blood angels and provide a way to unblock the road to painting.




Note.

The whole idea of "much profanity" is a rolling joke between Masta Cheef and I and our gaming and it should not be taken seriously at all.


Monday, September 24, 2012

Magnetized Death Company Squad

A box of Blood Angels Death Company, some creativity, a spot of patience, and a lot of magnets

A long time ago in another city far away I purchased a box of Blood Angels Death Company marines. Upon examining the various sprues I set a goal to magnetize the entire squad.  I wanted to have a squad of Death Company with the ability to field different war gear options making the entire squad as versatile as possible. The boxed set is really good for war gear options, I wanted them all. The only detail I dislike somewhat is all of the small thin hanging features. They are quite brittle and may snap causing profanity.

Here is what I was able to do achieve with 5 Death Company marines and a horde of 47 1/8 magnets.

Foot infantry with CCWs


Foot infantry with bolters


Jump infantry with CCWs or Bolters


Swap CCW for PW


Swap CCW for PF


I did not take WIP pictures, but the overall affect of the magnets shows how much more valuable a squad can become. However magnetizing does have its down sides as some parts tend to sway despite using a high magnet rating. Mostly the back packs and jump packs do this, but its worth it.

The magnets I used were 1/8 in size which I got through kjmagnetics along with some extra drill bits as well as a 1/8 dremel drill bit. The dremel drill bit is essential is it helps to hollow out the drill hole and make a nice snug fit for a magnet. The back pack and CCW arms were very easy to drill. The bolter arms were slightly tougher as I had to get the drill hole as high as I could in the shoulder to make sure the arms connect. The jump packs required no drilling as I just glued a magnet in the lowest portion of the already present hole.

I still need to add their heads and their shoulder pads. I delayed gluing the heads thinking I would not be able to paint the necks coils. However, Death Company armor is pure black so I doubt I will need to paint them. Masta Cheef is well aware and the first to contemplate why squads in my army are constantly missing their heads and still able beat the stuffing out of his various minions. I think I will go ahead this time and glue them in place, less lose them in the case of the my No-Dachi battlemech. Sorry Mr. Hunchback. ;)

The Shoulder pads are kind of tricky as a lot of the ornamental shoulder pads are to bulky for various positions so I have to plan them accordingly to arm position. The boxed set came with twenty different shoulder pads so I actually have enough shoulder pads for all the CCWs arms and bolter arms minus the PW and PF arms. I can leave a shoulder pad off one right arm held chainsword to compensate or find some for sale no one is using.

Sometimes I wonder if I should have just glued the PF on instead of magnetizing it. In 5th edition you had to carry a PF in case the Death Company engage something they can not fight off. In 6th edition the Death Company has the choice of what to do so the PF may not  be as necessary compared to a PW.

Once all of the above is done I can consider them assembled and ready for priming with black spray paint. Painting them may be slow as I need to do some research for paint recipes for their various gear and ornamental parts. I want to get all my Blood Angels models to a point of primed at least. Assembling the Death Company is certainly a good leap towards this goal.