Plamo: The “Green Force” Inner Sphere Lance (BattleTech, Catalyst Game Labs)

 

OK, so I have that boxset, and its miniatures. I suppose I should paint them. So I did. Two questions came to mind however. The first was how, and the second was also how. Should I split the forces, and if I did, how should I paint them? Cue procrastination, discovering what Battle Value was, deciding against the red versus blue theme of the beginner's box, and more procrastination. What eventually did it was the realisation that the Leo, my personal favourite grunt mecha, had a lesser known purple colour scheme. Green and purple? That's almost as good as red versus blue. So, I researched, and sought the advice of my cousin, whom is a professional painter, and moved ahead.

The “Green Force” Lance List

Commando COM-2D 541

Wolverine WVR-6R 1101

Thunderbolt TDR-5S 1335

Battlemaster BLR-1G 1519

Battle Value: 4496

My basic approach was as follows, and mainly featured Citadel paints, Contrasts and technicals. I used Wraithbone spray for the primer, and Death Guard Green for the base coat. Mournfang Brown was used for the hands & feet, with Vallejo Dark Grey and Gunmetal for detailing and weapons. Once tidied, the contrast paint Militarium Green was applied, followed by Agrax Earthshade to tie it all together. The cockpit glass was another contrast paint, Iyanden Yellow, with 'Ardcoat for shine. Basing was achieved via Stirland Mud, then Earthshade again, then a Zendri Dust drybrush. It largely worked.

A few comments. Three of them. First, as predicted in a previous post, the Battlemaster's dome was an issue. Its a large area, and contrast paint is intolerant of mistakes that inevitably occur, resulting in an uneven finish. Its not bad from a distance, but I know its there. That said, that's a me fault, not a paint fault, good call with the yellow Andrew. Secondly, its very easy for details to be lost at this scale, but at least its table-worthy. And thirdly, white undercoats remain a pain for me. I think I'll get the green spray next time, but otherwise this worked out well.

The painting of these models was preceded by two test models, where I tried to test out the colour scheme. These were sourced from a somewhat dubious ebay seller, but proved to be adequate for my purposes. With the Orion, I felt that I'd found a table-worthy green, although my attempts at purple hit a snag and were shelved. Into the dettol they went.

Up next: Purple Force. I hope