Sunday 10 April 2022

Plamo: The Inner Sphere Heavy Lance (BattleTech, Catalyst Game Labs)

Following on from the Striker Lance, and in the need of something to do while self-isolating, I decided to get myself some more battlemechs. While these were unfortunately delayed, I went for the opposite end of the scale this time, with the Heavy Lance. With such a name, I went in the expectation of some absolute chonkers, but its a slightly more nuanced situation. You can’t call anything here “light”, but we have a team of misfits with narrow roles in the broad theme of breaking face. A Task Force X, almost. I’m told, if we’re going by tonnage, this all averages out to a “Heavy Lance” though. Anyways, in terms of painting, this were achieved in broadly the same manner as the last lot, but with eye towards a darker green. As such, I used Vallejo 70.95 Military Green, 70.850 Medium Olive, and finally a touch of 70.833 Ger. Cam, Bright Green. I also tweaked the basing method a second application of Agrax Earthshade in places.



First up: the BNC-3S Banshee. It was probably the most time consuming of the set, as this model was quite large, featured a significant canopy area, and was in need of some clean-up prior to painting. As a weapon of war, its also something of a comeback kid. Its another ancient design which was considered under-gunned even in its day, which lead to an enduringly bad reputation. Eventually however, the Draconis Combine gave it a major refit as demonstrated here, and then it gave a good showing versus the Clan Invasion. This makes it akin to the Blackjack, although TBH the original Banshee loadout was a bit bum to even my inexperienced eyes, so its not quite the same situation. Having gone from a punchbot to having loads of guns, this Banshee is largely about being a bad day for the world at large. The main barrier to painting this was the large visor, and some slight mishaps at the inking stage, but I think it came out good. And like Master Chief.

 


Now, there's a tendency in BattleTech for small recon units to be named for insects, the most famous being the Locust. The GHR-5H Grasshopper however weighs 70 tons and seems to ascribe to the ironic school of naming. In truth, most of that weight is jumpjets and heatsinks, so it does hop a fair bit. Its got a decent selection of weapons too, and exists mainly to stomp flat any scout mechs that may appear. Generally a good model to paint, too. Its gangly appearance lending itself well to my revised dry-brushing scheme.

 


If the Grasshopper was a misnomer, the HCT-3F Hatchetman has an almost deadpan name. Its got a big hatchet, which it aims to insert, violently, into the nearest face. Its has other things too, so it can shoot stuff before the face chopping, but I feel that the face chopping is the important thing. Its inclusion here
is as a bodyguard, I think. This was a slightly more awkward model to paint, the hatchet and head being tiresome to work around. I will admit that that I kinda forgot about the AC10 area, but otherwise it came out fine. It was a good opportunity to play with metal effects on the blade.

 


Speaking of bodyguards, this seems to be the CN9-A Centurion's entire deal. Specifically designed to escort missile-boats like the Trebuchet, its got a nice spread of weapons, and can shoot at things approaching from behind. Its probably the closest to a generalist here, although in terms of painting, the only thing of note was the visor.



I think I’m getting the hang of this now...

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