Plamo: The LGB-0W Longbow (BattleTech, Catalyst Game Labs)

 Aye-up, its Unseen o’clock.

 

Like the Crusader, the Longbow has its origins as a design from Super Dimension Fortress Macross, a series known for both its influence on the genre and its courtroom appearances. FASA licenced multiple mecha from the show for BattleTech, which they would later regret, and in the Longbow's case things seem more convoluted than usual. It's associated with the Destroid Phalanx, a support mecha from the show, which to the best of my recollection never did anything of note outside of crowd scenes. Destroids in general weren't cutting edge, and played defence. The Phalanx was notable for being something built on the titular Macross itself as a unit made from spares, which were hurriedly applied to a simple body structure. The Phalanx was a stopgap at best, but that's not same as saying its bad. No. When you are 40% missiles by volume, and your job is air defence, you are probably on the right track. The mech it inspired in BattleTech is a slightly more professional product but still follows the same orky brute force approach to its single purpose. While classed as an Assault Mech, the Longbow handles the task of fire support by lobbing a total of fifty missiles at the target. From behind a nearby and obscuring hill, usually, so you might not realise until its too late.

I suppose this a good place to talk about how BattleTech handles missiles? It's a mechanically interesting thing, and my comments on painting are going to be a bit brief, so it will help pad the word count. Missiles make use of the Cluster Hits table, which serves to dictate how many missiles in a volley connect on a successful hit. While other weapon types use this chart, and there's a lot of missile related stuff, we're limiting ourselves to the Longbow's LRM20s and LRM5s. In the case of long range missiles, the stated number gives its maximum, so this usually an overstatement of their lethality. The chart usually averages to about half that, although the spread of numbers gets more granular the more missiles you have. The final factor is that LRMs bunches these hits into groups of 5, each potentially hitting a different location. This explains the LRM5s to some extent, as you get a single grouping for low heat, while the 20s get several groupings for more heat. The fact you have 4 distinct systems also helps with their minimum range and other modifiers. Its about having options. 

 

I think this may be the best BattleMech I’ve painted. Its not got an especially sophisticated colour scheme and I wasn’t trying anything new this time, but the design of the model worked well for me. While some clean up was needed, the model lent itself to drybrushing, and the ever-so-delicate matter of picking out every individual missile. Its something that takes time and a fine brush, but the results speak for themselves, if hard to photograph. The cockpit glass was also a highlight, although its worth me pointing out there seems to be conflicting art as to what area is the cockpit, and I followed the Sarna entry. I even figured out how to get a better finish on the black bits of the base too. Good times, although I would advise against dropping it like I did... The missile pods are glued on.

Up next: something less subtle.