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

So, I started this one in November, but it had been sitting on the old pile for a good long while. I'd picked it up when my interest in BattleTech had just peaked, but I went onto other things. I think the absence of a local players group is what did it. I may have to have a go at founding one again. Another reason is that painting Battlemechs got a bit samey, at least with the level of skill and patience I have. Still, I quite enjoyed those urbies, and maybe I could use this opportunity to revamp my painting techniques?

So, let's have some context to tie this together. The Inner Sphere Battle Lance is a set with a deeply unimaginative name, but features favourites from the very start of the game. All four are part of the Unseen, designs subject to legal issues, which is fucking hysterical/tragic as two of these are meant to be super common in universe, and the other two being legitimately famous. Although, in the case of the Rifleman "infamy" might be a better word. Notably, all four originally hail from the anime Super Dimension Fortress Macross, have been around long enough to get a load of variants, and the larger two have been subjects of Tex Talks BattleTech videos. My basic approach here was to attempt my preferred green colour scheme, but to change the order and some accents. I drybrushed green over a brown first, then coming in with a dark grey and a gunmetal for things like weapons and feet. Once those were done, I washed the lot with Agrax Earthshade, drybrushed green again, and then stuff like the cockpit glass. These were idly painted over several evenings, so while I wasn't pushing myself here, it was relaxing.

The Wasp is the smallest of the four, and functions as an inoffensive little scout guy of unusually low cost. Canonically, its the first mech equipped with jumpjets, making it excel as a scout, although this absolutely isn't something you want doing actual fighting. Its a fine model, although its pose obscures its SRM2.

The Phoenix Hawk is something that exists mainly to bully Wasps and the like. By my understanding, this is an agile medium weight mech, capable of keeping pace with scouts and overpowering them. Its less good at punching up though, and it's one of those designs than dedicates space towards machine guns, a weapon I don't like. As a model, its got a nice pose and presence, but also a somewhat involved cockpit.

 

The Rifleman suffers in universe from various design flaws and doctrine issues. Its principally an anti-aircraft platform, but in its typical configuration runs hot, doesn't have much ammo, nor a lot of armour. This is a bad combination should the mech be in direct combat, and people did try that in a shortage of better ideas, although it does have its defenders. Personaly, I find it to be a machine that argues against its own existance. As a model this is alright, although I was initially unsure of where the chest lasers were.

 

The Warhammer, no-not-that-one, is my favourite design, although that's mainly because of Tex. Like a lot of the OG Battlemechs, the Warhammer has its eccentricities, but a pair of PPCs at a reasonable price has aged well. As a model, the recessed head is tricky, and that searchlight broke off at one point, but otherwise is the nicest sculpt.

Job’s a good ‘un.