MechWarrior Musings

I have reached the final mission in my non-streamed playthrough of MechWarrior4 Mercenaries, and my final mercenary company looks like this:

Number One Lance:

Fafnir 1-1 Grim Reaper (2x ER PPC, 2x Clan LBX-AC20s, ECM, LAMS); piloted by Padraig 'Spectre' Chulain

Atlas 1-2 Falcon's Revenge (2x ER LLAS, Clan Ultra AC20, 2x Clan LRM-10 racks, Clan SRM-4 rack, ECM, IFF jammer, LAMS); piloted by Aisa 'Falcon' Thastus

Atlas 1-3 Divine Wrath (2x ER LLAS, Clan Ultra AC20, 2x Clan LRM-10 racks, Clan SRM-6 rack, ECM, IFF jammer, LAMS); piloted by Miriasi 'Angel' Kessler

Longbow 1-4 Long Distance Lover (4x Clan LRM-20s, twin ER MLAS, BAP, LAMS); piloted by Sarah 'Mags' Maglioni

Number Two Lance:

Atlas 2-1 Towering Inferno (10x ER MLAS, 1x Clan LBX-AC10, ECM, IFF jammer, LAMS); piloted by Amber 'Blaze' Worthy

Atlas 2-2 Brick Shithouse (2x Clan Ultra AC5s, 2x ER LLAS, ATM6 rack, 2x ER MLAS, ECM, IFF jammer, LAMS); piloted by Cynthia 'Goat' Robinson

Atlas 2-3 Wild Horse (Clan Gauss Rifle, Clan LRM10 rack, 3x ER LLAS, ECM, IFF jammer, LAMS); piloted by Sheila 'Mustang' Devons

Longbow 2-4 Banshee Wail (4x Clan LRM-20s, twin ER MLAS, BAP, LAMS), piloted by Emily 'Spirit' McCormick

Total weight - 770 tons

Chulain's Commando also has the support of the Stalwart Support mercenary company, and own Griffin military base on New Canton in the Chaos Marches. Not a bad way to come out of being on the losing side in the FedCom Civil War! Shame about the Word of Blake Jihad though.

...now to get the minis to represent them... and some enemy to fight them... aaargh!

EDIT:

I could also get my company commanders' 'sporting mechs' that he used to compete on Solaris VII.

Daishi DEATH! (2x Clan LBX-AC20s, 2x ER LLAS, Clan Streak SRM6 rack, LAMS) - already have this actually)
Black Knight Phantom (12x ER MLAS, ECM)
Hellhound Ghost (Clan LBX-AC10, 2x ER MLAS, Clan Streak SRM6 rack, ECM, LAMS, Adv. Gyro)
Cougar Spook (2x ER LLAS, 2x ER MLAS, Adv. Gyro)

Actually, this sort of thing makes me want to get a 3D printer.

Vorwarts!

Today was an interesting day. First of all, I'd barely been in work half an hour when the shopping centre's alarm sounded (AWOOOGAH, AWOOOGAH, in best Calvin & Hobbes tradition) followed shortly after by our own fire alarm system. So off we all trotted into the glorious early April sunshine, while I fretted about the very hard to replace stuff in my paint-kit that I take to work each day! It turned out to be a duff sprinkler unit, but the excitement didn't wear off for a few hours so that was good.

Then, when I was sat down at lunch happily painting my Darendaran command squad (Yellow Company, Black Battalion, Darendaran X Mech. if you must know), the area manager came in and looked at me somewhat askance. Ah well. It keeps me sane and harms no-one; although he seemed surprised to find me still painting the same figures when he came back 40 minutes later. Well... yes?

Anyway, on my way home, I nipped into the Leamington Games Club to try and pick up the turret heavy flamer that's missing from Blue Platoon Squad 4's Chimera, only to discover that the fellow I was swapping bits with had forgotten it! Ah well. I stopped to chat to Rob, who is one of the glorious lunatics behind Prodos Games, and Will, the manager of GW Leamington Spa. They were about to be engaged in a game of Flames of War, the GW-esque 15mm approach to WW2. I was quite taken by their forces, and when Rob said he wanted to play early war games, I - perhaps foolishly - volunteered to raise a German force to fight his Poles.

I've got time to kill, and I'm quite looking forwards to the idea of a unit of 1939 German Whermacht, with their Pz. Is and IIs, not to mention their 35t and 38t Czechoslovak tanks and other weird and wonderful bits of kit. Peter Pig will, I think, be my first port of call as the prices that Battlefront charge are a bit much in my opinion.

So, today, I discussed Men of Company B, Slaughterloo, Flames of War, and Warhammer 40,000. Today was a good day.

Oh, and here are those Chimeras:

A terrible photo (I really must take more care in future). I'll take a better one tomorrow.

And, just for fun...

...a comparison between an original Darendaran X trooper (left) and one with the newer uniform (right).

Part of my unpainted mountain:

On the left is the full-strength Red Platoon (plus company Commissar); on the right is the under-strength Blue Platoon (still awaiting three rocket launcher teams. Yellow Company Command and most of Red (Weapons) Squad #4 are currently either being painted or undercoated.

All told the Darendaran Tenth number some 90 figures supported by 11 AIFVs, three Sentinel walkers, two Demolisher infantry support tanks, and a Hellhound flame-tank. I'm hoping to get the whole lot painted, based and finished this year. If I only finish one army this year I want it to be the Tenth Mechanised.

Oh, and just for Al Front:

Undercoated!

Planning - I Really Should Try It

So today I took a deep breath and spent a few pounds on getting hold of the 'Jedi Elf' and Kislev Ranger from Games Workshop. I thought about picking up some Van Saar or a Valhallan Heavy Bolter team, but decided against it. I couldn't afford them, and besides, eBay and trading forums will provide for my Guard and eBay needs I should think.

Some of you may remember when (some years ago now) I posted pictures of two High Elves for Mordheim: one in a cloak with a big sword, another in full armour with a sword and shield. Together with the Elf Mage and Kislev Ranger, they are going to be the core of a Shadow Elf warband. Which will be my third Mordheim warband, after the Mordheim City Watch (Reiklanders) and Blood Dragon Vampire undead one (with lots of zombies and human Dregs). Actually, thinking about it, I started a Marienburg one as well. So fourth warband.

Anyway, enough rambling! I am about to plan. With the demise of Specialist Games, and Collectors' stuff, I finally got off my procrastination-box and finalised the Imperial armies I will eventually have completed for 40K, broken down by combat zone:

Temperate:
Rigellian LIX Infantry (2nd Edition Cadian figures)
Ultramarines
Order of the Pure Blood (Sisters of Battle)/Ordo Hereticus

Jungle:
5th Amalgamated Regiment (metal and plastic Catachans, Gaunt's Ghosts, various figures)
Space Wolves
Deathwatch/Ordo Xenos

Snow:
Darendaran X Mechanised (2nd Edition Valhallan figures)
Lamenters
Adeptus Mechanicus (mostly conversions I reckon - this'll be a time intensive project)

Desert:
CULFOR (2nd Edition Mordian, Tallarn and Praetorian figures)
Righteous Fists
Grey Knights/Ordo Malleus

Urban:
Parvassian 9th Dragoons (3rd Edition Armageddon Steel Legion figures)
Black Templars
Adeptus Arbites (2nd Edition Arbites figures and 'new' Necromunda Enforcers)

A mere 15 armies! I actually have two of those almost entirely completed, and the rest are in various stages of progression... some just ideas, for now, but still.

That - together with my 'hard' SF, AK47, Imagi-Nations, Necromunda, Mordheim, and Warhammer army goals should keep me busy well into my mid 30s. At least. Here's to reigning in the butterfly!