The latest paints

 o/

Totally not carrying the Captain General's battlefield wardrobe and personal bivouac replete with waterbed and satin sheets...

So...my favorite Cyclops variant is also the least effective variant on the tabletop. That's almost like a theme with me. Anyways...the CP-10-HQ model is a free roaming forward operating command center, the AC-20 was removed and in it's place and strapped to the mech's back is a Collapsible Command Module. 

The fold-a-fort parts are carried in the mech's 'backpack'.

Its not entirely toothless still having an LRM-10, SRM-4 and lastly a medium laser in each arm. 

The mech is usually in a command lance and it's weaponry is more defensive than offensive as the B-2000 computer system, when connected to said module makes this an effective command center for a planetwide assault. Thus it is too risky a mech to use in an assault. If anything, headhunter units will likely try to capture or destroy this mech if it's presence is detected. Few command modules survived the Succession Wars intact and the surviving CP-10-HQs likely had lesser systems in its place. 

Something about this pic just bugs me...

Like so many catalyst KS rescuplts, the new Cicada sculpt is fantastic! During the succession Wars, Marik only had access to the base model, but their neighbors the Capellans had a few of the more interesting variants, and most likely donated a few along with a planet or two...

Fast and fragile fire support. 

Note the tiny unit logo on the shoulder plate.

Last up is a new mech for my beloved TBAGers: a Valkyrie. Ya know, in all of my years of playing Battletech, I have never owned one of these mechs or at least not that I can recall (am damned near 50 at this point, so take my memory with a grain of salt).

Shoot & scoot baby! Shoot & scoot...

I'm adding a lance of light/fast mechs to my otherwise slow and plodding TBAGers. Previously recon was left to a Phoenix Hawk and oh so average speed Panther. I plan on adding a Commando and Vulcan which will at least offer some speed, if not firepower. 

But wait, there's more...

Last but certainly not the least: The following pic was taken from FB IM and is evidence of Screech finally painting mechs! Looks pretty good to me.

Insert grey joke here: 

Urban gridlock

 o/

Nick and I got together for another game this week. Here was the scenario of his creation: 

3500 BV, Units are limited to infantry, combat vehicles and Mechs of no more than 30tons. It will be a very small city map, the objective is to have the infantry occupy a specific structure to gain VPs. For each unit more than your opponent occupying the structure at the end of the round you gain a point. For each enemy unit destroyed you gain a point. We play to 10 points, first one there win's. Only infantry can enter the structure and only by (2) possible entry points. Only units inside the building can fight each other with a +1 to hit modifier.

Here is how it all went down....

My 'Skittles' Force: (2) ML Scorpions, (2) RL Galleons, (2) SRM Wheeled APCs, (2) Command Van, Q-Variant, (2) Warrior H7A VTOLs, (4) Assault Hover Mechanized Platoons, (1) Motorized MG Platoon, and (2) Ballistic Rifle Foot Platoons, and my 'official' job title. 

Nick's Force: (2) Standard Scorpions, (2) Standard J. Edgar Hovertanks, (2) UM-R60s, (1) Warrior H7A VTOL, and (7) foot platoons of various types. 

Baxter helping set the table up. 

Small and dense city indeed, the large grey building next to Dunkin Davions was the objective. 

We set up 10 hexes out from the objective building. 

Nick curved his force around the city at the same distance. 

Neeka checking on Nick's math. 

She had her game face on and even 'helped' smack my dice around a bit. 

Early on Nick realized his error as his foot sloggers had no transports and my mechanized platoons moved 4 hexes a turn. 

His Warrior swoops in to gun down my lead hover platoon with it's machine gun. Due to modifiers, their return fire was ineffectual. 

With light tanks on both sides, they make for fairly equal adversaries. That said the SWAT APC was immobilized here. 

My warrior puts an AC-5 slug into the Urbie which turns and cores the VTOL in 1 shot! I lost both of my VTOLs this round.  

Nick's Warrior did it's job and Nick took an early 3 point lead. 

Next turn and my tan hover platoon platoon made it inside the objective and no doubt was recreating the Blues Brothers' mall scene! Meanwhile the other two platoons were right on the doorstep. Desptite being suicide, Nick's VTOL simply rotated in place to gun down another platoon, as his foot sloggers were still 8 hexes out. 

The flame platoon would die before the VTOL met a similar fate, but the grey platoon underneath made it in fine. 

This is chopper 5 traffic, looks like we have gridlock on the west side of town...

The J. Edgar and and Galleon blaze away while the scorpion's AC-5 was unable to hit at point blank range. Out of rockets, the Galleon would not survive this fight. 

The Cavaliers'  Wheeled APC lost it's SRM to a lucky crit on turn one. Rather than retreat, it went hunting for infantry and some vehicular manslaughter. Here it would kill 8 troopers while suffering a shotgun blast of damage all around and a motive hit (or was that just bodies stuck in the wheel wells?). 

A short distance later it would run into another platoon, killing 8 more before succumbing to the collective fire of an outraged infantry company!

Nick's J. Edger was immobilized and the grey Scorpion right next to it would spend a few turns in a static, point blank range fire fight! Still intent on the objective my motorized infantry finally was able to join into the fray.  

The Urbie put an AC-10 slug into the front of the as yet untouched Scorpion, which returned fire and scored an engine hit and jump jet loss on the previously softened up Urbie. 

The Motorized platoon dumps into the beleagered J. Edgar and puts it out of it's misery!

My second Galleon, all out of rockets, zipped by the other Urbie and gunned down another  platoon with it's twin MGs.. 

Yes I will bloody up the Cavalier's APC in recognition of it's war crimes. 

In the end I won, 10-6. While I lost more units than Nick, my hover platoons quickly getting inside the objective won me the game. Despite the force marching, his infantry never got anywhere near the objective (nor did my foot slogging platoons). This was a fun little scenario, that needs some tweaking (or transports) for the infantry. 

It was also fun to have all light tanks and mechs duking it out. Usually they just show up and die quickly, but against equalish opponents, light tanks and mechs quickly find themselves in the rare, lightweight slugging matches. 

More desert troops

 o/

Its been a bit quiet on the Battletech front here for a week or two, that said I did finish three more minis for my Desert Force. Most importantly, I found the color used on my original lance: Vallejo Buff (now with the word Galleons written on the label for future reference). 

While all three of these are very fast, they don't have much else to offer. The Assassin is better in some later variants, whereas the J. Edgar hovertank is more or less a distraction and the Ostscout is really only a worry if it makes a Kamikaze-like charge attack. 

Another convoy disappears in no man's land...

 Spoiler alert? 

Given all of my bat reps on here of late, no...not really. 

Anyways, this week I got in my rescheduled due to covid campaign game ,where I was to defend 4 truck tokens vs an unknown force. My forces were an HBK-4H & HBK-4J as well as 2 randomly borrowed mechs from Larsen's Loaners (pun intended?), after losing 2 mechs in my previous bout. I randomly rolled for a base model Scorpion & Panther 9Z. 

The OpFor was a CPLT-C1, a flea, a locust (mounting pulse lasers!) a Jenner and a Victor which luckily didn't have an AC-20 though it did have enough medium lasers to compensate. What follows is my usual tale of woe(ful dice rolling). For those who know him, Neverness would be proud!

Digger, the OpFor Commander, scenario creator and our campaign herder of cats. 

The terrain with Digger's diabolical road. The convoy didn't need to roll PSRs for all of the turns, but were also restricted to said road. Some how at least 2 players in the campaign have managed to get a few trucks safely through this nightmare!

My HBK-4H rounds the corner and spots a Victor! The mechwarrior may have needed to change his shorts following that discovery...

Nonetheless, a heavy volley of fire was exchanged and luckily I passed my PSR, whereas the assault mech fell to the ground!

The 'trucks' roll out! The lead truck was a gun truck sporting an MG and some armor (the rest had the bog standard 2 points of armor per side). 

The missile boats start lobbing LRMs back and forth at extreme range, I believe I came out on top in this particular exchange.

Regaining its feet, the Victor finds itself outgunned...or it would have if my typically atrocious dice rolling were not involved. 

Failing to scuttle away, the Scorpion takes a beating to its backside including a 16 point kick!

Tossing me a bone maybe? The Jenner oddly hunkered down, perhaps it was just bait, which I took hook line and sinker! It lost an arm and took a few more hits, whereas the Jenner & Victor savaged my Hunchback in return. 

Why is that flea still alive (much to the bewilderment of the two of us)? I believe it took a spread of SRMs here as the Scorpion's PPC had been disabled by this point. 

Surrounded the Hunchback alphastruck hitting with everything but the infernal autocannon! Speaking of, the AC-10 was disabled in this exchange. The locust lost and arm and its entire side torso if I recall, in return for hits all around on the Hunchback. 

Meanwhile, still camped in the backfield, my HBK-4J decided to be totally unhelpful and miss with both LRM-10s. Schmuck.

Oh and the trucks? 2 down, 2 to go...

The Victor was hoping for a kick but the Hunchback fell to the ground before it had a chance!

Overheated, and beat all to hell, the Hunchback struggles to its feet but not much else. 

Due to my inability to kill any enemy mechs (as usual) the rest of the convoy falls easy prey to the wounded light mechs. 

One 16 point kick later and the HBK-4H falls for the last time with my pilot ejecting for safety. Of the four mechs I brought to Mica II, only 1 is left. I don't think this planet likes me much...

With both weapons disabled and collectively...maybe a half dozen points of structure left in the right side torso and legs, the Loaner's Scorpion scuttles away to safety. 

The Victor takes aim at my last Hunchback with the other wreck burns in the background.

The Panther had been sniping at range out in the midfield most of the game, and not hitting much. The combination of slow speed (for a light mech), woeful inaccuracy and being continuously surrounded didn't serve it too well out here. Mainly it was the inaccuracy though. It landed the occasional hit which was much less than I had hoped for. 

Honestly, I don't think I should have been playing my HBK-4J as a back field fire support mech as when moving in close, the 5 medium lasers it carries is still quite threatening. 

The last parting shot of a PPC to the Catapult which replied with a decent missile spread to the Loaner's Panther. 

At this point we called it on time as it was getting late, and the cause was lost. The convoy had been wiped out, I had lost yet another mech, a second had fled the field in tatters, and the 2 that I had left could hardly hit the broadside of a barn. It was a solid, if not almost overwhelming victory for Digger's OpFor! Prior to my game, this scenario was a mixed bag of 2 player wins and 2 OpFor wins. Not sure if it is good to be the tie breaker or not. 

Digger is looking to add reputation points to the campaign for merc units with good reputations to garner extra bonuses. I dread to think of what the bad reputation points (if any) will result in as I am far more likely to rack up some of those! That said, in the end it was a night rolling dice and laughing with friends, so not a total loss.