I've been fascinated by infantry in Battletech ever since 1986 when I bought the CityTech boxed set, which expanded the original game by introducing ground forces, buildings and urban combat. The image of a platoon of soldiers trying to stand up to a towering armoured robot conjures up all sort of romantic images... the sailors of the Pequod taking on Moby Dick... the Japanese Self-Defense Forces against Godzilla... the Smurfs versus Gargamel. So when I went on my mech painting jag (see my Unseen Mechs here, here and here), I also set about painting some conventional forces.
My favourite source for the infantry in the appropriate scale (1:285) is GHQ Models. They're cheap, well-sculpted and diverse. They're not meant for sci-fi, of course, but at such a small scale, who can really tell. And after all, Battletech is still a game of machine guns, flamethrowers and missile launchers.
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| Mechanized Rifle Infantry supported by a COM-2D "Commando" |
Purists may be turned off by the fact that many of the vehicles I use for my mechanized and motorized platoons are from WWII, but anachronisms like that don't faze me. If I was going to take over the galaxy, I wouldn't be shy about doing it in a Sonderkraftfahrzeug.
Another useful source for more futuristic vehicles was Forgeworld's line of miniatures for Aeronautica Imperialis (the Warhammer 40K-based air combat game). Although most of the models were aircraft, Forgeworld created some lovely anti-air tanks and scenery that I gobbled up for Battletech.
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| A FSH-9 "Firestarter" mech with two Anti Air Tanks (originally Hydra Flak Tanks from Forgeworld) |
I had a lot of fun simply arranging the soldiers on each base... it felt like creating a mini-diorama, each with its own sense of movement or purpose. By using mere soldiers or a combination of soldiers and vehicles, I could conjure up the image of Foot, Motorized or Mechanized Infantry.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my pictures...
Above we see a Mechanized Machine Gun Infantry Platoon and a Foot Machine Gun Platoon, supported by a VND-1R "Vindicator", all painted in the colours of House Kurita.
Here's another Kurita force: a platoon of Motorized SRM launchers and a platoon of Foot SRM launchers, accompanied by a PXH-1 "Phoenix Hawk".
And here we see two platoons of Foot SRM Infantry and one platoon of Mechanized (Wheeled) infantry with rifles. A CPLT-C1 "Catapult" is marching in support.
Above is my SCP-1N "Scorpion" leading a mixed squadron of conventional ground tanks (which are all sculpted by GHQ).
And finally, my personal favourite Battletech conventional vehicle... the H-7C "Warrior" helicopter, which I modelled using a AH 1W Super Cobra from GHQ Models.
Thanks for stopping by!