Back around 2006-2009 I played a little bit of Battletech. At that time (around May 2006) I got my first Battletech miniatures: an Assassin, Panther, Unseen Longbow and a few Locusts.
I painted them to an average standard as at the time Phil was running a tournament with an extremely fun auction element (run via group email). There was fierce bidding, as some players were keen to get their favourite mechs, and pay a premium for that. There was little time between the auction and the tournament (run over several weeks) games (hence the quick paint jobs). I don't remember these games, but I imagine I fared averagely with the Assassin, Panther, Locust and Spider (borrowed). I don't care, as it did get me hooked on the game and background. (Technically my first Battletech miniature was a stumpy little Atlas a family friend gave me in the early 90s, and I have just worked out it's from FASA's PlasTech range: https://www.sarna.net/wiki/PlasTech.)
After this tournament, in late 2008, I purchased Catalyst Games' Classic Battletech introductory box set (https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Classic_BattleTech_Introductory_Box_Set). The box set gave me some miniatures and maps. Even at the standard of the day, the miniatures were quiet average. I've painted a few, but I'm really not happy with them. Follow up acquisitions include a Marauder (2008), Blackjack and Vulcan (both 2009).
Which brings us up to the present.
I didn't get onboard with the recent Kickstarter, but it has renewed interest in the game in several of my wargaming circles. So I thought it was time to paint what I had, and bight the bullet and repaint the ones I wasn't happy with. This batch would include the unpainted Marauder, Blackjack and Vulcan, along with the painted Panther, Assassin and Longbow.
Blackjack:
Vulcan:
Unseen Longbow:
My original paint schemes were loosely based on Bundeswehr Cold War-era winter camo, plain grey and German late WWII assault camo schemes. And all with winter bases (yeah, I haven't played on any appropriate maps either). The Blackjack, Vulcan and Marauder were already undercoated black, the other three were painted in the winter camo.
They don't look coherent and so my plan to try and fix this I'll start on a grey base (some mechs left in their original "looted" colour) and either over paint everything in green and sand (similar to American WWII North Africa camo) or other camo schemes on the grey using these colours (e.g. assault or American Desert Battle Dress Uniform). My mechs would also be part of a mercenary unit, and so to tie all of the mechs together I will give the mechs red left shoulders and red right hands. Haven't thought of a name yet, but probably something with "Panzer" in the title.
First attempt at this camo:
I'm happy with the Vulcan's camo, but the Blackjack needs something more to make it looks less like he's wearing pyjamas or something. Probably by adding grey, bronze and gunmetal panels to break up the mechs that need it. I added larger khaki splotches on the Blackjack to help with this too.
Progress:
Finished demi-company of mechs; having varnished, added decals and static grass (that is versatile in its neutrality).
BJ-1 Blackjack (Iron Wind Metals):
VL-2T Vulcan (Iron Wind Metals):
Unseen MAD-3R Marauder (Ral Partha):
Unseen LGB-0W Longbow (Ral Partha):
ASN-21 Assassin (Iron Wind Metals):
PNT-9R Panther (Iron Wind Metals):
About another 25 mechs to paint, but I'm in no rush to get them done as most of those are the plastic ones.
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