Heavy Metal Menagerie week 8 (2026 week 8)

Most of the giant batches are behind us now, so I'm grinding through the force packs one box a time. These would be a Clan Command Star and (clearly) did them in a similar color scheme as last week. These guys don't have the wash step, though I did spend more time on their base coat. They aren't quite as nice as last week but I'm not unhappy with where they landed. Not sure what happened with the back shot on these; my shooting has been fairly consistent of late and that is a lousy shot. 

I was excited to get these guys done since they fit some holes in the enemy forces I've been blowing up. Left to right: Mist Lynx (Koshi), Shadow Cat, Dire Wolf (Daishi), Summoner (Thor), and Stormcrow (Ryoken). 

2026 finished mini counter: 49
 

Heavy Metal Menagarie, week 1 (2026 week 1)

We kick off the new year with a new theme, and if you were paying attention last month, it should be no surprise that it's mechs. These guys are from Battletech Aces Scouring Sands, a few of the support vehicles of which we saw a couple weeks ago. For those not familiar, Aces is a solo or co-op campaign engine for Alpha Strike and I am super stoked to give it a shot. By the time this is posted, I've probably played at least a couple missions, even. 

These hefty guys are (left to right) Thunderbolt IIC, Bane, and Marauder IIC. I wanted to do a camo pattern because I'd never done one. They were basecoated with Pro Acryl Yellow Ochre through the airbrush and the darker splotches played by Pro Acryl Dark Golden Brown were freehanded on. Edges were pulled out by a not-light-enough drybrush and the whole batch was hit with a light oilwash. The oil wash darkened these guys down way more than I was expecting. I could have gone back and fixed that when I put the oil wash on, but, meh, these are dirty clanners and I'm fine if their mechs look dirty too.

These other dudes (left to right) are Howler, Summoner (Thor), Rifleman IIC, and Locust IIC. The Bane and Howler are new to me but the Scouring Sands campaign is happening after all the Battletech I'm familiar with. Notably, I stopped playing around the time I went off to college way back in the last milennium. 

2026 finished mini counter: 7