Battletech has stolen all of my attention recently and for good reason. This past week I managed to wrap up a ton of mechs and 20ish buildings. The funny part is I still have a ridiculous amount of terrain to go. I’ve had my printer running non stop.

For mechs, I had a little more fun with basing. I printed 6mm cars and it’s honestly almost surprising just how large the mechs are by comparison.

I have quite a few mechs left to go before I’ve finished my full battalion. Thankfully, this scheme is very simple. I use an airbrush to climb a jade triad (dark, mid, light) then pick out metal, paint the visors, and oil wash. I’ll aim for another 10 mechs this week.

These buildings were actually a similar process. I’m pleased to say I came up with a reasonable scheme for them. I’ve struggled with what colors to paint buildings for a grungy scifi futurescape, and I finally realized it’s not that hard: just paint browns, tans, and grays. Done.

Okay, I also oil washed these, which was a bit more effort than I originally planned. It was entirely worth it, but now all of my Battletech terrain will need a similar wash to match this quality. I knew it would, but the wash really hammered home and emphasized the details.

I also managed to get a game in, allowing me to throw these buildings down alongside some walls I just painted.

You’ll note some of the buildings are papercraft–these are from the Alpha Strike starter box. They look good and I designed and 3D printed internal structures to make them sturdier. Well worth it.

As for the game featured here: it was excellent. A real nail biter which ended in a draw as we both secured our respective objectives simultaneously. I was almost shocked by how fun it was. Thus far, Battletech Alpha Strike delivers a great game every time.

So much so that it’s gotten me thinking about event games. I have a large battalion sized battle in mind for a multi-player game, complete with secret traitors and private objectives. Not sure I’ll follow it through, but I’m sincerely loving how much fun it can be to build missions in this world. Battletech is a surprise hit for me and I hope to explore it quite a bit this year.

Or, you know, until the next game entraps me.