54th Combined Arms - Ferret Scout VTOL 2915

- April 16, 2023

The Ferret Scout VTOL is the battletech equivalent of the Huey or Blackhawk, a slick utility chopper which can transport light cargo in and out of an LZ, and maybe make it back. Much like a blackhawk if they are caught in the open by heavy weapons like anti-aircraft artillery they don't live long, and so there best bet is to avoid contested landing zones altogether, or go in fast and low.

On the tabletop the Ferret can be an underperformer. Lightly (or not at all...) armored it has a single turn life expectancy unless handled with great skill and at high speed. I have seen it employed for spotting, but if you are playing outside of the succession wars era then there is probably an LBX autocannon on the field and you are going to get smoked.

This little guy shines in strategic campaign play. Start making use of infantry squads as long range recon, spotters, or capturing important objectives while a diversion is underway and these little guys can be a nuisance above there BV level.

For this quick project I 3d printed a platoon of helos; very nice models considering the limited artwork to be had. I choose the lore derived straight from the 3026 writeup as my first representation of these little whirly birds; the 54th Combined Arms Regimental Team. In 2915 House Kurita invaded Tamar in the Lyran Alliance. Early in the landings the 54th's Lyran 'social general' decided it was a smart play to try and air assault an infantry unit into the middle of the Battlemech landing zone with a bunch of Ferrets. It went about as well as you would suspect, and most were shot down immediately on crossing the perimeter of the enemy forces.

What happens when you try to Air Assault into a
Hot LZ as a ferret driver.

Fortunately for the 54th that commander was replaced by a more intelligent one who used the remaining Ferrets to shuttle infantry units around the rear areas to conduct air mobile guerrilla warfare against the supply convoys and depots of the Kurita troops, wreaking havoc behind the lines. Just what these little guys do best.

I went with an ode to the Vietnam war with a simple olive drab paint scheme and Lyran markings on the sides, nothing fancy, just a quick game board ready paint job for this unit. On a side note I am starting to use some basing bits, in this case destroyed tree trunks, to use as handles for my air assets. I think this really helps especially with 3d printed VTOLs since the rotors are pretty fragile generally speaking.