Painting Lore: Miniatures Inspired by the Story

  In March of 3027 the Draconis Combine committed a full battalion of the 2nd Sword of Light to an (poorly conceived) ploy to attack the Kell Hounds on Chara III for little more than a vendetta.  While the Kell Hounds were planning a VIP visit the 2nd Sword was supposed to stage an attack on the delegation.  The majority of the attacking force were newly produced Panthers, a formidable light mech - but still a light mech.  They were supported by several heavier lances.   In the end the Sworders got decimated - one company torn up by mechs, another by aerospace fighters.  This is the complimentary unit which fought Torinaga's Company of Panthers I did a little while ago.  I am still not a fan of the Kell Hounds as a stand alone faction - not enough cold blooded merc for my taste - they do have a good paint scheme and are a great foil in the Lore for the combine.  And they play a part in the defense of Luthien eventually so I had to do them. Th...

This is stolen from one of the finest battletech novels of the early years - Minobu Testuhara's lance as described on Dromini VI while battling the Wolf's Dragoons.  Wolves on the Boarder set the stage for both the most famous, and loved, mercenary unit in the setting as well as taking the Draconis Combine from something other than just a cartoon villain character to a fully fledged and muti-dimensional faction.  This book - with its successor Heir to the Dragon - really put the Combine into a clear picture of all its good and bad. While not the first time I have done Panthers - hell I just did a full company in a previous project - this one is a refined approach with better decaling and more attention to detail.  I've been moving more into lance size projects as my free time dwindles which I think is actually more satisfying to paint since i can move on from a single element to the next more quickly.