Painting Lore: Miniatures Inspired by the Story

When it comes to foundational stories that give us a sense of the Battletech universe; and the late succession wars era specifically, I always harken back to "Decision at Thunder Rift".  This original entry into the succession wars was great for its depiction of that ultra-modern big stompy robot and space ships contrast to the ultra-ordinary existence of the edge worlds just scraping by with tools we might find quant here.  Frankly the descriptions have always rung true after my time down range in Afghanistan, which can be likened to a pre-industrial society with machine guns and cell phones. It is a fascinating dichotomy which is captured nicely in the late succession wars period; perhaps this is why I find this dystopic sci-fi grittiness so appealing.  I must not be alone, since the gritty edge world sci-fi appeal seems alive and well in the Mandalorian franchise as well. No Harrassers in Trellwan Lancers, but it matches the camo and looks cool... One of the key u...

 Ok, Ok... I get it.  There is no Hunchback in the Crimson Blade Company of the 5th Sword of Light but this is a cool image so I went with it.  This project is taken from the original Gray Death Legion scenario pack during Steiner operations on the Combine world of Gram in 3030.  During offensive operations the GDL made an attempt to raid the high tech industry at Gram Delta, center of the worlds manufacturing industry.  Notable was the stiff resistance the GDL encountered from a combined force of 5th Sword of Light and the Gram Militia.  This raid pitted the GDL with limited armor and infantry support against an elite company of the Sword of Light - never an easy foe. For this project I wanted to ass to the 5th Sword of Light I had already established with Sorenson's Sabers and have turned this paint scheme into my standard operating procedure for all SoL Mechs. The Crimson Blade Company follows an unusual naming scheme which appears principally in the 5th...

In 3025 Sorenson's Sabres were part of the assault on the Davion world of Conroe; during which the planetary defenders had mustered several insurgent groups from the population to assist the Davion regulars in defending the planet.  During this fighting the communications for the 5th Sword of Light were compromised and the recon lance of Sorenson's Sabres, minus there Phoenix Hawk LAM, were ordered to conduct a 'retribution' raid (I.E. your generic Kurita war crime against civilian population centers).  Once in the town, however, the lance was ambushed by the Red Thunder insurgent group who, besides having a bunch of well armed and angry infantry, somehow had access to a DVE-5B Devastator heavy tank. Side note:  It is classic early Battletech lore to have House Kurita committing deliberate war crimes against civilians and have the character noting it like its just another Tuesday - "you know, ammo dump destroyed so we are gonna round up all the civilians and gun th...

This is the culmination of nearly a year of painting and researching miniatures and represents the first major unit project of this blog.  I always knew the GDL was going to play prominently in the blogs early days as it sets the foundations of the Battletech Universe in the 3025 era; but it has grown considerably since it was first envisioned. This project is the complete 3028 era Gray Death Legion to include its infantry, armor and aerospace components.  I included the 2 Chippewa fighters which were employed, and promptly lost, over Verthandi to round out the classic battletech organization of typically 2 aerospace fighters per mech company.  I decided to hold the project at the end of the 4th Succession War era to seat it nicely in the original age of BT lore; and give me some flexibility in the pre-clan invasion timeline scenarios I often find myself drawn to. In total this force consists of a Mech Company as described in the original scenario pack 'Gray Death Legion'...