“Eight Tons Of Armouring On The Phoenix Hawk…”

“…Gave it acceptable endurance for short combat actions, though not for any sustained brawling.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Phoenix Hawk is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Warhammer, Rifeman, and Wasp in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Battle Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Lockheed-class American War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly dark green palette.

As a result, the 42mm tall figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” US Olive Drab and shaded in “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. It was then carefully dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” US Olive Drab with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its windows ‘picked out’ with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"Unsere Luftwaffe."

In order to add a bit of contrast to “one of the most well-known BattleMechs in the Inner Sphere” I applied a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil to the vehicle’s head antennas, gun-arm and the exhaust ports of its Pitban 9000 jet packs. I also stuck several American Star and Stripes transfers by “Decal Details” onto the machine’s shoulder-pads, forearms and lower legs.

With the latest addition to my ever-expanding Weird War Two American forces finished, I thought I had also better complete a second plastic Valkyrie model to use as a Focke-Wulf class German War Walker as well. This “Catalyst Game Labs” figure was painted using a mixture of “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII and “Citadel” Nuln Oil in exactly the same way as its predecessor, making it indistinguishable apart from a differently numbered decal on the machine’s hips.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - The bases need to be Green-Stuffed before they can be gritted, painted and flocked

Lastly, I have managed to make some reasonable progress on a handful more 15mm miniatures produced by “Alternative Armies” as part of their "The Ion Age" selection deal IAF008 Retained Knight Post Charlie. These figures have been pigmented to proxy Horus Heresy Blood Angels from the “Warhammer 40k” universe as part of “Forgotten Heroes” month, but have taken some extra time due to their chunky bases needing to be surrounded by sloping Green-Stuff sausages.

I actually plan to continue working on these units (and some accompanying vehicles) beyond the end of “Forgotten Heroes” month, as several are close to completion. However, my enthusiasm for the project has been dampened by “Alternative Armies” having only now sent me my replacement Black Adder Combat Lifters despite acknowledging a mix-up with my order over a week ago. This frustration has been furthered by the superb service I’ve just received from “Ground Zero Games”, who got my latest 15mm order out to me within the space of just a couple of days…