This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Stormcrow is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with the Dire Wolf, Summonder, Mist Lynx and Shadow Cat in the company’s “Battletech: Clan Command Star” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures in this “supplement to the BattleTech: A Game of Armoured Combat box” come with an assortment of Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. However, as I plan to employ this particular sculpt as a German Heinkel Flugzeugwerke class War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly dark grey palette.
Built upon “a lightweight Endo Steel chassis” and powered by a 330 XL engine, the 38mm tall figure was initially undercoated with “Vallejo” German Grey, shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” German Grey. I then ‘picked out’ the machine’s feet and a couple of areas around its cockpit using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. These areas were later carefully dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy bluegrey.
I did consider providing the Stormcrow with a splash of yellow or red to replicate the propeller heads of Heinkel bombers during World War Two. But couldn’t identify any ‘easy to reach’ areas which I felt would warrant such a contrasting colour choice. In the end I therefore settled upon simply ‘picking out’ a couple of the miniature’s joints, exhaust vents, ER Large Lasers and fuel tank with some “Vallejo” Gunmetal and a dash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.
Luckily, so straightforward a paint-job has meant that I have also completed work on a second plastic model of a Mist Lynx to use as Henschel class German Wehrmacht War Walker. This “Catalyst Game Labs” figure was painted in the exact same colours as my first mech, predominantly using “Vallejo” German Grey and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. However, I was also able to apply a little “Vallejo” Sun Yellow and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade to the missile bay wrapped around the mech’s left wrist.
With the latest additions to my 6mm Axis Weird War Two force completed, I have spent some more time kit-bashing together the second of my 28mm scale figures for a collaborative demon hunter game I have in mind. This particular semi-tainted, futuristic warrior is entirely based upon the parts found inside a pair of small bitz boxes I bought blind at the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth, and appears to be exclusively comprised of second-hand plastic pieces taken from “Games Workshop” kits.
As with the first of my miniatures for this particular project, I was lucky enough to find a pre-painted Space Marine figure inside one of the pots - albeit the model was missing its arms and had had part of its right leg removed. However, with a piece of wire and the end of an Imperial Guard mortar, I was soon able to fashion a foot of some kind, whilst additionally plastering the fellow in lots of other pieces, including a Necron Gauss Blaster, a Seraphon hand-weapon and what looks like an Eldar weapon support…