“The Viper Is A Fast, Highly-Manoeuvrable Medium OmniMech…”

“…Originally designed by Clan Fire Mandrill on Shadow.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Viper is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with the Gargoyle, Hellbringer, Mad Dog, and Ice Ferret in the company’s “Battletech: Clan Heavy Striker 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 Messerschmitt class German War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly dark grey palette.

“Fast and well-armoured”, the 36mm tall figure was originally primed using two layers of “Vallejo” German Grey, shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” German Grey with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush. I then ‘picked out’ the machine’s feet using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. These areas were later dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy bluegrey.

LVL Up WIPs - This Demon Hunter has been assembled using parts taken from two of their blind bitz pots

I also tried to provide the Viper with the Messerschmitt fighter plane’s famous yellow nose by painting the front of its highly prominent cockpit with “Vallejo” Sun Yellow and subsequently shading it with “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. Finally, the miniature’s joints, exhaust vents, ER Medium Lasers and SRM-6 launcher were treated to some “Vallejo” Gunmetal and a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Having finished the latest addition to my 6mm Axis Weird War Two force, I have spent a little time kit-bashing together the first figure in a new project based upon some small bitz boxes sold blind by the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth. Predominantly made from parts randomly taken from second-hand “Games Workshop” kits, at least as far as I can make out anyway, the small pots contain a mass of arms, weapons, various pouches and the odd leg to add some additional variety to whichever army you’re building.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - These two Retained Knights are being painted as Blood Angel Devastator Space Marines

However, my eldest and I decided to simply purchase a pair of pots each, and use their contents to construct two-to-three ‘character’ models as futuristic demon hunters. The first of my trio is based upon a previously-painted orange Space Marine Sergeant torso, with a load of extra paraphernalia, including what I believe to be the head of a Screamer of Tzeentch.

As I wanted to show that these warriors were slowing being mutated by their persistent close contact with their demonic foes, I also gave him the left arm of a “Mantic Games” Salamander and placed the aforementioned Sky-Shark’s bonce onto his back – to suggest the severed noggin has now been press-ganged into aiding its slayer with whispered advice and directions. Perhaps my favourite conversion though is the mercenary’s right shoulder-pad, which was cut to size from an incomplete Imperial Guard mortar.