“The Mongrel Received Its Baptism Of Fire…”

“…During the Battle of Tukayyid.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Mongrel (Grendel) is manufactured by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found together with an Executioner, Timber Wolf, Nova, and Adder in the company’s “Battletech: Clan Invasion” 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. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Centauro class Italian War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly green palette.

“Commonly seen leading light Star [formations], especially on deep reconnaissance and raiding missions”, the 38mm tall figure was initially undercoated with “Vallejo” Heavy Green, shaded in “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green, and dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Green. I then ‘picked out’ the armoured combat vehicle’s numerous exhaust ports, its Extended Range [ER] large laser, medium lasers and Streak short range missiles using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. These areas were later carefully dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Gunmetal.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - This "Epic" Robot is slowly having its details picked out

Ordinarily, I would then have left the miniature alone, apart from apply a few well-placed transfers onto any suitably-sized plates of Ferro-Fibrous armour. However, I actually found the 1/600 WWII Italian Insignia by “Decal Details” to be decidedly lacking in Italian national flags, so ended using the Mongrel’s left shoulder instead. As a result the top part was pigmented using a combination of “Vallejo” Dark Green and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green, the middle segment layered with “Vallejo” White and a little Pale Grey, and finally it’s bottom section daubed in “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

In addition to my latest Weird War Two walker, I have also been working on a 6mm scale “Epic” plastic robot by “Games Workshop”. I have actually found myself owning quite a few of these, following a rummage through an old box of “Space Marine” and the original “Adeptus Titanicus”, so plan of painting a few up during the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) to represent the various main chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - Just three more Confederate soldiers to finish on this strip

For starters though, I thought I’d apply my brush-tip to a solitary test piece, and pilot the straightforward colour scheme I intend using for all my Space Wolves. Despite the (second-hand) space marine infantry I currently own being predominantly primed in black, I’m also still hoping to get a couple of stands of Leman Russ’ ferocious warriors ready for the table-top, courtesy of a little flutter on “eBay” and the imminent arrival of some Mk VII armoured defenders of Humanity.

Lastly, I’m now about three-quarters of the way to completing the last of this year’s Weekly Challenges, randomly chosen by the turning of a playing card. Rather embarrassingly it’s actually been ten months since I last touched these 15mm scale plastic Confederate soldiers by “Warlord Games”. Nonetheless, fingers crossed it shouldn’t be too long now before I can finally field an entire twenty-man stand of Alabama soldiers for "Epic Battles: American Civil War" table-top game.