'Mechs 'Mechs 'Mechs

Exciting news in Kings of War, the long prophesied Global Campaign started last weekend, so I've been celebrating celebrated by painting my 'Mechs.

I'm not sure whether the indistinctness of the Wolverine (left) is due to my excellent camouflage painting skills or rubbish photography skills. Also Shadow Hawk (centre) and Locust (right).

As always, progress has been good on the new thing I just bought, and bad on the pile of stuff on my record player. I should make a post giving the guided tour of the plastic pile at some point. 

Comparison of headlight-painting on Rifleman (L) and Warhammer (R).

I think the painting on these offerings is a bit hit-and-miss. I've felt a little out of touch with my muse lately, and have been falling back on 3-tone basecoat/highlight/edge highlight which is passable but not spectacular. 

Not-unseen models (L:Mongoose, C: Urbanmech R: Falcon), I think the idea of the road the Urbanmech is standing on was not perfectly realised.

The freehand brushwork is a little improved, presumably due to that nice new brush Mother bought me a few months ago. I've made attempts at the Desert Rat (of North African fame) and the Comstar Logo from BattleTech. I went for deserty basings on these, evocative of the planet Tukayyid, site of Comstar's most famous action.

Unit marking shot: the Mongoose (left) has an attempt at Comstar (imagine a heavily armed, quasi-religious British Telecom), while the Crusader (right) has an attempt at a desert rat.

Finally, I can show you all my Archer, who I have christened Jill, after newest initiate to the Ambridge Black Bloc and a dead-eye shot with a flapjack.   

Three designs from Macross: Crusader (left), Archer (centre) and yet another Phoenix Hawk (right) 

I have decided that plastic is a superior material to metal for model-making after knocking my metal 'Mechs off the painting desk, causing catastrophic damage and losing the gun barrel of the Shadow Hawk. I have made repairs by borrowing the gun from the plastic Shadow Hawk (you can't see the join) but it's put me off a little. Metal is also impossible to drill for pinning. Ugh.