8th Air Wing gets a new lance of Kestrals and Cavalry Attack VTOLS

 

The bigger helos in the back are Kestrel VTOLS.

The Kestrel was designed in 3007 by Wolf's Dragoons for their special operations teams, particularly the Seventh Kommando. Lightly armed and armored, the Kestrel spent more on stealth than weapons and armor. In fact the heaviest armor, located on the front of the VTOL, can only survive a single Large Laser hit before it's gone. In addition, the oddly sized infantry bay doesn't allow a full platoon, but is too large for a squad. In the wrong hands, the Kestrel is nothing more than a target, but when used properly it is an excellent VTOL for special operations support.

For many years, Wolf's Dragoons was the only known user of the Kestrel in the Inner Sphere. However, there have been enough combat losses that other powers have at least a few Kestrels in service. It also appears that the Dragoons sold several Kestrels to MI6.

The flight up front are a pair of Cavalry Attack Helicopters. 

Introduced in 3054, the Cavalry Attack Helicopter was one of a number of VTOLs developed to fight the Clans by Michaelson Heavy Industries. Designed for hit-and-run engagements rather than front-line combat situations, due in part of its ammunition supply running low in prolonged battles, when used correctly the Cavalry attracted a reputation for flawless service with both halves of the sundered Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth prior to and during the FedCom Civil War. The Cavalry soon saw service in both former FedCom States and minor-nobles among the Chaos March,[2] and soon grew popular across the Inner Sphere. Sales were opened to all interested parties after a decade.

While capable of speeds up to 162 km/h, the Cavalry doesn't rely on this alone for protection and has been noted for carrying 3.5 tons standard Star Slab/3 armor. While the rotor is no less fragile than other VTOL designs, the craft can handle a direct hit from a Clan-tech ER PPC on the nose and keep flying.

Weapons and Equipment

The aircraft's main armaments consist of an array of short-range missile launchers. A six-tube launcher is mounted in the front, with three additional two-tube launchers co-axed to it. The six-tube launcher has been given only 15 rounds of ammunition, while the smaller two-tube launchers have 50 missiles in a shared ammo bay.

Headquarters and Headquarters Troop [HHT] 149th gets a new lance of vehicles:

 This lance of heavy vehicles is part of the command structure for the 149th and are assigned to the 149th HHT with 20 battlemechs. 

149th HHT Command Vehicle Lance. 

The rather large super heavy tank in the back is a Marksman Tank [not to be confused with the Marksman Artillery piece!]. 

The nintey-five ton Marksman Main Battle Tank was developed by Pandora 'Mech Works as the M-series assault tank in the mid 3060s. After procuring the Winston Combat Vehicle, the Republic of the Sphere put out a tender for a main battle tank with a heavy gun in the vein of the Challenger series. Pandora submitted their design, and it was accepted without in part because they already had begun prototype trials. The Republic Armed Forces named the design the Marksman, both due to the accuracy of its main gun, but as a nod to the older artillery platform. The planners were well aware that there could be a benefit to any confusion between the two vehicles, with it helping obfuscate deployment of the newer M1A.

The Marksman M1A is built around its M-7 Gauss rifle, fed by two tons of ammunition. It is supported by a pair of 9-tube multi-missile launchers, four medium lasers, and a quartet of machine guns, all mounted in the turret. The two tons of missile ammunition and one of machine gun reloads are protected by CASE.

The Marksman utilises a 285 rated light fusion engine, giving it a top speed of 54 km/h. Its hull is protected by fifteen and a half of heavy ferro-fibrous armor.

The vehicle to the right of the Marksman MBT is a Typhoon Urban Command Vehicle.

The main gun of the Typhoon is a Luxor Devastator-20 autocannon, capable of threatening even the heaviest 'Mechs or vehicles. Also mounted on its turret is a Harpoon-6 SRM launcher, a pair of Holly Streak launchers, and a pair of Sutel Precision Line medium pulse lasers. Another pair of Streak launchers are fixed onto the vehicle's front. A Sutel Precision Line small pulse laser covers the rear of the Typhoon. Finally, a Beagle active probe makes it easier to detect enemies in urban combat situations.

The vehicle front and center is the Partisan C3 Tank. 

Kallon Industries, famous for designing some of the most popular anti-aircraft 'Mechs in the Inner Sphere, designed the Partisan to bring those same capabilities onto a cheaper, more easily produced vehicle. Dedicated to destroying aircraft, its targeting system can track up to 200 targets at once, compute the optimal target, and link to the targeting systems of other Partisans in the unit. The targeting controls are even removable, allowing its crew to work from a safer distance.

While slow and lightly armored, its role tends to keep it in rearward locations, where this is less of a liability. The Partisan is deployed throughout the Inner Sphere, although the bulk of them are found in the Free Worlds League and the Federated Suns.

There are 2 variants that the 149th utilizes depending on battlefield requirements:

Lance command

The 3058 lance command variant of the Partisan Air Defense Tank upgrades the C3 slave unit to a C3 master unit. To make room for this upgrade, the twin Imperator Code Reds were replaced with a pair of Ultra AC/5s.

Company command

The company command variant of the Partisan Air Defense Tank fits two C3 master units inside its hull. It drops the twin Smoothie ACs to make room for these complex systems.

The large armored truck is a Mobile HQ with the medium laser dropped in favor of a large laser and stripping 3 tons of communications gear. 

Mobile Headquarters vehicles were first developed by Star League Defense Industries of Mars for the Star League Defense Force. These vehicles were utilized for large scale planetary operations, compiling data reported in by various means to coordinate their assigned forces during operations.

Since the destruction of the Mobile HQ's manufacturing plant in 2767 during the Amaris Coup, the vehicle's numbers have declined. With the lack of replacement parts and the Succession Wars' brutal fighting, the vehicle's equipment became irreplaceable. Mobile HQs were prime targets for capture or destruction, and those that survived often suffered damage to their equipment. By the time of the early thirty-first century, many of the few Mobile HQs still remaining in service to the Great Houses are only partially operational, with most of the equipment replaced by more conventional means of tracking and coordinating forces. Some vehicles were gutted of their remaining functional equipment, which was installed in smaller command vans.[3] Despite the drop in capability, these remaining Mobile HQs are still prized by military organizations, with many commands attempting to capture them intact when the opportunity arises. When Wolf's Dragoons first appeared in the Inner Sphere, they were notable for possessing five seemingly brand new and fully operational Mobile HQs.

Timewasters PS4: Games too bad to be a good waste of time. [There are a lot of these!]

 

These games all suck for various reasons including bizarre design choices, unskippable cut scenes and straight up bore factors too large to ignore. Put these in the crap pile!

UPDATED ***Potato pics of the Dire Wolf and the whole completed lance.

 Stolen Clan tech! This will be 2/A/149. 

I'll have glamor shots up later - they probably won't help much. This is the Dire Wolf. First appearing in Inner Sphere space around 3050, this Clan Mech absolutely wrecked the first IS units to encounter the superior tech. It is a 100 ton Assault class Clan mech.

Better[?] pics:

Daishi [Dire Wolf]

The Dire Wolf is one of the OmniMechs that became feared throughout the Inner Sphere during the initial Clan Invasion, and rightly so. The Dire Wolf weighs in at an impressive one hundred tons and has a relatively slow cruising speed of 32.4 km/h provided by a 300 XL engine. Its speed and armor protection matches that of an Atlas, but it has superior potential firepower with fifty and a half tons of free pod space for weapons and equipment. It is these traits which saw the 'Mech code-named Daishi (pseudo-Japanese for "Great Death") by the criminal underbelly of the Draconis Combine, a name that would be proven grimly accurate time and time again.

Daishi [Dire Wolf]

Vulture Prime, Daishi, Vulture Prime [2], Mad Cat

Vulture [Mad Dog]

The Mad Dog is a heavy Clan OmniMech used for long-range indirect fire support. With hunched shoulders, a protruding head, and reverse-jointed legs, the Mad Dog resembles a vulture, so much so that it was independently named Vulture and Hagetaka (or Hagetaga, "Vulture" in Japanese) by the Inner Sphere forces which first encountered it. The name also fit the perceived battlefield role of the Mad Dog; technical documents from the thirty-first century suggested the role of the Mad Dog was to act as a support 'Mech, and it was theorized to be intended to hold a hill and maintain constant watch over the entire battlefield, like a vulture waiting for its prey.

Timber Wolf [Mad Cat]

The Timber Wolf is a fast, heavy OmniMech. A signature design of the Clans' military might, it was arguably the first Clan OmniMech encountered by Inner Sphere forces (as opposed to periphery forces) on The Rock in 3049 by Phelan Kell.[5][8][9]

Vaguely resembling a cross between the MAD (Marauder) and CAT (Catapult) series, the Timber Wolf was tagged with the Inner Sphere reporting name Mad Cat on first contact. The targeting computer on Phelan Kell's Wolfhound switched between MAD and CAT when trying to identify it; upon analyzing the data recording from Kell's 'Mech, Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht later officially designated it Mad Cat.[5][8][9]

The Timber Wolf is vastly more powerful than either the 3025-era Marauder or Catapult, and features approximately as much firepower as both of those mechs combined. It uses its speed and firepower to engage an enemy at the range of its choosing. When first encountered by Inner Sphere forces the idea that a heavy 'Mech could move so swiftly while being as heavily armed and armored as the Timber Wolf was inconceivable. With its twelve tons of ferro-fibrous armor and an arsenal that rivaled most assault 'Mechs of the era, it was completely alien to Inner Sphere military planners, commanders, and even the Precentor Martial of ComStar. First introduced in 2945, the Timber Wolf was designed by Clan Wolf as a second generation OmniMech along with the Gargoyle and the Naga to replace the aging Woodsman. While the Gargoyle may have been a very capable, fast assault OmniMech, and the Naga may have been an excellent fire-support OmniMech, Clan Wolf (and indeed every other Clan) instantly realized the value of the Timber Wolf; thus, production rights to the Timber Wolf were jealously (and successfully) defended. Only through trade, gifts and battlefield salvage has the Timber Wolf entered the armies of other Clans. Until the invasion of the Inner Sphere, production of the Timber Wolf has been limited to a single facility on Strana Mechty.[5][8][9]

The ACR is almost complete. I might actually get it finished by EOY and hit the deadline! Monetary constraints and some time constraints may become obstacles though.

***Das Schwarze Auge Armalion DSA Berittene Korogai ~ Schutzen! [Mounted Archers]

Mounted Korogai — Archers from the DSA Armalion line of minis. Another group complete.

UPDATED pics of the early stages.

More to come on this set.

Timewasters: Movies that don't suck:

"If you're going to waste time, waste it with some discernment!"

~Me, just now

These movies all get A+

The Cohen brothers movies are a genre all to themselves. No Country For Old Men is another A+

 

Das Schwarze Auge Armalion DSA Serpent Rider and Orc Champion complete!

 Armalion Heroes for the continuing project. The Serpent Rider is my favorite model of this line so far. It came out really well and just looks great. A favorite miniature for sure.

This.

 

There is always an earlier state...

The Wizard.

The Orc Champion!

A small commission of giant... Beetles.

 These were painted up as Fire Giant Beetles. Quick and shiny and ready for the table! Here ya go:

This is the output after applying gloss varnish.