Best products from r/battletech

For starters, what condition are the miniatures in? Are they packaged still? Assembled but not painted? Are they painted already? Depending on where they're at will determine what you need to do first, so let's assume the worst and go on to the better.

If a figure is already assembled, you'll want to disassemble it. The best way to get the glue off in my experience is to soak the figure over night in acetone. When you pull it out, the glue should be easy to get off. You can generally find acetone in large volumes at hardware stores in the paint section. You can store the acetone and figures in a glass jar or any plastic container that has the recycling logo on it with a number 5 in it and PP underneath it.

If a figure is already painted, you'll then need to get the paint off, without damaging the figures. The best way I've found to do this is with Purple Power, which you can generally find at automotive stores: http://www.clean-rite.com/purplepower_industrial_strength_cleaner_degreaser.html. You can use the same type of container for this as the one mentioned above. Let the figures soak for a day or so, and use a junk toothbrush to get any leftover paint off.

Now that you've got the figures cleaned, you need to prime them. You don't need anything special for this, as long as it's good for metal, however, I recommend a spray on primer. My personal preference is Krylon's general purpose primer, and I prefer gray as opposed to white. You can usually get this in the same place you get your acetone, or you can get it at a hobby shop. http://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Stencils-Craft-Paints/Spray-Paint/Gray-Krylon-Indoor/Outdoor-Spray-Primer/p/1357

The next step is to get the rest of your supplies:

Super Glue: Can't put minis together without glue! I just use a bottle of Gorilla Super Glue. http://www.gorillatough.com/gorilla-super-glue

Painting palette: My preference is to use a wet palette for painting but there's definitely a benefit for having a dry palette available as well. Here's a link to a video on making a wet palette and the benefits of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FmxJdZdKdc. In here, they use one from a manufacturer, and it's nice because it's easily closed, but you can just as easily and super cheap with a plastic plate (dollar store), and using a paper towel instead of a sponge. Just cut the paper towel to size, soak it, have a little extra water in there and put the parchment paper down, then add more water. This is what I personally do, and just stick it in the fridge when I'm not using it. If you have an option to make one that you can put a cover on though, that'd be best. For a dry palette, you can just get something like a ceramic tile from the hardware store for like, a dollar or less, and it's super easy to clean.

Brushes: You probably don't want/need to spend a lot on brushes, especially starting out. I'd recommend a few cheap brushes, generally you want the brush sizes to probably be between 20/0 to 2, and also get a small flat brush, preferably with a cat's tongue tip, but it's not necessary, as long as it's flat. It'll be very useful for dry brushing. My recommendation would probably be to get a variety of brushes from Atlas Brush Company: http://www.atlasbrush.com/brush-sets. I'd recommend Style 255-3PS, Style 55, and Style 58A. When your brushes start getting hard to work with, you can usually stick the tips in boiling water for a bit to get them back to shape.

Paints, Washes and Varnish: A lot of people prefer either Vallejo paints or Citadel paints by Games Workshop. My preference, especially since I use a wet palette, is to use Vallejo, though I use some Games Workshop paint as well.

In addition to this, you'll probably want some washes. I don't actually have experience with Vallejo washes - I've only used Games Workshop, but I prefer the washes in the type of container that Citadel uses as opposed to droppers, since I apply them direct from the container. I'd recommend at least Nuln Oil from them if you go with Citadel Games, though I'm sure a black wash from Vallejo is perfectly fine.

Citadel also has Dry paints, which are supposed to be good for dry brushing, but I've not had any experience with them. They may be a good idea for you as a beginner, since you'll probably not have very good technique when you first try to dry brush (I found myself, and still do a lot of times, using too much paint). You can usually find these paints at hobby stores, but at the worst case, you can pick them up cheap on eBay. There are sellers on eBay that have pick-your-selection listings, just search Vallejo Pick and you'll have results.

You'll also want a varnish to seal your piece when you're done. I prefer to use two coats - the first one glossy, then the second one matte.

I recommend you get at least the following: White, Black, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Brown, Silver, Matt Varnish, Gloss Varnish, Black Wash

Flocking and Turf: Far from necessary, but if you want to make your bases have that grassy look to them, you'll need this. I use Coarse Turf - Yellow Grass, and then just soak it in the appropriate watered down paint, dry it out, and glue it on with Elmer's Glue. This stuff is generally available at hobby stores. http://www.sceneryexpress.com/YELLOW-GRASS-COARSE-TURF/productinfo/WD0061/

Antennas: A lot of BattleTech minis, especially older ones, should have antennas on them. If you have loose figures, the odds are they have been lost and you'll need to replace them. I've found staples work very well for this. If they're still in the package, you'll see a thin metal piece in there that looks like mechanical pencil lead; you'll just need to cut it to size for your mini. Additionally, these are pretty fragile once you glue them onto the mini unless you put a hole in the mini for it to go in. The best thing for this is to use a Pin Vise and drill bits http://www.amazon.com/CML-Supply-Micro-Drill-Chuck/dp/B001RJE3X8. However, I've gotten by just fine using a safety pin and thumb tack.

Files and razor blades: You may need some files and razor blades to get rid of flash (pieces of metal from the vent holes in the mold that may be attached to the figure still) and seam lines. http://www.amazon.com/ELMERS-X-Acto-Knife-Silver-X3602/dp/B000V1QV7O. Personally, I've gotten by with just the piece on my nail clippers that's there to clean and file your nails with.

Water dish: You'll need something to put your paint water in. I use 3 dishes: One for clean water, one for paint water, and one with water and dish soap in it.

Mini stand: You'll generally want to have something to put your mini on while you work with it. If you don't, you'll end up rubbing the paint and primer off of it while you hold it to turn it while you paint. This can be just about anything. My preference is to use something about the diameter of a hex that's a couple inches tall and use Velcro.

Now, you need to figure out what the hell you're doing with all this stuff. I'm far from an expert painter, and I've learned most of my techniques watching videos. You can find a lot of information on YouTube. Here is some good stuff to start off with: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL10C32CB2CD611E84

Hopefully this helps!

EDIT: I'm not the best best painter, in fact I'm still pretty new to this myself, having painted probably just under a dozen minis myself. However, I figured that'd probably put me in a good position to answer your questions as someone who's coming from the same place you're coming. That being said, this is my most recent piece - I just finished the base and varnishing it yesterday: https://imgur.com/a/Vj6fI (Unseen Battlemaster)

Here's my mini guide to the intellectual property.

Tabletop

For the Classic BattleTech miniature tabletop approach, ideally you want to buy miniatures (plastic lance packs or pewter at Iron Wind Metals), the main Total Warfare rulebook at Amazon or DriveThruRPG pdfs, and buy or print hex maps. There is also the option to buy the new BattleMech Manual instead of Total Warfare, which has reorganized the mech vs mech rules, and has everything you need to play a game with Mechs, only (Total Warfare also includes vehicles, airships, and infantry rules).

Alternatively, you could go 'tabletop lite' and get the aforementioned lance packs/IWM minis and the Alpha Strike rulebook (hard cover or pdf) for a slimmed down version of BattleTech that plays faster and uses open terrain boards like 40k, not hex maps. The Alpha Strike rules also include conversion for hex map play if you prefer it, and the Total Warfare rulebook includes Classic conversion for open board play rules as well.

There is also a way to "test" play for free or with minimal investment for both Classic and Alpha Strike:

Classic BattleTech:

• Quick start Classic BattleTech rules (free).
  
  
• Print free paper standees. Put them on paper bases that fit in hexes and can show sides of the hex clearly. Or proxy miniatures. If proxying, go for 32mm scale models. Technically, BattleTech is 6mm scale, but the mechs themselves are close to the size of a human at 32mm.
  
  
• Hex map sheets (print on big paper).
  
  
• Record sheets and stats for specific mechs. You should start with the premade starter box mech sheets here.
  
  Alpha Strike:
  
  
• Download the quick start Alpha Strike rules (free)
  
  
• Print mech standees (link above), or proxy minis.
  
  
• Play on terrain tables at your FLGS or at home.
  
  You can print the Alpha Strike stat cards for your mechs from the Master Unit List online. They also come with the Lance Packs if you bought them, and I believe are also in MekHQ (see below).
  
  Note: BattleTech game products are supported by tons of lore literature, with different editions and publishers over the years. 90% of literature out there is fluff, not rules. Ask here and we'll help you navigate that world, it's deep and confusing. We'll help you understand which books are good next steps for rules, and good next steps for lore if you care about that.
  
  Also, if you end up reading about other mechs in sourcebooks or novels or find
  something on Sarna.net you like, you can find their stats on MechHQ, a free companion software from the makers of the free MegaMek. MechHQ can print record sheets for pretty much any mech, or you can copy stats from the program into blank record sheets, which you can get here. MechHQ is just generally useful.
  
  If you go the Classic route you can also wait for the next release of the intro box due out in a few months. Note that Classic is the most versatile experience; there are rule books to turn your tabletop battles into campaigns, abstract from mech vs. mech to battalion vs. battalion, mix the RPG into the game to control a single MechWarrior that fights individual battles or commands entire planetary invasions, simulate space battles and even entire mercenary or great house campaigns that give you missions. Sky is the limit on the rulesets for this kind of play, but requires books. Lots of books.
  
  This is mostly a 1v1 experience.
  
  Pen and Paper RPG
  
  This really is an extension of Classic BattleTech, fully integratable with the tabletop war game, but I'm putting it separate because some people prefer just an RPG.
  
  The latest version of the RPG rules can be found in the book A Time of War, and you can buy any and all sourcebooks and novels for your history fix and setting-building. Others would be better than I to recommend where to start in the novels, but the 5 main house sourcebooks are the best historical overview. Almost all books can be found cheap on DriveThruRPG as pdfs, and some hardcopies are available at places like Amazon. This is mostly a 2+ group experience.
  
  Keep in mind, the combat rules are very simple, character vs. character. If you want to play an RPG as a mech pilot (MechWarrior) and then fight in mechs, you'll have to convert into Classic BattleTech. The RPG really was designed as a supplemental game system for the Classic BattleTech world to satisfy RPGers, but it isn't really that well-regarded as a stand-alone RPG system like D&D and other deep RPGs.
  
  Video Games
  
  For computer gaming, check out the free-to-play (with IAP) MechWarrior Online for the FPS, the old MechWarrior 2, 3, and 4 abandonware games for simulation style play, or the new tactical BattleTech game released by Hairbrained Schemes. You could also poke around with MechCommander Gold, an old RTS style game. Very dated, but being limped along by longtime fans as abandonware, free. There is also the fan-supported MechWarrior: Living Legends, an insanely extensive mod for Crysis Wars made by fans, and is free. And finally, you can wait for MechWarrior 5, the latest in the simulation franchise, when it gets released in a year or two. These are solo experiences outside multiplayer.
  
  Hybrid Tabletop and Video Games
  
  Mixing tabletop and video games, you can also download the fan-made MegaMek that is a 2d version of tabletop (warning, huge learning curve, it's open source, free). It can be combined with companion software MekHQ to run a campaign, and you could join the online campaign community at mekwars.org that run a global persistent campaign using MegaMek. They are quite newbie friendly. You can also attempt to play tabletop straight on Tabletop Simulator(TTS), the popular $20 Steam board game physics engine (note you can play tons of boardgames on TTS, not just BattleTech). These are mostly 1v1 experiences, but MegaMek does come with (shitty) bot play. You really should have the full tabletop rules before cracking MegaMek, because it does a lot behind the scenes, but you can get away with quickstart or more on TTS. Also TTS can be used to run campaigns with multiple players remotely.
  
  I would say those are the primary ways to get into BattleTech.
  
  I started off with a map pack, some random minis, and bought Total Warfare. From there, I downloaded blank record sheets and filled them out using MekHQ. That was my start for a few months of gaming.
  
  After that, I bought the expanded rules compilation published by Catalyst over a few years (TechManual, Tactical Operations, Strategic Operations, Campaign Operations, Interstellar Operations, and finally A Time of War to complete the collection). They did a good job of taking all the disparate rules and spinoff products from the past and brought them into one consistent and updated book series. Some haven't been printed in a bit, but should be reprinted soon. All are available as pdfs on DriveThruRPG.
  
  That's pretty much the core line of all rules most recently published for any conceivable scope, scale, and advanced rule you might ever be interested in. After that, I downloaded MegaMek and spent hours working out how it works, with help from here.
  
  Then I started to buy up lore. I picked up PDFs of the main House Sourcebooks, and then Technical Readouts for a few of the eras that were interesting. I bought some old sourcebooks from garage sales and online because they looked cool and interesting. Grabbed a Historical (like a Sourcebook but for a particular event or period of history), and an eyeing getting into the novels soon. DriveThruRPG sells much of them in PDF.
  
  I think that's a reasonable way into the franchise. There is a lot out there, but if you focus on the core rules for Classic BattleTech from Catalyst and realize most of the rest is either lore or expansion content, the rest is gravy.

Well first of all welcome to the game! It really is a fantastic system with an extremely deep lore (deeper than 40K IMHO) and an evolving timeline giving you the opportunity to fit your battles into any portion of the game's history.

Battletech is the miniatures-based board game on hexmaps that makes up the foundation of the Battletech hobby. Mechwarrior is the RPG extension, often used in conjunction with Battletech. Classic Battletech was a rebranding thought up in the 2000's to help keep people from confusing tabletop Battletech and the Mechwarrior Clix game that was popular at the time.

I would recommend that you start with the Introductory Box Set. It includes intro rules, maps, and lots of figures for you to get started with. Here is the convenient amazon link for you:
http://www.amazon.com/Battletech-Introductory-Box-Set-OP/dp/193687685X

The miniatures in the box have been recently updated and represent classic mechs that have been around throughout the game's timeline. They are supplied unpainted (dark greyish) and all but two of them are assembly-free.

If the game tickles you, I would recommend that your next purchase be Total Warfare. This is the core rulebook, and covers everything you need for 95% of the games you will want to play with Battletech. The Techmanual might be a good buy too if you want to start customising mechs for yourself. Iron Wind Metals provides the current range of pewter figures for you to spend your paycheque on.

If you don't want to paint than don't. Simple. This is not a WYSIWYG game like Warhammer. It's a board game with tabletop qualities and most people use proxies in some form or another. Only about 20% of the huge number of cannon variants have models even closely resembling them, so don't get too bent out of shape about how your figures look. If you want to base coat (spray paint) different forces different colours it might help inform your force arrangements, but other than that it's just gravy.

Similarly there is no hard rules for army creation like in Warhammer. The fluff provides us with some lose unit formations and a wealth of cannon units to choose from, but the universe is left deliberately open-ended to make sure that you can customize to your heart's content.

Make sure you ask around here if you have any questions. Most people enthusiastic about Battletech love to talk about it, whether its rules or unit design of the rich lore. And have fun!

I bought this kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TO578Q/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Warning, I have no other point of reference since this is my first airbrush. I chose it because:

• This is a reasonable price for the whole starter kit.
  
• 4 stars for this on Amazon is basically a "B" rating. 3 stars and under is almost guaranteed to be terrible.
  
• I read reviews and determined the nay-sayers generally had defective products.
  
• This compressor is said to be the best feature and you can switch out airbrushes as your skill progresses.
  
• This model aligned with features I was looking for.
  
  Features I enjoy, that this one has:
  
  
• Dual-action trigger - press for air, pull back for paint.
  
• Relatively easy to disassemble and clean.
  
• Strong, consistent pump.
  
• Top-loading gravity feed.
  
• Pressure is adjustable.
  
  What accessories you might want:
  
  
• Ultrasonic jewelry cleaner for metal (no holes in the bath pan). This can clean pewter models as well.
  
• Airbrush paints or existing acrylic paints that you can thin the appropriate amount (with a spout, like Vallejo).
  
• Airbrush thinner (it's a good idea to match thinner brand with paint brand).
  
• Airbrush cleaner (to supplement regular water, which is the primary cleaner).
  
• Small glass mixing pot and cleanable eye dropper.
  
• Little pipe-cleaner looking metal brushes.
  
• Masks to keep particulate out of your lungs.
  
• A work area that allows some amount of aerosol paint to drift. (I have electronics 2 feet away.)
  
• Venting/suction table. (I don't have one, just half of a 2 foot tall box).
  
• A model turntable with clips so that you can hit the target from every angle.
  
• A bright desk lamp.
  
  What I didn't anticipate:
  
  
• The motor is louder than speaking volume and is almost constantly going while the trigger is pressed.
  
• Air pressure greatly effects the results and you don't always want a fast spray. 30 PSI > is recommended
  
• Normal paints must be thinned down or you'll get splotches and clogs.
  
• The needle is dangerous and fragile. Even re-inserting it forcefully can damage it.
  
• Pay attention when disassembling it.... Some parts such as springs and levers may be unintuitive.
  
• Cleaning can be difficult initially but it's good to do a stripdown between sessions. I actually enjoy it now.
  
• Although you can mix paints in the brush, I have great results with a small mixing pot and an eyedropper.
  
• Unmatched thinner/paint brands resulted in paint turning into.... micro-strings that clogged the device.
  
• Too much thinner is just as detrimental. It turns into a watery mess that gets pushed by the air.
  
• The pressure can blow lightweight models down or away without securing them with clips/tweezers.
  
• Once you figure the whole thing out, the results are uncanny: Nice, smooth gradients, paint volume efficiency, predictable ease and consistency, quick drying times, the ability to use spray templates for camouflage, and most-importantly - controllably thin layers of primer and color to maintain the best amount of detail on the models.
  
  All in all, I spent less than $120. It took a month or so to get comfortable with the device and figure out the mixing or cleaning chemical proportions. Cleaning the airbrush properly is a big part of the process and I spend maybe 20 minutes doing a rinse, flush, stripdown, ultrasonic bath, and re-assemble after each session. I'm not sure if this is normal but this is working for me so far. Thinner to paint ratio for me is about a 1:3. A few drops of cleaner is used per session. I hope this write-up serves to either scare you/others out of a purchase or solidify the expectations before you take the plunge. Post some results when you get a chance!

Thanks for the feedback!

So, it feels to me (I may be wrong) like we're thinking of different types of CNC. I'm talking Flat Bed, vertical tooling, to cut a single shape, punch a hole or router out a surface to a given depth. It feels to me like you're thinking of full 3D CNC, which in this application just isn't necessary for the design I've been working on. That said, if I'm mistaken, apologies!

The reason I'm looking at CNC is because I can easily do the Toolpathing myself in Vetric or V-Carve or similar & provide a local company with that & a sheet of Ply & let them at it. Sure, I'll have to pay for that, but the cost should be fairly minimal (I'm in the UK, perhaps its different elsewhere?), but the key thing is that, despite the relatively flexible tolerancing on most CNC beds, what I get out should be sufficiently accurate to ensure that the hexes tessellate sufficiently tightly.

The Hexes mind you are potentially another kettle of fish. I'm looking at a yield per 1220x2400 board of around 2000 hexes. Which is a lot of CNC time. I can mitigate some of that by adjusting my approach to the holes (6mm for a more standard tool so it can just punch right through etc), but the shapes need to be pretty tight (could I make them myself? Sure, but... man. We invented mass production for a reason, I'm gonna use it if I can!). As you've said, there exists the possibility of buying them, but so far I've had no luck sourcing the right thing. I've got close, but the work required is significant (they're not suitable just as they are, though these guys would just about do it, if I could get a few thou...), combined with fairly high costs, makes it a bit non viable.

Alternatively, I do have a few contacts for machining the Hexes & this is something I'm also looking at, those guys love turning out a few thousand of anything!

Anyway, diversion aside, I'm talking local CNC companies here for the benefit of others who don't have the access I do, in my case, I'm going to speak very nicely to my MD & hope they're cool with me buying the materials, doing the programming & pushing the go button. Total cost to me; time + materials = not too shabby.

For others without that, obviously the CNC will cost more, but I don't think it need be prohibitive. Will let you know as I've put feelers out to a few companies I deal with regularly, just to see.

As for the dowel, my plan was always to buy existing & just cut it to length, reckon I need about 4-6 lengths based on my estimates (including saw thickness loss), I'm just not relishing cutting several thousand of the pegs! Can you tell I'm all about automation over here?

But we'll see, I'll get my quotes back from the local CNC firms & Engineering companies & make my call. As long as I can, I'll be using the tools I have access to, but if I can't, I can't!

Chipboard. Such as this. See, I used to work retail and this stuff was always used as a "back" for sales tag paper. This meant I had a LOT of it in 8x10 and notepad-shaped sheets. The stuff is fairly good, right up until exposed to moisture. It curls, badly. Markers and crayon for coloring it is fine, but even a light brushing of paint . . . even some glue stick? Curls like a parenthesis. (Or a Magic foil card.)

However! It is a good color and cut into thin 1/4" strips it can approximate roads on hexes rather well without being too obtrusive.

Is it moving around too much on the table? Is the tabletop a felt-covered one or polished? If felt, or some sort of rougher texture, consider roughing up one side with sandpaper or a emery board. If polished there's very little hope short of using a little Elmer's white glue. (It will clean easier than you think.) I tried "glue dots" and "sticky-tack" which are normally used for posters and easily removed. This is a lie.

I've seen some images where, for water, there was some soft leather which was stained blue.

​

As for DIY structures, consider all sorts of neat trash. Super glue tube caps, hollow plastic lollipop sticks, coffee stirrers . . . with some trimming and an adept enough paint job you could make paper egg cartons work. The hollow tubes in the middle of aluminium foil, while tougher to cut without a good tool, can be trimmed and capped with cardstock or chipboard to act as fuel tanks. Also fruit cups can be useful for domed buildings.

Depends on how you like to consume lore.

The house books mentioned by someone else are histories of the major houses. Useful, but the free downloads lack art from what I recall.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/House_Liao_(The_Capellan_Confederation)

(More on Sarna).

Speaking of: http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page
Is the wiki. Great for overviews and references, not a super run read through, and lacks lots of tiny details.

The books are most common (beyond playing games like MW again). I'd say grab the first of the Warrior Trilogy (rereleased for $5 on Amazon Kindle). See how you like the writing. It's pretty aged. Feels very 80s action pulp, but the universe is explored through more stories and characters than reading straight up histories. Also, keep a phone on hand to reference mechs and factions while reading Sarna.

https://www.amazon.com/BattleTech-Legends-Warrior-Garde-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B07LG34PT5/

This isn't specific to IWM—all metal models are prone to breaking from weight putting a strain on the glue, and not all designs are built with physics in mind (e.g. lots of stuff is top-heavy). The old Warhammer 40K Eldar Avatar and War Walker come to mind (metal lascannon pretty much fell off if you looked at it). A lot of BT models are the same, particularly some of the newer ones that are larger, heavier, more detailed (i.e. more parts), and aren't built directly into a base, like the Mad Cat MKII, Scylla, Sagittaire, etc. Say what you will about the looks of the old single or 2-piece models: they didn't break (because they were just... 1 or 2 pieces)—detail comes at a price. This is one of the reasons some people prefer plastic over metal, but with BT, your options for plastics are extremely limited unless you want to get 3D-printed MWO-style mechs from a third party.

The solution? Drill and pin!

Get yourself a pin vise, drill tiny holes in your models' various parts, and glue in some brass wires ("pins") to help hold the pieces on.

I do this with pretty much all my miniatures, even if they don't technically need it, just for peace of mind. It was intimidating the first time I did it, but it's honestly pretty easy.

Welcome to the game; it’s my favorite, hope you enjoy. The beginner box is a great place to start.

If you end up enjoying that, I’d recommend getting the main rulebook for ‘Mechs, the Battlemech Manual, and a digital copy of the “records sheet 3039 Unabridged” digital copy so you can print them easily.

Then some 3039 miniatures and you’re on your way!

If you have more questions, stop by anytime.

https://www.amazon.com/Circus-Fear-Widescreen-Greeting-Birthday/dp/B000AZD0U2/ref=asc_df_B000AZD0U2/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312031372212&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8181980107931937863&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018733&hvtargid=pla-635668195670&psc=1

The Battlemech Manuel is $30 on Amazon and the the most current book. You can also buy a map set for another $30 (or just play Terrain). And the Alpha Strike Lance Packs use the same Minis as Battletech. You will need about 8x Mechs to play a lance vs lance engagement. Lastly you need a digital copy of the Mech record sheets. The 3039 has most of the core designs you will want to play with.

That said, there are both quick start rules, sheets, paper mechs, and maps that you can print out if you just want to play the game. You can also forgo the official record sheet and use one of the various software tools or websites that are freely available online.

You could, but I've never had any problems using this http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Card-and-Party-Outlet/dp/B000HAZCS8 Plus if you get to putting together many mini's at once it's a lot cheaper to have a pack or two of that than multiple of the stands. The way it works best for me is use a stiff piece of cardboard or plastic as a base, get the mini & tack setup in a way that's going to hold it in the right position, add the glue, and then just set it to the side. (The cardboard makes it easier to move without pulling any pieces apart) It's really handy for those times when the glue decides it wants to take all night and into the next day to dry, and you still have most of a pile of tack left to use on other mini's.

*Edit, finished the long bow and got the power armor mounted.

Battletech Printing Experience:

I printed the orange mechs in that picture in the last three days; Longbow is halfway done, still has most of the supports on. Grey mechas are purchased of course.

ME:

My 3D priter experience is Beginner to Intermediate. I have changed a nozzle, fixed a few clogs and updated firmware twice. I mostly do DnD Monsters and tiles, but I created a very basic version of Alphastrike to play with my son and wife that is based on Heroscape. He wanted more mechs (me too) so thats what we have been doing the last three days after work.

PRINTER:

QiDi X-One2. You can be up and prining in about 15 minutes after opening the box. You just need to snip ties, plug cords in, attach a tube and feed the plastic through. It sounds like a home ink printer (without the clickity clack), and I have it in the living room.

I bought mine from Amazon for $280; it is about the same now.

The biggest limitation with this printer is the bed size, you can print up to 5.5" (139.7mm) by 5.5" by 5.5". So if you want to go big, you need to learn to cut models up.

MATERIALS:

I use PLA plastic by Inland (free shipping to me from the Microcenter website); the cost is $15 for 1 kg and there is 330 meters in a 1kg spool.

Cost per Meter: $15 / 330 Meters = ~$.05 cents

Breakdown on time and Price:

|||Material|Cost|Time|

--|:--|:--|:--|:--|
|||(in meters)|(USD)|(in minutes)|
|Single|Power Armor I|0.13|$0.01|5|
||||||
|Single|Power Armor II|0.15|$0.01|6|
||||||
|Single|Hexbase|0.77|$0.04|7|
||||||
|Light|Urbanmech|0.98|$0.05|120|
|Light|Flea|1.14|$0.06|120|
||||||
|Medium|Uziel|3.6|$0.17|315|
||||||
|Heavy|Rifleman|2.97|$0.14|270|
|Heavy|Archer|2.51|$0.12|240|
||||||
|Assault|Highlander|4.11|$0.20|360|
|Assault|Longbow|4.46|$0.22|360|

##LINKS:

####Printer:
https://www.amazon.com/QIDI-TECHNOLOGY-Extruder-Structure-Platform/dp/B01HZ4HY9I/

####Materials:
https://www.microcenter.com/product/485629/inland-175mm-gray-pla-3d-printer-filament---1kg-spool-(22-lbs)

####Models:
All Mechs are by Syllogy:
https://www.thingiverse.com/Syllogy/designs

Inner Sphere Battle Armor by Wolversine_DH:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3759693

Innersphere Battle Armor by Kiwicolourstudio:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3007787

##PRINTER SETTINGS:
|Name:|Settings:|

--|:--|
|Layer Height .1mm|.1mm|
|Infill Density|30%|
|Printing Temp|200 C|
|Build Plate Temp|60 C|
|Speed|20 mm/s|
|Support:||
|Support Placement|Everywhere|
|Support Overhang Angle|40|
|Support Pattern|Lines|
|Support Density|27%|
|Support Z Distance|.12mm|
|Support X/Y Distance|.7mm|
|Build Plate Adhesion Type|Brim|

Edit: I cut all my models in half at the torso. If you look really close to the upper leg on the Highlander, you can see where I didn't get it exactly right. I'll just take a file to it then it will look good once I paint them grey cause paint fills in the gaps. PM me if you want help cutting models in half, I use Netfabb, but I've been switching to Meshmixer recently.

*Edit: Making it clear I printed the orange mechs, grey mechs are officially purchased ones. Added Printer Settings.

Although the older books are no longer in print, they have been reissued in ebook form. I found a few via Amazon.

Most people recommend the Warrior Trilogy as it starts right when most of the BT lore begins are the start of the 4th Succession War ~3025.

The Gray Death Saga is also a great start, I think, and I prefer the focused story of these books very the grand political intrigue of Warrior. It really hammers home that 3025 is almost post-apocalyptic fiction which I love.

Thanks, this is the light box I use. Pretty good deal and it’s lit by leds.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078ZT9L9F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_h2UwCb7S074XR

Not sure if this will help with you being in New Zealand, but you can currently get the Beginner Box on Amazon for $20 (Prime Eligible):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AZD0U2/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_.C21Cb86MPN0D

At the very least, if you knew someone trustworthy in the US, you could have them order it and then ship it to you.

Yeah I'm a little confused on the sequence of them all but this set comes with a Battlemaster and the Timber Wolf pictured as well as some much nicer plastic minis and 2 high quality hexboards.

Are you talking about this starter set?

And thanks for the tips!

Several of the Alpha Strike boxes are still available on many places online. I even linked to one on Amazon being sold for less than its original retail price. Although, I actually meant to link to this one, which is only $12: https://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-Game-Labs-35715CAT-BattleTech/dp/B00SYI25WG/ref=pd_bxgy_21_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00SYI25WG&pd_rd_r=W6QXBFHQ35WADW23PDV7&pd_rd_w=B43AK&pd_rd_wg=8pNaT&psc=1&refRID=W6QXBFHQ35WADW23PDV7

EDIT: And this one is in stock and sold by Amazon itself: https://www.amazon.com/BattleTech-Assault-Lance-Board-Game/dp/B00QY3BZRO/ref=pd_bxgy_21_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00QY3BZRO&pd_rd_r=1TPYRZDQ5CF3DXHATCM1&pd_rd_w=NKMZ1&pd_rd_wg=cRO1M&psc=1&refRID=1TPYRZDQ5CF3DXHATCM1

EDIT2: And most the packs are still available from Catalyst themselves: https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/pages/search-results?q=lance%20pack

checks old invoice

sizes and prices

... wait, that can't be right... I must have gotten a discount because in my records those 5 cost me $370, as well as having an e-mail showing $370 as the final price...

Ah, there we go, went to the website and checked, I got them on sale, so there was a 50% discount at the time.

I was in the middle of getting the basement finished, so I kind of rolled the expense of these into the total price of the room.

I went and found some old D&D art books, then used a flatbed scanner and scanned the images at a high DPI to get some high res images. These are the two books I got the D&D stuff from (can't remember if they both came from one or the other):

One

Two

The two on the far right are from Wayne Reynolds, a lot more current.

Three

And the 2nd one is some Doomtrooper art from Paul Bonner, from this book:

Four

pick up "wolfs at the border". that book should help you get into BattleTech

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TFESVA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!


Here is link number 1 - Previous text "One"

Here is link number 2 - Previous text "Two"



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