Before we begin I'd like to apologise for the lack of updates as of late. It's been several months since I last posted some new designs here, the reasons behind this are numerous and somewhat boring for the most part. However I have not been idle during my lack of posting. I've currently got more than a dozen new units ready for unveiling. I've also begun work on a special side project that will gather together record sheets and background information on these units. I'd like to make clear this point, this is not a Technical Readout, but more on that in a later post. Some of the artwork contained in this project is being done by my good friend Chris 'Colourbrand' Sumner, please check out his work on deviatART (there's a link to the left <<<)
I'd also like to point you attention towards another website, the fantastic deviantART. I've been using dA for a while now as a place to show off all sorts of BattleTech related goodness and on there are images of units I've not yet released for sale, but plan to in the future along with a multitude of other things. Please stop by and have a look if you can at My deviantART Pages.
Okay with that over and done with let's get down to the new units.
Since I first started designing models to produce as miniatures in 3DS Max I've done designs for use by most factions in the BattleTech universe with the exception of one, the Word of Blake. Now it's not without good reason, I'm not a fan of the Word of Blake in any form. Some folks think it's because I'm a ComStar player but that's not the case. Now I could explain, at some great length, why I don't like them, but this isn't a blog for me to vent my disproval of the things Fasa/FanPro/Catalyst and thier parent comapines have done, it's about the 'Mechs and other stuff we use in the game we all love.
So.... The Word of Blake, I don't like them but I'm not going to ignore them they've been a big part of the BattleTech universe and I know there are some people out there who do like them and is it fair they should be ignored? Of course not. So here it comes, the Word of Blake Special....
THE MASTER'S VOICE PART 1
One thing that personifies the Word of Blake in the Jihad is their units, be it the Djinn, Shedu or the others that form the Demon series of Battlesuits, The Spectral OmniFighters of the most iconic of all the Celestial series OmniMechs. I know there are a lot of points of view on the six Celestial 'Mechs, some people like them, while some hate them. I'm split between both camps. on one had I hate them, as I do anything Word of Blake for so many reasons, but on the other hand I do like the look of them.
And it is this very reason that made what you will see below not only a challenge, but also fun. Some of you may have seen these before on my deviantART pages.
I was asked, nay challenged, by a friend from BattleTech group (Pete) to design two new Celestial OmniMechs for him and the fruits of the labours can be below. The hardest part without a doubt was identifying not only what makes a Celestial look like a Celestial, but also I had to make it Omni, so that multiple designs could be built by changing just a few parts.
After looking over all the published configurations from the Jihad source books and TRO: 3075 I had my rough ideas. I decided I wanted to make a third Assault weight and another mid weight unit. Of course they'd need names so again fell back on what makes a Celestial a Celestial, in this came the names of deities from Hindu religious texts. I considered the names carefully from what sources I could find and even spoke to a few Muslims I know. I wanted to make sure the names I chose hadn't be used already or were unlikely to cause offence to people so I ultimately decided on Brahma and Savitri.
Both designs were a real challenge and went through a number of changes in their various configurations before both Pete and I were satisfied with them.
C-BRH-0 BRAHMA
The Brahma is a 50 ton Celestial Omnimech. Like all Celestial Omnis it makes use of cutting edge technology and each version is armed with a range of weapons.
INVICTUS (PRIME)
The Brahma Invictus is armed with 3 ER Medium lasers, 3 ER Small Lasers, a Retractable Blade, a MRM 10 and has jump jets.
The Brahma Dominus is armed with 2 Light PPCs, 2 ER Small Lasers, a Medium Pulse Laser, a MRM 10, an BAP and has jump jets.
INFERNUS (Alt. B)
The Brahma Infernus is armed with 6 ER Medium lasers, 3 ER Small Lasers, a MRM 10, and a BAP.
COMMINUS (Alt. C)
The Brahma Comminus is armed with 2 MRM 10s, an ER Small Laser, 2 LRM 5s, and a Medium Variable Speed Pulse Laser.
These instruction are for the Invictus configuration,
but all variants are assembled in the same way.
C-SAV-0 SAVITRI
INVICTUS (PRIME)
The Savitri Invictus is armed with 2 Ultra AC/5s, 4 LRM/5s, 2 ER Medium Lasers an iC3 and has jump jets.
DOMINUS (Alt. A)
The Savitri Dominus is armed with 2 Heavy PPCs, 5 Medium Pulse Lasers, 2 ER Small Lasers and an iC3.
INFERNUS (Alt. B)
The Savitri Infernus is armed with a Heavy PPC, 4 MML5s 2 Medium Pulse Lasers, an ER Large Laser and an iC3.
COMMINUS (Alt. C)
The Savitri Comminus is armed with a 6 MML5s, 2 LRM5s 2 ER Medium Lasers and an iC3.
The Savitri Luminos is armed with an ER PPC, Retractable Blade, 2 MML5s, 2 er Medium Lasers, a Large Pulse Laser, iC3 and Jumpjets.
EMINUS (Alt. E)
The Savitri Eminus is armed with 2 Retractable Blades, 2 MML5s, 2 ER Medium Lasers, a Large Pulse Laser, a Bloodhound Active Probe and an iC3.
Also available are three sets of legs to replace the ones included with the Savitiri. These legs are ideal for using to create dynamic looking miniatures
These instruction are for the Invictus configuration,
but all variants are assembled in the same way.
And not content with two brand new Celestial BattleMechs for the Toaster Huggers (or traitors as we ComStar players call them) the goodies keep coming. Two brand new ground vehicles. A tracked support unit (or weapon if you're feeling nasty and if you're a Robe then of course you are) and a new Hovercraft unit.
FIREWALKER RLHV
The Firewalker is a 50 ton Hovercraft that uses a repulsion lift system rather than a conventional airskirt. Primarily used as a high speed sniper platform for a Gauss Rifle, it can also serve as an artillery spotter thanks to its TAG laser and is capable of speeds in excess of 200kph. Additional weapons consist of a pair of forward mounted ER Medium Lasers.
The pack contains parts to make 2 FireWalkers
My final offering for the moment is something I showed a while back. The Ground Mobile HPG, this is exactly what it says it is, a mobile HPG transmitter. Lightly armed and not very fast it does allow the Word of Blake to make use of their HPG Cannon weapon. Plus of course it makes a great objective for scenarios. This is a 35 ton unit armed with a pair of ER Small Lasers and a pair of AMS for close range protection
Ground Mobile HPG product page
You may have spotted I titled this post part 1, well with good reason There are more Word of Blake units to come, including a couple from Steve Satak's TRO 3063. So coming soon (I promise), more Word of Blake stuff. But here's a small sample of what there will be in that update.
Also expect a massive ComStar update soon too, as I've got a fair few new toys for the boys in white to pit against their traitorous brothers.
No comments:
Post a Comment