"collectible vs. pewter mechs for alpha strike" Topic

I'd like to start up some gaming in the battletech/mechwarrior universe, probably using the alpha strike rules to get more units on the table.

My question is: should I get the collectible mechwarrior figures and touch up the paintjobs (ink, highlight etc) or should I purchase the unpainted minis from Iron Wind?

I know the collectibles are a bit larger but I would be buying 2 opposing armies so the size wouldn't be an issue. Cost is not a major issue, although free time to paint can be. Thanks.

The clix sometimes have bendy barrels that have to be repaired, and sometimes ruins otherwise nice designs. Many designs are also getting hard to find as time goes on, and the selection was never as wide as the metals to begin with. Though there are a few guys out there making very limited run resin BT mechs in N scale.

Mostly though I guess it depends on which style you prefer.

Oh and you can strip the paint using a short soak in straight acetone.

Either way would work

I would spend some time going ti the Camo specs wensite and send see the fabulous work of Spaceman Spiff. He started his work as Dark Age re-pain.

The Click mechs are all Dark age designs. If you like that style some are avaliable in metal.

Also consider terrian as a factor.

Enjoy your entry into the Inner Sphere

camospecs.com

link

Are you a modeller or a player?

If painting seems like a hindrance to what you really want to do (play) then go prepaints. If you embrace the painting side of the hobby and a game is merely something to do wirh the results, then get Iron Wind.

As others have said, it depends on your priorities. For Mech Games, (Alpha Strike, Mech Attack, etc) my club uses rebased Mechwarrior clix. Once on bases with scenic basing most of us decided that the stock paint jobs were just fine. I think only one of 4 players decided to repaint.

Another factor is that Alpha strike uses alot more minis than BT, so you'll be buying and painting alot more. Where BT uses 4-8 per side, AS forces can easily get into the dozens of minis per side. If bought in bulk, the cost for MW minis can easily be 1/5 or less the cost for IWM minis.

Finally, consider the range of minis available. There's alot of units available for Mechwarrior, but they are mostly DA designs, and it doesn't come close to the number of units available via IWM for battletech.

Best of luck in your decision

Do I have to strip them and start from scratch, or can the factory paintjob just be upgraded a bit? I've never tried to paint collectibles before.

In most cases you can just paint over vinyl collectible miniatures. Back when I started repainting mage night and others I tried stripping the paint off with acetone. It worked pretty well, but it really didn't seem to reveal much/any more detail, so I just started painting over or touching up the minis. Paint will usually stick very well right over whatever vinyl'ish paint they use on them.

I know the guy in our club who repainted his mechs just painted right over the stock paintjob.