"Thinking of getting back into Battletech after 20 years" Topic

I'm thinking of getting back into battletech like the subject says.

I have 42 mechs (I think I have more but have not located them yet) and am looking for advice on which of the major houses would they fit into so I can paint up two forces to play with.

Mechs are:

3 – Battlemasters
3 – Rifleman
1 – Archer
1 – Catapult
1 – Wolverine
1 – Assassin
1 – Wasp
1 – Stinger
1 – Spider
3 – Warhammers
1 – Phoenix Hawk
1 – Scorpion
2 – Marauders
2 – Panthers
2 – Blackjacks
1 – Grand Crusader
3 – Griffins
2 – Trebuchets
1 – Hunchback
2 – Thunderbolts
2 – Valkyres
1 – Javelin
4 – Locusts
1 – Excalibur
and 1 I haven't been able to identify yet

I also have 3 Stinger Lams
4 – Patton/Rommel tanks
2 – Manticore Tanks
Assorted smaller tanks

and infantry

I have about 12 Clan mechs and some armored infantry also but I am looking to play in the year 3025 – Fourth Succession War era.

Once I decide on the IS houses I will begin stripping and repainting the mechs to match the house unit colors.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

Check out CamoSpecs.com – tons of great references. Also several FB groups with players who can give advice.

Personally for most of those mechs I would paint generically with numbers, so that they can represent any unit or house. Most of those are pretty common machines, used by all the states in one form or another. The Valkyries are more specific to House Davion, but battlefield salvage may make them turn up in Combine or Confederation hands. Panthers are also more specific to House Kurita, but again can be found elsewhere (the Lyran Commonwealth apparently has a fair number of 8Z according to the fluff).

If you plan on gaming 4SW, the only issues will be the Grand Crusaders (Word of Blake mechs not used until the late 3050s – Jihad era IIRC) & the Excalibur. All the rest should be fair game.

The Rommel/Pattons are specific to House Steiner, but the Manticores are pretty common all over.

Damon.

Thank You all for the input.

That link you provided is excellent. I found the mech I had yet to identify. It is a Wardog.

Based on the input. If I were to create a unit for Davion or Steiner and Kurita, I would cover just about all of the mechs I have.

Damon,

By generically I am thinking you mean a basic paint scheme with numbers on the mechs but no house markings, am I correct in that?

Thanks once again.

Found another batch of mechs and tanks, this one included:

1 – Atlas
1 – Archer
1 – Catapult
1 – Warhammer
1 – Dervish
1 – Wolverine
1 – Hunchback
1 – Phoenix Hawk

2 more clan mechs and 4 more vehicles ( 2 J Edgars and 2 SRM carriers)

SO if I stick with 4SW and 3025 I have about 47 mechs that I can use for the time frame, so far. (Still have to locate a few.)

I loved battletech, but sold my mech miniatures, hundreds of them to support a 40k addiction that has faded much faster then my love of BT, They should partner with Reaper and do a Bones type kickstarter to breath new life into it?

Very Marik. Not so much the Panthers, Blackjacks, and Valkyries (which are signature mechs of other houses), but otherwise, heavily FWL.

Plus, the bonus of painting stuff purple!

Here's a (DropBox) list of mech commonalities for the years up through the Clan Invasion (IIRC).

By generically I am thinking you mean a basic paint scheme with numbers on the mechs but no house markings, am I correct in that?

Roger roger. Especially in campaign games where I need "mooks" to run against the PCs. That way they cannot be visually tied to any one house. Then if you need specific "signiature" mechs for the baddies, just pick one up & paint it as such. I picked up a Jenner several years ago for a campaign game that was painted up in the colors of my then employer (bit of an inside joke, haha!)

Damon.

Well, I guess I should have checked and made sure I had actually put up a link back there. It is found in the first post on this page:

link

Thanks all for the great information. This will all help alot in getting started back up.