writes:I was pondering the Mechanoid army list in Alien Squad Leader, and realized I could field one more Battle Mech in an army of less than 200 points. So why not chop up another Transformers toy?
This time, I decided to leave the waist alone, and instead chop off both arms and repose them. Changing the arms would mean reposing the head too, so I chopped that off as well.
I got off to a bad start by trying to trim the right arm, to bring it around to point more to the left. It never looked right, and the arm was getting shorter and shorter…
So I made a quick run to the dollar store, and bought a new Megatron with an arm I could steal!
By comparing the right and left arms, I realized that I didn't really need to chop up the arm – I just needed to flip it so that it was flush to the body. The 'shoulder joint' could be sliced off. Keeping the fist in mind, the arm would work in two orientations: same as before, or rotated outwards 90 degrees.
Meanwhile, I grabbed another weapon from a Final Faction action figure accessory set – this time, a grenade launcher in hard plastic. I sliced off the trigger area, drilled out the gun barrel, and implanted a toothpick for a secure junction.
Above, you can see the weapon glued to the arm, and the arm has been 'toothpicked'…
… along with the left arm and head…
…and both feet.
Above, you can see the re-assembled Battle Mech. The gun is ready to shoot 15mm infantry, the head is looking in the right direction, and the left arm is no longer in that recognizable 'gotcha' position.
And here is the finished Battle Mech!
Painting was the same as the previous Battle Mechs.
The gun looks suitably huge on the mech.
Adding this Battle Mech brings my army to 143 points, and maxes out on Battle Mechs until I add other units.
Reposing the arms turned out to be easy once I knew the trick, and the head was also easy to repose. Above, you can see where the old weapon was cut away, as the arm has been rotated so that the upper surface is now the outside surface.
Alien Squad Leader doesn't care about the weapon load-out on the mech – all mechs have the same stats – but I'm glad my Battle Mechs are brothers but not twins.