Battletech Buildings

 I completed the six 6mm scale structures that Wayne gave me to paint. The models are 3D printed and some of the flat horizontal surfaces have quite pronounced striations from the printing process. All of the models had significant flash in the way of media thread. I'm not sure from where he purchased them. This was an intimidating commission for me; I'm not keen on painting large models like these because I struggle with finding a direction. Two of these models were exceptions and you'll see the difference in painting style.

Building 1 - The Admin Building

This is the first one I tackled.I settled on the plain dark gray basing early into the project. I had such a struggle getting anywhere with this, but hit one of those magical points where it all kind of fell into place. Not much in the way of weathering here, just painting and drybrushing. 

Building 2 - The Blue One

Identical painting style to the Admin Building. The signs jutting out offered an opportunity to add some bright colors to the mix. It doesn't show in the pictures, but the six black panels atop the tower have color-shift paint on them, making them look a bit like solar panels.

Building 3 - The Tenement

My God, just make the windows go away! I primed this one white and after a heavy black wash, hit half the windows with yellow to make them appear lit up, and the other half with black spots. It's a bit untidy from these closeups, but the 3-foot view is convincing. 

Building 4 - The Red One

After the Tenement, I primed this one black, to make the windows easier. The red took three coats over the black, but came out nice. An unusual look for a high-rise office for sure, but of course I favor bold choices like this and it came out looking pretty snazzy.

And now, the two fun ones. 

Building 5 - The Emerald Tower

This was the last one I completed. When I first saw it, I immediately though "Emerald City" from Wizard of Oz. Not sure why, but that's why the massive sail is emerald green! The model is a terrific cross of high-tech and low-tech with a decidedly steam-punk front end. The Ivory Tower is an IT department joke for myself. It's quite obvious I pulled out a broad assortment of weathering toys at this point.

Building 6 - The Refinery

This treasure started out as intimidating as any of the others. Once I primed it and started hitting it with cheap craft-store light gray and brown, I fell in love with it. The facility is amazing and chock full of character. One can easily imagine playing a sci-fi RPG in the setting. The structure is a massive drab gray pile of shapes covered with soot, rust and grime. Pops of color add a lot of life an fun. The base didn't lend itself at all to the dark gray I used on the others so it got some fuzzy flock which looks much more appropriate.