A Classic Battletech Revisit

David,  Ziggy and I got together for a refresher game of traditional Battletech on Saturday afternoon. It had been at least a year since the last time we played that version. There's something about the "crunchiness" of the game that scratches a particular gaming itch. I pulled six similar point-valued mechs from my collection and we randomly drew our mechs for the game, which was the always maligned three-player free-for-all. They usually turn into a 2 v 1 but somehow this time we managed to avoid that.

I drew a Wolverine, David got an Executioner and Ziggy got the white PPC-armed Catapult.

Initially, David and I chased each other around a bit, initiative being king in this scenario. We were both very hesitant to engage Zig's pair of death rays.

David ended up skirting around Z's left side and Zig pursued. I had backed off after being smacked and heating up a bit much.

At one point we did back Z into a corner but it wouldn't last and David took advantage of the situation to bushwhack me.

By the end of the game, my mech had lost its good arm (with a Large and Medium Laser). Ziggy's Catapult was in terrible shape with two engine crits. David's Executioner was unreliable and slow with mucked up hip and gyro hit. All in all, a very busy and eventful game that thankfully didn't devolve into a 2 v 1! I think we're ready to add BT into our gaming rotation. It was good to step through everything and hit the books to answer the questions that came up during the game. 

Painting and Planes

 A bit of recent painting made its way through the queue this week. First up are agents Scully and Mulder, from X-Files of course. These are 28mm 3d prints purchased via Etsy. I hated the models. Heads are cast separately from the bodies, as are the hands. The way the right hands are attached to the sprues is miserable. Both of mine broke. I had to use less interesting alternatives donated by other minis. Frustrating.

They painted up nicely and will fun characters to add to my modern What a Cowboy games.

 The other painting I did during the week was on some 1/600 aircraft. The pictures are off-the cuff but get the point across.

Swedish J35s, F-105s and MiG-15s.

And then some F9F Panthers and more MiG-15s.

I've also spent a few hours in the last couple weeks re-basing the other planes in my collection, getting rid of the magnets. I'm very close to being done! I also put together a couple of Check Your 6 Jet Age scenarios for the next time the group gets together for a game.

Some New Year's Check Your 6

 David, Ziggy and I got together for some CY6 for a first game of the year on Saturday afternoon. We played up at Roll the Bones game store in Savannah. This was to be the first real test of my new flight stands that I put together a few months back. 

The first scenario we played was "French Surprise" out of the CY6 MRB. The setup is that the USN is attacking a Vichy French airstrip in Morocco as part of the Torch landings. Ziggy commanded the four F4 Wildcats while David and I split the French D.520s 2 and 2. David's two were just taking off from the airstrip so had to start at altitude 1, speed 1. 

My two, flapping their wings as hard as they can!

I'm happy with how the flight stands worked. David and Zig also approved. I think the game ended with one French plane downed and two (?) USN planes taken out? Might have just been 1 to 1. 

We played a second game, this time in the far east with four Flying Tiger P-40s versus six Ki-27s. David flew the P-40s while Z and I split the Japanese target drones, I mean, Nates. 

My three were closer to David, so he wisely sent all four of his MUCH better planes after me, leaving Ziggy a longer flight to just get into the fight. 

There was a lot of dodging, weaving and fist-shaking. Zig and I got got so many hits on the P-40s but it didn't matter. The weak guns on the Nates just couldn't make a dent. I lost a couple planes, I think Z lost one. Two of the Flying Tigers ran out of ammo which was really our saving grace! Overall it was a really enjoyable match, it was just a shame our guns weren't up to the task. A great kick off to the year and we're all looking forward to more. 

New Models for the New Year!

 Happy 2026 everyone!. My cold symptoms are on the mend, I'm real happy about that. All that coughing and congestion was just the worst. After finishing up those KVs int he previous post, I got to work on some 28mm moderns for my WAC variant. These models are from Spectre Miniatures. Resin 3D prints, very good quality. A tad pricey, but that's everything these days, plus a Christmas discount at GCminis helped!

First up... the Trailer Park Defense Force. Where I live, these could be west Chatham, Effingham, Bryan or Liberty counties' primary residents. 😁

Two melee folks with a baseball bat and a broken beer bottle. Two with ARs, a shotgun and one with an SKS. Very crystal meth. 

I'm not good at tattoos on my minis but this crew demanded it. There really should be a lot more. A fun gang for sure! Loads or character.

And the last two - a couple of Feds. An FBI agent and a plain clothes agent for whatever agency seems appropriate.

Should have some WW2 Check Your 6 on the schedule tomorrow to ring in the new year!