#Draconis Combine

[verdigrhys]

Katana of the 2nd Genyosha

Finally finished some more Genyosha. As simple as it is, I'm really fond of this color scheme.

[vexwerewolf]

Hey, I can't make a post for the Clans and not include the Inner Sphere as well.

[ross-hollander]

Yes, Combine OSHA regulations mandate kabutos on the factory floor. If you will die you will die as a warrior. Industrial accident is really just another way of giving your life in battle.

[agbpaints]

Another lance worth of mechs for my Sword of Light forces complete. These distribute fairly well with my existing stock to make a cav lance and direct fire support lance.

[is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not]

We know that the Draconis Combine loves its dragons. So I propose some additional terms:

Dragon's Hunch: Slang term for any HBK variant 'Mech in DCMS service.

Dragon's Afterglow: Slang term for the period of state mandated celebration after the conclusion of a successful expansion campaign.

Dragon's Refactory Period: Slang term for the period of military regrouping, rearmament, and R&R occuring after a successful campaign of expansion.

Dragon's Testes/Dragon's Ovaries: Unofficial titles for the pair of planets within the Combine that maintain the highest male/female birth rates, respectively, as measured by the census.

"Dragon deez nuts across their face": Slang phrase referring to the frontline deployment of units assigned to garrisoning the above worlds.

The Mind Dragon: Slang term for the coordinator of DCMS R&D. The headquarters of DCMS R&D command is traditionally located on the archive planet of Sugonda. The Sugondese people have maintained a long tradition of preserving knowledge, beginning with the colony's origins during the Second Exodus from Terra.

[nockergeek]

A full company of Draconis Combine battlemechs, finished yesterday.

[gorqueen]

‘Mech posting number 6!!

It has been a little bit so I came back with something simple. I’ve been reading some high quality (read about the Draconis) battletech books and just like every one else I love Minobu Tetsuhara.

So here is his glorious golden DRG-1N, painted to match the old cover art because it’s really funky. I will also be painting the Tetsuhara family ‘mech Katana Kat at some point soon.

Finishing this little buddy up marks a full mech box complete in way longer than it should have taken. Still, it’s really nice to have my little carry box of ‘mechs ready for games.

[cal-1maf]

I spent the last week painting up my first group scheme. I present to you, Tengu Lance of the Draconis Combine's 1st Genyosha regiment! Plus, a bonus Mongoose!

Fortress was out of Genyosha decals so I tried my hand at painting my own. I think they turned out well, all things considered.

The Genyosha struck me as a good choice to take advantage of the paints and decals I already had in combination with the high number of C3 capable mechs in the Comstar Command II pack. Rounded out with the other mechs in the pack, I have a decent base for Lance building on game day, and I can swap mechs in and out as situation and BV budget allow.

I did learn a few more things with these guys.

1. If you're new to mini painting like I am do yourself a favor and buy the appropriate shade for your base color. Sure, I saved money by mixing the grays myself, but it was more of a headache than I would have liked.

2. If you keep your cockpit and laser highlights consistent with each other it really pulls together much nicer.

3. See number 1 but for washes. I did the heat stressing on the laser housings by thinning down blue and red paints. I could never get the purple as thin as I wanted it and unfortunately I can see it in the final product.

4. Look up hazard colors. Red is for heat danger and yellow is for general danger/crushing/no step. I had it backwards on my previous minis and it's going to keep bothering me. This is not really necessary but I like minutiae so

5. Don't be afraid to be ambitious. I over reached a bit with the samurai detailing on the Crab (I felt inspired by heikegani, crabs that have a pattern on their backs that look like stylized faces) but the worst case scenario is you can paint over it. In fact, the one you see above is a second draft.

6. Grab multiples of brushes you use often. I shredded my large brush a bit with textured paint and it was tricky to keep stray bristles from messing up the shading while dry-brushing. It made it much easier when I picked up a replacement. I've retired the old one to base coating only.

[voidwerks]

Since most only needed touchups, Able (but not Willing) Company! An all-light company, they are equipped with the scraps the Legion is able to find or pay for with donations. The only one with a mech worth a damn is their captain, who pilots the Spider. In the background is an Atlas from Willing Company, which I should have ready to display soon!

[doolallymagpie]

gotta get back to “T’au in BattleTech”

decided they arrive in the Combine Periphery, close enough to the Invasion Corridor that they’re initially mistaken for Clan forces, but far enough that the Kuritans realize that that makes no sense fairly quickly

[kasperl-ruprecht]

[verdigrhys]

A Panther and a Shadow Hawk in the colors of the Ryuken-roku.

[blackboxfaxes]

Battle Report

Clan Smoke Jaguar attacked Naginata Battalion's Union-class Dropship Lightning's Messenger. The Smoke Jaguars brought two garrison stars with a mix of vehicles and mechs to the field, while Naginata Battalion answered with their 2nd Company.

Clan Smoke Jaguar brought a significant amount of Arrow IV artillery to the field, enough to allow them to batter the Union's guns into submission, along with a mix of mechs. Naginata Battalion brought an all-purpose force anchored around a heavy assault lance.

The battle was, interestingly, more decided by battle armor than mechs, as the Clans' objective was to capture the dropship by delivering squads of battle armor aboard, and the Kuritans relied on their own armor(particularly heavy Kanazuchis) to defend it. Artillery was also crucial - the Kuritans wiped out one squad of Clan Salamanders with an Arrow IV's blast radius, while the Clans' homing arrows destroyed two of Naginata Battalion's mechs and battered three more into impotent wrecks.

The most notable single action was by a lone Kage trooper, the final survivor of her squad, who spent three turns slashing at the leg actuators of a Black Lanner with her vibrokatana, shredding one foot actuator and possibly causing the mech to fail a MASC roll and suffer even more damage.

In the end, the game was a Kuritan victory, partly because the Clans killed one of their own battle armor squads with a stray Arrow IV, and the dropship was able to take off and escape the battle without being boarded.

(Most of the terrain is Hextech, aside from the DropShip, which is a rip of the file from Mechwarrior 5. The 40k terminators are being proxied as Gnome Battle Armor)

[ross-hollander]

Awful mockup of what I still maintain is an amazing idea: menpo or at least menpo-style 'nose art' on Combine 'mechs.

[agbpaints]

A few more 1st Sword of Light mechs are on the way but I was especially pleased with how this Grand Dragon turned out! I intend to use this as a company commander but because I already have a 1SoL Dragon I had to break the all red scheme and give it a little something to distinguish the two on the field.

It's a bit sketchy but I'm pleased with how the cherry blossom wrap on the PPC turned out.

[cam2d]

Legion of Vega Marauder and Valkyrie.