Battletech Alpha Strike Terrain? (Commercial)

[Brutal Cities]

Here's my terrain collection compatible with Battletech Alpha Strike so far. https://brutalcities.com/collections/battletech-alpha-strike-terrain You can purchase this terrain for battletech alpha strike - which also suits most 6mm-8mm games.

But most of the kits have been designed to work with any sci-fi tabletop game up to 15mm scale, due to the proportions I've chosen of the window and door heights (Larger civic buildings have higher ceilings than residential 2400 ceiling heights for example)

What should I make next?
I've now painted most of my battlemechs finally. Still need to do some basing.
Share your Alpha strike tables if you like, I'd love to see!

[HerbertTarkel]

Those look awesome! Nice work. I just primed my first Battletech minis.

[Brutal Cities]

Those look awesome! Nice work. I just primed my first Battletech minis.

Thanks Herbert!
I found a nice thing you can do for painting mechs, even 6mm ones -

It's an extra step and you'll need an airbrush, but you can actually use chipping fluid:

• Prime normal
• Spray a rusty colour, then dryrbush light terust
• apply chipping fluid where you want weathering, and where the mechs would be scratched
• airbrush a light colour (if using contrast paints), otherwise, spray whatever colour

[li]wet the miniature and use a brush or toothpick to chip the mech! then paint the details as normal
[/li][/list]
I don't think I have a finished picture yet.
(sorry if unsolicited, but it's really fun and easy. I'd never even used chipping fluid before!

[HerbertTarkel]

Super cool technique - and I have three airbrushes; a SATA which is my workhorse, an Iwata that is my ultra-detail one, and an Iwata for large areas (it’s almost like a small auto gun, I use it for goalie masks, mostly).

I do all my priming with my airbrush. The only rattle-can I use anymore is Testor’s Dullcoat. It’s STILL my go to varnish.

[Brutal Cities]

I mostly spray terrain so I use a 0.1mm needle in a Paasche siphone one (can hold more paint than gravity one)

Glad you like dullcoate, it's always glossy for me so I don't use it anymore haha, maybe bad bacthes? I tried changing all the different variables, but it's still glossy in the end.

I love priming with the Badger stylenerez, or however you spell it.

[Daeothar]

The buildings look awesome with the mechs around them. I wouldn't go so far as to place mechs on top of buildings though; even the lightest one weighs in at 20 tons, and most roofs are not equiped to take that amount of weight. Especially not when the mech in question drops onto them after using its jump jets.

My first game of (Classic) Battletech (I believe it was in '93?) was between a Locust (20 tons) against a bunch of infantry. We had to use paper templates for the buildings, paper cutouts for the infantry and the only BT model I had; a 1/72 Revell Warhammer/Excalibur kit. And we found pretty quickly that the best bet for the mech was to simply collapse the buildings the  opposition was hiding in by simply walking through them!

This was also backed up by the many BT novels I've read since then; buildings are like cardboard when compared to the might of battlemechs, especially the higher tonnages.

So the mechs and buildings are wonderful, and the pictures are really atmospheric, but to me, a mech landing on top of a building will immediately disappear into it, falling through the floors like a rock through a pudding.

Just less gelatinous and more rubbly

[Rick]

I do know what you mean - most modern buidings would collapse with just a stinger landing on top of them. You'd have to figure that 31st century architects take battlemechs into account in the building codes! 
I'm not a huge fan of chipping on battlemechs - these things are 8-12 metres high and to do chipping so it looks 'right' on a 1/265th or so model takes an impressive amount of work. I've yet to see anyone produce even a vaguely realistic looking chipping effect on them, so I generally avoid completely and just go with general weathering effects on battlemechs and reserve chipping fot the larger 28mm models.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

I played Classic Battletech at University, using plans of the University (rather brutalist architecture).
In one game, one of the players had a Locust that had retreated into the cover at the front of the lecture centre.
He took further damage and it was about to blow. I pointed out he had an ejector seat, and did he want to use it.

After he he said yes, I pointed out he had sheltered at the front of the lecture centre as it provided overhead cover.

[Daeothar]

After he he said yes, I pointed out he had sheltered at the front of the lecture centre as it provided overhead cover.

Brutal

[syrinx0]

That is the best Battletech city table I have seen in quite awhile.   Nice chipping effect - I do the same using the hairspray & salt technique in terrain or larger models.

[ithoriel]

In a universe where we have FTL travel, dropships, portable lasers and rail guns and mechs weighing tens of tons your go to quibble is the structural integrity of buildings!?
 

Also, on chipping, in my universe the outer skin of mechs is self coloured plasteel ... so no chipping.

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it !!!

[Daeothar]

In a universe where we have FTL travel, dropships, portable lasers and rail guns and mechs weighing tens of tons your go to quibble is the structural integrity of buildings!?
 

Hey; it's in the books... 

Also, they need gyroscopes the size of a sofa to keep the mechs upright and those weapons have ranges measured in the hundreds of meters instead of kilometers, because they can't figure out how to target anything beyond that 

[Rick]

Hey, hey! Let's be careful on this subject, ok? I will rofl and take the mickey out of people trying to use the 'rewl of kewl' for purely historical games but 10m tall fighting mechs is just so damn great that I will overlook the serious science handwaving in favour of sci-fi awesomeness! 

[syrinx0]

Hey, hey! Let's be careful on this subject, ok? I will rofl and take the mickey out of people trying to use the 'rewl of kewl' for purely historical games but 10m tall fighting mechs is just so damn great that I will overlook the serious science handwaving in favour of sci-fi awesomeness! 

Always a blast to land on a 9 story building some one else shoots at to drop its integrity below your weight. Oops.

[Brutal Cities]

In a universe where we have FTL travel, dropships, portable lasers and rail guns and mechs weighing tens of tons your go to quibble is the structural integrity of buildings!?
 

Also, on chipping, in my universe the outer skin of mechs is self coloured plasteel ... so no chipping.

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it !!!

hahaha. Yes not everything should be rusty.

The buildings look awesome with the mechs around them. I wouldn't go so far as to place mechs on top of buildings though; even the lightest one weighs in at 20 tons, and most roofs are not equiped to take that amount of weight. Especially not when the mech in question drops onto them after using its jump jets.

My first game of (Classic) Battletech (I believe it was in '93?) was between a Locust (20 tons) against a bunch of infantry. We had to use paper templates for the buildings, paper cutouts for the infantry and the only BT model I had; a 1/72 Revell Warhammer/Excalibur kit. And we found pretty quickly that the best bet for the mech was to simply collapse the buildings the  opposition was hiding in by simply walking through them!

This was also backed up by the many BT novels I've read since then; buildings are like cardboard when compared to the might of battlemechs, especially the higher tonnages.

So the mechs and buildings are wonderful, and the pictures are really atmospheric, but to me, a mech landing on top of a building will immediately disappear into it, falling through the floors like a rock through a pudding.

Just less gelatinous and more rubbly

Thanks! Hah yes that's true, but as they say: rule of cool!


I would LOVE to see your terrain if you have any pictures everyone! Please post in here if you can!