Battletech

GOL-1H Goliath GOL-1H Goliath, based on a 1/48-scale Revell model kit (actually the Abitate F44B Tequilagunner from Dougram Fang of the Sun, marketed in the U.S. as "Robotech Defenders Commando"). This is actually the same POV model as the old Goliath below, but heavily revised and much more detailed. I've learned a lot about modeling in the twenty years since I did that one, and POV has added some useful features. For instance, the ovi (added in POV 3.7) that form the updated model's ankles work a lot better than the sors that the original used, which had a tendency to disintegrate into a haze of pixels when looked at from the wrong direction.

Goliath with infantry platforms attached For some insane reason, the Tequilagunner has detachable infantry fighting platforms (that apparently being the main distinction between it and the F44A Crabgunner). Because where you really want to be in a 'mech fight is standing on an exposed platform cantilevered off the side of a 'mech ten meters off the ground while it runs around and takes fire and shoots its main gun over your head. On the bright side, it does allow the upper pair of missile drums to be moved outboard where they won't blow the headlights off when fired. I did a nice diamondplate normal for the platform deck which of course you can't actually see from the person-standing-on-the-ground angle.

Hunter Light Support Tank
Hunter Light Support Tank, a compromise between the original Duane Loose art from TR:3026, the Ral Partha miniature (which in some places seems to have misinterpreted the art), the Hunter's game stats, and How Tanks Actually Work, which neither Duane Loose nor anyone else in the FASA art department seemed to understand (though to be fair the Hunter is way more plausible than a lot of the things that came later, like basically any Clan vehicle). This model is nowhere near as advanced as the Bradsweord or Scieldburh; in particular, I didn't actually go through the hassle of rigging the tracks and wheels for animation, so its animation options are limited. The headlights turn on and off; that's it.

Hetzer Wheeled Assault Gun
Hetzer Wheeled Assault Gun, based entirely on the Duane Loose art from TR:3026, because I don't have a Hetzer miniature, and anyway the minis are complete trash. Gross scaling comes from the one hard number in the Tech Readout writeup: the bore of the 150mm Crusher SH Cannon. That actually worked out to make it roughly the right size: a little bigger than the Hunter.

PNT-9R Panther
PNT-9R Panther, based primarily on the Duane Loose art from TR:3025, though general scale and proportions, and some details, particularly the back, are from the Ral Partha miniature. I've been surprised doing this how many of the miniatures are only vaguely reminiscent of the original artwork. In this case, I realized, while studying the TR:3025 illustration in an effort to figure out how its hands worked, that the Panther's PPC is actually a hand-held weapon. It has a grip, and the Panther is holding it against the back of its arm like a tonfa. The miniature definitely has the PPC attached to the back of the arm, and all the later artwork followed the mini.

UM-R60 UrbanMech
Now the 'mech everyone's been waiting for... the UM-R60 UrbanMech. Scale and proportion come from the Ral Partha mini, most other detail comes from the Duane Loose art in the original Technical Readout: 3025. Though that brought issues. I've complained about some of the art not being able to exist in three-dimensional space... the Urbie takes it to new levels. It's like one of those impossible tridents.


Is it the edge and underside of the crest of the hip?


Is it the top and front of the thigh?


Who knows? Certainly not me. I don't think Duane Loose did, either.

I originally made the warning stripes on the ring around the autocannon red and white, but that made it look like a giant peppermint.

BJ-1 Blackjack in Davion Brigade of Guards colors
Continuing the theme of 'mechs that are kind of crappy, but relatively easy to model, and have specific traits I was looking for for the BattleTech pages (in this case, a medium 'mech with flippable arms and a functional waist): the BJ-1 Blackjack, in Davion Brigade of Guards colors, because who else uses the things?

Gross scaling comes from the mini, most everything else is from the Duane Loose art in Technical Readout: 3025, because the mini is weirdly proportioned and adds what's apparently a jump thruster on the back, which doesn't match the game stats, and would be visible in the art, and isn't.

Though, speaking of things that don't match the game stats, the art and the mini both show dual medium lasers in each arm, which is incorrect. The second pair of medium lasers should be in the side torsos. It's not entirely clear exactly where in the side torsos they should be, but the BJ-2 Blackjack replaces the lasers with quad Streak SRM 2 packs, and the updated Technical Readout: 3050 art indicates that the launchers are behind panels in the shoulders, below the notch between the shoulder and the head, so I'm assuming that the BJ-1's torso lasers are there, too. Though I didn't bother actually modeling opening panels in the shoulders.

Vedette Medium Tank
Vedette Medium Tank. This is, sadly, on the rational side of Battletech tank design, and even at that, I had to tweak some stuff, particularly the tracks, to make it just a bad design rather than completely unworkable.

Bulldog Medium Tank
Bulldog Medium Tank. Despite the name, it's actually just at the low end of "heavy", and in fact I modeled it specifically to use as the turreted heavy tracked vehicle icon for the battlemap. It's modeled mainly on the original Duane Loose art in Technical Readout: 3026, though I had to adjust things in a few places either because they wouldn't fit together as depicted in actual 3D space, or for technical functionality (e.g., there actually needs to be room inside the front fender for the track and the idler wheel it wraps around). Gross scaling and some of the back and left side detail that isn't visible here or in the original art came from the Ral Partha miniature, though I had to adjust proportions because the mini's turret is much too big.

Unlike most of the other tracked vehicles here, the Bulldog is fully rigged for animation — turret, guns, and tracks can all move.

Monitor Naval Vessel
Monitor Naval Vessel. It's modeled mainly on the original Duane Loose art in Technical Readout: 3026, with some tweaks (the second gun, in particular) to make it match the game stats. I had Technical Readout: 3039 open, but basically didn't use it for anything, because the updated art is both bad and inconsistent. Scaling actually came from physics — we know from its game stats that the Monitor masses 75 metric tons, so its dimensions are calculated such that its hull below the waterline has a volume of 75 kiloliters. In order to keep the guns — which are the same 185mm Chemjet Guns that the Demolisher uses — in approximately the right proportion to the rest of the ship, it ends up with significantly more than the half-meter draft that the Technical Readouts claim, though.

SRM Carrier
SRM carrier. I started working from the Iron Wind Metals miniature, but realized partway into it that the miniature isn't actually an SRM carrier. It's an LRM carrier's hull with an SRM carrier's missile racks mounted on top — and despite sharing a Technical Readout entry, they're not actually the same. Ultimately I based the missile rack dimensions and general size of the hull on the miniature, but reshaped it based on the Duane Loose art in Technical Readout: 3026.

There are several other machines in various stages of progress. I've given up on predicting which of them will be done next, because I haven't been right yet, but most of them are here:


From back left:

Not shown:

Hetzer on top of a parking ramp
Modeling buildings so I have rendered graphics to replace the hand-drawn ones on the Battletech maps. The constraints of having to fit into a 30m hex mean that the parking garage (Heavy building) is a little small, though. At least if you assume that the purpose of a parking garage is to park cars in. If you assume that its purpose is to hide Hetzers in, it's just big enough.

Below are older models that I made when I was first learning POV, twenty-odd years ago. The Goliath I more recently updated and improved, using the things I've learned in the interim, and the results are shown above. The Basilisk is the direct descendent of the first custom 'mech I designed for BattleTech, and has some illegal features, most notably the PPC mounted in the head, because I didn't understand how critical slots worked at the time. The original also moved 1/2/5. It's super-boxy and much too big, and I don't really have any plans to update its model. I may need to re-do the mech bay renders with canon machines instead.

The BSK-4A Basilisk GOL-1H Goliath, old model Mech bay interior, showing the Goliath and Basilisk Mech bay interior, from the balcony alongside the Goliath, providing a close-up of the Goliath. Same as above, but providing a good view of the Confed insignia on the mech bay floor.

MPEG Video