BattleTech: Black Widow Part 1

Hi folks,

A couple of months ago a good mate at work offered to give me some old Robotech toys he had decided to part with. He had kept them since he was a kid and was hoping they would go to a loving home. I gratefully accepted and was very excited to see that one was a Destroid Tomahawk, an absolutely awesome Mech design that also features in BattleTech.

I spent a whole day with Wade and Joel in Akihabara searching for one of these, finding a fantastic kit at the end of the day, that I now have on display in the family games room. Knowing that this is also Wade's favourite 'Mech design, I wanted to do something special with my unexpected windfall. Wade is a fan of the Wolf's Dragoons faction in BattleTech, which includes a famous MechWarrior by the name of Natasha Kerensky. Also known as the "Black Widow", Natasha most famously piloted a Warhammer BattleMech, based heavily on the Tomahawk's design. Here's a modern example of her Mech's paint scheme:

With something like this in mind, I went about preparing the model. To start with, I shaved off all the old Robotech stickers, covered up the screw-holes with blutac and gave it a scrub in warm soapy water; there was ~ 20 years of grime in the corners I think!

When the model was clean and dry, I undercoated it black using a Citadel rattle-can. After 24 hours of drying I taped out some thin, straight lines, using green painter's tape. I use this tape very carefully, as it can tear up paint and cause more trouble than it is worth. In this situation, however, it is great for marking out a thin, straight, line; as long as you remove the tape carefully whilst the paint of the line is still wet.

With perhaps the most challenging technique required for this project turning out quite well, I was confident I could get the job done, given enough time. I'll post the finished project over the next couple of days.

See you across the table,

Marc