Print of the Month February '18

It's been a whole month already!  That means it's time to pick my favourite print from the last few weeks to give the award of POTM... This month it actually goes to two prints, the large scale Locust and Centurion Battlemechs from Battletech!

As any of you who know me even a little will probably be aware I am a big fan of all things Battletech, from the tabletop game to the Mechwarrior games on PC.  I have even begun printing out my own set of tabletop scale Battlemechs which I will probably talk about at some point in the future, but for now here is a sneak peek;

The normal scale for a Battlemech in tabletop would be 1:285 or 6mm, making a 14meter tall 'mech roughly 50mm tall.  My large scale models however are quite a bit bigger than that!  The Locust is around 135mm tall making it 1:60 scale and the Centurion is 155mm tall making it 1:96 scale.

I've definitely got a couple more large scale 'mechs planned and will definitely post about them in the future.

LOCUST

"The Locust was one of the most common BattleMechs in existence, having been in continuous production since the design was first introduced by Bergan Industries in 2499. One of the smallest 'Mechs ever built, the Locust was designed exclusively for reconnaissance and quick strike missions, using its then-phenomenal speed to outrun most enemies. In a situation where it was unable to outrun its enemies, the 'Mech did have a light array of weapons with which to defend itself, but the Locust lacked the firepower or staying power to be a true front-line combatant and as a result few MechWarriors enjoyed piloting Locusts. Within its weight-class though the Locust was considered an excellent 'Mech, overshadowed as a scout only by designs which mounted jump jets. Often when a Locust engaged in combat it was as a holding action until reinforcements could arrive, although when operating in groups of three they could swarm lone enemy 'Mechs which became separated from friendly support."

Locust with a tabletop scale Centurion

Print settings

Nozzle - 0.4mm

Layer Height - 0.2mm
Cetus settings - Normal with varying support

Filament used

3DFilaprint Brown PLA

Issues and Thoughts

The Locust, on the whole printed really nicely.  There are some issues on the back of the model where it was attached to the support and as expected, the aerials didn't last long at all.  The guns on the 'arms' are also very fragile.

For the most part though the print looks great, really nice smooth surfaces and really easy to assemble once printed.

CENTURION

"The Centurion was originally designed by Corean Enterprises in 2801 to complement their Trebuchet fire support BattleMech. In order for the Centurion to perform this duty, it was equipped with a heavy and varied arsenal that allows it to strike at enemy units at a variety of ranges and made tough enough to survive considerable punishment. Born on the battlefields of the First Succession War, the Centurion performed admirably and it quickly became associated with the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns as its unofficial 'Mech. Best known for making slow, steady advances, the Centurion was also a capable raider and the formidable appearance of the Luxor autocannon gave its pilot a psychological boost."

Centurion with a tabletop scale Centurion

Print settings

Nozzle - 0.4mm

Layer Height - 0.2mm
Cetus settings - Normal with varying support

Filament used

3DFilaprint Dark Green PLA

Issues and Thoughts

The Centurion, aside from being one of my favourite 'mechs in the game, printed almost perfectly.  In fact the only issue, if you could even call it that, is the rough surface on the model due to the layer heights and the support attachment.

Most of the problems experienced with both models will be fixed with filler and paint so look out for a future post where I show off the models fully painted!

Anyway guys, I hope that was interesting and maybe got a couple of you to go and check out a tabletop game you haven't tried before.

See you all next week!

Troez.