MERCS Recon Kickstarter - Replacement MERCS

While assembling all my MERCS, I had issues with two MERCS models:

• The FCC House Master's Gustav M/420 (The Cheesesaw) was miscast
• The sefadu Gunner was missing his left arm

I followed the standard process for missing/replacement pieces outlined for the MERCS Recon Kickstarter, and today I received the following two replacement models in the mail!

Now I feel like my MERCS collection is really complete, and I don't have any more excuses not to get these factions painted and ready for the tabletop.

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All Your MERCS Are Belong to Us

My All Your MERCS Are Belong to Us shipment has finally arrived!
This was an add-on as part of the MERCS Recon Kickstarter, and includes ALL the faction models I didn't receive as part of the Recon base games or Mission Packs.
I've got a few things on plate IRL, but I'll try and get these inventoried and assembled as soon as I can!

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All Your MERCS Are Belong to Us

On a quiet afternoon in the office, I decided to take an inventory of my MERCS models for each faction.
I thought I'd share a screenshot of my spreadsheet if anyone was interested - the models with blanks next to their names are yet to come, as part of the All Your MERCS Are Belong to Us add-on for the MERCS Recon Kickstarter.

Click to enlarge

So there are 38 models still to come as part of the All Your MERCS Are Belong to Us add-on:

• CCC (2)
• Booster
• Spotter
• EU Inc (2)
• Heavy
• Spotter
• KemVar (2)
• Demo
• Booster
• Keizai Waza (2)
• Forward Observer
• Spotter
• FCC House 9 (3)
• Pack Rat
• Shock Trooper
• Liaison
• USCR (4)
• Medic
• Monkeywrench
• Behemoth (original sculpt)
• Heavy
• sefadu (4)
• Medic
• Demo
• Heavy
• Shock Trooper
• Texico (4)
• Heavy
• Demo
• Eagle
• Breacher
• ISS (4)
• Booster
• Demo
• Heavy
• Calypso
• FCC House 4 (4)
• Sapper
• Heavy
• Medic
• Shock Trooper
• EIC (4)
• Booster
• Assimilator
• Breacher
• Heavy
• GCC (3)
• Judge (original sculpt)
• Booster
• Heavy

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MERCS Recon Paint Palettes

I made sure to snap some photos of the paints I used while I was painting through the MERCS models which arrived as part of the MERCS Recon Kickstarter Wave 1 shipment.

Now that I'm painting more models for these factions, I dug up the photos again, and I thought I'd share them for anyone interested - but mostly for my own reference.

EU Inc - note repainted armour with Trollblood Highlight

KemVar

Keizai Waza

CCC

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MERCS Recon Wave 2 Has Arrived!

I was very excited to come home last night to find my MERCS Recon Wave 2 delivery waiting for me!
Here are some quick unboxing photos I took last night before a quick inventory, then settling down to read through the MERCS 2.0 rulebook.

Big box of MERCS Recon goodness!
2 year old daughter's foot and Twirlywoo toy for scale

All Mission Packs Add-on.
Cat Tower game for scale
(everyone has Cat Tower right?)

All Faction Decks, additional MERCS Recon cards, Lockdown Deck,
Doors stands and MERCS card sleeves

Baggies for individual models that aren't part of the Mission Packs

MERCS Lockdown rules and board tile, MERCS 2.0 Rulebook (tome!)
and The Workers Heart book.

Ready for some bedtime reading!

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MERCS Recon: SecFor 2 Painted

And here is my second batch of MERCS Recon SecFor models done. I used the same colour palette for these models that I used for my other SecFor models, and I think it achieved what I was aiming for - all my SecFor models look really dark when compared to my MERCS models.

So this week I should have been painting through my other 10 SecFor models, but something sidetracked me and I didn't get any hobby done - but it was nice to have a little break from batch painting!

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MERCS Recon: SecFor 1 Painted

Here's my first batch of SecFor models painted up! With my SecFor models, I am aiming for a very drab colour palette so that they will have a heavy contrast against my brightly coloured MERCS models. I also left the bases black, so the models would be terrain neutral, and suited to office buildings they'll be defending.

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MERCS Recon: SecFor Undercoated

I thought I'd get started on painting my MERCS Recon SecFor while the wait for Wave 2 of my MERCS Recon Kickstarter pledge stretches out.

Since these aren't MERCS models and there are 5 identical models with 4 different variants, I'll be batch painting the SecFor models, with the aim of having one batch finished each week.

I use old postage boxes to hold my models in place while I
spray undercoat.

I attach the models to the box using double-sided sticky tape.
Note that the models are not attached to their bases.

Army Painter!

I prefer a very light coat of paint for my undercoats, so as not to
risk losing detail on the models.
It was quite humid today, so not optimum for spray painting,
 but the models should turn out OK after a coat of paint.

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MERCS Recon: SecFor Assembled

I finished repainting my EU Inc Recon Squad last night (I'll snap some photos over the weekend) so I thought I would start work on my MERCS Recon SecFor models.

These models are fantastic - minimal cleaning/assembly required, and each of the four sculpts are very detailed.
I thought it would take much longer to get the 20 SecFor models from both Counter Threat and Assassination Protocol finished, but all up it only took an hour or so.

I'm very tempted to start painting these models, but it would take me 4 weeks to paint these 20 models and I'm not sure that I'm willing to make the commitment.
MERCS Recon Wave 2 should be arriving in early March (fingers crossed) and as soon as it does, I'll have ONE HUNDRED MERCS models added to my workbench - and that's not including all the extra SecFor/Zombie models I'll be receiving either!

My plan going forward is to prioritise MERCS 2.0 tabletop, so I'll be painting MERCS models and preparing more terrain... which means the SecFor models will be bare plastic for the foreseeable future!

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[CCC] Recon Squad Painted!

And that's the final MERCS Recon Squad painted! I've been working on my MERCS Recon Squads for the last month, and managed to meet my painting goal of completing one squad of 5 models each week - hooray for me!

I left the CCC for last for a few reasons:

• I've painted them before and repainted them (twice!)
• As such, I now have a healthy fear of painting yellow (so... many... layers!)
• I wanted to make sure I was really in my groove before painting, what was initially, my favorite of the MERCS Recon Squads

Painting the CCC this time around, I had two goals - painting the yellow brighter, and the black blacker. Looking back at my old CCC models, I think I managed to achieve that, and I'm happy with the end result.

So, what's up next? Well, I have a few things I'd like to finish up before my MERCS Recon Kickstarter Wave 2 to arrives:

• After a bit of consideration, I've started adding a bit more colour to my EU Inc, so I'll have to go over the whole squad again
• I'll have to figure out what I want to do about the quadrant markings on my bases - the new MERCS bases are too cool not to take advantage of!
• Oh, and I'll need to paint up my CNC Miniatures Scenery Sci-Fi Walls, and I was thinking about repainting some old terrain pieces as well

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[Keizai Waza] Recon Squad Painted!

Another week, and another MERCS Recon Squad painted - this time the Keizai Waza from the Assassination Protocol game.

I did make some colour changes since I first painted my original Keizai Waza, most noticeably switching to a 'less red' orange, which I think is a little closer to the original faction art. I also changed the yellow for green - because if The Simpsons taught me anything, it's that nuclear materials are green.

Compared to the EU Inc and KemVar models, the Keizai Waza models had a lot of cleaning up to do, with noticeably more flash and mould lines to be removed - some I did remove, some I didn't bother with.
Now these casting imperfections may concern hobbyists that are more detail oriented, but as my goal is just 'clean tabletop standard' I wasn't particularly fussed.

Stay tuned for the individual model photos this week!

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[KemVar] Recon Squad Complete!

Another squad done, this time the KemVar from the MERCS Recon: Assassination Protocol box.

I opted for a very similar paint scheme to my original KemVar, with a few differences.

Because I wanted to use a brighter green, I had to tone down my palette in a few other places - the silver is a shade duller, and I softened the basing by using very muted greens (Citadel Texture Lustrian Undergrowth was great for this).

Overall, very happy with how these models came up, and had a great time painting up the Heavy Assault and Assassin models for a second time!

Stay tuned for individual model photos during the week!

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[EU Inc] Recon Squad Complete!

Over the past week I've been painting through the EU Inc from MERCS Recon: Counter Threat - and I have to say it felt great to paint MERCS miniatures again!
I've always been a fan of the unique and stylised art of Keith Lowe, and I feel it really shines through in the models.

These photos were taken with my phone camera, so the lighting and focus aren't great, but I'll be posting up individual model photos through the week, which will hopefully show the separate models in better focus.

That's the [EU Inc] Recon Squad complete, stay tuned for individual model photos!

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MERCS Recon - Undercoated

I managed to get the MERCS in my MERCS Recon Counter Threat and Assassination Protocol undercoated over the weekend, so I thought I'd share some WIP shots I took yesterday.

Last night I actually started painting the models, so expect some pictures soon!

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Song of Fire & Ice

The CCC Gunner model I received in MERCS: Recon Counter Threat had a slightly awkward lean to her, so last night I went about fixing it. It took me about 5 minutes, involved a bowl of hot water, and cold running tap water.

Megacon Games have a youtube video that details how to fix warped plastic miniatures, which is the technique I used here.
The technique demonstrated in the video can also be used for basic conversion work on plastic models too!

Here's the process I used for this fixing this particular model (note that I have not glued the model to the base yet):

1. Remove the model from the slotted base
2. Dunk the model into the hot water, from the shins down, for 10-20 seconds
3. Take the model out of the hot water, and reinsert it back into the slotted base
4. Bend the model so that it has the lean you want
5. Run the model, still attached to the base, under cold running tap water for 10-20 seconds

Note that the video uses ice water to set the plastic - I've found that the technique works fine with running cold tap water.

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Redemption

With my assembly of the MERCS in MERCS Recon complete, I was finally able to find redemption for some of my past hobby sins.

CCC Incinerator

Early in my hobby career (2011), I assembled the CCC Incinerator, and managed to break the fuel-line from the backpack to the flame-thrower.
Being a hobby newbie at the time, and with no experience with pinning or greenstuff, I wasn't able to fix the break and just decided to live with it.
Fast forward to 2016 and CCC Incinerator arrived in plastic! Assembling the fuel-line was a cakewalk, and I had no concerns of breaking the model at all.

KemVar Assassin

Next up was the KemVar Assassin, who managed to sustain a crippling injury at a demo I ran a while back.
I did put him back together, but he just hasn't been the same since.
Well, with the new plastic KemVar Assassin, the join is at the shoulder, not the elbow! With that design change, and the fact that the model is plastic, I don't think I need to worry this being a recurring injury.

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MERCS Recon is here!

The MERCS Recon Kickstarter has landed in Australia, so last week I set to work on assembling all the MERCS in preparation for MERCS 2.0!

I have a personal preference for plastic miniatures over metal miniatures, and I love the new plastic MERCS models!
A bit of trimming was required, but nothing I hadn't experienced with other plastic miniatures before, and assembling the new plastics was much easier than my experience with assembling metal models.

Here are some quick and dirty shots of the MERCS from the Counter Threat and Assassination Protocol boxes.
Check out the new bases that are included - you'll notice that the lipped edges on the 30mm round bases have quadrant markings, which makes determining front/flank/rear arcs easy!

EU Inc.

CCC

KemVar

Keizai Waza

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MERCS: Recon Kickstarter LIVE!

This has just gone live this morning, and I've already put my pledge in. Currently I've pledged at Agent Level, but will definitely bump this up to the OPFOR Level once I can confirm my funding :)

So check out the MERCS: Recon Kickstarter Page!

So excited for this!

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MERCS: Recon Coming to Kickstarter!

Beasts of War have revealed some of the details around the next Kickstarter from MegaCon games, MERCS: Recon! Check out Beasts of War: http://www.beastsofwar.com/mercs/lock-load-mercs-recon-coming/

I'm patiently waiting for my Myth pledge, and I'll definitely be backing MERCS: Recon!

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