ScrapYard Armory

Friday is all wrapped up and boy what a long and and exciting day.  Much news to report.  Some of which has already been leaking out into the forums.  I hope I have at least some new perspective on the news.  Either way, I have plenty more pictures to share.

Solaris Melee Challenge II

My second day in the arenas did not go as well as Thursday.  I spent some time running away from an Imp while simultaneously chasing a flighty Panther.  I managed a slight improvement to my bottom line but not enough to vault me into the final.  I am going to need a herculean effort if I am to make it to the final round.  Regardless though, I had fun.

BattleTech Seminar

There was a lot to discuss in the seminar.  We started slightly late due to a room change and once we did start the panel took up the majority of the time discussing what was going on past, present, and future for BattleTech.  Here are some of the notes I took as the seminar unfolded.

• The 25th Anniversary Box Set will be reshuffled due to the unseen licensing issue.
• New Jihad Hot Spots and TROs are in the pipeline.
• The RPG: Time of War is a whole 6 pages from completion.
• Jihad Turning Points: Hesperus II is next. [UPDATE: Hesperus II is the one AFTER next.  Thanks Keiran!]
• Mock-ups were available to show what the MapPacks will look like.  They will also include scenarios as part of the pack.
• Plastic ‘Mech Packs are indeed on the way.  A sample Hellbringer (Loki) was on hand for purchase ($10).

The big news of course was the plastic ‘Mechs.  From the seminar we know the following facts.

• High Impact Plastic.
• Slide Mold.
• Zero Shrinkage and no mold degradation during production.
• Based on CAD drawing so details are very accurate.
• They are being produced by a company called Ghost Studio? (I may have heard that wrong as I cannot find an online reference for such a company, I will try to confirm on Day 3)
• To be released as ‘Mech Lance Packs and are NOT designed with the intent of replacing metal miniatures.

And now for some of the best humorous anecdotes from the event.

• Tara Bills is Herb Beas’ dealer.
• Herb was definitely threatened with Al Gore before the event began.
• Herb is now delegating the destruction of Warships.
• Rule books are now measured in units of Randall.

In addition, I got to fill out my ripped apart Blake Documents pages with more signatures from artists to writers and everything in between.  Everyone I asked was pleasantly surprised that anyone would hang on to such a memento let alone bring it back a year later for some signatures.  I’m happy I got as many signatures as I did.

Canon Events

The canon events continued today.  From what I had gathered after making a few passes by the tables during the day, the battlefield was now being fought over by all three factions.  The Bears, the Wobbies and the Dracs were all on the board and fighting everyone.  In one instance the poor Kuritans were getting crushed between a solid WoB defensive line and a frightening Ghost Bear strike force.

A tally board was on hand to track (I assume) either kill or objectives or both.  Here is what it looked like by the end of the day.

Painting Contest

I entered a ‘Mech into the painting contest because I said I would.  Looking at the other entries, I know I won’t be taking home a prize.  Still, it is another ‘Mech in the case and the exposure is what matters.  I just didn’t give myself the proper amount of time to make the best mini I could.

On the bright side, there were several amazing works on display that will certainly go head to head with any Games Workshop product or any other manufacturer for that matter.  Take a look and tell me those paint jobs aren’t to die for.

Aerospace Lives!

I played in last years Aero Grinder and the Battle for Gabriel.  I was disappointed that Catalyst was not offering any Aerospace this year.  Lo and behold, in the late evening some Catalyst Demo Agents were gathered around a table with Aero Fighters in tow previewing a flight school grinder that will hopefully be a fixture at later conventions.

Miscellaneous (Con-Girls and non-Battletech games)

I played demos for a few more games.  I got in-depth with Malifaux and decided it was not a game I’d be interested in buying into (at this time), despite the gorgeous miniatures and interesting game mechanic.

I chanced a demo of Ergo (a Catalyst offering); a game where you attempt to prove your own existence while disproving the existence of your fellow players.  If that game were available to buy now, I’d have it.  I was stupified by the simplicty of play paired with the maddeningly painful method of determining just who exactly wins.  Sometimes you can manage to figure out who won, but most of the time, it’s really the game that wins.