If you’ve read my previous piece about the metals you might’ve missed for the Great Houses, you already know why we’re here. If you didn’t, the short version is this: CGL’s new plastics are great. They’ve revitalized BattleTech as a game and as a community, and they’ve made its popularity skyrocket over the last decade. However, BattleTech’s been around for over 40 years now, and there’s a whole hell of a lot of ‘Mechs that just haven’t quite made it out in plastic yet. Even if you’ve already painted one of everything in plastic, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to consider Iron Wind Metals’ extensive backlog of miniatures, both old and new, and I’m here to help point you in the direction of some of the best metal models in current production.
The rules:
No metal versions of existing plastics. Some of the tried-and-true designs like the Warhammer have metal versions, but in general, this is for new and unique stuff. I’m putting this rule on ice for this go around. You’ll understand why soon enough, but I’m still going to mostly focus on things that don’t have a plastic version of the chassis available.
No “known releases,” i.e. things we know are coming in plastic from one source or another. This includes models teased on Tuesday Newsday for future Aces boxes, Liya International’s YouTube, and Anthony Scroggins’ Patreon.
Models should look relatively modern. This is a bit of a flexible rule, but in general, that means sculpts that won’t look too out of place on a table populated entirely by its modern, more consistently-scaled kin.
As before, the headings for each ‘Mech link directly to the relevant IWM page for your convenience. We’ll pick up more or less where we left off, but first:
A Word on the Word (of Blake)
If I don’t talk about ComStar and the Blakists, someone’s gonna come for my neck, but they’re in a weird spot, model wise. Right now, ComStar/Word of Blake designs tend to fall into one of three categories: either they’re already in plastic, they’re long overdue for a design update, or they’re the goddamned Celestials that have a long-standing reputation of being incredibly annoying to assemble (and are frankly designed around using with Manei Domini pilots and aren’t that great for standard gameplay anyway). While I’d love to recommend the Celestials, because they do look sick as hell, I’m going to focus on things you’re more likely to actually build and play instead, such as…
The Raptor II isn’t that good. It’s built around the Void Signature System, which kinda sucks, and the BattleMech Taser, which also kinda sucks. That’s fine, because it was in MechAssault 2 and represented the peak of mid-00’s design aesthetics in the series. The model itself is exceptionally charming, and the base -2X model has a pair of medium VSPs and moves 7/11(14) for under 900 BV, so it’s not all bad. There’s also a modernized resculpt of the RPT-5X, but the original design has a lot of charm and nostalgia for me, so that was the one I picked up. It’s fairly easy to assemble, and with some 3D printed SRM bits, I was able to easily convert it to the -3X model that’s much more widespread. My only complaint is it has a near-total lack of detail on the rear torso, which is just a flat surface with a hole, but I’m willing to put up with it to reminisce about the good parts of my teens whenever I pass by my display case.
This is probably the oldest sculpt on this list, but damn it, the Hussar has aged like wine, and brings fantastic “I’m just a little guy” energy to the table. He needs it too, because he’s made of paper – somehow even moreso than the Fire Moth – and is best utilized poking people from long range with its lone ER large laser. Like the Raptor II, this model works best with a recessed hex as it comes with its own little mini platform that it’s meant to go onto. I strongly recommend using some alligator clips or similar as well to get the arms to stick, as well as drilling out and mounting the antennas on the rear of the turret (which isn’t actually a turret, somehow). I used 0.3mm beading wire from Beadalon for mine and it looks great.
From this point forward, I’m occasionally breaking my own rules about “no ‘already-in-plastic’ options,” because this particular variant has a bit of a weird history. Originally released as a premium resin miniature from Creative Juggernaut through Catalyst to coincide with the Battle of Tukayyid book, the initial run of the Clanbuster Black Knight was plagued by quality control issues that would later extend into their run of the Stormcrow B/TC kits. This caused a shift in production from Creative Juggernaut to siocast kits from Monster Fight Club, which has had occasional QA issues (thankfully limited to the initial run of Hammerheads) and even more spotty availability. This has been a frustrating experience, to put it mildly: I’ve long been an advocate for supporting American manufacturing of plastic miniatures, so I was one of the first in line for Creative Juggernaut’s kits but was consistently let down in their execution.
Northwind Highlanders Black Knight with Clanbuster. Credit: SRM
Thankfully, IWM stepped up to fill the gap for at least the aforementioned kits, with far fewer hiccups in quality. The Clanbuster Black Knight looks fantastic and has a degree of poseability that’s dramatically higher than most metal kits, so if you’re a ComStar or WoB player, it’s a shoo-in pick. Stat-wise, Peri gave it a B- in our review, but aesthetically, it’s an easy A.
Honorable Mentions: Osprey, Thorn
Mercenary/IS General
Since we covered Great House-specific designs last time, this go around we’re going to hit some common merc designs, as well as those that are a bit more widespread throughout the Sphere. For those of you who’ve noticed that the plastic packs tend to skew towards fat boy designs, this section should provide a welcome reprieve and help you fill out your DropShip with lighter, more flexible chassis.
“What if the Spider was a quad?” isn’t a question that I’d think to ask in a vacuum, but the Tarantula provides an answer anyway. The outcome is a ‘Mech with marginally better armor coverage, worse overall survivability, double heat sinks, and a Streak 2 in the CT, but you lose the ability to torso twist and punch things. However, retaining the 8/12/8 move profile while moving to a quad chassis opens up some interesting tactical options with pure ground movement by providing plenty of MP to take advantage of the side-step maneuver. As a model, the Tarantula is fascinating, having been sculpted as a dedicated manspreader – the model itself comes with multiple platforms you’re meant to put onto the base for the feet, extending its profile well past the confines of the hex. I personally think it looks really cool, but I’ve seen some people bend the legs inward to try and get it to actually fit on its own base instead of invading others’ personal space.
Okay, so the good(?) news is that this isn’t the game-breaking Fireball -XF. The bad news is that’s probably what you’re going to terrorize people with anyway, but hey, at least this guy looks pretty damn good! If you’re less cruel to your local playerbase, you can also run this little dude as the -8D, which is pretty solid for the price too, offering an 11/17 filler pick for your force that still brings a couple of medium lasers and a machine gun for under 600 BV. The sculpt is still a little eggy, but he’s got plenty of detail and a nice, dynamic pose, keeping him from falling into the “comically eggy” bucket that the Imp and Hornet currently occupy.
The rest of this section is going to break the first rule I set for this article series of “no plastics.” Why? Because these ‘Mechs are ubiquitous, they’re incredibly useful, and for some godforsaken reason, you can only get them by dropping $50 for a full A Game of Armored Combat box set. This is the sole alternative.
Broken Arrows Wolverine -9R. Credit: Valk.
First up we’ve got the Wolverines. IWM has two separate kits - the -6R/-6D kit, and the -7M/-7M2/-7K kit. The legs on these kits allow for good posability, while the arms are fixed in a bent pose. The main guns, however, come on their own sprue, so you can easily swap between them and choose what SRM launcher configurations you need to match your intended variant. Given that most Wolverines are variations on the same theme, you can also mix and match the weapon bits to make additional variants beyond those in the item description – the -6D’s AC/10 can be paired with the -6R’s SRM launcher to make the -9R, the torso pulse laser of the -7M2 can be left off to make the -9M or -11M, etc. I personally made the -9R with my first kit, and then used a metal SRM bit to help convert a spare plastic model I had into the -7K, so these get my kitbasher’s seal of approval.
The Locust’s confinement to the AGoAC and Alpha Strike box sets absolutely confounds me. It’s one of the most common ‘Mechs in the setting, and yet most players only ever end up having two of them for this reason. The IWM Locust kit is a good way to bump those numbers up and also introduces some of the better variants of the chassis to the table. It can be a bit tricky to assemble due to its spindly design, but it’s worth the effort to expand the bug horde. I strongly advise using some metal nippers to remove the sprues and excess metal flash in this process, as the antenna is very prone to bending and easily broken if not removed from the sprue with care.
Warrior House Hiritsu Locust -1E. Credit: Valk.
Note: Early versions of the CGL Unseens, when cast in metal, ran into some issues with the molds, resulting in very light “crackling” along the surface, which can be seen in the product photos for many of the affected models. I’ve been told that this has since been rectified in some kits, but others, such as the Locust, may still be affected. My examples of the Wolverine and Locust kits did have this flaw, but I’ve found it isn’t super noticeable after my usual pass of self-etching primer and zenithal that I give to all my metals. Still, it’s something to be aware of if you use very light prime coats and Contrast-type paints. If it seems like something that’ll bother you, I’d recommend applying a very light sandable putty over the most significant surface issues and then sanding them flat prior to priming.
Honorable Mentions: Valiant, Hound, Javelin (the OG sculpt slaps and you can never have enough Javelins)
The Clans
The Clans, being the standard-bearers of BattleTech’s visual aesthetic for decades and perennial fan favorites, naturally have a surplus of good metal designs available in IWM’s backlog. In fact, they probably have too many, so I’m picking my absolute favorites for inclusion because if I didn’t, we’d be here all day. The Honorable Mentions have been expanded accordingly, but if I missed your favorite, be sure to talk it up in the comments.
GO BIRDSI’m a Jade Falcon die-hard. I’ve been one ever since I was a teen stuck in Saturday detention with nothing but the Legend of the Jade Phoenix Omnibus to keep me company. I’ve suffered through countless instances of my boys in green getting clowned on to polish Clan Wolf’s plot armor over the decades, but in the last few years, that loyalty has finally been rewarded (albeit not in the lore, frustratingly). The second-generation Falcon totem ‘Mechs – the Ion Sparrow, Hierofalcon, and Jade Phoenix – are arguably some of the best ‘Mechs in the game, period, matching excellent mobility with lethal weapon loadouts. They are brutally efficient machines, and as of last year, we finally have official models for each of them.
Clan Jade Falcon Ion Sparrow Prime. Credit: Valk.
Not only do the models look great, they’re probably the best-designed kits in the IWM catalog. The legs thread the needle between being relatively painless to assemble and having good posability, and the parts that you’d think would be difficult to assemble and align (i.e., the partial wings) are often designed in a way that makes it easy to get them where they need to go as long as you orient them right-side-up. The only complaint I have is that the Ion Sparrow’s torso is attached to a weird bit of sprue where the sensor pod is, requiring a bit of finesse to clean up without losing detail, but it’s a minor quibble. It’s very rare that I finish assembling an IWM kit and immediately think “I want another,” but my experience assembling the Hierofalcon and Jade Phoenix made me order a pair of Ion Sparrows right off the bat. They’re that damn good.
Speaking of long-standing loves, I can pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with BattleTech as a franchise. I grew up with Armored Core and Robotech, but BattleTech didn’t really get its hooks into me until I was gifted a copy of MechWarrior 4 (found on clearance at the local Target), booted up the game, and watched a Davion MechWarrior run through the startup sequence for a Mad Dog, complete with function checking the chin turret. That did it for me, and when I moved to playing the tabletop game, I was deeply, deeply saddened to find out that the Mad Dog did not actually have an Apache-style chin turret.…but the Vulture Mk III does.
Swordsworn Vulture Mk. III. Credit: Valk.
The Vulture Mk III is not a 1:1 clone of ye olde MechWarrior 4 design, but it’s real damn close. It’s also a damn good ‘Mech in its own right, having shown up multiple times in the Goonhammer Heavy ‘Mech Championship lists, with the C variant in particular being “what the hell, man” terrifying. The metal model is fairly easy to assemble, though the arms definitely want to be pinned for best results. Even if you never actually run it as the Mk III model, it’s a striking sculpt that holds up very well to this day, even if it’s slightly smaller than its plastic cousin.
The Rasalhague Dominion’s two-phase boss fight is a solid brick of metal, just like its record sheet implies. There’s not a whole lot to talk about in regards to its stats; it’s loaded up with extremely efficient Clan guns, clad in the maximum amount of armor it can carry, and supports both with reinforced structure that makes it incredibly annoying to remove from the table proper. The Mastodon itself is pretty standard modern IWM fare, with interchangeable arms to represent the Prime or D variants. I don’t play Rasalhague, so I don’t have first hand experience with this kit, but Jack does; he recommends picking one set of arms to stick with and pinning them due to their mass.
The Iron Cheetah is unique in that I’ve probably seen more kitbashes of it than 3D prints or the official model, probably owing to the plastics giving us more Mad Cats than we know what to do with. The IWM model was originally planned to be made available as a two-variant kit, but due to some issues on the production side, the Prime components were eventually removed and the kit was released as the L variant only. The kit isn’t terribly difficult to assemble, featuring legs that attach to the hips with a rod-and-socket design and balljointed feet that allow for some degree of posability, but you can still see some of the multi-variant design concepts shining through in the way that the torso lasers are slotted in. I’m personally more excited to see the Prime kit eventually come to market proper, but the Iron Cheetah kit is still worth considering as is.
Honorable Mentions: Tomahawk II, Jaguar, Sojourner, Mad Cat Mk II, Onager, Omen, War Crow
Periphery
The militaries of the Periphery don’t get a lot of designs to themselves, but when they do, they tend to end up in metal due to their nature as “secondary” factions in the setting. More often than not, these designs end up belonging to the Canopians in particular due to their close relations with the Capellan Confederation
The Marshal is far from being a “looker,” but as Liberty will attest, that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most underrated ‘Mechs in the game. It lacks much in the way of posability, but that does have the side effect of making it easy to assemble. You should get one. Or two. Possibly four.
I’m not putting it here under duress, why do you ask?
The Agrotera is basically what happens when you take a Phoenix Hawk and run it through the Gundam filter instead of the Macross one. It’s fast as hell, reasonably well-armored for a 50 tonner, and packing a bunch of energy weapons that all have some kind of gunnery improving tech involved. The model isn’t easily posed, unfortunately, but the default running pose it comes in isn’t too bad. The one minor issue you may run into during assembly is with the partial wing component, which has a very small point of contact on the rear of the center torso. I used epoxy to reinforce the connection point and strongly advise you to do so too, given how much the component itself protrudes from the model. There’s also a jumping version of the sculpt, if you’re into that sort of thing.
The Calliope is my Hololive EN oshi a lesser-known design that became a mainstay garrison unit of the Magistracy Armed Forces by the late Dark Age, filling much the same role as the Gùn covered in the previous article. It shares some of the same design language as the Agrotera, but functions much more like the Vindicator, albeit with a higher ground speed in place of jump capability. The Calliope’s weapon loadout of a plasma rifle and MML 9 is versatile enough to shine in most scenarios, and at 1,125 BV, it’s inexpensive enough to fit into most forces as a support unit. Unlike the other ‘Mechs covered in this section, it’s also widely available to mercenary units, so it’s a great model to pick up even if you don’t play Canopians.
Now that we’ve gotten complete models out of the way, I want to showcase the other thing I love about IWM’s kits: kitbash options.
There was a point at which I had painted one of everything in the Clan Invasion Kickstarter, and the Mercs Kickstarter was still far off in the distance from fulfillment. In that period, I started to try and make the duplicate plastics I had into things that I’d be more excited to paint, which meant a lot of poking around at record sheets and IWM’s catalog of bits to see what was reasonably simple to accomplish. This rapidly spiraled out of control as I started carving up Clan Omnis from salvage boxes and poking IWM’s customer service to see if they would sell me the bits I needed (the answer was usually “yes,” much to my surprise). These “MVP” sprues are far from a comprehensive list of what you’ll find useful, but they’ll likely provide you with a good conceptual basis for your own projects.
Let’s start simple. The CGL Marauder is probably the single most common ‘Mech in plastic, with four distinct sculpts (Command Lance, Legendary I, Legendary II, Legendary III) in the main line, plus the Gothic variant. Later versions of the sculpt came with swappable dorsal guns to create variants that weren’t just the -3R, but this concept originally started with the metal Marauder kit, which could be built into the -3R or -5M variant (you can also make the -5CS from the kit, though it’s not advertised as such). Shortly after, a separate dorsal gun sprue released, allowing for the kit to also be built into the -3D (large laser), -5S (Gauss rifle), or -5T (RAC/5) variants. These guns are perfectly scaled to the plastic models as well, so if you’ve got a spare plastic Marauder, most of them can be quickly converted to a new variant by simply removing the dorsal gun and then gluing a new one of your choice on.
Note: The RAC/5 gun for the -5T variant on this sprue is visually identical to the optional RAC/5 bit included with the plastic Dragon Fire model. If you don’t intend to paint the Dragon Fire as the -9D variant, you can simply use that bit on a Marauder instead to make the -5T, though it’ll need a tiny bit of trimming to fit.
Unlike the Marauder, nobody has enough Catapults. There is a metal sculpt, thankfully, which expands your variant options to include the standard -C1, the PPC-toting -K2 (not to be confused with the -K2K in the Gray Death Legion Force Pack), and the Arrow IV-wielding -C3 and -C5 models. While you probably don’t want to sacrifice a plastic Catapult of any sort to the chop shop, there’s a decent chance that you do have a spare UrbanMech or Kit Fox kicking around. If you do, the Arrow IV launcher from the -C3/-C5 kit is available as a standalone sprue, which makes UrbanMech -AIV and Kit Fox V conversions a simple, efficient conversion project.
This $3 sprue set is one of the most valuable bits IWM currently sells as a standalone SKU. When I mentioned emailing IWM to buy bits that weren’t on the website, more often than not, these were the bits in question, so it’s possible that they put them up as an individual part just to stop me from bugging them so much. The Primitive Crossbow model differs from the Crossbow OmniMech in that its arm-mounted missile launchers could be changed out by using one set of “faceplates” or the other, allowing you to build the CRS-6B (with LRM 10s) or CRS-9A (with Streak SRM 6s). These faceplates, conveniently enough, are very close in size to the launcher apertures on the CGL Thunderbolt and Summoner plastics, requiring very little (if any) fitting to create a seamless conversion. I’ve used the SRM 6 faceplates on both to help create both the Thunderbolt -9S and Summoner A variants with some additional bits from the IWM Inner Sphere PPC sprue and Stormcrow TC kit, alongside some various laser barrels from scrapped plastics.
Speaking of PPCs, the IWM Inner Sphere PPC sprue has four PPC barrels of various diameter and lengths, all of which scale very well to CGL plastics. I originally bought a pair of these with the intent of using the snub-nosed PPC bits to make a Blackjack BJ-3, only for the Alpha Strike box to release a few months later and provide a turnkey solution. Still, the barrels provided here are well-detailed and easily usable as nearly any energy weapon – I’ve even used the Light PPCs as large pulse lasers to make the Turkina B with the help of some 3D-printed bits.
Similar to the PPC sprue, the UAC sprue and Typhoon RAC sprue are well-scaled to CGL’s models and make for fantastic rotary autocannon conversion bits. If you’re a Davion player, these components will open up a lot of conversion options for Civil War-era designs. I’ve used these bits to make three RAC variants so far: the Wolverine -8D, the Victor -11D, and the Centurion -D5, who demanded the sacrifice of a completely separate Centurion’s left arm to help me make Yen-Lo-Wang into something actually usable.
There’s a handful of jump jet sprues in the IWM catalogue, but these jump jets from the Pariah kit are probably the most useful. There’s not a whole lot to write home about here, but you do get five of them, they’re reasonably scaled, and they’re more or less flat on the back side, so they’ll integrate well onto most flat surfaces for jump-capable variant conversions.
Conclusion
With that, our spin around the world of Iron Wind Metals comes to a close, at least for now. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s available in the IWM catalog, meaning there are still hundreds of sculpts that I didn’t cover, ranging from basic infantry to high-tech WiGE craft and WarShips. Putting together metal models is more difficult by design, but it’s very much worth the effort to have access to the deepest reaches of BattleTech’s roster and partake in one of the game’s most storied traditions: muttering a string of expletives when you inevitably drop one of the damn things and get to put them together again.
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Broken Arrows Raptor II -3X. Credit: Valk.
Lyran Guards Hussar -200-D. Credit: Valk.
Northwind Highlanders Black Knight with Clanbuster. Credit: SRM
Broken Arrows Wolverine -9R. Credit: Valk.
Warrior House Hiritsu Locust -1E. Credit: Valk.
Clan Jade Falcon Ion Sparrow Prime. Credit: Valk.
Swordsworn Vulture Mk. III. Credit: Valk.
Jade Falcon Mastodon. Credit: Jack Hunter
Colonial Marshals Marshal MHL-X1, Credit: Liberty
Warrior House Hiritsu Agrotera. Credit: Valk.
1st FedSuns Armored Cav Marauder -5T. Credit: Valk
Clan Jade Falcon Kit Fox V. Credit: Valk
Clan Jade Falcon Summoner A. Credit: Valk
Clan Jade Falcon Turkina B. Credit: Valk
4th Deneb Light Cav Centurion -D5. Credit: Valk
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