BATTLETECH! How to paint Draconis Combine Sword of Light Battlemech

Battletech has had a fantastic resurgence recently and it has been around since the early 80's. It's got a great following and the game is both pretty fun to play and collect too. In this tutorial we show you how to paint one in the colours of the Droconis Combine. There are some fantastic techniques demonstrated including how to get that awesome looking tobacco coloured glass effect!
"Reactor online, sensors online, weapons online. All systems nominal."
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Paints Used:
Mechanicus Standard Grey Spray (Citadel)
Evil Sunz Scarlet (Citadel)
Agrax Earthshade (Citadel)
Wild Rider Red (Citadel)
Leadbeclher (Citadel)
Nuln Oil (Citadel)
White Star (TTC) or Matt White (Army Painter)
Averland Sunset (Citadel)
Doom Death Black (TTC Paints) or Matt Black (Army Painter)
Khorne Red (Citadel)
Yriel Yellow (Citadel)
Skrag Brown (Citadel)
Thousand Sons Blue (Citadel)
Baharroth Blue (Citadel)

[@ShimmeringSword]

As the designer of the minis, thank you for showing people the keys to keeping the main color steps simple while putting some extra time into the details that really sell the look. You applied metallics, stripes, and the cockpit glass just how I like seeing them.

[@jimmydesouza4375]

So you designed this mech, which was first published in the mid 80's, despite the fact you were still in school a decade and a half ago? Yeah, makes sense!

[@ShimmeringSword]

@@jimmydesouza4375 hahaha. I designed this very sculpt, not the Dougram mech that existed before I was born. They're a bit different.

[@justinheads5751]

@@jimmydesouza4375 dude, don't be an ultracrepidarian. shimmeringsword is a miniature sculptor for catalyst games labs. its a well known thing.

[@jimmydesouza4375]

@@ShimmeringSword Ah that makes more sense. Why did you make a new design for it since the old one "worked"? As in what was the design goal? Simply to make it so people have to buy a new mini, or something about trying to make it match some kind of design ethos?

[@ShimmeringSword]

@@jimmydesouza4375 Battletech stopped using all designs licensed from Japan after Harmony Gold made it their life's goal to IP troll the franchise with their Robotech license. I redesigned all the "unseen" so that they can be sold again. Ones like those from Dougram that were never too much legal risk got more minimal redesigns. People can still use the old minis if they want.

[@potchns]

Thanks for this Duncan. A subtle thing that I really appreciated is that you clearly know the BattleTech universe. When you casually mention PPCs, LRMs, jump jets, etc it shows you’re not just painting a generic model but demonstrating a genuine interest in BattleTech. Very cool.

[@Mechator_Rex]

The mentioning of the Dragon for Kurita was a strong giveaway that either he is a fan or just really well informed on what he's painting. It's one of the most Draconis Combine Mechs ever. ^^

[@MrOhidunno]

I know this video is 2 years old at this point, but man would I just love to see more Battletech painting tutorials. The 2 posted here are the best I've seen.

[@Judge_Jej]

I DIE FOR THE COORDINATOR you honor the Dragon Duncan, thank you for making me once again repaint my 2nd Sword of Light

[@magennis]

Dracs.... I'm I right!

[@KingKass2929]

Dude, I've always loved your work, but I REALLY love that you've joined us in the BattleTech Community! So good!

[@fuzztsimmers3415]

he hasnt joined shit cant even get the class of mech right

[@Blustride]

The perfect color scheme for a long DCMS-sponsored vacation on Kentares IV. I hear the civilian population centers are great spots for Mechs this time of year.

[@verysilentmouse]

lol *stabs* ;)

[@brianhuss9184]

I painted the flag of Kentares on the back of my 2nd Sword of light battlemechs :)

[@Splatterpunk_OldNewYork]

Not only do I appreciate the tutorial, but I am silently impressed with Duncan's knowledge of the battletech lore in regards to the tech present on the model. Just did a few rounds painting my buddy's original battletech starter box from the 80's, Pteg plastic extruded two part molds and all. Had no idea what any of the little details represented, so just used my games workshop knowledge of mini painting to get it done, and based the hex stands with a Vallejo tank mud mix. Good times.

[@brettpetersen1671]

You paint Battletech and I subscribe. Glad to see channels painting something other than Warhammer stuff.

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

We love wargaming and painting miniatures 😁

[@oldmenrollingdice]

Awesome, I hope to see more Battletech videos. The canopy walk through was very appreciated.

[@gregarious_one]

More Battletech, yes! I flirted with Battletech 35 years ago and only recently got back into it full force after GenCon 2021. Thanks so much; love the channel, Duncan.

[@Hudson316]

I've been playing the Mechwarrior and Battletech games since I was like... 8 I think (MW1 and Crescent Hawks Inception) and I only just finally got my hands on some real battletech minis a few weeks ago (via the Clan Invasion kickstarter, mine got here late because I ordered it all on wave 2 delivery) and they're everything I could possibly have wanted (other than needing more mechs because I couldn't afford to buy the full range, and though I lucked out getting a Dire Wolf in a salvage box, my sweet King Crab has so far eluded me)

[@HLSnake]

Haven't played the game yet but I did watch the old Battletech cartoon! Would love to see Duncan paint some 1st Somerset Strikers and Clan Jade Falcons.

[@killroy255]

Glad to see another painting guide for battletech! Think you'll be doing more for each faction?

[@ben2061james]

Keep up the good work Duncan! Your painting videos and general attitude to the hobby is very inspiring.

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

Thank you very much!

[@MaskedRiderChris]

Red can be a tricky color, but you always make it look good! Gives me more incentive to improve at painting it.

[@RickardLejonhjarta]

Duncan can be as master as he wants, i painted mine like a Gundam and it looks rad

[@Nilloxified]

I just started playing MW5 and I really want to get into Battletech. I have been a long time mech fan, so thanks for showing how to paint them!

[@kinruhighwood8640]

Please paint more Mechs. Will love to see this

[@frankb3347]

Nicely done. This is pretty much the painting technique I pieced together all concisely covered in one easy to follow video.

[@joeg875]

YEAH DUNCAN!! MOAR BATTLETECH!! Thank you sir!

[@dwarrenmsp]

Love to see non-GW minis and this looks great! Now do Infinity! 😁

[@fedemotta3]

Yeeeeees! Awesome to see more battletech Duncan!

[@remarkzero]

I'm actually painting this model now, but im using the desert camo recipe you released recently. I wasn't sure what to do about the joints/non armored bits but I this video has all the detail work I was looking for! Brilliant

[@johnkelley9877]

Fantastic work Duncan! The figure looks great and I enjoyed watching and learning from this tutorial. Thanks for sharing this.

[@Wraithcannon]

One of my deepest chuckles in Battletech is the color scheme of the Robinson DMM, the border unit of the Federated Suns between them and the Draconis Combine. If you find it, you will see why. Good paint job Duncan. I like gloss black paint for the cockpit glass.

[@lorcannagle]

I came across a photo from my first in-person BattleTech game since COVID began the other day, and it's my friend's red Robinson Rangers vs my Grey and silver Ryuken-ni...

[@TinBane]

This guide is awesome! It’s inspired me to paint up a sword of light unit!

[@robcarroll42]

You can paint all the Battletech Mechs you want. Been watching you for a long time. Now that you started painting Battletech I watch more ;) Keep up the excellent work.

[@theJellyjoker]

I'd love to see you do more BattleTech minis

[@ironbat2376]

Woah never thought I would see the day. Thanks duncan!

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

Our pleasure 😊

[@heywoodjablome9114]

Aw, sweet! My Kickstarter minis just came in and I've been deciding on a color scheme. I want to do a company of Crescent Hawks, so the natural choice for an opponent is 2nd SOL. This is exactly what I needed, thank you.

[@Hudson316]

Crescent Hawks paint scheme is basically the Kell Hounds scheme with dark blue instead of red, right?

[@heywoodjablome9114]

@@Hudson316 Yes. Dark blue instead of red, and gold highlights.

[@Raziberry]

This is great, I'm painting a batch of Sword of Light 'Mechs right now and I def needed pointers.

[@ekillops22]

Thanks so much for this tutorial! I've been meaning to get back into painting my mechs and this is exactly the type of scheme I would be doing: single main color with metal and detailing. You made it all very approachable.

[@RahByte]

Holy that glass looks awesome! I get my first mechs next week and I bett your videos will be a great help. :)

[@xyonblade]

I'm so glad I found this channel

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

Us too 😊

[@ConstableGrey]

My LGS just got a big Battletech section. Got a box set on Black Friday! All the factions, etc look overwhelming. Looks tough to choose just one!

[@ShimmeringSword]

Many players paint multiple armies either just for fun variation, or to run multiple factions more authentically (often providing your opponent an army). But you can also do so without fear of not being able to play what you want on the fly. Mix and match your painted minis at will and only the worst grognards will give you snark for it. End of the day, paint what looks cool.

[@benjerauld4248]

Awesome stuff, would love to see some Steiner or jade falcon mechs next if you got the time!

[@hzglm3]

Cool video. Your stuff is always worth watching.

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

Thank you. Hopefully there is something for everyone to pick up or learn in every video. Or at least get a little entertained lol

[@SlamBaron]

Hi Duncan! Glad to see more Battletech! The Weeb Combine is one of my favorites. Is the name of this pilot Bob Kurita by chance? As always I enjoy how you bring these mechs to life with your attention to detail, especially the red on it! Now I wanna jump in the cockpit fly around and blap fools with that PPC and LRM at long range! At least until it overheats on me lol.

[@diverspudph1310]

Thank you for the Battletech love, Duncan!

[@AlitarS]

Thank you so much for doing some more BattleTech, really appreciated!

[@TheMiniJunkie]

Looks fantastic. I'm finding one of the hard parts of these plastic mechs is cleaning them up (mold lines and whatnot).

[@matthewbirdsall9518]

Basic and clean steps! Really enjoyed the tutorial, ready to go paint a mech Duncan style.

[@Mechanic618]

A gloss varnish on the canopy glass would be a nice final touch to give it the appearance of a reflective surface

[@Pariah502]

I don't know, if the gloss is too intense you might waste all the work put into the reflection you painted on the canopy by, well, the actual reflection going on with the gloss

[@Mechanic618]

@@Pariah502 never had that issue, use a thin coat :)

[@damiendavis9884]

I could watch you do a 100 battletech videos, so good

[@TheGantus]

Thanks for making my Sword of light look good.

[@Dracobyte]

Thank you for your painting tutorials!

[@frostphoenyx]

Another Battletech video ? OMG Duncan you're the best !

[@idbuyanewbmx]

I just painted my mechs last night. Now I need to fix them after watching this lol

[@davidhadskey5979]

Thank you for painting some Battletech

[@Castillo525]

I JUST PAINTED MY FIRST TWO KURITA BATTLEMECHS YESTERNIGHT!! WHY DIDNT YOU POST THIS VIDEO A DAY BEFORE?! 😂

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

😂😂😂

[@MrWhatevertoday]

Love the Battletech content coming out cant wait to see more! Do you have more on your website by chance?

[@Bitterman5868]

Battletech Duncan! FINALLY!

[@bobavontanelorn5713]

Duncan paints Battletech…. Ii it XMas aleeady? Thank you for that stream! Wish came true!

[@BigRed40TECH]

The Coordinator is pleased by this video.

[@icommaDK]

Oh man, please do more Battletech paintings!

[@snoopy29alpha]

I've always loved your tutorials. Would you do a tutorial for chipped and weathered armor on a BT mini?

[@jogro9769]

Simple clean and good looking . Nice work !

[@bee-beargaming]

I'm going to try to watch all ur battletech videos now

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

yahoo!!!!!

[@PartisanGamer]

Just some minor amount of smart-assing and maybe a "nice to know": the canopy is not made out of glass. Canonically its translucent armor. It's basically the same thing the mech is armored with just see through. Think: very advanced Aluminium oxynitride (transparent aluminium) of sorts; made out of whichever ceramics they use to armor their mechs with in the 3rd millennium :D

[@baker90338]

I didn’t know that, explains why a burst of a good ole’ LB10X isn’t a instant kill.

[@Hudson316]

@@baker90338 that's why you gotta go for the AC20 to the face, like a civilised person.

[@csmonkey1701]

Great tutorial Duncan! Glad to see some love on the BattleTech minis! More please? Sharing a link to this on some of the FB BattleTech pages.

[@andromedaradiotheater3380]

Last time I was this early, General Kerensky was still around

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

Touche

[@magennis]

Hahaha best comment of the night

[@gory51gaming72]

Awesome tutorial, cant wait to get some Battletech minis to paint. Really great video, clear and precise and relaxing to watch. I was wondering about your background music though....do you create it yourself or do you source it online. Just a curiosity. I like it

[@kevinbartoe7881]

I'd be happy just getting the weapons and cockpit looking nice

[@Janovich]

Don't really like the look of most battletech mechs but you made it look great

[@estwilde]

Fantastic work!

[@garin4364]

Great to see you getting into battletech. Awesome tutorial as well. Even if it is for a Kurita mech ;)

[@christianhilleke2548]

I really love the work shown here. Only thing I've seen better is the weapon effect inside the PPC-barrel. I would have preferred the colors blending into each other (as done on the cockpit) to create the impression of glowing energy.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , DRPA .

[@smoessmee]

Really nice, probably would pick out a few more details just to break up the red but I really like the end result.

[@cactus351rs4]

Time for more battletech guides with the kickstarter getting close to shipping 😁😁

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

Good call!

[@vectorstrike]

Good to know you're exploring 'fringer' miniatures! What about Infinity and Wild West Exodus? Plans on painting some of them?

[@DoomAngel15]

Great video! I also paint my Mechs red ;) but in the scheme of the 4th Skye Rangers. Everything is red except the arms. I took some tips from this video for my next Inner Sphere models!

[@gagemorrow6702]

More battletech please!

[@billbrigham7514]

Amazing stuff, end result. Gorgeous. If you aren't selling them, can you suggest anywhere that is? Thank you. Please keep them coming.

[@minipaintingforyou]

I‘d have gone for a green or blue canopy, to add some interest and make the mini pop a bit more. Great execution, as always!

[@Pariah502]

me too, probably green for me, but blue would be awesome as well

[@ghostcat5303]

Having my first game on Sunday with my capellan death commandos

[@shornk]

Fantastic video, thanks. Sorry if I missed it but did you paint the numbers on or are those decals? If so, where would one find them?

[@berndx5798]

And I am intersting in your interpretation of Clan Jadefalcon.

[@overlord2304]

Honorless Drac sympathizer! I love it!

[@1Maklak]

IDK why this is in the middle of Shadow Empire playlist, but good job on the paint job as well as on the tutorial. My one small complaint is the white dots on the windows.

[@s41nt-hardy85]

ah the cult of the Agrax, may we long worship at is defining temples

[@alphaleigpyne]

I think I may of seen a TV show of BattleTech over a decade ago, I think I remember seeing some miniatures of them when I was starting the hobby. Or was Heavy Gear? Thank you for showing the some tips.

[@lorcannagle]

There were short-lived BattleTech and Heavy Gear cartoons in the 90s. BattleTech was cel animation that used occasional CG for the fight scenes, while Heavy Gear was all CG.

[@Digitalfiendscom]

Oh missed this one somehow on the website - need to catch up. Do you think we'll get a Krondys painting tutorial this month? :)

[@julvatn]

Brilliant work Duncan! Now, we need a good guide for the Free Viking Republic (we only had a decade but it was hours, dammit!) 👍

[@martintaylor570]

Ah man, so good!

[@andreasell1830]

I hope we see others faction of this awesome game

[@sstinger0137]

More Battletech!!!! Yeeeeeess!!!!!

[@CrimsonKMR]

Just a process question - is there a reason you did the all over shade and then cleaned it up rather than doing just a recess shade?

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

Believe it or not, I just find this method quicker for me when painting these Mechs. But a recess shade would do the job too.

[@CrimsonKMR]

@@DuncanRhodesDRPA Thanks for the answer! Might just be me coming from my gunpla background where panel lining/recess shading is more the standard

[@verysilentmouse]

yay more battletech

[@karlosrolero]

Very, very cool! I like a lot this tutorial. I really dig how you paint Battletech mechs. You had to please the surats from the Inner Sphere didnt you? :P Still, I like Kurita a lot. Had a company of them way back when, but from another division, the 7th serpent.

[@99zxk]

Do you think that a disgruntled soldier being forced to paint the mechs before the next fight will mask the "internals," or are they going to spray & pray? Great work, though.

[@Promethius84]

The hardest part is actually getting hold of the models

[@TheStrandedSavant]

Just order them

[@Tom-vy4uw]

More Mechs please! 😁

[@berndx5798]

Nice tutorial. But now it is time to paint the real power of the inner sphere: House Steiner 💪🏼.

[@ryanfournier9522]

I’m a beginner painter. I followed this but my minis still came out very meh. Part of my problem is getting my paint to the right consistency. I’m having a lot of issues with that and then I lose details

[@DuncanRhodesDRPA]

It's all about practice. IF in doubt, thin you paints a little more. It's easier to add more layers if need be than to try and take it away. 😊

[@DeathMortarion]

Please do a guide for your Smoke Jaguars scheme too!

[@Kepora1]

Perhaps you should try an Awesome in the colors of the Black Pants Legion? :)

[@guildsman06]

Can you show how to paint models for the Federated Suns, Lyran Commonwealth, and other factions in Battletech?

[@biggrundo6667]

Glad to see duncan finally painting mini's from a decent game.

[@NewSquallor]

That gazpacho paint water... mmmmh forbidden gazpacho

[@redmarmot5500]

Any chance of doing the taurian concordat next, they have a lot of brown. Not sure how to make it look interesting.