I finally finished my Black Talon force for Heavy Gear Blitz. 13 models being more than enough for the most elite army in the game. A nice contrast to my sprawling Southern horde, featuring all the Claw series of gears.

I wanted to do a classic black, but I also didn’t want them literally black, so I started with a kinda darkish grey and highlighted up and then shaded the whole thing down with a wash. They were looking a little simple through, so I added a high contrast fluorescent looking couple parts in orange. My head canon is that they’re narrow spectrum optical IFF flags. A passive IFF system to keep them invisible unless you’re looking in a very specific range band.

Medium Hovertanks (often called Predators) are the backbone of CEF armored units currently operating on Terra Nova. Originally during the first invasion these tanks were classed as heavy hovertanks, but that designation changed when even heavier units were identified. Regardless these tanks are the most easily recognized and highly visible part of the CEF’s armored forces. Survivors of engagements with these units say nothing compares to the sudden havoc that can be wrought by hovertanks. Using their superior mobility, these units can easily bypass heavily defended positions or densely packed formations of conventional armor to strike from unexpected directions. This allows the CEF to exploit nearly any weakness in an opponent’s order of battle swiftly and decisively. Hovertanks are hungry and thirsty beasts however and due to their incredible maintenance demands, not to mention cost, it is rare for medium hovertank patrols to form more than half a larger battle group’s standing force. This formation and doctrinal mission are still present in Port Arthur who has since modified it to include the Hetairoi hovertanks available to NuCoal forces.

F-27 Sarru

Spartan II

The Spartan was designed by Peace River Skunkwerks to be an easy to produce heavy trooper gear that could be used in place of Warrior IVs. Simpler, easy to produce components were sourced from other Peace River designs particularly the Crusader. These larger parts made the Spartan quite a bit larger than other gears of its class. Paxton unveiled their new gear to the public as part of its rebuilding campaign with the tagline “Bigger & Badder”. The larger actuators and joint components had an unexpected side effect once the gear hit the market.

T-XM1500/2 GOLD MAMBA

HACS-01MG-FU/A BEARHUNTER

HACS-01MG-FU ARMORED HUNTER

F-32 Maru

F-55 Zikru

Like the F-27 and the F-32, the pads on the F-55’s hands and feet utilize “Lacerta-tech,” produced by Lysander Incorporated, which can be engaged to produce Van der Waals force. This Lacerta-tech, combined with additional climbing equipment, makes these frames excellent climbers.

The core units of the City Militia Defense Forces are the Gear cadres which field either older Gears or newer cheaper Asps. These units perform the role of a stop-gap measure until assistance from a regular military unit arrives. Most of the pilots in these Gears are retired veterans or members of the Youth Guard training to be ready for duty in the SRA or MILICIA.

Using Specialist Combat Groups in Heavy Gear Blitz!

Constructing a Specialist Combat Group is a bit different than a normal Blitz! combat group. Instead of picking the role and secondary role for the unit and filling it how you please, you must instead adhere to strict rules for composition, which may even include only running specific variants or upgrades. In exchange for adhering to this rigid formation, you may be able to run some models in a Role they may not normally fit in, or gain access to some unique options.

These groups may not be given secondary roles, and are only able to be used in armies from the force they come from, unless noted otherwise. They may however have any upgrades permitted by army and sublist rules, so long as the composition requirements are still met. Restrictions on the number of a specific variant apply as normal, for example, if a Specialist Combat Group is taken in the SK role, then model variants without SK+ may only be taken twice.

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Automaton Infantry

Utopian warfare is dominated by automatons, or autos for short. Auto is a catch all term for any drone used by Utopians be it for combat, transportation, picking up garbage or even housekeeping. The most famous examples known on Terra Nova are the N-KIDU units. However, these are far from the only models used. Recent sightings of smaller, humanoid units have begun to trickle in. Classified as Trooper Automatons, the Utopian armies use these to clear dense urban terrain as well as hold and fortify positions against attacks. The Clearance teams in particular have a reputation for completely annihilating any opposing forces, human or auto, civilian or military, unless they receive an order to stand down.