Mech Every Day Force Saturday #4: Clan Jade Falcon Golden Talon Star

Clan Jade Falcon was, at one time, the second-greatest of Nicholas Kerensky's Clans, only just behind Clan Wolf. Unlike the lesser Clans, the Falcons were a dominant force in the Homeworlds through the Golden and Political Centuries. While they had to Trial for a slot to invade the Inner Sphere (unlike Clan Wolf, who as the "Clan of Kerensky" were granted an invasion corridor), their victory wasn't much in doubt. They tore through the Lyran Commonwealth, with only a minor defeat on Twycross marring their record. They fought well even in the bloodbath of Tukayyid, with one of the greatest heroes rising to legendary status.

Now, following the Battle of Terra that decided the ilClan, Clan Jade Falcon is a shadow of their former strength. Most of their fighting force - or touman - was destroyed. They lost all access to their hard-won holdings in the Commonwealth, with those worlds being reclaimed by the Lyrans, seized by Clan Hell Horses or the Rasalhague Dominion, or even banding together into microstates for mutual support. What's left of the Flacons now serve ilClan Wolf, a near-total fall from grace for a Clan that had once - briefly - absorbed their storied rival.

One of the interesting traditions of Clan Jade Falcon is granting special designations to units that have excelled in battle. These can be as large as entire Clusters all the way down to individual Stars. The Golden Talons, seen here, are one of the smaller units given such an honor.

This is the entire Clan Star from the Alpha Strike boxed set, and as such does not fit well into any of Alpha Strike's unit roles. It's more meant to present a range of BattleMech weight classes: one light, two medium, one heavy, and one assault. That said, while it has a broad range of speed profiles and 'Mech masses, it does have a large number of powerful energy weapons, making it a decent Direct Fire Star even if it doesn't meet that kind of formation's requirements.

While this unit may have been granted a special title, the exact 'Mechs used are unusual for the 3150s, especially for Clan Jade Falcon. The Fire Moth is most often used by Clan Ghost Bear. The Pouncer was developed by Clan Wolf, and in fact by Khan Phelan Kell - an Inner Sphere freebirth! The Nova and Timber Wolf, while not uncommon in the Falcons, are both rather long in the tooth designs by 3152. Finally, the Warhawk is a very rare machine indeed, with most examples (such as still exist) in the Scorpion Empire far off in the Deep Periphery. Once can imagine that this unit was cobbled together out of whatever Clan OmniMechs could be procured by the shattered remnants of a battered Clan.

I chose to paint these slightly differently from the sample miniatures in Alpha Strike. Yellow is an absolute bear for me to paint, so I replaced it with the fantastic Arkab Tan from the BattleTech: Mercenaries paint set. I also tweaked the placement of the green accents to give a more-uniform look to the Star.

While I'm not averse to painting unique schemes for certain units or individuals - see Kolbitr's Loki Mk II, posted earlier today - I'm also trying for paintjobs that could be mixed in a force without too much dissonance. By swapping yellow for tan, these Jade Falcons work well with the Clan Wolf Beta Galaxy Nova I painted for 2024's Mech Advent Calendar.