Critical Mass Games Blackguard Assault Mecha Assembly Guide

This is the third assembly and customization guide, in a new series I'm doing on the mecha I sculpted for Critical Mass Games.

Here is the first, on the Arc Fleet Walker.

Here is the second, on the Ravager Assault Mecha.

The Blackguard Assault Mecha (which, of course, sounds like "blaggard" to my and my countrymens' colonial ears) is a mecha kit that was funded through the wildly successful Zas Kickstarter.

It was designed alongside the Ravager, and most parts, including the main hulls, backpacks, and weapons, interchange freely.  The Vanguard Support Mecha, too!

As an aside, I had no idea the archaic meaning of "blackguard" means a man of low character who uses foul language in front of high-society women.  I may or may not have been accused of that very same deed in the past.  ;)

Anywho, on to the Blackguard assembly guide.  First, a few painted production examples...

 

 The lovely production samples from the CMG website.

The custom Blackguard painted by CMG Dale, named "Cookie."  The pride of my collection.  Thanks, Dale and Craig.

Colour legend, so you can differentiate the different parts, and their particular attachment methods.

The Blackguard, as mentioned before, shares a number of parts with the Ravager.  This includes...

The legs.  One random set from three different poses is included with purchase.

 The main hull attaches to a socket in the hips.

 

The Mecha Weapons Backpack attaches to the rear of the main hull.  This part was first designed as part of the Ygs mecha, but the modular nature of the designs made it able to be used throughout the line of CMG mecha.  Modularity.  I love it.

 These Missile Packs attach via the CMG Accessory Peg system to the Backpack.  Best to angle them slightly, so they'll clear the shoulders.

 The standard Zas mecha shoulders are used here, and attach via CMG accessory pegs to sockets in the main hull.

 A pair of heavy plasma cannons attach at the bottom of the shoulders.  The 1/8" ball and sockets give you the ability to pose the weapons, or swap out for other compatible bits.

 

 Well, there it is, a completed standard Blackguard Assault Mecha.  That's a lot of firepower!

You can purchase the Blackguard in single units, or in platoons of three.

Let's customize a bit with optional parts from the CMG Mecha Workshop...

 Let's swap out those plasma cannons for a pair of Mecha Railguns.

 Now, we'll swap out the 4-pack missile launchers for Ygs Mortar Bombs.

 Railguns go by the wayside, and we install a pair of Mecha Energy Cannons.

 Alright!  Now, let's swap out one of the shoulders for a Ygs upper arm.  The have the same attachment point into the main hull, and also have a 1/8" socket at the bottom.

 The Ygs Right Sword Arm makes our Custom Blackguard, here, a standout character model.  You can tell this guy means business.

Salute!

Now, we can re-create the Cookie mecha featured above.

The Energy Cannon and Railgun already featured are all you need to make a Cookie of your own.  Well, that, and Golden Demon-level painting ability, like CMG Dale.  ;)

The Vanguard and Ygs mecha assembly guides are coming up.

Best,
JBR