Renegade HPG Podcast

Travis Gardner reconnects with the [unofficial] 2025 BattleTech TCG World Champion Kevin Michael after taking second in that same tournament. We discuss the state of the game and Kevin's Gauntlet series, an extensive breakdown of the meta derived from thousands of hours worth of playtesting over the last several years.

Zachary Cushing (Arclight Miniatures), Tommy Law (Pronker), Erik Berg (Tsuge), and Kevin Witt (Brushido) connect for a round table discussion to share tips and techniques for painting [BattleTech] miniatures.

Loren L. Coleman is a writer and the Owner/CEO of Catalyst Game Labs. In this conversation we talk about his early contributions to the BattleTech IP as a writer, focusing on his first two novels Double Blind and Binding Force. Later we turn our attention to his company, his experience as the steward of the BattleTech license, and what lies ahead for the franchise.

Tex of the Black Pants Legion joins me as co-host as we welcome Sven van der Plank to the podcast. Sven is a content creator for BattleTech and has created an expansive library of documentary style lore videos exploring the vast history of the Inner Sphere.

Brent Evans is the Art Director for Catalyst Game Labs and BattleTech

Nickolas Smith is the owner of Virtual World Entertainment. Preserving technology is at the core of the BattleTech universe and the BattleTech pods were the driving force behind almost all of the IP's early development decisions. Nickolas was a longtime fan and customer that jumped at the opportunity to save some of that technology from obscurity. In the process, he became a steward of BatteTech's...

Robert Skir was one of two writers that scripted BattleTech The Animated Series, which aired in 1994. His other writing credits include X-Men: The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles, Godzilla: The Series, and dozens more.

Sam Lewis worked on BattleTech as a game developer at FASA from 1987 to 1995. His role there largely encompassed what is now considered the line developer, shaping the BattleTech universe and it's evolution in both storyline and as a commercial product. Sam eventually moved into the Vice-President, and later President's role at FASA, and is credited on a myriad of projects that shaped the communit...

Kurt Weldon was a Producer for BattleTech The Animated Series, which aired in 1994.

Christopher Wailes is an Army veteran, miniature painter, and 3D designer and has been playing BattleTech for well over two decades. He can be found streaming on Twitch via his channel, Thunderhead Studio. There you can find him painting and chatting up his audience several evenings each week. Trinity City is his signature line of 3D printed cityscapes and can be found through Steel Warrior Studio...

Timothy Seals is an electronic composer from Perth, Australia. In 2015 he released his first cover album for Jeehun Hwang's award winning MechWarrior 2 Video Game Soundtrack, A New Dawn. Earlier this year, he released an updated and expanded cover including tracks from both MechWarrior 2 and MechWarrior 2 Mercenaries, A New Dawn (Bred for War Edition). Frequent guest Daniel Bruins, creator of Mech...

Nic Jansma started Sarna.net at the age of 12 as a hub of BattleTech related links. 12 years later he launched the Wiki that stands today as the definitive resource for BattleTech fans searching for details about the Inner Sphere and beyond. In this conversation we take a look behind the scenes of Sarna.net and how the community can best access and support this wonderful resource.

Creative juggernauts collide in this roundtable discussion of all things BattleTech. Tex, Michael Stackpole, and Blaine Lee Pardoe muse on everything from how neurohelmets work to what our 'Mech's paint job would be if we were a Solaris gladiator! Support Renegade HPG on Patreon so I can make more fun BattleTech content. https://www.patreon.com/renegadehpg

Joel Biske worked with the FASA Corporation from 1989 through 1998, first as a staff artist and eventually as Art Director. In this conversation we explore Joel's contribution to the visuals of the early BattleTech universe.

Eldon Cowgur is a comic artist, illustrator, and graphic designer that has produced illustrations for Tex Talks BattleTech and Catalyst Game Labs. In this conversation we explore Eldon's history with the genre, personal style, and recent contributions to the portfolio of modern BattleTech art.

Christopher Ings created Clan Fox in 1996 after seeing a passing mention of it in official FASA product. That moniker was later abandoned by FASA for what would eventually become the named home world clans, but Chris' own version of that Clan continues to live on in his play group to this day.

Marco Mazzoni is the Senior Concept Artist at Harebrained Schemes and is frequently recruited by Catalyst Game Labs to create illustrations for their BattleTech products.

Kevin Hansen @hansen_bricks and Yuval Kordov @gothbricks2000 create fantastic custom LEGO builds that are from or inspired by 'Mechs in the BattleTech universe. In this episode Kevin and Yuval join me to talk about those creations, their build process, inspirations, and tips for new builders looking to pick up the hobby.

Travis from Renegade HPG brings Alex Iglesias, Brent Stewart, and Bishop Steiner together for a deep dive into the finer details of BattleMechs. Rule of cool and hand waving be damned, we overthink the hell out of our favorite make believe war machines in this episode!

Travis from Renegade HPG invites Tex of the Black Pants Legion, D.C. Bruins (aka sirdubdub) and Bishop Steiner to hang out on Zoom and talk BattleTech for a couple hours. Mayhem and hilarity ensue.

Florian Mellies is a 2D and 3D artist in the BattleTech community whose unofficial and official work can be found on both DeviantArt and Patreon under the tag, SpOoKy777.

Anthony Scroggins is the Art Director for Catalyst Game Labs. Under the tag Shimmering Sword, Anthony has produced an expansive library of both official and unofficial artwork for the BattleTech IP. Most recently, Anthony and his team have been responsible for the design all of the new miniature sculpts for the massively successful Clan Invasion Kickstarter.

Robert N. Charrette is one of the founding fathers of the BattleTech universe. His novels Wolves on the Border and Heir to the Dragon are considered by many to be the pinnacle of BattleTech writing and the miniatures he sculpted have helped generations of gamers bring that world to life on the table top. In this conversation we explore his experiences from the early days of BattleTech, Ral Partha,...

Alex Iglesias (aka flyingdebris) has illustrated many of the iconic covers that grace modern BattleTech sourcebooks and box sets. As concept artist for MechWarrior Online, he has redefined the look of BattleMechs for a entire generation of the IP's online devotees. In this episode we explore Alex's fandom and how he translates the BattleTech universe into the visual medium for it's fans. You can s...

Michael Stackpole is one of the founding fathers of the BattleTech universe. His Warrior and Blood of Kerensky trilogies were both pivotal in laying the foundation of the early lore. Mike has been a stalwart contributor to this universe ever since and his novels have consistently guided fans through the most pivotal moments of BattleTech history. In this conversation we talk through that journey,...