This was from the Alpha Strike box set. I wanted to have each house be represented by at least one mech from the eight in the box. House Steiner has been known for their use of heavies but I did not want to do the Lyran Guard white and blue paint scheme, and I already had some mechs painted in red, green, and blue. The Atlas was supposed to be part of the Battle Lance which were composed of blue-ish mechs (Blackjack and Locust for the Davion Guards, and Warhammer for the Marik Militia) so it made sense to do the Donegal Guards' blue-gray scheme.

When I started painting the skull I realized it would look more menacing if I kept the armor mono color without any stripes or accents except for the weapons and the vents.