StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I dont know about you guys, but I have a soft spot for fun vehicles with talent. One such vehicle is the ancient Alvis Stalwart 6x6 transport, as used by the British Army from the late 50's up until abour the 70's I think. It was an all-terrain amphibious transport designed to keep up with armoured divisions romping across the Rhine in WWIII, but bit the dust when helicopters became the small transport of choice. It was pretty advanced for the time, so advanced they had bother keeping them running and they suffered something awful from driveline-bind when driven on high-traction surfaces. Anyway, it's so cute and futuristic looking they still occasionally dig them out and redress them as sci-fi vehicles, so I thought I'd have a go at making something similar.

The main problems with the original were that the 6x6 drive would self-destruct and that the only way in to the cramped cockpit was via roof hatches. Mine is stretched a few feet and incorporates a side entrance to augment the hatches. I also figure this one could be powered in a manner similar to the latest army truck designs, with a turbine or large engine generating power which is transferred to independantly powered wheels. There's certaily enough space for it now, and it would mean it wasn't quite so maintenance and part intensive, as well as increasing load space. This isn't in any way finished, this is just the basics and I'll begin detailing it soon. It's all the little details that sell the look and scale of the thing when you look at it.

Very nice. The only flaw I see (and forgive me, it's a big one) is the rather huge size of the windows. Have you also considered mounting a HMG or light cannon (or sci-fi pew-pew-pew! raygun equivalent) on the top of the cab?

Woah. That reminds me of that awesome toy I had as a kid.

Do you have a pic of a REAL Stalwart?

Well spotted that gay man, the windows are indeed large. The original had to have it's windows enlarged to pretty much what you see here, they were a bugger to drive with the original 'straight cut' ones so they were changed very quickly. I've enalrged them slightly and made the central window a little deeper to help the centrally seated driver, but not excessively so. It's only meant to be a truck and not an armoured fighting vehicle, so it can have windows and not slits.

I certainly intend to put some kind of remotely operated turret weapon on the roof, since it's all the rage to keep your people inside and clear of headshots. In fact I'm trying to think of different bodies I can put on the thing that will complement the design. I can easily do an open topped back like the original truck, but I'd like to do some enclosed versions too. I can say there's an internal hatch that allows entry to the rear from inside, or I can simply put a door in the back. A C3 cab on the back was going to be my first choice after the truck back, since all it takes is some aerials and electronics shit to give the impression of comms inside.

For some pics of the rare MkI Stolly as well as a gaggle of MkIIs you could do worse than go here...

http://www.amphibiousvehicle.net/amphi/ ... tally.html

Ah okay. My design philosophy is 'make it capable of putting up a fight in a pinch, because that's eventually going to happen no matter how hard you try to stop it' with my second-line REMFmobile trucks.

I like it, are there plans for a lengthened version (more cargo), or an armored version (afv/ifv)?

I dont want to fall into the Star Trek fandom trap of trying to make it capable of doing absolutely everything at any time. This is primarily a transport vehicle and isn't meant to stand up to more than a guy with an AK firing a burst your convoy and running away. Glass would be armoured, it would have a remote turret (maybe) and skin that can stop small arms and that's about it. I could make an IFV of it by reducing the visibilty, making it more heavily armoured and using the back to mount something heavier than a machine gun I suppose. Might be an idea for a variant.

Excellent point, Kenny.

If it's supposed to be a pure transport vehicle, then wouldn't the remove turret be an unnecessary expense, especially when you could just put some sealable firing slits on the sides?

A roof mounted .50cal with one of those 360 degree gunsheilds would be the simplest option.

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Ah okay. My design philosophy is 'make it capable of putting up a fight in a pinch, because that's eventually going to happen no matter how hard you try to stop it' with my second-line REMFmobile trucks.

Unfortunately this strategy is rather hard on the budget, doubly so because adding more combat capabilities always removes payload capacity (mass and volume) so you'll need more of them (for a given vehicle size). Not a problem in the HAB, but somewhat moreso in reality or any close approximation thereof...

Who new this forum never worked with Vista? Anyway, fired up my laptop so here we go...

I'm all for giving an army vehicle a measure of self protection, they are by their very nature targets and you would not feel too happy if you had nothing with you. Logistics and supply lines in particular are prime targets these days, and you have to decide whether to escort the convoys or give them the ability to fight there own way through. Nowadays it's far easier to stop a division of M1 tanks by watching them roll past and then 2 hours later taking out the following convoy that keeps them fueled and armed.

Rather than attach heavy vehicles to the convoy it might be easier to turn one of the convoy vehicles into something that can keep up with the convoy and provide the protection it needs. The British Army frown on things like firing slits in IFVs or APCs, they say troops are better off fighting outside. In a way they're right, modern weapons can make it too easy to wipe out a dozen troops in one go by taking out their IFV, and if your taking small arms fire you'll be reluctant to decamp from your moving metal room.

However, if all you're up against is insurgents and ambushes with AKs and RPGs then it's possible to armour up against that and from experience I think it best to use remotely operated turrets instead of gunners in exposed positions. Three or four MG turrets covering all sides and some sort of anti-armour missile should be good enough for most situations, and if necessary the troops could decamp too. Whaddya think?

Whats the actual purpose of this truck though? Is this intended to be a cargo vehicle? Or is it an escort for cargo vehicles? I'm confused as to what role you intend it to fulfil, and I think you need to try and define a particular role for this thing.

To "armour up" against insurgents with RPGs needs a top notch main battle tank (and even then you're taking a chance), not something with windows as large as my car and wheels. And 4 turrets/ missle means a 6 man crew - 4 gunnners, commander and a driver. Unless you have some way of effectively aiming and operating more than one turret per soldier.

Congratulations, you appear to be inventing a poorly armoured vehicle that needs a larger crew to man than a tank, and which is less well protected. Plus "decamping the troops" in a combat scenario might be a bit more practical if I could see a safe way for the poor buggers to get out without exposing themselves, which currently I don't.

The purpose of the truck is to be a base vehicle for, primarily, logistical transport to the front line. As with many such designs it will be a 6x6 amphibious vehicle which can also serve as the base for other variants, such as a C3 vehicle, an ambulance, a weapons carrier (mortar, rockets, recoiless gun, etc) or whatever you can think of.

Given that convoys to the front may well come under fire from partisans and snipers I thought it might be possible to create a variant designed purely to provide protection to it's unarmed bretheren. It would need armour and it would need weapons, but would share almost all it's mechanical components with the standard truck variant. It's not a tank, but it's not designed to be a tank and will cost a fraction of what a tank costs, as well as being able to keep up with the convoy without destroying road surfaces.

So how to do it? Well, topside gunners are frowned upon these days and instead armies like to use remote systems instead of simple armour plate, since in urban locations the shooter could well be above or behind you. No gunner, no target. You could also fit something like a TOW system for armoured targets too. How about a Vulcan or Phalanx type installation instead? As for armouring it, I'd plate up the windows and give it reactive armour and probably some anti-RPG grating such as is fitted to IFVs these days. That should fulfill te design brief.

Latest update pictures, slightly lengthened and with the flatbed dropside truck version which will serve as the basis for all other variants I might make of this. Once I've detailed and finished this one I'll strip the back off and begin making the others. Still need to add lights, handholds, doorhandles, bullbars, numberplates, etc, etc first.