StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Here's something I knocked up today while playing around with shapes in Lightwave, in between readdressing Cisco switches and routers. It's meant to be an early anti-grav speeder/flyer kinda thing that the military would use in place of a jeep, something all purpose, small and easily converted for grunts to use in a variety of roles. I've given it some reaction engines on the rear for speed in a straight line, but it's meant to have repulsor-lifts or whatever the hell Trek uses for that role.

It's just a basic idea at the moment, I think the middle section and rear will stay pretty much this same shape, but what I'll do is make some sort of pallet or cover that fits over the rear upper half and converts the thing in to a variety of roles. I could give it modular cargo cases like saddlebags that sit over the upper spine, I could maybe give it a remote controlled weapon mount, or perhaps a sensor suite like the US Army Kiowa helicopters currently in use. I dont know whether to give it retractable undercarriage or go with fixed units to make it look tough and clunky? Anyway, what are the groups thoughts?

Why can't you give it all? Like one variant with a sensor suite, another one with modular cargo cases, and the normal variant with a machine gun/auto-GL/whatever.

Yeah, I probably will. The cargo one seems the easiest to do, might start with that one first.

Maybe you could make the windows smaller, or make them look armored or something, I dunno.

or flat panels, make them easier to replace.

It looks like it would be good as a scout -- well, providing that the windows have an anti-reflective coating.

Armored vehicles have small, typically slitted windows. It's hard to aim for something you can't see.

I want a hover tank... Could you slap a cannon on it?

Given the large cockpit relative to the hull, to me it looks like a hover jeep. Put the turret/sensor/comm gear on the back, behind the cockpit.

Also, since it looks aerodynamic, as the cockpit is flush with the hull. To me, this looks like a high-speed vehicle, so wheels would likely lift into the hull.

There could be refits out there carrying heavier weapons, so they could slow down, and use fixed landing legs/wheels. Or, when trying to save energy, or lower emissions, wheels could be used. The lift system is only used for horizontal thrust, as the wheels take the load.

Thank you for actually having a look at the post and seeing that it's not meant to be a heavily armoured vehicle, just a light vehicle that would perform some of the duties of a Hummer or Jeep in an army where anti-grav is becoming the norm. Since it's not a tank it wont have armoured, slitted windows and nor will it have humungous weapons or the ability to stand up to orbital attack. It WILL have speed and manoueverability on it's side, and it'll get a version with the equivelant of a .50 cal or a TOW system as one variant, an all-purpose version with storage bunkers on it and probably a mobile sensor verion too.

Not too sure how to play it with the landing gear however. Do I give it retractable wheels for landing or running around without A-Grav? Would retractable landing pad-style feet be better? Fixed landing pads might be chunkier and tougher looking, but unaerodynamic and prone to damage. Skids maybe? What would the Army want? I suppose they'd want it to do everything.

Kenny_10_Bellys wrote:Not too sure how to play it with the landing gear however. Do I give it retractable wheels for landing or running around without A-Grav? Would retractable landing pad-style feet be better? Fixed landing pads might be chunkier and tougher looking, but unaerodynamic and prone to damage. Skids maybe? What would the Army want? I suppose they'd want it to do everything.

I'd say retractable, powered wheels. That way it can land, and then roll away again if -- say -- it comes under attack.