Purple does flash

[Purple]

I know you people here probably have little to no respect for me. But what you probably didn't know is that I have an artistic side.
Here is a sample of what I do. Tell me what you think.


click the image to see the animation

[Sea Skimmer]

I like the color, but why does it have a pump action and a charging handle? You've already got the ring on the firing pin at the rear to cock and uncock if a round is already chambered. Is this typical nationstates weapons overwhelm the enemy with complexity tactics at work?

[Purple]

I like the color, but why does it have a pump action and a charging handle? You've already got the ring on the firing pin at the rear to cock and uncock if a round is already chambered. Is this typical nationstates weapons overwhelm the enemy with complexity tactics at work?

Actually it has to do with the political and social background behind the gun. I tend to roleplay these things deeply. Basically back in the 1870's and beyond Purpelian (that's the nation, Purpelia) cavalry and infantry forces were threading the line between best friends and bitter rivals. The closest modern equivalent would be the american marines and army. They had parallel artillery units, a parallel supply system and during WW1 even had their own independent air forces. The reasons behind this are political and have to do with a lot of stuff, none the least of which was the fact that Purpelia is to this day a functioning feudal monarchy. But you know.. long story.

So back in the 1880's when it all began the Arch Duke, also known as the one sane man in charge ordered both forces to adopt a common rifle and caliber. And the two did try. They tried so well in fact that after witnessing the 1889 rifle contest the Arch Duke decided to import 7.5x55 Swiss as a new main round and order them to get their act together by next year lest he import the rifle that went with it too. This of course would have spelled disaster for the domestic firearms industry as the nobles that supported it and the officers that were their patrons. So finally, the army and cavalry got together and set up a whole range of requirements. Chief among them was that the rifle would have to be easily fired from horseback in a way that allowed the horseman to keep his sights on target at all times. Hence the pump action. The army also loved it as it allowed for more coordinated volley fire (I am actually leaving that one for a "don't ask me why" on purpose).

Now infantry models were sane in that they had a disconnect mechanism (not depicted on this model) which could disengage the pump for when you are crawling or just need to rest the front on something. And that feature was later added to the cavalry versions as well back in the 1940's when production was restarted.

TLDR; It's one of those things that you write up not because they are good, but because they are bad but flavorful.

PS. Did you check out the link? The entire thing is animated and will work like a functioning firearm.

[Sea Skimmer]

Simply producing one model without the charging handle seems an awful lot more likely, after all it might sang on the elaborate cavalry uniforms! The dumb should be for the lancers and fortresses, MOAR Gruson Turrets, fewer exits!
I did look at the animation, that's why I was certain you in fact did have the ring for cocking and decocking, as without it the charging handle might have plausibly worked only the firing mechanism and not the extraction mechanism if you wanted crazy.

Also you should change the discription for the black bits from being painted, to being blued. Bluing is what you call that process, you can do it several different ways but it sure isn't paint, its a chemical conversion of the metal itself. Any paint they had back then would have just fallen off under service conditions. Bayonets though shouldn't be blued, though I do like the color effect, because it would just be ground off each time you sharpen the thing. Though you could perhaps have a shinny lower edge showing the limit of the final grinding prior to issue. Not bluing the barrel is well, dumb, though they might have had a way to make a white effect back then, I'm not sure. We can do it today for a lot of money,

[Purple]

Simply producing one model without the charging handle seems an awful lot more likely, after all it might sang on the elaborate cavalry uniforms! The dumb should be for the lancers and fortresses, MOAR Gruson Turrets, fewer exits!

Why it newer got to that is a story in its own right.

Basically it goes like this. In the 1910's my army is starting to experiment with semi-auto conversions of the Rifle Felix 1890 (kind of like the French were) and what would eventually become the gas operated Submodel 1919. So there was no incentive to redesign the rifle any time soon. But than the war broke out, so now the incentive was just to crank out as many as they could and not to refine them.

Our story picks up in 1919 when the war was over and the Purpelian military immediately decided to reopen the case of the semi-auto battle rifle. Things went rather well with time. And by the late 1920's the design had been refined sufficiently to turn it into an actual usable weapon. At least for the day and age. So as the 30's began my army started rearming with these new semi-auto rifles, a be it at their usual snails pace. So once again, there seemed to be no reason to bother with redesigning a rifle soon to be replaced. But just as the first units finally finished field trials of the thing came the yet again the war. And so in 1940 the production of the original bolt-action model was restarted with some minor improvements because once again it was back to cranking them out as fast as could be done.

I did look at the animation, that's why I was certain you in fact did have the ring for cocking and decocking, as without it the charging handle might have plausibly worked only the firing mechanism and not the extraction mechanism if you wanted crazy.

It's one of the things that could have worked and was probably done by soldiers in the field but you certainly won't find in any field manual. Mostly because it's not 100% safe to do so. There are a few of those in there. That's the charm.

Also you should change the discription for the black bits from being painted, to being blued. Bluing is what you call that process, you can do it several different ways but it sure isn't paint, its a chemical conversion of the metal itself. Any paint they had back then would have just fallen off under service conditions.

I will consider it. Although there are aesthetic advantages of people complaining about how the paint on their rifle keeps scraping off. That way you could know a new recruit from an experienced soldier easily.

Bayonets though shouldn't be blued, though I do like the color effect, because it would just be ground off each time you sharpen the thing.

The bayonet is most definitively just painted. So you are supposed to scrape the paint off when you first sharpen it. IIRC most bayonets of the time were not factory sharpened. (I read that somewhere) So this serves as a good reminder for soldiers.

Not bluing the barrel is well, dumb, though they might have had a way to make a white effect back then, I'm not sure. We can do it today for a lot of money,

I have no idea honestly. I just feel that the bright gray on the barrel contrasts better with the mahogany. Some things just have to be sacrificed for the sake of appearance.

[salm]

Looks cool. Onre really annoying thing is that the pop-up containing the text allways pops up over the gun and you have to move it. I´d make the box pop up somewhere in the top left corner or something like that. Or perhaps you don´t even need a popup and can just have a fixed textbox somewhere.

[Purple]

And here comes part 2 of the Purple does flash experience.


Once again, click to play.