Subject:
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Mechastruct entries: CXT-79 Strider and mining suit (long post)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.build.mecha
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Date:
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Tue, 24 Dec 2002 21:46:23 GMT
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Viewed:
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358 times
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I have only been posting for two days now and I am already posting my second
and third models and contest entries. So, here they are:
The CXT-79 Strider
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=29930
(category: military 8" and under)
The Strider was built as a light attack mech. They are quick and very
maneuverable. Although they are not suitable for much more than
anti-infantry/vehicle work by themselves, they can easily overtake larger
mechs in groups of five or more. They are also well equipped for urban
fighting. Their maneuverability and powerful jump jets give them an
advantage over larger mechs, including the mighty Rook. Their low profile
also helps to hide them from enemy units and makes them much harder to hit.
The main weakness of the Strider is its armor. The designers were not able
to outfit the Strider with a large amount of armor and still have it operate
effectively. In order to overcome this setback, they outfitted the Strider
with a larger reactor than originally intended, giving it more speed. If
the legs of the Strider are severely damaged and its speed it affected, then
it becomes an easy kill. The larger reactor also forced designers to moved
all the weapons systems to the arms, which could be considered both good and
bad. It is bad because if one arm is destroyed, the Strider loses half of
its weaponry, but if a weapon is destroyed there is not as good a chance of
the reactor being damaged. Overall, the Strider performed very well during
the test runs and will most likely be used for many years to come.
Designers have already begun working on different variants for different
environments.
The standard weapons on the Strider are:
(R arm) Medium autocannon (300 rounds)
SRM 2 (10 rounds)
(L arm) Medium laser
Anti-personnel machine gun (500 rounds)
Note: The current pilot on the portrayed unit rigged a holster for a
personal weapon on the side of the cockpit in the event he had to fight
outside of the mech.
Build Notes: The Strider was built earlier this year (hence no tail lights)
about a week after I got the 4793 Ogel Shark Sub. I wanted to build a small
mech that used the arm pieces as legs. It originally had the A-Wing canopy
on it, but I replaced it later with the canopy from the Jedi Starfighter.
This is one of my personal favorite mechs, and I plan to create different
variants of it. Some current ones in mind are sniper unit, jungle unit,
desert unit, aqua unit, and a custom unit to use the yellow arm pieces from
the 4794 Alpha Team Command Patrol.
Mining Suit
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=29928
(category: nonmilitary 8” and under)
The mining hardsuit was created in order to provide a cheap protective
exoskeleton for miners while working in dangerous conditions. This
particular model was designed as a digging suit. It sports a hydraulic ram,
a fold out scoop, and a massive crushing claw. The ram is first used to
break up the rock. The pilot can then remove large pieces of rock with the
claw, or use it to crush the rock into smaller fragments. The scoop can
then be used to remove smaller pieces of rubble from areas. This hardsuit
design has a re-enforced frame and specialized footpads to increase
stability. It also has small boosters on its heels and back , which allow
it to have short boosts of flight. This can be useful to escape an
avalanche or to quickly move from one area to another. The floodlights
mounted on top of the suit allow miners to work at night or deep in tunnels,
and the suit also has a small communications antenna to maintain contact
with the rest of the work crew. To avoid having the pilot crushed during a
landslide, the hardsuit designers mounted an armored plate on the front of
the units. Some pilots also choose to replace the front viewplate with a
steel plate that has a small veiwport in it. This does improve the safety
of the pilot, but it further limits the pilot’s visibility, which can lead
to such accidents where the armored plate can be useful. Because of this,
that modification is really only seen in dangerous situations where
accidental landslides are common occurrences. Because of the strong design
and ability to be repaired or rigged with just about anything on the spot,
it is common for pirates and militias to use mining suits as a weapon. The
depicted unit is most commonly used because of the crushing claw. Some
raiders choose to keep the ram, usually replacing the scoop with a laser or
machine gun. Others, as shown, choose to replace the assembly completely.
The last two pictures show a unit captured in battle where the pilot had
replaced the ram with a shotgun, small laser, and bayonet fixture. A
personal machine gun holster was also strapped to the lower leg.
Build notes: I have had this guy built for about two years now. It has gone
through many role changes over the years that I can’t remember what it
started out as. I decided to modify it once again for the Mechastruct
contest, but I kept the gun it then had because I liked it. I have already
scrapped the ram assembly and put the gun back on the actual unit. This is
another one of my favorite units, which is evident since it has survived for
almost two years.
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