Subject:
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Mouseclops MOC
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Fri, 2 Feb 2001 19:55:56 GMT
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Last we met, I told you about how space ships out in the Colonies are getting
better, and showed you a pamphlet from New Plymouth Engineering. Well, it
seems that New Plymouth noticed that cargo costs going back to the
Core from the Colonies is much less expensive than the other way around,
and is trying to take advantage of it.
Shown in these pictures is the New Plymouth Engineering Avenger light
fighter, but after seeing it, I think it looks like a one-eyed mouse;
one pilot called it a "Mouseclops" and the name sorta stuck.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=3058
They're much different from most fighters found in Core space these
days. Flyspeck small, they're tough to hit from any angle, and that
small size also hides a respectable amount of hull strength. They have
life support capacity for the pilot for over three days. They're also
quite maneuverable, also owing to their size, and while their relatively
huge engine is quite underpowered by Core standards, the small size of
the ship means it can out accelerate many Core fighters, at least for
a short distance.
That's where I get to the down-sides. The unit's too small to carry large
amounts of fuel, and the armaments are pitiful compared even to Core
light fighters. The Guard was worried about spare parts, as well, since
the manufacturer is so distant and Core technology is sufficiently
advanced from Colonial tech that they don't make this sort of stuff
anymore.
At a cost roughly half that of a Core fighter, though, even including
getting it to the destination, the Guard can afford to keep a few
spares on hand for parts. The two men in the coveralls are NPE techs,
and they'll be around for a while to teach the Guard how to maintain
the ships.
Given the poor armament, I wasn't sure what good an Avenger was until we
all boarded that big grey Mediator to go up to see some tests. They didn't
let me bring my camera for that, so I don't have pictures of the
Mouseclops in action. At any rate, it turns out that the ship is so small
that it's tough to see on standard shipboard sensors, and the archaic
engine technology makes it even harder to find. I could see two of the
ships out the window, but the base station a few kilometers distant was
still asking us to launch the ships!
Putting it all together, I realized what this ship was good for: a quick
surgical strike launched from afar. Running only on RCS thrusters, the
ship could sneak in past enemy pickets and defenses. Before the enemy had
a chance to respond, the light armament can pick and choose undefended
targets, and then the huge thrusters can carry it to safety quickly. If
it has to scuffle, it's defensively a good bet to keep you alive if you
can escape quickly enough not to run out your fuel.
The pilots on the test run said the like the feel of the ship and the
way it flies, but the interior monitors are really no substitute for
actually being able to see around you. One said the single viewport
really took them back to the days of the Mercury program.
It'll be a while before we hear a final decision from the Space Guard,
but I suspect they'll buy a squadron of them. While they don't have much
need for surgical strike fighters, these ships should make excellent
solo trainers.
The pictures of the unloading and display can be found at
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=3058
[Notes:
"unloadingdark" is, well, a bit dark. I'm still playing with camera work.
I've never been much of a photographer.
The equipment used for these and the pictures of the Voyager shuttlecraft
are the videocamera that came with the early version of the Intel Create
and Share camera pack ('97), an ATI All-In-Wonder capture card, and
xatitv under dedrat 6.1. It's a CCD, which explains the mediocre color,
though I do seem to get decent focus out of it and reasonable detail.
My yet-even-bigger Uber-Galactic Mediator (not to be mistaken with
Uber-Garlic, which would be even spicier) seems to be a decent backdrop
for the close-up shots, blocking view of any Pepsi One cans that may
be present (besides, I was drinking Diet Dr. Pepper that night...). I
may have to build myself a space hangar backdrop... That or I'll just
keep making the Galactic Mediator bigger and bigger until it _is_ the
space hangar I use as a backdrop...
The Mouseclops was specifically designed to be a small fighter that would
fit in the landing bay of the cap ship I'm working on. It's still too big.
Designed, I suppose, is misleading-- I stuck bricks to bricks and removed
some and added some 'til I had something I liked. It accidentally looked
like a Cyclops mouse. I suppose the lack of design is why it didn't work
as designed. :)
Voyager, for what it's worth, was designed from the keel up to be a
spacefaring minivan. My designs seem to be less impressive than what
happens when I just wing it.
I noted that my own shipbuilding technique is at present much more blocky
and drab than others here (Hey, Muffin Head, you're making the rest of us
look bad! :) ), but wanted to get them out and visible so I might get
feedback and improve them. (Well, and I still think I have some good ideas
once in a while...) On the theory that all the Corporations here in
.space building ships are probably relatively near each other, I figured
they were probably the civilized area of the galaxy, the Core to borrow
a term from Star Wars. This is where the Colonies idea stems from-- my own
deficiencies explained. As my own skills get better, Colonial tech will
improve and the boundaries of the civilized area of the galaxy will
be eventually include New Plymouth, Tanfoora, and Nir.
-JDF
--
J.D. Forinash ,-.
foxtrot@cc.gatech.edu ( <
The more you learn, the better your luck gets. `-'
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Mouseclops MOC
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| What you say you lack in building technique (and I know how you feel) you certainly make up for in creative writing. I love your Newsflashes and Corporate reports. Perhaps we Colony worlds should start some kind of economic cooperative. See my post (...) (23 years ago, 28-Nov-01, to lugnet.space)
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