Post by madmorgan on Feb 28, 2016 20:32:28 GMT
Today I'm going to lay out the XYZ for dirigibles. These are based on the British Coastal dirigible. Dirigibles are large craft and need a different look to meet their usual roles. They either operate as medium altitude bombers or as infantry transport behide the lines. Both have crews of 5 men. The major difference is the bombing dirigible has 4 112lb bombs and the landing dirigible has 6 HMGs. I'll do them both for you.
"Bombing" dirigible X= 400pts Y= 10"/5* Z= 4x +7 Pow Assaults** *the speed is the table movement of the dirigible, the /5 is the actual defense of the dirigible (not a 10 maneuverable craft). ** roll 4 assaults at +7 Power. Each Assault that hits roll twice on the Tripod Damage Table (2d10), take the highest result and apply to target. Special: this craft cannot be hit by any normal Martian machine - see the Dome Tripod below as an option. Armor of this craft is considered 2 at best (depends where you hit it, a 1 always fails in AD)
"Landing" dirigible X= 350pts Y= 10"/5* Z= 6x +1 Pow Assaults# *as above for Y #these represent HMGs - you could alternatively use them as Rng 20" +1 Pow RF 3 weapons against ground targets, in other works, as standard squads (2) of HMGs with 3 elements each. Transport : This craft can transport up to a company (3) Platoon Infantry, each being of 2 elements (10 men); you may substitute 10 man teams (HMG, MMTR, 37mm Inf. Gun, Flamethrower, Sniper, etc) for these as long as they are only infantry. Total Infantry figures would be 30 men. Armor of this craft is consider 2 at best. See Dome Tripod next.
Dome Tripod - the Martians quickly learned to adapt to the threat of dirigibles and zeppelins. To counter the range problem, they created the Dome Tripod. This is an AA tripod, fitted with a large dome vs the usual targeting 'eye' of other tripods and a Microheatray. Focusing a heatray plasma to its smallest size, the Micro has a huge range, but little power. Which doesn't matter against dirigibles, zeppelins, and even airplanes as once they're hit they almost always goes down. Heavy armored and slow, the Dome Tripod is a controller using drones to protect itself from ground attacks. This are Terra made machines, so they always have a bronze or antique gold color to them, reflecting the lack of 'pure' martian metals used in their construction. These are 'rare' - only one tripod per 2000pts on the table. They don't count towards that 2000pts.
Dome Tripod @200pts Spd 4" Def 4 Arm 12 Spec: Controller (1) Microheatray Rng Unltd* +0 Power RF 3 Spec: 360 degree firing arc due to Dome.
I use Rebel Miniatures (rebelminis.com) rmmw2 Mini-Martian Walker @ $14.95 as my model, removing the 'power claw' on top. As that is definately a 'Reaper Claw' you could optionally leave it as is. This would change the Dome Tripod a bit; the background is its there to clear building tops and other things that prevent LoS for the tripods function. It would give it a somewhat melee capacity - but, I'd think it would be only above the machine rather than to the ground. In any case, if you decide to keep it restat as follows:
Dome Tripod @300pts Spd 4" Def 4 Arm 12 Spec: Controller, Reaper Claw, Microheatray
Microheatray Rng Unltd - Pow RF 3 Spec: 360 degree firing arc due to Dome.
Reaper Claw +5 Assault.
When I make a mistake, its usually something simple that huge in the results. Such was this. Further reserach due to a query by another forum member reveals that the crew of the 'coastal dirigible' was 5 not 50!! Consisting of pilot (officer), coxswain, observer (gunner), radio op, and mechanic. The Coastal was 218' long, 52' high, had a ballon diameter of 39'6". It was non-rigid. As a result of further research, I'm dropping the 'landing' concept entirely from this class of ship - no way it could carry more men or gear. The 'bombing' dirigible is now just Coastal - and is limited to coastal duties. The Coastal actually had 6 MGs and the 4x 112lb bombs listed - I'd split them up for the tactical difference of landings and bombings. I will do a new workup on the three classes of non-rigid airships used by the Brits (and USA for AQ) shortly. For the moment, the British had 3 non-rigid airships in service - the 1915 SS class, the 1916 "C" class (Coastal), and the 1917 NS - Naval Patrol Airship. None of these will work with troop transport. I intend to design an all new AQ specific airship for my 101st, 82nd, and 1st (Brit) Airborne units. Not to mention the 1st Cav assault airships. I do apologize to all those following my airpower developements. Sigh. Look for ...part 2B.
Next time part 3 the Zeppelin. Enjoy!
"Bombing" dirigible X= 400pts Y= 10"/5* Z= 4x +7 Pow Assaults** *the speed is the table movement of the dirigible, the /5 is the actual defense of the dirigible (not a 10 maneuverable craft). ** roll 4 assaults at +7 Power. Each Assault that hits roll twice on the Tripod Damage Table (2d10), take the highest result and apply to target. Special: this craft cannot be hit by any normal Martian machine - see the Dome Tripod below as an option. Armor of this craft is considered 2 at best (depends where you hit it, a 1 always fails in AD)
"Landing" dirigible X= 350pts Y= 10"/5* Z= 6x +1 Pow Assaults# *as above for Y #these represent HMGs - you could alternatively use them as Rng 20" +1 Pow RF 3 weapons against ground targets, in other works, as standard squads (2) of HMGs with 3 elements each. Transport : This craft can transport up to a company (3) Platoon Infantry, each being of 2 elements (10 men); you may substitute 10 man teams (HMG, MMTR, 37mm Inf. Gun, Flamethrower, Sniper, etc) for these as long as they are only infantry. Total Infantry figures would be 30 men. Armor of this craft is consider 2 at best. See Dome Tripod next.
Dome Tripod - the Martians quickly learned to adapt to the threat of dirigibles and zeppelins. To counter the range problem, they created the Dome Tripod. This is an AA tripod, fitted with a large dome vs the usual targeting 'eye' of other tripods and a Microheatray. Focusing a heatray plasma to its smallest size, the Micro has a huge range, but little power. Which doesn't matter against dirigibles, zeppelins, and even airplanes as once they're hit they almost always goes down. Heavy armored and slow, the Dome Tripod is a controller using drones to protect itself from ground attacks. This are Terra made machines, so they always have a bronze or antique gold color to them, reflecting the lack of 'pure' martian metals used in their construction. These are 'rare' - only one tripod per 2000pts on the table. They don't count towards that 2000pts.
Dome Tripod @200pts Spd 4" Def 4 Arm 12 Spec: Controller (1) Microheatray Rng Unltd* +0 Power RF 3 Spec: 360 degree firing arc due to Dome.
I use Rebel Miniatures (rebelminis.com) rmmw2 Mini-Martian Walker @ $14.95 as my model, removing the 'power claw' on top. As that is definately a 'Reaper Claw' you could optionally leave it as is. This would change the Dome Tripod a bit; the background is its there to clear building tops and other things that prevent LoS for the tripods function. It would give it a somewhat melee capacity - but, I'd think it would be only above the machine rather than to the ground. In any case, if you decide to keep it restat as follows:
Dome Tripod @300pts Spd 4" Def 4 Arm 12 Spec: Controller, Reaper Claw, Microheatray
Microheatray Rng Unltd - Pow RF 3 Spec: 360 degree firing arc due to Dome.
Reaper Claw +5 Assault.
When I make a mistake, its usually something simple that huge in the results. Such was this. Further reserach due to a query by another forum member reveals that the crew of the 'coastal dirigible' was 5 not 50!! Consisting of pilot (officer), coxswain, observer (gunner), radio op, and mechanic. The Coastal was 218' long, 52' high, had a ballon diameter of 39'6". It was non-rigid. As a result of further research, I'm dropping the 'landing' concept entirely from this class of ship - no way it could carry more men or gear. The 'bombing' dirigible is now just Coastal - and is limited to coastal duties. The Coastal actually had 6 MGs and the 4x 112lb bombs listed - I'd split them up for the tactical difference of landings and bombings. I will do a new workup on the three classes of non-rigid airships used by the Brits (and USA for AQ) shortly. For the moment, the British had 3 non-rigid airships in service - the 1915 SS class, the 1916 "C" class (Coastal), and the 1917 NS - Naval Patrol Airship. None of these will work with troop transport. I intend to design an all new AQ specific airship for my 101st, 82nd, and 1st (Brit) Airborne units. Not to mention the 1st Cav assault airships. I do apologize to all those following my airpower developements. Sigh. Look for ...part 2B.
Next time part 3 the Zeppelin. Enjoy!
