Well, the 65 ton aerospace category seemed to stir the imagination of our aerospace engineers. In all six very intriguing entries were forwarded by three different designers. Every submission was done superbly and well within the confines of the challenge making my job particularly tough. Each of these could have been a winner if not for the contestant finishing just ahead of them. Ultimately it came down to the usual criteria for me of existing parts which could speed development and production along with overall concept. Also the overall effort of the writer was taken into account as well as the fighter’s name. Finally effective Clan partnerships did better than going it alone in this contest. Perhaps it was because of the circumstances but with slots running out perhaps it will become the trend. Now without any further delay let us get to the review.
6. Uighur (Abele)
This Diamond Shark design finishing sixth should show everyone how high the quality of the entries truly was. First off I absolutely loved the tribal name chosen for this fighter as it bought me back to the old Nintendo video game, Genghis Khan. For those that did not play or do not remember the Uighurs were one of the four merchants (Arabs, Chinese, and Italians I think were the others) you could trade with in the game. Hence with Uighurs being merchants just like the Diamond Sharks great fit and excellent playing to the judge. Continuing the work on their developing Ammon aerospace frame was another good choice to me. Developing a new 260XL Engine (6/9) would have also helped the Timur (see drakensis) was a drawback for me. Yeah it could have been done but other existing engines were available. Five tons of fuel and 10 (20) Double Heat Sinks were pretty standard across the contest. With 15.5 tons of ferro aluminum armor (298 factor) which was the second best in this contest and an integral Anti-Missile System this craft could sure take abuse. Finally 33 tons of pod space is more than half the mass of this OmniFighter which makes for a solid “aerospace vampireâ€. Good configurations featuring a take on the Ammon, another with a pair of Gauss Rifles, and even one with an Ultra AC/20. I really liked it a whole bunch Abele just feel that the other designs had better fits. Nice job!
5. Timur (drakensis)
I have placed the second version of Hell’s Horses “Dagger†for a few reasons. You were the first to go away from the tribal homage of our Clan OmniFighters and embrace an ancient warlord, nicely done. The old Ironsides is probably my favorite looking SLDF fighter from TRO2750 and holds a special place for me. Basing this design on the Royal variant and continuing to use the 260XL (6/9) power plant is intriguing. I like that a lot for getting through the testing phase but again developing the Clan Extra Light version of the engine may delay production. Imagine if the Sharks and the Horses teamed up here for the Uighur and the Timur to present it as a unified design. That would have finished higher but not sure such an endeavor would have won. Again the five tons of fuel and 10 (20) Double Heat Sinks were pretty standard across the contest. With 22.5 tons of ferro aluminum armor (432 factor) this fighter had an incredible amount of protection even if it limited pod space to just 28 tons. Again I love the concept and I really want to see it win perhaps near the Ghost Bear fighters would be most appropriate. So keep at it drak!
4. Seljuk (Abele)
Again incredibly this Nova Cat design heavily back by the Wolf Clan shows how competitive said challenge really was. Ultimately I considered this as the greatest threat to the Diamond Shark-Hell’s Horse effort to win this contest. The Seljuk name is very solid indeed but using a scaled down version of the 70 ton Jagatai frame likely would present some challenges causing some concerns about rapid production. However, powered by the 390XL Engine (8/12) from the Linebacker it was the fastest design featured during this trail. The Ice Hellions probably wished they could have gotten in on the design somehow. While it did feature the standard five tons of fuel and 10 (20) Double Heat Sinks like some many other contestants here it was “light†in two areas. The Seljuk had only 11 tons of ferro aluminum (211 factor) and 23 tons of pod space both of which were the least for an XL entry. Speed does matter and I like this fighter however others just fit better IMO.
3. Nobunaga (drakensis)
The bronze medal goes to the most innovative design entry of this challenge bought to us by Clan Fire Mandrill or more specifically Kindraa Beyl-Grant. While not necessarily the best it was in my estimation the most intriguing presentation. Named after a Japanese Warlord and another great video game of long ago I was expecting Kindraa Sianze to be involved somehow but that is my only real complaint. I like bringing in the Jade Falcon financing to help the project along. Mating cached VOX 325 Engines (7/11) meant for Exterminator replacement parts long ago with a modified Hammerhead airframe was an ingenious idea. While three tons of fuel, 20 tons of pod space, and 10.5 tons of ferro aluminum (201 factor) are the lowest for any entry in this contest you would expect that with a standard engine. Yes it is far too low and limited to win this contest but it really got me going on an idea. What I would like to do here is to create a Hammerhead IIC along with others. Could we see a development of IIC equipment based on ComStar’s performance at Tukayyid? Clearly being the legacy of the SLDF is a point of pride for the Clans so why not renewed production of this venerable gear with modern upgrades. Could the IIC with their standard engines be the Zombie Aerospace Fighters of the Clans? Love to hear what you guys think, great job drak!
2. Maori (masterarminas)
This Diamond Shark and Goliath Scorpion effort was very nearly our winner. Love the whole concept and the name is fantastic. Was thinking of a sea tribe for the Sharks to use myself and this one was top notch. Using the prototype frame of the Ammon is nicely done along with a new Consolidated 195XL Engine (5/8). I do again have production concerns and it was the slowest moving design in this contest. This low movement when taken with its 7 tons of fuel for longer operations gives it a great niche to occupy. Pretty solid defenses thanks to 14 tons of ferro aluminum armor (269 factor) and an integral ECM Suite help it achieve its stated design goal. With the most pod space of any contestant, 36 tons, it really can outlast its opponents. Unfortunately even with your superb fluff one design edged you out. I would like to use a few of the components possibly getting the Goliath Scorpions in on the winning design mitigating their failure and potential debt somewhat. Also it should be noted that work on this design and others will advance the Ammon’s introduction date by a number of years speeding development. So it is not a total waste and the Scorpions should not be too far in the hole.
1. Qashqai (Abele)
This Diamond Shark and Hell’s Horse entry was the best fit. I must admit that I was not familiar with this tribal name before the contest and while other names were “better†this one was appropriate (why did you go with Q?). Building on past canon cooperation between these Clans with the Thresher was a nice touch and ultimately they both had a good “fit†here. While the Lucifier is the basis for this aerospace frame - reversed engineered by the Diamond Sharks - their work on the Ammon (which could be used as justification for such a project in itself) makes them “the masters†of this aerospace weight frame. This goes hand in hand with the Hell’s Horses contributing their 325XL Engine (7/11) from the Hellbringer to the project. I also liked the fact that 13 (26) Double Heat Sinks (max integral for engine size) were included with the engine. Like the Maori it has pretty solid defenses thanks to 14 tons of ferro aluminum armor (269 factor) and an integral ECM Suite. Finally 27 tons of pod space for weaponry and equipment give this OmniFighter a good load out. Primary Configuration is nice with three ER Large Lasers supported by two Streak SRM 6s as is Configuration A with two ER PPCs supported by a pair of LRM 10s and an ER Medium. It has a little bit of everything really and again the fit is great. Congrats Abele!
Awesome job gang, thanks for all the entries this time around. Loved the designs and all the wonderful fluff that came with them. I look forward to our next encounter!
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Topic: Quicksilver Program #23: 65 ton Clan Omnifighter (Read 2399 times)