Right at the wire! Here's my ideal variation of Takiro's 4xLL Ostsol, with a tweaked background.
Type: OTL-4R Ostsol
Production: Free Worlds League (Kong Interstellar, Connaught)
Combat Value: 1550 BV
Total Cost: 11,564,160 C-Bills (including x1.6 tonnage premium)
EQUIPMENT
Tonnage: 60
Endosteel Structure: 3t
Engine: Vlar 300 XL: 9.5t
Walking: 5
Running: 8
Double Heat: 17(34): 7t
Standard Gyro: 3t
Standard Cockpit: 3t
Standard Armor: 12t
Head (3/9)
Center Torso (20/30/9)
R/L Torso (14/20/8)
R/L Arm (10/20)
R/L Leg (14/28)
Quirks: Narrow/Low Profile (glancing blows on +0/+1 margin), Improved Sensors (+2 range to probes)
WEAPONS INVENTORY
4x Large Lasers (8cr, 20t), 2xRT/2xLT
1x Beagle Active Probe (2cr, 1.5t), CT
1x TAG (1cr, 1t) H
One of Ostmann’s “podâ€-shaped heavy ‘Mech designs, the Ostsol was first released in 2694 as an all-energy alternative to some of their other products, such as the Ostroc and Ostwar. When the Ostsol was allowed to be exported broadly across the Inner Sphere by First Lord Michael Cameron II in 2752, Kong Interstellar, their primary manufacturer, field-tested a variety of different upgraded variants intended for use by “Royal†regiments. The 4R was one of the more successful variants, focusing on the use of high-tech components and engines in order to carve out sufficient weight to upgrade all four of the Ostsol-4D’s forward-facing laser weapons to Tronel III Large Lasers. Kong’s designers deliberately chose not to upgrade the lasers to the new Extended Range variants, as they believed that the 86 kph closing speed of the Ostsol design would mitigate the shorter ranges of the standard Tronel III’s, and the lower levels of generated heat could actually be fully managed by the design’s double heat sinks – allowing a far higher rate of fire.
A Beagle Active Probe was built into the heavily protected center torso of the 4R, tying into the highly sensitive TRSS.2L3 targeting system and enabling the upgraded Ostsol to be a truly superb recon ‘Mech. A set of Target Acquisition Gear was fitting to the crown of the ‘Mech, giving the 4R the ability to call in a storm of semi-guided missiles from nearby allies, and the entire ‘Mech was sheathed in an additional three tons of Valiant Lamellor standard armor, granting the 4R a full 97% of the theoretical ‘maximum’ armored protection for its weight. The ensuing design breezed through the SLDF design trials of the late 2750s, and began production in the 2762, shortly before the outbreak of the Amaris Civil War.
During the war, Kong’s production 4Rs were snapped up by Amaris loyalists, and saw heavy use against Kerensky’s SLDF forces. The swift, durable heavy recon ‘Mech earned a reputation among its foes as a tough little brawler, and when the Civil War ended, the surviving handful of examples of the 4R were seized by Jerome Blake during the founding of ComStar. The 4R served as inspiration of a number of “Clanbuster†upgrades thrown together by ComGuard technicians before the Battle of Tukayyid, between its use of high-tech components and its use of a Vlar 300XL engine. Following the Truce of Tukayyid, Kong Interstellar began small-scale production of the 4R in its rebuilt Connaught factories, which used production of the Endosteel frame and XL engine as a means to jump-starting further high-tech manufacturing. The 4R chassis has been recycled endlessly by Kong Interstellar since; the OTL-7M with its twin light Gauss Rifles (first introduced in 3065) is a long-range sniper variant of the 4R, while the 8M (first introduced in 3066) is fast heavy scout intended as a testbed for Kong’s line of Triple-Strength Myomers. Even the 9M (first introduced in 3079) is an ECM variant with extended-ranged energy weapons, but otherwise almost indistinguishable from the venerable 4R.
