With OU troops now available, my mind inevitably drifts to a related question:
what about OU _starships_? And, for that matter, the ships of the other
smaller
human powers -- the PAU, IC, IF, LLAR, FCT, RH, the Dutch, etc. What do
_they_ use for ships? Do they have their own, or do they get them from
the big
4?
We know that the PAU use NSL powered armour, so it wouldn't be too much of a
stretch to imagine that they might either use NSL designs or something very
like them (here's a chance for modellers to produce lots of interesting
variants on the "standard" minis). Similarly, the LLAR, who have to have ships
because they don't have any holdings left on Earth, IIRC, might have an
FSE-inspired
fleet since they are likely to retain links with Spain.
An interesting question -- one of many -- is whether or not the larger
powers would sell capital ships to the smaller nations, either before or after
the Kra'Vak appear. Just how big a ship would a small nation feel they needed,
or could afford? And what sort of fleet might a small nation have if they
mixed-and-matched classes from different big powers? Would there be
interoperability problems?
Of course, all that assumes that the little guys buy their ships rather than
build their own. What then, both in terms of FT stats and visually, might an
OU
starship be like (no jokes about 'roos, kiwis and boomerangs, please --
I think I've heard them all already)? Or a ship from any of the other small
human powers?
I note that Jon mentions in the latest FallOut -- and thanks for the
e-mail
version, however accidental -- that we might see a big expansion in the
FT range. Dare we hope for UN and small nation ships?
Okay, over to you lot: what do you think? And Jon, if you have the time,
what's the "official" word on this?
BTW Jon, given the... ah, inspiration for the CR range, is there any chance of
extra figures in that range for Alien Representatives -- say, "Female AR
in long robes", both before and after transformation (of course, what some
people might
_really_ like is the aforementioned ambassador in the GC range!); "Male
quasi-reptilian AR"; "Male AR with awful hairdo"; and "Mysterious AR in
protective armour." Well, I just thought I'd ask...
Phil
> At 11:42 03/07/97 +0000,Phillip P. wrote:
Am trying to make one! but get distracted building a ESU frigate in 15mm for
Stargrunt II!!
And, for that matter, the ships of the other smaller
> human powers -- the PAU, IC, IF, LLAR, FCT, RH, the Dutch, etc. What do
well I use NAC for the RH with a nice double headed eagle transfer on the
hull (from wargaming suppliers),looks good _brag_ ;-)
8< SNIP >8
> I note that Jon mentions in the latest FallOut -- and thanks for the
I use small **3's FSE as UN and Andromidan ships from K&somebody IIRC as
research/hospital ships. Thats my Pennys worth
Sprayforming Developments Ltd. [production tools]
made in
[prototype times]
'The future is now'
<SNIP>
> An interesting question -- one of many -- is whether or not the larger
I think that they would sell "down rated" or older ships to the smaller
nations. Kinda like what modern powers do. You could replace a batteries with
a B and a submunition for example.
> appear. Just how big a ship would a small nation feel they needed, or
Smaller nations would probably lack the bigger ships. Maybe even have a fleet
of frigates and destroyers with a token cruiser as their "big guns". Looking
at a Jane's would give an idea of what current smaller navies use and could
give an idea.
<SNIP>
> I note that Jon mentions in the latest FallOut -- and thanks for the
I would like to see UN ships. I think of them as not-so-minor of a
player in the "official" history. I also would like more merchant targets,
..er..eh.. ships, yeah merchant ships;)
+++++++++++++++
+------------+ +----------------+
> Phillip Atcliffe wrote:
> With OU troops now available, my mind inevitably drifts to a related
I want OU ships! I want OU ships! I want OU Ships!!!!!!!!!
> Okay, over to you lot: what do you think? And Jon, if you have the
Is it possable for Eureka or Geohex to do the ships???
> BTW Jon, given the... ah, inspiration for the CR range, is there any
My favorite "Funny hunchback alien with bad teeth, sardonic outlook on
life and silly voice" :-)
> With OU troops now available, my mind inevitably drifts to a related
Actually we suggested they use ESU or FSE PA, not NSL. The NSL suits are
probably a bit high-tech for the PAU, I see them using a cheap (in
relative
terms) local-made copy of an ESU or FSE suit, which may well be
unreliable and possibly nasty to wear from an extended time...
> Okay, over to you lot: what do you think? And Jon, if you have the
Well, you know how I hate to give "official" rulings, so these are just my
own views and preferences - don't take them as gospel truth...
My take on it is that most of the smaller powers' navies would be much like
those of second and third-line powers today; they either home-build or
buy smaller ships to their own specifications, we're talking perhaps up to and
including Destroyer size (in FT terms, not relating to "real" stuff) here.
These are either produced in their own shipyards, or ordered from commercial
concerns in the larger powers (who will happily supply anyone that their
government hasn't told them they can't, and maybe even
then...)
As a realworld example, Vosper build corvettes and similar for loads of
little third-world navies.
For anything bigger, they are likely to buy second-hand (or even third,
for some very small powers) from the big guys. Of course, who they buy from
kind of depends who is friendly to them at the time, but as we all know this
can (and does) change sometimes, so it is not unlikely that a fleet might have
some older ships bought some time ago from a nation they are NOW
at war with! Sometimes the ships may be sold stripped-down, as barely
spaceworthy hulls for the buyer to refit to their specs, or sometimes they
will be sold combat-ready - again, it probably depends on the political
situation at that moment. I suspect that some smaller powers, eg: the Dutch,
the New Israelis
etc.,
might want to stay as independant as possible and would actually devote a
lot of resources into building their own ships, even quite large ones -
maybe not dreadnoughts, but certainly cruisers and maybe even the odd
battleship.
> BTW Jon, given the... ah, inspiration for the CR range, is there any
Pervert.:)
; "Male
> quasi-reptilian AR"; "Male AR with awful hairdo"; and "Mysterious AR in
Seriously, we'd LOVE to, but I think it would be sailing FAR too close to the
legal wind...:) After all, a human is a human, but aliens tend to be far too
copyrightable!
> Phil
> On Thu, 3 Jul 1997, Eric Fialkowski wrote:
> Smaller nations would probably lack the bigger ships. Maybe even have
Agreed, though I'd rather look at WWI-WWII era Jane's. Smaller nations
(in naval sense) like Greece or China used to have even obsolete battleships.
Even we had coastal monitors with 10" guns. Current naval situation is utterly
boring, with only 2 "contenders" and practically no capital ships left.
> Phillip Atcliffe wrote:
> Of course, all that assumes that the little guys buy their ships
Good question. Here's a suggestion based on what's the situation at the
moment.
Australia has a mix of US DDGs and FFGs, and is now building a
German-designed FFG and a Swedish-designed Submarine.
The internals of the US boats ended up being quite different. Basically, they
had a Combat System more like the one on US CGNs than mere DDGs.
Similarly - and if they ever get it right - the Collins class sub should
have electronics vastly superior to US SSNs, about on a par with the very
latest Israeli and Swedish SSs. (I happen to have worked on the above, so know
what I'm talking about).
Translating this to FT terms....