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DropShip Mockup
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Author:  boilerman [ Fri Nov 09, 2012 1:19 am ]
Post subject:  DropShip Mockup

Here's another project of mine I've been working on a little at a time for over a year. This week I decided to do some more work on it and put these pics together to show.

It's a spheroid design, although not an egg, massing 1800 tons. I plan on fluffing it as an early, pre-docking collar era drop shuttle. It will initially be a long-range cargo and steerage passenger transport used in humanity's early colonization efforts, but it will also be adapted as one of the first combat DropShips, redesigned as a colonial marine intervention force transport. The design is easily modified so early experimentation with 'Mech transport resulted in a version for that too.

I created this drop shuttle in Sketchup, which provides dimensions with no trouble. The total volume of the shuttle is a bit over 7530 cubic meters, that makes the ship's density out to be about .25 tons per cubic meter, which I think is a good number. BT DropShip sizes are exaggerated by an order of magnitude in my opinion. The 6 landing legs provide enough surface for ground pressure to be 283kPa, about 41psi, so it needs solid ground, but hopefully not reinforce concrete, to land on without sinking.


Besides the facilities for 'Mech bays or shipping containers there are two cargo bays in the central box of the shuttle. I intend to design the gantry crane as a telescoping type so it will fit easily under the roof, for lack of a better term, for the container stacks. I'm not sure if I'm going to add roll-up doors to cover the containers, I like the exposed aesthetic.

Comments are very welcome!


I'm hoping I can post the TRO and fluff for it sometime this weekend.

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Author:  ViperXTC [ Fri Nov 09, 2012 12:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: DropShip Mockup

Cool. Actually, very cool. I probably would not have gone with the crane idea, though. DropShip ports, like shipping ports today, probably have their own gantry system. On the other hand, Not all planets may have such a system, and if used on a combat drop, may not be available at all, so an interesting idea.

Good Job!
John

Author:  boilerman [ Sat Nov 10, 2012 3:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: DropShip Mockup

Thanks for commenting VX. The fluff for the DropShip is that it was designed during the first colonization wave out from Sol. At that time I don't see many colonies have much of an infrastructure so the crane seems prudent to me. But I'm sure some later models delete it for some reason or another.

Author:  Calis [ Tue Jan 08, 2013 10:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: DropShip Mockup

very inventive Boilerman, I like the concept, sorry about being late to posting on a lot of things but life pulled me away from battletech for a time

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