Prussian Airnavy

[Rabbitz]

Generalfeldmarschall Löwe studied the telegram once again.

Prussian casualties in the attacks against the mines of Mor Gardos had been higher then expected, especially at the town of Llangaston where a British Artillery Battery had been engaged, an artillery battery that by all accounts was not meant to have been there.  However it was not all bad news.  Seventy percent of the Gray Coal mines were now under Prussian control.  It was worth the loss of lives.  Men were cheap and easy to replace.  The coal unfortunately was not.

With a majority control over this precious resource the Airnavy could send ships further in support of the ground troops.  Targets that were once safe from aerial bombardment were now within reach.  More importantly the higher grade coal would enable more ships to be sent into action and allow the smaller metal hulled ships to finally become cost effective.




Technical specs:

The Nikolaus August Otto Mars Pattern Luft-Unterseeboot
Weight:58 tonnes unloaded, 66 tonnes loaded
Range: 220 miles with loaded high performance coal, 460 miles with Martian grey coal
Crew: 1 engineer, 1 driver, 2 able hands, 1 commander
Armament: Classified
Speed: Top speed of 18 Aerial Knots
Armour: Steel plate varying from 12mm to 55mm.

The Luft-Unterseeboot is an unusual design.  With very few crewmen the ship can be vulnerable to boarding parties.  A problem that has been overcome by having the driver and one of the able hands enclosed in a separate compartment beneath the main body. 
Although slow the Luft-Unterseeboot packs a punch.  Designed primary to attack ground targets it’s a silent and deadly sight on any battlefield.



The Nikolaus August Otto Standard Pattern Rivit Kopf
Weight:39 tonnes unloaded, 45 tonnes loaded
Range: 150 miles with loaded high performance coal, 310 miles with Martian grey coal
Crew: 2 engineers, 1 driver, 2 able hands, 1 commander, 6 marines
Armament: Classified
Speed: Top speed of 25 Aerial Knots
Armour: Steel plate varying from 10mm to 35mm.

The Standard Rivit Kopf combines Speed with Protection.  It sports an inbuilt cooling System to keep internal temperatures to a manageable level during combat. As an assault ship the majority of its armour is towards to fore.  A feature that inspired the naming of the design.



The Nikolaus August Otto Armoured Pattern Rivit Kopf
Weight:41 tonnes unloaded, 47 tonnes loaded
Range: 150 miles with loaded high performance coal, 310 miles with Martian grey coal
Crew: 2 engineers, 1 driver, 2 able hands, 1 commander, 8 marines
Armament: Classified
Speed: Top speed of 24 Aerial Knots
Armour: Steel plate varying from 14mm to 45mm.

The Armoured Rivit Kopf has a few noticeable differences from the standard version.  Most notably the reinforced armour plating secured by many rivets makes this a true beast of a ship.  However the extra armour plating adds considerably to the weight of the ship.  To compensate the internal cooling mechanism has been removed, something that the crew are less then pleased with.  In battle this often means the temperature below deck becomes rapidly unbearable whilst in full kit.  A simple lightweight sun screen has been added to the top deck to give some shelter to the marines when they are trying to remain cool.  Extra bulkheads and additional port holes have been added in an attempt to keep the internal as cool as possible.  With the extra weight added to the fore of the ship the exhaust chimney has been pushed further to the back to act as a counter weight.  Although a frontline gunboat this design is often used as a prisoner transport.



The Nikolaus August Otto Light Pattern Rivit Kopf
Weight:36 tonnes unloaded, 42 tonnes loaded
Range: 150 miles with loaded high performance coal, 310 miles with Martian grey coal
Crew: 2 engineers, 1 driver, 2 able hands, 1 commander, 8 marines with Aerial Deployment Harnesses
Armament: Classified
Speed: Top speed of 24 Aerial Knots
Armour: Steel plate varying from 8mm to 22mm.

The Light Rivit Kopf again is based on the standard design.  However where as bits have been removed to allow space for the armoured version to carry more steel plating this is not the case with this model.  Again the cooling system has been removed and a sun shade added but this time to create space and free weight for the stabilizing fins at the rear.  Previous attempt to land Aerial Marines back on board proved too hazardous in the strong Mars winds without the aid of additional stabilizing enhancements.  Again the Exhaust funnel is towards the rear of the ship to free space in the hull for bulky equipment used by the boarding parties.  With much less armour plating and the removal of the frontal Hex Plate this design is not intended for close assaults.

[joroas]

Lovely, well done.

[answer_is_42]

 

That's some awesome stuff! Even the painting is spot on.  

What's the boiler made out of in the first picture?

How have you based them?

Can you give them all to me?  

*Settles down into quiet admiration*.

[Geudens]

Very nice indeed!  I almost feel sorry I will be obliged to blow you out of the sky, unless you form an alliance with me against Pappa Midnight.... 

Rudi

[bandit86]

Those are whicked cool

[Svennn]

Blooming lovely - excellant stuff

[Bullshott]

Excellent work. You obviously have too much free time. Its a good think you are putting this time to good use - i.e. expanding the forces of the Prussian Fatherland. I look forward to seeing a battle report featuring these.

[Skrapwelder]

Very well done.

[Chairface]

They are beautiful! Please, a little more info of how you made them! 

[commissarmoody]

They are beautiful! Please, a little more info of how you made them! 

Yes please do, They look great!  Ever think of casting some of thouse things?

[twrchtrwyth]

Excellent, very nice.

[Admiral Benbow]

Love your airships! And I'm sure the Kaiser will!! 

[Rabbitz]

What's the boiler made out of in the first picture?
How have you based them?

Its from a set called Chemical Plant Construction Set, I think its part of the platformer sceries.  (Just do a search on google and i'm sure you will find it.)
At the moment they just have dowels that can be inserted inside them through holes in the bottom and thick wooden bases.  I will Paint the dowels and texture up the bases to match my figures though.

Very nice indeed!  I almost feel sorry I will be obliged to blow you out of the sky, unless you form an alliance with me against Pappa Midnight.... 

Thanks very much but I think that my standards fall way below that of both yours and PMs, I have enough on my hands trying to take on TheJammedGatlings new constructs.

Excellent work. You obviously have too much free time. I look forward to seeing a battle report featuring these.

Yeah I'm a bit sad really with loads of free time at the moment.  You and me both cant wait to get these into action.

They are beautiful! Please, a little more info of how you made them! 

Erm its a little hard to explain really as they are just made from cardboard, old Cereal boxes in fact.  Other then that there is a very small amount of foamcore (the fins on the light version) a card tube for the Sub with half a polystyrene ball stuck on either end.  The rivits are split lentals.  Other then that it really is just thin card.   Once all stuck together they become very robust.

Ever think of casting some of thouse things?

I wouldn't have a clue where to start.


So thanks for all the nice comments, they were really simple to make taking just a couple of days to do all of them.  I urge you all to give it a go and see what you can come up with.   There are loads of cardboard plans out there that are just crying out to be adjusted for play.

Once again thanks for all the great encouragement.

[Justin Buck]

Dear sweet baby Jesus, those are so awesome.  You must make another one and this time take pictures of how you did it.  Again very nice work.  And please show some pics of the troops.

Justin

[commissarmoody]

I 2nd that!