"Soriog Crotalus Tank, first look" Topic

Here's a first look at the Crotalus grav-tank of the Soriog Coalition--it's a ways off but thought you might like a peek:

More on this, and the Soriog Coalition, later this year.

Very Halo looking. Very alien, which IMO the 15mm range is in need of. More very alien combat tanks/APCs

Is it just me or does that vehicles bear a wonderful resemblance to vehicles from another well known scifi faction that also stats with "C"?

I love the design and if this is going anywhere in the direction I hope it is, I am happy.

I agree that we need more obviously alien vehicles. Reality be damned!

-Eli

Is it just me or does that vehicles bear a wonderful resemblance to vehicles from another well known scifi faction that also stats with "C"?

Perhaps, but this faction seems to start with an "S."

Ah, then allow me to amend my comment. A organization type rather than a faction name .

-eli

I'd like to say it looks great and I love unrealistic looking sci fi, before the usual fictional engineering debate kicks off.

@Spacejacker – Thank you!

Stylistically it's out of the ball park. Ballistically not so much if my panzerjagers get on the silly thing's flank…

Leland R. Erickson

That looks really cool.

Looking good.

You mean they'll knock a track out Leland?

If you think about it there's no sillier piece of machinery than a tank -- until it conquers your country.

"Needs more Vespene gas…" :)

Wow. If this looks 1/2 as good in final production as it does in the rendering, this will be very cool!

Soriog?

You mean they'll knock a track out Leland?

In a New York minute:

link

If you think about it there's no sillier piece of machinery than a tank -- until it conquers your country.

To paraphrase Dominic Flandry, I like my toy… I can blow people's guts out with it:

Purple and green camouflage… it needs a purple and green camo spec….

Leland R. Erickson

Only one problem with your cunning plan, Leland, the Crotalus does not have tracks.

Is the panzerjager the triangle thingie … with the fixed main gun? Yes, my friend, engage me in a war of manoeuvre with your fixed main armament ….

Reminds me, the designer was keen on the Crotalus taking up a small amount of space in the main hold of the Soriog assault ships, so he did a bit of computer animation showing the vehicle (not yet detailed) coming out of storage configuration. The design has changed a bit since then but it shows how the turret on the Crotalus is configured:

YouTube link

That's pretty cool Jon. Animation too.

The video is very helpful in getting a better idea of this "tank".

Now if we can just wait long enough for it to reach production…..

Very cool looking tank.

Just a hunch, but I have a feeling the Crotalus won't take terribly long to get to market.

Let me put it to you this way. I got 40 castings of the upcoming Timonid Intruder faster than I got the paintup of the display kit from the painter! (The Intruder is a synth, a synthetic organism, so a sort of bio-hover APC.)

Is the panzerjager the triangle thingie … with the fixed main gun? grin Yes, my friend, engage me in a war of manoeuvre with your fixed main armament ….

Yup. As they're advanced grav propulsion vehicles, they turn on a dime as smooth and fast as a viper striking… low target profile, stealth systems, advanced computer target acquisition and fire control… plus there's the SP 20 cm breachloading RAM variant as well, just the thing for bringing down the whole apartment block on your alien craniums with one shot. Yeah, c'mere, ya purple alien tin can!

I built them as a support element for the JTFB force I'm planning to build; figured a grav stug detachment to give grav-mechanized infantry some mobile heavy AT capability was in order… just finished adding decals to the light grav tank recce AFV for this force-in-waiting (photos now in my online album)… ACAVs for the recce element will follow, along with other mischief for a fully grav-motorized brigade when the project if complete. Stay tuned…

Leland R. Erickson

Good Lord, K! wantitwantitwantitwantitwantitwantitwantit

you hear that whimpering sound? That's my wallet, begging for mercy!

One silly question: Might we see the Soriog Assault Ships coming out?

Agree with the Halo comment.

really like the design , also manouvre usually beats static, shielding also helps !

yup, looks very nice, but especially in that purple even before I read anything I thought 'ohh, Halo' – and I don't even play or rate Halo as being any good!!

I actually don't play Halo either, I'm more of a Half Life person. I gave the designer the vehicle shape and basic configuration based on an idea about a grav tank which looks like it's hugging the ground in the front and he went from there.

Think he did an amazing job myself! And I was floored when Steve sent the video.

Lion, perhaps, but that depends on the success of the ship line overall. (The assault ships don't break atmosphere and are extremely large so would not be ground combat vessels, even in 6mm scale.)

By the way, last night Mike Broadbent sent me sample images of the first two poses of Soriog and I'm very pleased with them.  They will get roughly the same treatment as the Federals and Nova Respublik in terms of figure choice, though their heavy weapons selections will be different.  

This will also be true of the Raug, the sepoy/Askari-like race that makes up the bulk of Soriog armies.  

The Soriog are the leaders of the coalition, but several other races in the coalition are warlike and fight, most notably the Raug and the dreaded Terebrin, wormlike aliens who are similar in function to the Gurkhas of the British Empire, a foreign race in a small number of elite formations to keep an eye on the Raug who make up the majority of the army.  

These races are essentially "risen" from the Soriog perspective and so aren't allowed to share much in terms of governance of the Coalition, although other alien races do.  The Soriog, a race sophisticated in war and technology, have the leverage in the coalition in both peace and war -- they have the threat of force against non-military races, and of superior technology against the other war-like races.

This is a major release but it's coming along!

stop releasing stuff when I have no real funds for minis damn you ;-)

Thats brilliant design.

I am really curious about Raug, I need some low-tech Aliens.

Well the Raug will be in carapace armour and with advanced combat rifles (slug throwers though, not energy weapons), as they are the frontline infantry force of the Coalition.

Think of them as sci fi cognates of sepoys. The British dressed and equipped the native soldiers similar to their own. That said,, they differ in the details just as British and sepoy units differed in details.

With the Coalition of course there's also a species difference, the Soriog themselves being quite tall, the Raug being just about human height.

<picks jaw up off floor>

I don't how you keep doing it, I really don't. The only problem is that now I need to throw my existing plans for a Covenant-inspired alien army out the window! THIS is the vehicle (and likely range) I am looking for!

-Will

That tank looks very Minbari. I like it!

I hope that's a good thing!

Here are two more images, with a 24mm tall figure for scale. The Soriog are tall and lanky so the figure has to be too.

First the Crotalus tank:

And here's a first look at the Naja troop carrier, which can transport six Soriog into battle, the shiny blue space being a demonstration of the interior dimensions of the craft:

Looking good there!

These may likely be some of the best alien vehicles to date (once they are out).

-Eli

Pretty amazing!

It just keeps coming.

Superb!

The Naja is great and I agree with emu2020 that these are some of the best, and most alien-looking, alien craft to date. :)

-Will

Just awesome! Can't wait…

I think the folded version with a turret or energy weapons projector of some kind on that circular section would look pretty good on it's own.

We may do alternate weapons inserts for the Crotalus, maybe for special missions.

We may do alternate weapons inserts for the Crotalus, maybe for special missions.

May I be so bold as to suggest some sort of area barrage weapon system akin to an MLRS? Just sayin'…

Leland R. Erickson

One silly question: Might we see the Soriog Assault Ships coming out?

Lion, perhaps, but that depends on the success of the ship line overall. (The assault ships don't break atmosphere and are extremely large so would not be ground combat vessels, even in 6mm scale.)

Ah, I'd thought that the Assault ships might be closer to modern landing *craft* in size, not landing *ships*.

Though I suppose if you have grav vehicles you would not necessarily need 'dropships'.

Pretty sure that the Tau vehicles are grav yet they still use landers. As grav drive is fictional you can build any number of rationales for the need for a larger assault craft.

Agreed there. One can get into all sort of things about the specifics of a particular version of grav.

Is the grav gravitic flight?

Is the grav simply anti-gravity hovering?

Is it actually a contra-gravitic system that requires a certain proximity to a gravitational body?

-Eli

Well, if the Soriog assault ships don't enter the atmosphere, that means their tank drive can at least handle dropping in from orbit. They may not be able to climb back out of the grav-well, though.

It implies that they'd be operationally closer to helicopter gunships than classic tanks, though.

Could also mean that some sort of smaller drop craft can unload them. Such as say…for those familiar with Halo, the Covenant heavy dropship, the Phantom, can carry and drop off a tank as well as about two or three smaller squads(5-8ish) of infantry without the need for the ships they launch from to land. Though, with dropships incapable of re-entry, the ships carrying them would at least need to enter the atmosphere and loiter in the stratosphere or even lower depending on the dropship's operational ceiling. Of course, if the dropships are entry capable…then little of that matters. They can just launch, land, drop and run like helos now would do for a conventional battle.

Similar principals "Airborne" armour.

It implies that they'd be operationally closer to helicopter gunships than classic tanks, though.

Presumably the distinction would be blurred once grav drives are part of the tech level of that force.

And here's a picture of the Crotalus on its flight stand, which will permit some rolling I believe.

Wow Jon!

Amazing stuff. Really upping the game!

-Eli

Nice. Very alien, lots of menace.

Leland R. Erickson