Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi there,

I recently remembered a piece of fluff from the Gaunts Ghost's novel "His last command". I only have the Omnibus "The Lost" where it is around page 425. Here an Artillery unit from Dev Hetra is mentioned, sporting several Hydras and quote "multi laser carriages". From the context it seemed to imply some form of self propelled gun for anti infantry support rather then a tank.

I'm not sure I will ever get to this, but based on the current style of the Imperial Guard vehicles, how would you imagine such a vehicle to look like?

Currently my ideas would be:
A) a bit like a Hydra, but with 4-8 "long" Multilasers (with increased range) that are angled more to the ground
B) something with a superstructure like the Malcador Defender with Multilasers looking in every direction
C) a open topped Chimera chassis with multiple multilasers with shields (like the Lascannons in the heavy weapons squads) with gunners seated behind them.

So what are your ideas?

I do t have the book to hand, but it smacks of the British ww2 Bren/universal Carrier style of very light vehicle with one self defence weapon, normally used for lugging ammo and other kit around for larger units.

Looks a bit like a Salamander or similar, mounting a multi-laser instead of the normal armament.

Very much a British Universal Carrier type thing.

Basically, a multi-laser (x4) looks like this:



And a 'laser destroyer', looks like this.



So, by my reasoning - your 'multi-laser carriage' is something akin to either of these. As to why an artillery unit needs one - probably the same reason the dudes below existed:


Stug IV:



ISU-152:



A34 Tortoise:



T28:



Basically, there is only one rationale to this type of vehicle - advance directly into enemy positions and terminate the opposition with as large a high-explosive round as can feasibly be mounted in the chassis. Naturally, as weapons got larger, and designs matured, these assault guns morphed into tank destroyers too. But the above examples remain the purest expression of an assault gun. In your context, I imagine that the multi-laser carriage acts in a similar function - for an artillery unit requires absolute precision to crack open a bunker in support of the infantry.

As to why a multi-laser would be more appropriate than a huge shell - who knows? Certainly not GW, who've never really understood weapons other than 'Boom, splat!'.

Interesting. Are those Forge world models?

In the context of the story they came up they were used (together with the Hydras) to lay massive fire into an advacing infantry formation. So I assumed it would be less armored, more like the open topped artillery (Hydra, Basilisk, etc.) or as flinty and Kiro mentioned: something like the Universal carrier, maybe with the quad Multilaser from your pic mounted on top.

Yes, they are FW models.

The smaller resin infantry one is a rapier weapons carrier with multilasers (this is a replacement for the old, METAL Rapier weapons carrier/multilaser that was available back in the RT/2nd ed days).

The Rhino hull based one was one of a number of vehicles built from 'vindicators' that had suffered hull weapon destruction, and where no demolisher cannon was available. Those were in several FW books.

Oh I see. There's some snippets in Vulkan Lives where a rapier is used as, essentially, a gatling/mini gun to attack infantry (Astartes) in cover:




The gist here is that the laser destroyer (which is basically just a big-boi multi-laser) appears to be used as in an anti-infantry role, but specifically for hitting infantry in hardened positions. In terms of action, it appears to work similar to a modern rotary-barrelled weapon system - using the cooling benefit of multiple barrels to increase rate of fire.

As for how that translates into model form, I'm going to guess that grouping the weapons into one (as with the above) is probably more what they were getting at, rather than some sort of porcupine arrangement. Incidentally, the Bren carrier kiro mentioned was designed to be used in this way. It could be used simply to transport the Vickers MMG, but the Vickers could also be fired 'en-portee' - literally from the carrier itself.

In the absence of Spitfires, it could also be used as a light aircraft apparently :

First of: thanks for the ideas, a light carrier makes sense (a pitty, that the Centaur Carrier seems not to be sold anymore)
surfing around looking for something else I found the M113 ACAV... I guess that might also be a fitting base for that (Imagine the machine guns replaced with multilasers)

Is it possible that it's just Abnett using an odd description for multilaser armed chimeras?

He could also be playing off the "gun motor carriage" nomenclature the US Army used for tank destroyers and self-propelled artillery in WWII.