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I've recently been reading the Bolo books by David Weber and was wondering whether anybody produced a Bolo style tank (other than GW)
"But me no buts! Our comrades get hurt. Our friends die. Falkenburg is a knight who swore an oath to serve the church and to defend the weak. He'd be the first to tell you to stop puling and start planning. Because what we are doing-at risk to ourselves-is what we have sworn to do. The West relies on us. It is a risk we take with pride. It is an oath we honour. Even when some soft southern burgher mutters about us, we know the reason he sleeps soft and comfortable, why his wife is able to complain about the price of cabbages as her most serious problem and why his children dare to throw dung and yell "Knot" when we pass. It's because we are what we are. For all our faults we stand for law and light.
Von Gherens This Rough Magic Lackey, Flint & Freer
Mekagorkalicious -Monkeytroll
2017 Model Count-71
If you are looking for a Bolo model compatible in scale with 40K, the nearest ones are things like these:
http://www.hlj.com/product/TACTG-2 It's 1/72 scale but the model is about the size of a land raider. There are some threads about it on Dakka. Kid_Kyoto has one.
Another option would be to buy a good big historical kit and convert it with plasticard and so on.
I would suggest starting with something good and chunky like an Elefant or Brummbar. There are several historical vehicles of that general type and they are all available in 1/35 kit form.
Great, great series though. Weber did it justice, and really the short story collections are excellent too. More people need to read the series imho, it's some of the best sci-fi out there.
Models of the suckers would have to be pretty massive, although the cover art varies from "really big tank" to "bring on the titans".
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/06/20 23:04:22
I'm not like them, but I can pretend.
Observations on complex unit wound allocation: If you're feeling screwed, your opponent is probably doing it right.
OGRE by Steve Jackson Games is also very hard to get models for. Not looking like they'll have a solution for that any time soon. Many units simply are not available right now. The boardgame version of OGRE or OGRE/GEV is currently OOP and has been for about 10 years. SJGames are supposedly working on an update but the game's been on their backburner for several years now.
Bottom line: Would not hold my breath if they don't have the model you want available right now.
Once you have figured out what you want for your giant tanks from whatever mfr, the smaller stuff is much more readily available. GHQ, C in C and several other mfrs make modern and near future in 6mm.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/06/21 01:43:05
1-UP wrote:Models of the suckers would have to be pretty massive, although the cover art varies from "really big tank" to "bring on the titans".
As you said, the series really is Keith Laumer's baby... A lot of authors have 'picked up the torch' but the core stories are his.
The various models really do seem to vary quite a bit in size. The Mk I is basically a super-automated variant of an Abrahms tank, while I believe some much later versions might as well be the Death Star.
The 'classic' versions seem to be extremely large, with multiple independent track units, at least one 'big gun' and a bunch of secondaries/anti-personnel weapons, and a sizable quantity of armor. Usually a small 'command center' that can be sued for a commanding officer and a couple other people as needed.
I could be wrong, but I get the feeling Laumer never kept a lot of notes on dimensions and capabilities but really just winged it. Later authors have 'fixed' things a bit by cataloging and establishing time lines, but they've added some inconsistencies as well. In the setting,t here's enough history that the different marks of Bolos could possibly have changed in scope (I.E. some Marks might have included variants) and technolgoy allowed the platform to shrink, grow, or add new abilities as time progresses.
The 'bad guys' in the stories changed pretty heavily as well. Stories set in the 'early days' tend to center around a global collapse and eventual apocalypse. The Bolos are not-quite-sentient automatic tanks and are often threats in the stories. The 'classic era' tends to center around the Human Concordat, a big collection of colony worlds that sue large, sentient Bolos as defenders. A lot of these stories seem to center on a lone Bolo or two that are assigned to defend some backwater colony and aren't trusted or considered to be as useful as regular military. They're not trusted, aliens attack, the regular army is smashed, the Bolo is finally let loose and saves the day, everyone goes home happy. The Conco
Then there's some later stories set in a dark era long after the Cncordat has crumbled to dust. In some, mankind seems to be fading away, in others we've transcended and left behind the relics of a bloody past... But there's Bolos watching over the refugees and survivors that are left.
Working on someting you'll either love or hate. Hopefully to be revealed by November.
Play the games that make you happy.
I really enjoy that series personally. Have the latest book preordered. It does tend to jump around a lot but each story tends to be pretty good on its own.
Oops I was aware that Keith Laumer had written the original series I was reading the ones by David Weber. Ah well It'll go on the back burner hunting for inspiration.
"But me no buts! Our comrades get hurt. Our friends die. Falkenburg is a knight who swore an oath to serve the church and to defend the weak. He'd be the first to tell you to stop puling and start planning. Because what we are doing-at risk to ourselves-is what we have sworn to do. The West relies on us. It is a risk we take with pride. It is an oath we honour. Even when some soft southern burgher mutters about us, we know the reason he sleeps soft and comfortable, why his wife is able to complain about the price of cabbages as her most serious problem and why his children dare to throw dung and yell "Knot" when we pass. It's because we are what we are. For all our faults we stand for law and light.
Von Gherens This Rough Magic Lackey, Flint & Freer
Mekagorkalicious -Monkeytroll
2017 Model Count-71
Inspired to re-read the stories, and came across a pretty good reference.
In Bolos: The Unconquerable, "Ancesteral Voices" pg 9 it references a Bolo Mark III (a very early, small version). The tracks left behind are described as "four sets of treads, impossibley close together, each over a man's height across". A couple of pages earlier it describes the treads as being "nearly 6 ft across". I'd say that it's a safe bet that you can assume the smallest of the bolos are 24 ft across, with later models being much, much larger.
If a space marine is 8 ft tall (for simplicity's sake), tha'ts 3 marines laid down head to toe. Makes it pretty similar to a Baneblade I believe. Keep in mind that's one of the earliest, smallest versions.
I'm not like them, but I can pretend.
Observations on complex unit wound allocation: If you're feeling screwed, your opponent is probably doing it right.
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