DARKSTAR CAMPAIGN UPDATE: DUCHESS ANNABEL’S WAR IS OVER
Darkstar Warship Design: Iron Duke Class Heavy Cruiser
The Iron Duke class heavy cruiser is something of a paradox in the Royal Navy. On the one hand, it is proof that the Royal Navy has finally come to terms with the fact that the Titan class needs to be replaced after nearly forty years in service. On the other hand, the Iron Dukes are really little more than upgunned versions of the Titans they are meant to replace. In fact, in some ways the Iron Dukes are inferior to the Titans, at least in regards to protection. However, the Iron Duke embraces the notion that the best form of defense is a good offense, and in so doing has mounted a truly devastating array of firepower. Note that the old Model 33 torpedoes have finally been replaced by the newer Model 41 gravitic torpedoes mounted on the Osprey class light carriers. Furthermore, these have been mounted in swivel-racks that can turn with the ship's main gunnery turrets. While this means that the Iron Duke can never fire a full torpedo spread forward or aft (as is traditionally the case with such weapons), it does mean that the cruiser can unload these weapons when already presenting a broadside, clearly her preferred vantage of engagement. It's in this broadside, after all, where the Iron Duke really shines. The four double turrets of 10-gw rail guns can match those mounted of ship classes like the Imperial Prussian Leopold, Holy Russian Slava, and Japanese Chikuma, especially daunting since they are slaved to the new Hawkinge Electronics 01A fire control system. Furthermore, the 6 MgKv lasers formerly mounted with the Titans have been replaced with larger 8 MgKv models. The Iron Dukes are all named for famous military leaders (especially naval commanders) in Britain's history, except for the HMS Kraken, recommissioned to carry the name of the famous ship of the Titan class. Metrics:
Mass: 157,703 tons
Complement: 727 officers and men
Marines: 64
Passengers: 36
Sublight thrust: 4
Darkstar Wave: 10th (x300 c)
Aerospace: (2) scouts, (1) 1,200-ton cutter, (1) 4,000 ton yacht
ECM & Gravitic Shielding:
• Bow: 4
• P Bow: 4
• S Bow: 4
• P Quarter: 5
• S Quarter: 5
• Stern: 5
Armament:
• Turret – x2 10-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
• Turret – x2 10-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
• Turret – x2 10-gigawatt rail guns (stern)
• Turret – x2 10-gigawatt rail guns (stern)
• Turret – x2 8-megakelvin lasers (bow)
• Turret – x2 8-megakelvin lasers (stern)
• Rack – x6 Class IV gravitic torpedoes (bow)
• Rack – x6 Class IV gravitic torpedoes (stern)
• Turret – x4 45mm mass driver point defense array (bow)
• Turret – x4 45mm mass driver point defense array (p bow)
• Turret – x4 45mm mass driver point defense array (s bow)
• Turret – x6 45mm mass driver point defense array (p quarter)
• Turret – x6 45mm mass driver point defense array (s quarter)
• Turret – x6 45mm mass driver point defense array (stern)
Ships in Class:
• C 161 HMS Iron Duke
• C 162 HMS Nelson
• C 163 HMS Jellicoe
• C 164 HMS Marlborough
• C 165 HMS Agincourt
• C 166 HMS Howe
• C 167 HMS Rodney
• C 168 HMS Drake
• C 169 HMS Howard
• C 170 HMS Blake
• C 171 HMS Fisher
• C 172 HMS Cromwell
• C 173 HMS Kraken (fmr Hawkins)
• C 174 HMS Churchill
In my humble opinion, this is THE coolest ship in the game. Of course that opinion has nothing to do with the fact that my main character in the game commands one of these as the flagship of her fleet.
Love the level of detail that has gone into this.
The drawing is amazing, but her real strength is her mythos that has developed in the game. That is one of the strength of the game. The combat and cool ships of drop fleet/x-wing but character development enough to make you want to play a particular ship.
Though I would love to see the Kraken as a model one day.
Can be a lot of effort to do the initial sculpt/CAD but you can get some really good results with high-end 3D printing now at reasonable prices. I’ve had great results with shapeways.com, so if you can get a sculpt!