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Metal Combat: Century After Next > Mass-Produced Designs > DV-006C Corsair Unit



Title: DV-006C Corsair Unit
Description: Arr, matey!


Alex Carrigan - February 1, 2006 11:10 PM (GMT)
DV-006C Corsair Unit, affectionately known as "The Crimson Molga"
Available for: Molga
Cost: $135,000

“Hope you like it, matey. ~J. Garred” –Crumpled note found inside the dashboard of the original Crimson Molga

Two pilots of long ago, after a late-night naval simulator battle, struck upon a novel (and wholly insane) idea: a seafaring Molga.
The mad scheme was born from the minds of the two once one kidded the other about taking his Molga upon the open sea. Strangely enough, the end product of the conversation was the same: the Molga was quite upgradeable, so why shouldn't it be able to terrorize the seas?

With that, the two set to work. Many bar napkins were sacrificed for the cause, sketches and designs penned down as quickly as either could think them up. Working late into the night, they came up with the modifications necessary to birth the Crimson Molga. Though unawares of the resemblance, the waterbug is strikingly similar in concept to a World War II-era PT torpedo boat, designed for fast strikes and high speed on the briny blue. The Crimson Molga, revived by the diVossi Corporation, became possibly the first aquatic Zoid that did not function as a submersible. It trades three-dimensional movement for insanely high speed and maneuverability, possibly superseding any aquatic Zoid currently in production.

The Crimson Molga achieves this feat through immense modifications to its structure and power system, building a boatlike hull around the Molga’s head and thorax area. A drawback to the system is that the Crimson Molga can no longer travel faster than a measly 120kph on land, and its deep keel makes rough terrain difficult to navigate.. On the sea...however...
The Molga's bulbous underbelly has been streamlined into a deep V-hull, capable of cutting through waves and rough storms with ease, granting it immense stability, particularly since the Molga's flexibility allows it to handle waves no other surface craft its size (or a few sizes larger) could dream of. Furthermore, the little bug's horizontal flexibility eliminates the need for a rudder, as the entire chassis flexes to use its V-hull to cut a turn in the water.

For propulsion, the Crimson Molga incorporates thrusters built into each segment of its body, one each positioned on each side of the Molga, propelling it to a maximum surface speed of 100 knots, though to make its sharpest turns, it must slow to 75 knots. Acceleration, though, is almost a nonexistent problem. Out of the water, the thrusters can give the bug an extra 50kph of thrust, but can only be used for three-second intervals, requiring three more seconds to cool down aftewards. In the water, however, they continue to function even if the vessel is submerged, such as inside a large wave or swell. The Molga also carries a sealed cockpit and a life support system in case it must remain submerged indefinitely. However, its natural buoyancy prevents it from submerging, and it will immediately bob to the surface, correctly righted, if it somehow finds itself below the waves.

Additional modifications include the tail stinger, which has been inverted, facing into the sea, and enlarged to form twin stabilizers. These aid in the Crimson Molga's unique style of maneuvering as well as being just as sharp as before. They are now retractable for land travel, swinging outwards and up to stand above the tail. Also, the wheels retract for seagoing, rising slightly up, vertically, and sinking into the sides of the Molga for better hydrodynamics. These wheels, in addition, extend slightly down to compensate for the new V-hull during ground travel. Since this creates a tiny armorless cavity where the wheels once were, the situation was remedied with an armored "fender" of sorts, making well up for the potential weakness.

Obviously, the Corsair Unit is a permanent modification, and will require a complete overhaul to install.

QUOTE
EZ-006DV "Crimson Molga"
Type: Insect (Caterpillar)
Length: 13.5 meters
Height: 3.15 meters
Beam: 3.3 meters
Weight: 23.2 tons
Speed:
100 kilometers per hour (land)
27.78 meters per second
100 knots (sea)
51.44 meters per second (surface)

Equipment:
Deck Gun
Depth-Charge Launcher
4x Homing Torpedoes
Seadog Operations Suite
Jolly Roger Flag (Free with purchase!)

Armor Description:
The Corsair Unit, affectionately dubbed the “Crimson Molga,” builds a boatlike hull design onto the existing Molga. Due to the prevalence of both beams and high explosives in naval combat, the hull has been reinforced with heavy support beams and covered in a thick plating of special reactive armor designed to protect against the “bursting” damage that beams, torpedoes, shock cannons and the like inflict. This, however, means that lasers, inert slugs, and good old melee weaponry are very effective against it. The Molga’s got many redundant systems, though, and proves to be very difficult to sink, even under extreme damage.

Mobility and Power Source:
The Crimson Molga has had a series of high-powered thrusters installed down its aft, with one pair to each of the tail segments except for the very last one. Its excellent seagoing speed, though, comes at the cost of being able to dive like other naval Zoids; the Molga is a surface vessel only. Fear not, though, as its deep, buoyant V-hull can punch through mighty swells and everything’s been waterproofed to survive being submerged. Finally, it displays excellent maneuverability, using its V-hull and caterpillar flexibility to cut swift turns in the water. Its energy-efficient design also allows it to run for ages without tiring.

Weaponry and Equipment:

Deck Gun:
A 12-pound rifled parrot (that’s a Bignasty™ brand cannon to you) mounted on the bow section of the Crimson Molga afore the head. It’s hard to suppress a “yarr!” when firing this thing; it’s big, loud, emits a large plume of smoke and fire when it goes off, and it hurts pretty bad. Due to its short muzzle and relatively small size, the gun isn’t perfectly accurate, and tends to fire high. The shell doesn’t travel as fast as most modern weaponry, so there’s a slight lag time between the booms. It takes approximately four seconds to reload, and features 100 degrees of rotation to either side.

Depth-charge launcher:
This is a rack mounted on the aft end of the Molga, occupying the last three segments (excluding the stinger mount) of the thing’s tail – special struts still allow the tail to flex. It holds twelve gunmetal-gray drums one after another. Armored rails ensure that it’s somewhat difficult to target the explosives from any direction other than above. These are extremely powerful explosives, which can be set to go off after reaching a certain depth. They take a few seconds to sink, but even a near miss from these guys can have devastating results to a submerged object. Alternately, they can be set to explode after a certain number of seconds once dropped.

4x Homing Torpedo
These little beauties, mounted two to a side on the thorax behind the wheel-wells, are most reminiscent of the Molga’s new role as a PT boat. They’re honest-to-Providence torpedoes, being designed almost solely to work in water. As such, they have an inert charge similar to C4 to prevent premature detonations. In addition, their motors are propeller-driven, unlike the pre-oxygenated rockets of most conventional zoids. There’s basically no way to set these things off unless they’re armed and launched. However, they’re near-useless on land unless you get real creative. In water, they travel at 80 knots and feature uncanny accuracy, able to lock onto something as small as a stabilizer cap.
- It should be noted that these occupy the space where the CP-07's braces attach, and they will need to be removed in order to mount the cannon, should one desire.

Seadog Operations Suite
The original sensory suite and H-HUD of the Molga has been improved upon for its nautical incarnation. With the development of the boat hull built around the Molga’s frame, the pilot literally can’t see out of the cockpit once inside, save for a tiny submersible-like porthole on the underside, reinforced with thick acrylic. The Crimson Molga has an improved holographic heads’ up display in the cockpit receiving feed from sonar and audio equipment, all-weather 3D radar, infrared and weather-mapping equipment to create a near-perfect hologram updated sixty times per second. The feed comes from many external sensors along the hull. Finally, the SOS comes with equipment to transmit all this to teammates, including a pre-installed Morse Code broadcast machine.

Jolly Roger Flag
It’s a Jolly Roger flag. You can’t have the Crimson Molga without a Jolly Roger flag. It comes with a four-meter mast that can attach to either side, or the middle, of the front thorax. Fly it with pride, matey.




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