THE WORKHORSE OF EMPIRE

Where there are wars to be fought, governors to be controlled and worlds to be conquered, there as ever are the cruisers. 

The workhorses of war.

 STANDARD LUNAR CRUISERS

A pair of torpedo variant lunars on patrol in the Adams Rib system

               Of all the warships available in the armoury of the empire of man, the Lunar is almost certainly both the most numerous and the most versatile.  Because of the simplicity of it's design and construction , it has been produced throughout the empire on a variety of worlds and a careful study of the various types will display just how widely STC's have been corrupted and  modified. As a result of it's flexibilty it has been produced with a large variety of prow armaments and variants. For a detailed analysis of the variants follow the link to   

THE TYRANT CLASS CRUISERS AND VARIANTS

Designed at the end of the 38^th millennium the Tyrant class were designed around the principle of super fired plasma weaponry capable of launching a boosted salvo somewhat further than preceding designs.. They were produced in two variants one carrying a nova cannon on the prow, while the other was armed with torpedo tubes.

TYRANT NOVA VARIANT

TYRANT TORPEDO VARIANT

 GOTHIC CLASS CRUISER

The powerful gothic class cruiser is a familiar sight throughout the imperium, with numerous vessels operating in each of the segmentum fleets. A potent force in its own right, the class carries the heaviest lance array of any imperial vessel of its size. However in the course of the war, it became apparent that it could only operate successfully in the company of other vessels. Powerful as the lances were they could not damage another ship fast enough in one on one duels. Gothics are normally teamed with their own squadron of escorts or another cruiser. They would then engage the enemy abeam while its supporting ships would attempt to encircle the enemy and attack its stern or bows. This used the lance to good effect with the lance bringing down the shields while the consorts delivered the killer punch..

GOTHIC CLASS CRUISER

  The Bowmen Class Missile cruisers

                                       The bowmen class missile cruisers were conceived in 82 M38 and were a real attempt to exploit the power of torpedoes versus increasingly heavier shielded ships. The original design had 3x4 torp salvos on each broadside, 1x4 torp salvo on the dorsal and  a 1x6 torp salvo on the prow. however military expediency later modified this to include a small offensive/defensive lance armament. The named vessel of the class The IMS Fleche  is currently serving in the Golgotha sector. Full details of the class can be found at

 THE DICTATOR CLASS CRUISER

Appalled by the incredible effectiveness of the dedicated carriers the imperial strategists realised that fleets without carriers were liable to be shredded when in combat with carrier fleets.. a quick and simple solution was necessary.. Tech priests of Oedema Segunda provided the answer in the dictator class escort cruiser.. The conversion was an easy conversion to the disappointing gothic class vessels.. The lance bays were removed and the resulting power and space released used to install hangar and launch bays for imperial fighters..

 THE GUARDIAN ANGEL CLASS

The early years of the Shalom insurrection were marked by extensive rebel raids on imperial outposts and convoys.. Using their exceptional speed and burst acceleration, the weapons class made remarkable gains and severely disrupted Imperial commerce. When the losses finally urged the empire to action Admiral Von Hoch called on the Golgotha yards to provide a counter.. Only one man at Golgotha had the skills. Once more Noah Ben Shalek was called upon to display his skills..

Ben Shalek decided that firepower was the answer and began work using a Tyrant hulk as a base. He spent many weeks tinkering with the power sources attempting to increase the basic speed of the cruiser at any cost.. He found it to be impossible.. More speed was required but where the hell was it to come from.. The vessel could maintain its range but not close to bring its broadside to bear.. His first idea was to reduce the weapons batteries by twenty five percent.. This still left an impressive firepower total but he still could not squeeze any more speed out of the engines despite the power and mass reduction.

The answer hit him whilst working on repairs to a sword frigate.. Many swords achieved high manoeuvrability using variable direction thruster jets behind the dorsal weapons batteries.. Feverishly he applied the theory to the tyrant hulk.. The result was perfect. The tactic called for good timing but worked perfectly.. The Shalomites normal strategy was to make stinging attacks on the transports and dart away before the escorts could present their broadside.. Noah’s surprise would give the cruiser the ability to make a violent turn whilst the raiders were still in range bringing the full power of their weapons batteries to bear in an instant..

Noah put a final crowing touch to the vessel by the addition of forward firing lances.. The raiders were dead meat...heheheheh.. He presented his final design to Von Hoch who showered him with praise.. "Ben Shalek" Von Hoch declared, "you have given the empire a mighty weapon. We shall use it well. The Shalomites will never know what hit them". Noah grinned and replied" My thanks Lord. I was born to serve" What he never said was who he served!!!.. Within hours Massada received copies of the plan!!!

GUARDIAN ANGEL CLASS

"JOSHUAS TRUMPET"

THE MODEL

Basically the model is very simple.. I built it as i went along using the following order of assembly. Its is based on a plastic cruiser hull with a lance prow and dorsal weapons from a Dauntless and the cut down dorsal weapons from a Sword frigate..

Assemble plastic kit and reduce its weapons by two slots..

Make small flange for front of hull and pin and drill a dauntless prow tot the hull.

Cut down cruiser wings and carve a dauntless dorsal weapons battery to fit just forward of what remains of the cruiser wings.

Carve away the forward weapons mount and the superstructure to allow the insertion of a chaos cruiser bridge

Cut the weapon from the front of a Sword dorsal weapons battery and pin the resultant thruster to the sides of the cruiser forward of the engines and behind the remains of the plastic wing.

Finished

NOVA SUEÑO

(NB this is a very scenario specific ship, designed for a specific purpose in the Golgotha campaign. It is strictly NOT recommended for tourney or even regular game play)

Golgotha's position on the edge of the galaxy made it a starting point for many voyages of exploration. The most prominent of these being the rim ward voyages of inquisitor Van Haroom, the findings of which are still to be publicised. It was soon realised that such trips meant months of isolation and independent action. The need soon arose for a vessel capable of working both as an independent exploratory base but also with the ability to defend itself if attacked and to escape if overwhelmed.

The rangers were the result. Based on a light cruiser hull, They were given the engines of a standard cruiser. They were also provided with 3 squadrons of fighters that could both defend the vessel and serve as short-range exploratory craft. They also carried vast sensor arrays on their prows and a considerable weapons armament. The very versatility of these vessels made them popular for exploration and power projection in the far-flung sectors of the empire.