[Moc] YT-1300.2 Eliminator (Freighter Wars Entry)

[Saberwing40k]

Well, this is new. I normally hang around the Technic forum, but I just had to enter the Freighter Wars contest on Lego Rebrick. I wanted to make a cool model, and so I ended up making a not quite microscale model, with lots of asymmetrical greebling, WW2 bomber inspired turrets, and of course, lots of guns. The general idea is two YT-1300 freighter jammed together. I had actually come up with a backstory of sorts for this ship, but first, some more pictures.

This image shows the other side of the ship. The design has many differing colors, suggesting that it is patched together from many other ships. Doing this in a way that looked good was kind of hard.

The underside, showing some ventral turrets, and some big honking railguns up front. These complement the turbolasers up top.

The rear engine cluster is probably the biggest departure from the standard YT-1300, but the Republic Cruisers had them, and that's probably what these got yanked off of.

Another departure was the cockpit. The two side pods are gunner stations, while the cockpit is central. In universe, this is to give the pilot better visibility in combat situations. I just realized it now, but it also harkens back to the very first concepts for the Millenium Falcon, before they switched to a saucer shape.

And now, here's my backstory, if you want to read it.

In some parts of the galaxy, ships are uncommon, due to remoteness, high tariffs, or other factors. This lack of easy access to ships forces natives of these regions to get creative, letting no ship die easily, and combining parts that have no place working together. One example of this is actually so common it has a name: the YT-1300.2. Combing two ubiquitous Corellian YT-1300 freighters into one ship, this amalgamation results in a ship with double the cargo capacity, while not increasing the crew requirements. It is a good use for two ships that would otherwise be scrap, and giving them a new lease on life. Such a concept is also appealing to smugglers and other miscreants, as it is cheap to make, easy to find parts for, and spacious, either for illicit cargo, or special equipment. One such example of a pirate YT-1300.2 is the Eliminator, a beast considered unholy even in the regions where hybrid ships are common. Designed and piloted by one Erik Carter, the Eliminator has but one purpose: eliminate First Order ships. Erik and his crew were originally privateers hired by a system sympathetic to the Resistance cause, but they quickly grew to detest their outdated or inadequate equipment. Erik did have a stash of unusual technology he procured from his home planet near the Unknown Regions, but he was not allowed to modify any ships they were lent, nor was the crew able to afford their own ship. However, the captain of the crew, an odd fellow named Zakrov, purchased two wrecked YT-1300 freighters from a salvage auction while intoxicated. Neither freighter was flyable on its own, and indeed, neither had been turned on in nearly a decade, hence why they were so cheap. The crew was initially furious, until Erik revealed his daring plan. He saw potential in the wrecks, and would combine them into a single, working ship. One ship had no engines, due to some engine failure, while the other had impacted a space station, destroying the front mandibles and much of the front of the ship. Erik's theory was sound, but didn't work in practice. A test run revealed that the combined ship had poor acceleration, poor maneuverability, and poor combat abilities. Nonetheless, it was a ship of their own, and a good base for modifications. Soon after, every crew member began scouring auction sites and salvage yards, looking for more parts. A cockpit from a shuttle unit was mounted centrally, as Erik considered that a much better location for a cockpit. The original cockpit was replaced by a ball turret with anti starfighter lasers, and mirrored on the other side. A cut down engine block from an Old Republic frigate provided higher thrust, but that was not all. Next came the weapons, something Erik had wanted to implement for a long time. He had procured a rare type of ceramic composite that converted heat almost directly into electricity, and by applying this material to some overvolted turbolasers, Erik was able to increase their rate of fire to that of a much smaller blaster. Many odds and ends later, and the Eliminator was born. The Eliminator, or the "Flying Dumpster", as she is affectionately (?) nicknamed by the crew, is a singly lethal ship, built on a shoestring budget. Despite her small size, the Eliminator packs the firepower of a heavy frigate, with 2 double turbolaser turrets, 4 anti starfighter emplacements with 2 quad lasers each, 5 with a single quad laser, 2 variable torpedo launchers, and 2 unique spinal guns. These latter guns use a unique technology to fire a physical projectile at extremely high speeds, causing immense damage on impact. This is advantageous, as the guns ignore most shields, and can be fitted to fire a variety of projectile types, including tandem charge and shotgun rounds. Another feature of the guns is the ability to fire a round into hyperspace, on an intersecting trajectory with an enemy target. This attack is utterly devastating, even to a Star Destroyer, but it is difficult to program, and risky to execute, as the Eliminator could be caught in the blast wave, or have its hyperdrive blown. Used far more often are the twin turbolasers on top, which are overvolted, which would ordinarily be detrimental, but with Erik's special ceramic composite barrels, they can fire at high rates for extended periods of time, a massive advantage in combat. Providing cover fire are quad laser cannons mounted on various turrets the whole ship over. These turrets utilize modified CEC AG-2G quad lasers, fitted with boosted cooling systems. The ship also has several micromissile batteries. To provide increased durability, the Eliminator was fitted with no less than four separate deflector shield projector systems. While that sounds highly unreliable, it actually allows the shields to be cycled, making them harder to wear down. Like any good smuggler ship, the hyperdrive has been modified as well, to a standard of class 0.75. Zakrov was unwilling to boost that system any farther,given that he's crazy, not stupid, and 0.75 is faster than most First Order ships. In sublight, the Eliminator has three massive engines,plus numerous verniers, making it far more maneuverable than a freighter has any right to be, and allowing it to dogfight with First Order TIE fighters. The sublight engines and deflector shields have numerous exotic components on the inside, making them far more efficient, and harder to detect. Even the hull of the Eliminator has panels of exotic composite making up its armor. On the inside, the Eliminator has virtually no cargo space, instead having spacious crew quarters, and lots of additional systems.  While it may be temperamental, and its crew just as much so, the Resistance are glad to have the Eliminator around.

 

P.S. Erik Carter is pretty much my Author Avatar OC, so you might be seeing him more often.

[roadstermatt]

nice idea ship looks good