Re-Imagining A Valkyrie as a Gun-Cutter

[ElectricPaladin]

I'm beginning to entertain the idea of getting my inquisitor a valkyrie for the holidays, but instead of a mere atmospheric craft, I'd like to convert it into something more like Eisenhorn's gun-cutter. This thread is to brainstorm how I might go about doing this.

 

Any suggestions?

[CaptainHelion]

Well, I think the first place to start would be vague shapes and inspirations. Do you have any artwork you could start from? Doesn't have to be 40k, of course. Do you want it to be sleek? Triangular? A brick?

[Lucien Eilam]

In what ways do you want it to be like the gun-cutter?

 

The gun-cutter was 80 metres long, weighed 450 tonnes, and was big enough to accommodate individual cabins for half a dozen people and a separate cargo bay two men could build a skimmer in. That's 3-4 times the size of a Thunderhawk, and even bigger than a Tau Manta.

 

It's going to be like converting a dinghy into a luxury yacht.

 

Visually, it was described as sleek, with a profile like a "serrated dagger".

[Phantomzero17]

I think it's really more of a catch all term for a small class of vessel favored by those of ill-repute.  Across any reference I've seen they're capable of in atmosphere as well as space flight but beyond that we get a bit dodgy.  Astorath of the Blood Angels from what I can recall of Swallow's short story has his own cutter with a warp drive but in Dark Heresy I do not believe they do.  So I'd leave it down to one's own imagination on what does and does not constitute a cutter.  Though for scale I think the "cutters" used by the coast guard are something like 380 ft IIRC.

[Lucien Eilam]

So I'd leave it down to one's own imagination on what does and does not constitute a cutter.

Well, yeah, but that's the point. What is he imagining? There's such a huge gulf between the descriptions of Eisenhorn's cutter and the Valkyrie, it doesn't help much as a starting point.

[ElectricPaladin]

See... I never got the impression that it was supposed to be that big. From my reading of Eisenhorn, the thing was basically a light landing craft. He didn't use it for long void voyages - he used it to deliver himself and his warband into battle. The only conversations on the gun-cutter seemed to be when Eisenhorn was speaking to his astropath, who seemed to live there, or when he was sitting in the cockpit with one of his pilots. All the other conversations in comfortable rooms took place in berths on whatever actual void ship they were using to get from place to place.

 

But, whatever. It's no big deal. I can rephrase the question - I want to convert the valkyrie so it looks more like a space capable lander than an atmospheric attack craft. Any suggestions?

[Lucien Eilam]

The Aquila Lander is probably a better reference if that's all you want. It's very close in appearance to a Valkyrie already. The main body is slightly bulkier and the wings are obviously bigger and more substantial, but that's about it.

[ElectricPaladin]

The Aquila Lander is probably a better reference if that's all you want. It's very close in appearance to a Valkyrie already. The main body is slightly bulkier and the wings are obviously bigger and more substantial, but that's about it.

 

Yeah, I see that...

 

But, of course, the aquila isn't available anymore...

[Slips]

Both of these are horrendously expensive, but might give you an idea as to the direction you want to go.

 

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Imperial_Navy/MARAUDER_DESTROYER.html

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Imperial_Navy/MARAUDER-BOMBER.html

 

Mostly because they are larger aircraft - known for atmospheric and void ops - and would, imo, be easier to bulk out than a Valkyrie.

[Lucien Eilam]

No, but it's pretty much a perfect example of how a vehicle that looks a lot like a Valkyrie would work as a void-capable lander. It confirms you just need to bulk it up a bit and seal the doors - the existing cockpit and engines, for example, are fine as-is.

[Warsmith Aznable]

Maybe take a Valkyrie and leave off the tail booms, modify the side doors to be more like airlocks than sliding doors, and add extra engine with Storm Talon bits, maybe on the end of slightly shortened wings (or use Storm Raven wings.)