Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Antarctic Space Nazis Across the Multiverse

Icelander · 01-31-2019, 03:41 AM

I'm assuming that while the ASNs could scrounge up quite a lot of military hardware, as the senior leadership of the SS and in charge of more than one division of Waffen-SS, not everyone among the senior leadership was prepared to strip the Third Reich of badly needed munitions or weapons.

So, while many thousands of rifles and millions and millions of rounds of ammunition would have been available as a matter of course, by the time that all the leadership of the Antarctic Space Nazis had accepted the inevitability of the fall of the Third Reich, Nazi Germany was, ironically, facing somewhat of a shortage of munitions.

Granted, that doesn't matter much on the scale of five or ten thousand rifles, but it does explain why the ASNs might not have had literally hundreds of thousands of stockpiled rifles. Instead, they maybe ten thousand military rifles ready at the end of 1944 and maybe another ten thousand training rifles in .22 LR and then whatever weapons they could scrounge and steal during the first four months of 1945.

I'm assuming that they took everything necessary to set up manufacturing of Mauser rifles and ammunition, however, and that this was an absolute priority to get up and running.

For the first few years and probably the entire first generation, it's likely that TL6-7 firearms and, especially, ammunition, were in more demand than their manufacturing could ever supply. Well, granted, for the first generation or so, they'd probably have enough stockpiled of authentic Earth-made rifles and ammunition for all citizens, but they would hardly have enough to equip ever growing numbers of 'civilized' 'Aryan' second-class citizens. Which is why I think that black powder firearms would make sense, for all other tasks than frontline military service.

My thought was that the farmers and second-class citizens would receive copies of Mauser 1871/84 rifles in 11mm, with whatever changes are needed to make them as economical to manufacture in their circumstances as possible.

I also believe that a simple black powder flintlock muzzleloader, as easy to manufacture as possible and maintainable at TL4, would have been made as a trade item to their TL3 allies. I was wondering what kind of pattern would be most practical, as well as having superficial similarities to some suitable Germanic firearm. Probably a Prussian musket copy.

If it is easier to upgrade to percussion rifle-muskets than it is to go directly to centerfire Mausers in black powder, I suppose they also need such trade guns, for when their allies have moved beyond TL4 armaments and need more expensive trade goods.

Is it easier or more economical, if you have TL7 knowledge and manufacfuring capability for TL6 Mausers, to mass manufacture a 'new' design of percussion rifle-muskets, either muzzleloading or breech-loading, than it is to make more Mauser 1871s?

Even if equivalent in terms of labour and materials, it seems like it might be easier and cheaper to manufacture percussion caps, powder and minie-bullets in massive numbers than it is to make 11mm centerfire black powder cartridges, if only because of materials savings in metal casings. Paper cartridges might alter that analysis, of course.

For citizens of das Neues Reich der Schwarzen Sonne, even if second class citizens, the increased utility of the Mauser 1871/84 rifles probably makes up for any reasonable cost increase. As trade goods, however, it seems plausible to me, without any real understanding of the relative complexities in manufacturing, that selling native allies (safely on another world and thus a limited threat) upgrades to trade muskets in the form of percussion caps and rifled barrels might be more profitable than moving directly to the more advanced Mauser from the most primitive trade muskets.

Essentially, an analogue to the Ring of Fire/Assiti Shards/1632 Series SRG rifle-musket, designed as a muzzleloader that would initially use a flintlock action, but be upgradable later on to percussion caps and even breechloading.

Though obviously, based on something with more Germanic and völkisch credibility than the Enfield rifle-musket. I don't know what having access to factories that make Mausers means for lower-tech actions, if perhaps some form of bolt-action can be converted to work with paper cartridges and percussion caps and if that would more more economical to mass produce than an adaptation of a historical action type.

What think the denizens?

01-31-2019, 03:41 AM	#80
Icelander Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Iceland*	Antarctic Space Nazi 'Low-Tech' Smallarms I'm assuming that while the ASNs could scrounge up quite a lot of military hardware, as the senior leadership of the SS and in charge of more than one division of Waffen-SS, not everyone among the senior leadership was prepared to strip the Third Reich of badly needed munitions or weapons. So, while many thousands of rifles and millions and millions of rounds of ammunition would have been available as a matter of course, by the time that all the leadership of the Antarctic Space Nazis had accepted the inevitability of the fall of the Third Reich, Nazi Germany was, ironically, facing somewhat of a shortage of munitions. Granted, that doesn't matter much on the scale of five or ten thousand rifles, but it does explain why the ASNs might not have had literally hundreds of thousands of stockpiled rifles. Instead, they maybe ten thousand military rifles ready at the end of 1944 and maybe another ten thousand training rifles in .22 LR and then whatever weapons they could scrounge and steal during the first four months of 1945. I'm assuming that they took everything necessary to set up manufacturing of Mauser rifles and ammunition, however, and that this was an absolute priority to get up and running. For the first few years and probably the entire first generation, it's likely that TL6-7 firearms and, especially, ammunition, were in more demand than their manufacturing could ever supply. Well, granted, for the first generation or so, they'd probably have enough stockpiled of authentic Earth-made rifles and ammunition for all citizens, but they would hardly have enough to equip ever growing numbers of 'civilized' 'Aryan' second-class citizens. Which is why I think that black powder firearms would make sense, for all other tasks than frontline military service. My thought was that the farmers and second-class citizens would receive copies of Mauser 1871/84 rifles in 11mm, with whatever changes are needed to make them as economical to manufacture in their circumstances as possible. I also believe that a simple black powder flintlock muzzleloader, as easy to manufacture as possible and maintainable at TL4, would have been made as a trade item to their TL3 allies. I was wondering what kind of pattern would be most practical, as well as having superficial similarities to some suitable Germanic firearm. Probably a Prussian musket copy. If it is easier to upgrade to percussion rifle-muskets than it is to go directly to centerfire Mausers in black powder, I suppose they also need such trade guns, for when their allies have moved beyond TL4 armaments and need more expensive trade goods. Is it easier or more economical, if you have TL7 knowledge and manufacfuring capability for TL6 Mausers, to mass manufacture a 'new' design of percussion rifle-muskets, either muzzleloading or breech-loading, than it is to make more Mauser 1871s? Even if equivalent in terms of labour and materials, it seems like it might be easier and cheaper to manufacture percussion caps, powder and minie-bullets in massive numbers than it is to make 11mm centerfire black powder cartridges, if only because of materials savings in metal casings. Paper cartridges might alter that analysis, of course. For citizens of das Neues Reich der Schwarzen Sonne, even if second class citizens, the increased utility of the Mauser 1871/84 rifles probably makes up for any reasonable cost increase. As trade goods, however, it seems plausible to me, without any real understanding of the relative complexities in manufacturing, that selling native allies (safely on another world and thus a limited threat) upgrades to trade muskets in the form of percussion caps and rifled barrels might be more profitable than moving directly to the more advanced Mauser from the most primitive trade muskets. Essentially, an analogue to the Ring of Fire/Assiti Shards/1632 Series SRG rifle-musket, designed as a muzzleloader that would initially use a flintlock action, but be upgradable later on to percussion caps and even breechloading. Though obviously, based on something with more Germanic and völkisch credibility than the Enfield rifle-musket. I don't know what having access to factories that make Mausers means for lower-tech actions, if perhaps some form of bolt-action can be converted to work with paper cartridges and percussion caps and if that would more more economical to mass produce than an adaptation of a historical action type. What think the denizens? __________________ Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 01-31-2019 at 06:05 AM.