Topic: What's in a name?

Having been drooling over the pix of the new Assault Trooper greens for a while now, I'm getting in the mood to plan some conversions based on the upcoming figs. Namely, the ATs seem to missing out on an important asset, the Ram's Head launcher (well at least for now they are).

While I'm certain it's pretty easy to make from the Plasma Carbine guy (green #4 IIRC) just by cutting off the gun and bending the aiming arm a bit so that one can prop a rocket launcher tube between the fist and the shoulderpad, the question remains... Why is the weapon in question called a Ram's Head?

Does is somehow look like, well, a ram's head or is it something less obvious?

Re: What's in a name?

I always pictured the (mass-produced) Ram's Head Launcher as very functional looking, but with a slightly wide opening that has some suggestively molded lines that, from a distance, might resemble Ram horns.

This does not mean that the odd trooper so-armed wouldn't have painted his launcher to have some more flair, and it certainly doesn't mean that my own "not concept" should stop you if you have something cooler in mind.

-Demian

Re: What's in a name?

Thanks, Demian.

Tended to think of a rough-and-ready functional sort of weapon myself, as it would not fit too well with the Assault Trooper imagery to have them lug around something baroque (and possibly skull-, spike- and chain-encrusted :wink:). The other thing would be that it would have to be something I can actually make and I'm not the most versed miniature conversion artist around. And also, there should be a possibility of making more than one of these babies, which makes more esoteric solutions unviable.

I suppose I'll see how it comes about when I get to making it, eh?

Re: What's in a name?

tnjrp wrote:

Tended to think of a rough-and-ready functional sort of weapon myself, as it would not fit too well with the Assault Trooper imagery to have them lug around something baroque (and possibly skull-, spike- and chain-encrusted :wink:).

Here's a pic of a discarded weapon design from the Ascendance book that may work as a Ram's Head Launcher. Don't know if Demian is keen on it or not, but I thought I'd put it out there...

Sorry, no skulls/chains/spikes on this guy :wink:

Josh

Re: What's in a name?

Thanks for showing the pic. It's a nice design and the sort that I'd expect to find the ATs toting, but for some reason it doesn't resemble a ram's head... My conversion probably won't either, tho.

Re: What's in a name?

tnjrp wrote:

Thanks for showing the pic. It's a nice design and the sort that I'd expect to find the ATs toting, but for some reason it doesn't resemble a ram's head... My conversion probably won't either, tho.

Yeah there is no Ram's Head resemblance because, IIRC it was meant to be another weapon that actually wasn't even a "launcher" weapon after all - a misunderstanding on my part at the time.

I was thinking of re-doing this pic with a slightly larger end that would resemble Demians more recent suggestion of subtle patterns that suggest horns... but its low on the priority sheet right now - gotta do other defiance related work first  :roll:  :wink:

Josh