EFSF Weapons Vol. 4 - Beam Weapons

The final volume of the extensive GM weapons series...The beam weapons.

A late model Beam Spray Gun with increased beam cohesion used by an RGM-79B.  On January 1, U.C. 0080, this image was taken by an embedded war journalist during the battle of Hughenden.   Due to complications in reporting the armistice negotiations, this grueling battle continued for an additional two days.

GM Beam Weapons

A brief overview of GM Series Weapons

This article will detail the various weapons systems deployed by the RGM-79 GM during the One Year War period and beyond, and though most information is known at this time, there are a few details that remain unknown to this day, most information can be inferred from the state of production and technology at the time.

来たぁぁ！！

Oh my god.... It's happening!

It must be said that my favorite mecha of all time is the VF-22/YF-21 from Macross...

And now....

Oh my god.

It's being released next week.

EFSF Weapons Vol. 3 - Shields

Though not strictly weapons, the distinctive large shields are a signature piece of equipment used by EFSF Mobile Suits.

After their initial crushing defeat early in the war, the 10th Fleet (10TF) stationed at Luna II was reconstructed in November U.C. 0079 with Mobile Suit units. This image shows a unit deployed with the 6th patrol fleet (a subordinate unit to 10TF), which was deployed to interdict the supply lines between 

Side 3 and the Earth Attack Force.

GM Series Shields
A brief overview of GM series weapons.

EFSF Weapons Vol. 2 - Heavy Weapons

The second part of the EFSF/GM weapons series will cover the heavy weapons - Bazookas, Cannons, and Missiles. (Oh my?)  

RGM-79C scrambled to intercept an HLV launch from Hughenden.  With the suspected presence of a warship to recover the HLV , this unit carried heavy firepower in the form of 360mm Hyper Bazookas in both hands.   However, the HLV HLV changed course and escaped towards Africa, rather than heading towards Side 3, so this unit was not able to intercept their target.

Armaments of RGM-79 

A brief overview of GM series weapons

During the One Year War, combat under the influence of Minovsky Particle scattering was an area of combat neither Zeon or Federation Militaries had much experience in.   Ideal factors such as engagement distances, shot accuracy, and required magazine capacities were not well understood, and so a variety of concepts for weapons systems were developed. 

EFSF Weapons Vol. 1 - The Projectile Weapons

The first part of the GM weapons series is here!   This volume will cover the projectile hand weapons used by the EFSF - Rifles, Machine Guns, and Sniper Rifles!

A GR-MLR79-90mm equipped GM Sniper II in firing position.  Equipped with a 120 round magazine, the Sniper type MS has the ability to detect enemy units at long range, and typically provides supporting fire from long ranges while operating independently from the main force.

Armaments of RGM-79

A brief overview of GM series weapons

From the initial birth of the Mobile Suit concept, unlike Mobile Armor, the AMBAC system which utilized four limbs for mobility, also allowed weapons to be brought to bear on a target in an extremely short period of time.  Though combat maneuvering is the basic purpose of this system, secondary to this concept is the use of the external manipulators of a Mobile Suit to carry weapons appropriate to the situation, and the ease of being able to freely change weapons creates excellent flexibility as a general-purpose mobile weapon.

Slight delay

I was hoping to have the GM weapons up by now, but I need to rescan some pictures, so there will be a slight delay.  It's hard to get the color balance right with black machine guns.

In the meantime, have a VF-27 in New UN Spacy coloring.

Dakka dakka dakka.

Here's a sneak peek of the big post this week:

Guns.  Lots of guns.   I have to apologize for the Zeon fans, as the Master Archive books don't cover Zeon units.. (Yet.)

So mostly it'll be Feddie guns.  Lots of feddie guns.

Haven't given up yet!

Rest Assured, I am still working on getting the Zaku Technical Manual pictures up, there's a great deal of work involved x many many pictures.

I also encourage you to subscribe or leave comments if possible, it really helps motivate me to get things done on time!

Also: Helldiver and Jesta: Separated at birth?

ARL-99 Helldiver

Helldiver
A very popular labor with the general public.

Type number: ARL-99
Manufacturer: Shinohara Heavy Industries, Hachioji Plant
Total Height: 7.95m
Total Width: 4.55m
Weight: 5.75t
Loaded Weight: 6.81t
Maximum carrying capacity: 3.10t
Minimum turn radius: 3.90m
Armor Materials: Fiber reinforced metal, Carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
Rollout: October, 1998
Equipment: 40mm rapid fire cannon, Combat Knife, Smoke Launcher x8, TOW Antitank missile launcher



Shinohara Heavy Industries’ previously mentioned AV (Advanced Vehicle) project did not only give rise to a law enforcement labor, the Ingram operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Vehicle Section 2, but another labor was born in the background.   Operated by the JGSDF’s airborne units, the ARL-99 Helldiver was also created from this project.  

So many pictures...

The MS-06R1A technical manual will get pictures!  There's a lot, and a lot of photoshop work is required to translate the captions.   I'm in progress now with these.

I have a couple other things backlogged as well...here's a teaser, and it's a little bit of a shift from Gundam.

GP-01Fa Full Armor Gundam Zephyranthes

The GP01 was built on various technologies pioneered by the One Year War-Era RX-78 (Gundam), and incorporates advances in many of these concepts and technologies.

While the RX-78 was highly adaptable owing to its high performance, the GP01 is designed to utilize changes in equipment to adapt to different situations.