Technical readout 2866 Rise of the Scavengers

THG-11K Thug
History:
Designed by Maltex Corporation as a direct competitor to
StarCorp’s hugely successful 70-ton Warhammer, the
engineers at Maltex had the benefit of 57 years of
battlefield reports about the Warhammer to help identify
each of the ‘Mechs shortcomings before introducing their
own.
One thing quickly became clear. The Warhammer’s ten
tons of Leviathan Plus armor was woefully inadequate
for the roles it found itself in on the battlefield. This was
especially true of the legs, which each carry less than a
single ton of armor, leaving them extremely vulnerable to
kicks. In fact, the loss of a leg was the leading cause of
the ‘Mech becoming disabled during combat.
The second major shortcoming was the eighteen
heatsinks. Armed with dual Donal particle cannons
supported with medium and small lasers, the heat sinks
were quickly overwhelmed in combat, impairing the
combat efficiency of the ‘Mech.
In addition the Warhammer carried two tons of
ammunition, one for the Holly SRM-6 and one for two
SperryBrowning machine guns. The machine gun
ammunition, in particular, is stored in the center torso,
directly above the engine compartment. While rare,
there were numerous credible reports of the ammunition
exploding due to serious overheating and destroying the
entire BattleMech. A few were also destroyed when their
opponent got a lucky shot in, hitting one of the two
ammunition bins.
The final often cited criticism of the Warhammer is the
design’s lack of hand actuators. Not only does this limit
the Warhammer’s effectiveness in physical combat, but
also limits its utility as a raider, making it extraordinarily
difficult for the ‘Mech to pick anything up.
In 2572, Maltex Corporation announced the 80-ton THG-
11E Thug. Built at their headquarters on Errai, a former
Terran Hegemony world now in Federated Sun space, it
marked the company’s entrance into the lucrative and
booming BattleMech business.
Built on an Endo-Steel II chassis, it systematically
addresses each of the Warhammer’s most prominent
flaws. Protected by 15.5 tons of Mitchell Argon, the
Thug carries 50% more armor than the Warhammer, and
more than both the Awesome and Battlamaster, making
it one of most durable designs ever built. Particular
attention was paid to the legs as well, with each leg
sheathed in more than two tons of armor each, the
maximum the chassis could accommodate.
While the Thug retains the same physical number of
heatsinks as the ‘Mech it intended to replace, they are
each dual heatsinks, giving the Thug fully twice the heat
dissipation of its older brother.
To backup it primary weapons, two massive armmounted
Tiegart particle cannons, the engineers at
Maltex choose a pair of Bical-6 SRM Launchers.
Battlefield analysis of the Warhammer clearly revealed
the effectiveness of the SRM-6 in exploiting the holes
created by the powerful particle cannons. Sensitive to
the issue of storing volatile ammunition, Cellular
Ammunition Storage Equipment (CASE) was integrated
into both torsos sections to prevent the loss of the entire
machine from an ammunition explosion.
The Maltex engineers also choose to include hand
actuators on the Thug by mounting the particle cannons
to the outside of the lower arm assemblies. This allowed
the 80-ton ‘Mech to engage in hand-to-hand combat,
wield clubs as well as pick up and manipulate other
objects, and to assist in the recovery of damaged ‘Mechs
or help carry off supplies.
The design would go on to become successful enough
that Maltex Corporation sought the help of Earthwerks
Incorporated to keep up with demand. Earthwerks
opened a production line for the Thug at their sprawling
industrial complex on Keystone, a move that would prove
quite fortuitous for the design.
In the chaotic aftermath of the fall of the Star League,
Maltex Corporation’s plant on Errai was wiped out, but
Earthwerk’s line continued producing the Thug, although
by 2835 they were forced to switch over to the less
advanced THG-10E model. Ironically, lacking advanced
technology, the Warhammer was considerably less
susceptible to the loss of technology that accompanied
the fall of the Star League and continues to be produced
a numerous sites throughout the Inner Sphere.
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Capabilities
The THG-11K was created more out of necessity than as
an attempt to improve on the downgraded -10E model.
Critically short of particle projection cannons, the
engineers at Earthwerks determined they could replace
the original Tiegart PPCs with Imperator-B Class 10
autocannons. In another twist of irony, the PPCs
originally intended for the -10E Thug were sent to Ronin
Incorporated for use on the Warhammer, which lacked
sufficient space to accommodate the bulky and heavy
autocannons.
To help offset the loss in effective range, a pair of LRM-
5s are installed in the chest. For close range work, two
SRM-2s and matched medium lasers give the -11K Thug
frightening short-range firepower.
The -11K is powered by the common Pitban 240 fusion
engine, giving it a top speed of 54.0 kph, on par with the
Awesome, but significantly slower than the original. Like
the -10E, it also carries one less ton of armor.
Variants
The -10E variant lacks the Endo Steel, double heatsinks,
and CASE of the original. Consequently, the SRMs are
downgraded to SRM-4s and one ton of ammunition has
been eliminated. In addition, one ton of armor has been
removed in favor of adding an additional heat sink. The
electronics have also been exchanged for more primitive
versions as well
Current Manufacturers
Earthwerks Incorporated
Keystone – Free Worlds League
Model Cost BV PV
THG-10E 7,712,040 1501 39
THG-11K 6,450,840 1562 ???
Alpha Strike Statistics
TP: BM SZ: 4 TMM: +1
MV: 6” Role: Brawler
Damage S: 3 M: 3 L: 1
OV: 1
Armor: O O O O O O O O
Sructure: O O O O O O
Special: AC 2/2/-, LRM 0*/1/1