About the Badger
The Badger is an air defence tractor employed by the Nikronian Defence Force.
It's the bigger brother design to the Coyote utility tractor, but it shares many of the same design concepts that made the Coyote successful.
The Badger uses an up-rated version of the triple-expansion steam engine, with higher pressure, three steam tanks, and two fireboxes.
This increase in engine power output is not only fed to the tracks, but also used to drive the turret, as well as provide steam for the chaingun.
The anti-aircraft chaingun has four barrels, and uses belts to supply ammunition -- additional ammo is carried on an attached trailer in crates.
Both a driver and gunner are required to have the Badger operating at peak efficiency, but it is possible for a single person to operate it.
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The Badger Air Defence Tractor, with its gunner and driver.
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A steam powered anti-aircraft cannon on treads.
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The traction and horsepower of the Badger is formidable.
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The triple-expansion engine is derived from that of the Coyote, but operating at higher pressure and efficiency.
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The anti-aircraft quad-barrel chaingun is powered by steam from the boilers.
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The back of the Badger has a tow hitch for ammunition and cargo trailers. There is space for storing a few tools and sidearms on the tractor itself.
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Four sets of tracks keep the weight of the tractor evenly distributed.
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Triple-expansion steam engine, with three independant steam tanks, and a larger flywheel.
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One of the two fireboxes on the Badger to keep the heat up, and pressure steady.
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The driver's seat and controls are a bit different from the Coyote, as you can't turn as sharply, especially with a trailer.
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Belts of ammo on the chaingun mostly stay out of the way.
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The tread spacing is extra wide.
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individual tread modules do sometimes require repair, but they're quite durable.
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The gunner's seat with asmuth, traversal, and firing controls.
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The gun itself is more overbuilt than standard contemporary weapons used by the C Quadrant Defenders for comparable roles.
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Ammunition trailer, and one of the large belts of bullets. The trailer is a repurposed piece of mining equipment.
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The crew with a box of ammo, and a Nikronian rifle.
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The badger was the next evolution after the Coyote, posted to MOCpages in June of 2008.
I wanted to smake something more complex, and I had plenty of treads to spare, so I went for broke and used what I had.
This would be the first example of the Nikronian Defence Force, sort of the steampunk counterpart to the CQD for stuff that wasn't in space.
Did you notice the hair in the photos?
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