Cray
03/11/04 08:32 PM
68.200.110.103
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DEVELOPMENT
The XBM-1 Miyogi is named after Miyogi Kurita, the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine martyred at the beginning of the Comstar Jihad. It was the first new battlemech built in the Draconis Combine in just over a century after the mysterious "Clan" invaders wrecked the only two surviving Combine battlemech factories in 3008 and 3010, respectively.
Later marks of the Miyogi would begin to approach the sophistication of the first generations of battlemechs, the Mackie, Banshee, Archer, and other war machines that now only exist in nuclear scorched records. However, the original XBM-1 depended on a mix of recovered technology and patches over the engineering gaps produced by an intensive, unified effort by the Combine's leading universities, military contractors, and engineering firms. It was, some military historians suggested, like a budget-model Mackie.
The recovered 24th Century materials technology and 22nd Century myomer production methods enabled the 32nd Century Miyogi to have a structure as light as late-24th Century mechs, like the Archer and Banshee. The Miyogi's armor was also comparable to those early mechs, and the armor used in the two Succession Wars. The engine was a straight copy of the centuries-old 300 Vlar, simply because a factory in the Combine for that engine had actually survived both Succession Wars, the Jihad, and Clan War. The neurohelmet was exceedingly crude; it was more of a large extension of the ejection seat than an actual helmet. The secondary weapons were almost timeless 20mm gatling guns and medium lasers. The original choices for lasers had favored "large" lasers, but these weapons delivered only a 60% increase in armor ablation rate for a 400% increase in mass, with an intolerable amount of waste heat to deal with. Instead, the battery of four "large" lasers was ditched in favor of twin coilguns. The 150mm/25 caliber "gauss rifles" actually shared components with the medium lasers, particularly the capacitors and power supply; the gauss rifles just had a lot of the modular power supplies. The volatile assembly of MG ammo and gauss rifle power supplies was all enclosed an armored box with blow-away rear panels.
DEPLOYMENT
The XBM-1 Miyogi was built in relatively large numbers for such a complicated (for the time) war machine, some 450 XBM-1's over a 5-year production run. The follow-on BM-1A upgrade was so different, with so many refinements, that the XBM-1 could not be upgraded and most were quickly scrapped for useful components. 1200 BM-1A and BM-1B Miyogi's serve the Combine to this day as main battlemechs, backed up by the MB-3 Taragi. They are usually mustered in brigade strength at major Combine planets like Bicaster, Chatham, and Avon until scouts identify another "Combine planet in denial" (i.e., one lost to the central government by the Jihad and Clan War) that can easily be "corrected" with a few regiments of troops.
As with most military units slated for interstellar power projection, the XMB-1's utility was stifled by the lack of jumpship transport. At the XMB-1's introduction, the Draconis Combine only had 57 jumpships. However, the 3112 trade agreement brokered with the Federated Boeing Corporate State not only increased the number of ships of the Combine could purchase annually to 6, but also allowed the sale of FBCS-produced battlemech transports and allowed FBCS freetraders to participate in Combine military ventures "not deemed contrary to FBCS interests," thus enabling far more DCMS regiments to be shipped to ex-Combine...er, "planets in denial of the Combine's hegemony." The MB-1A and MB-1B would thus see far more power projection exercises than their older sibling, the XMB-1.
COMBAT HISTORY
The XBM-1 Miyogi (and its BM-1A and BM-1B successors) got far more use from their quad machine guns than their other weapons. From their introduction in 3110 to the current day, the Miyogis have served mostly as vehicles as intimidation rather than effective combat vehicles. Their all-terrain abilities have been employed in assorted difficult terrains and amphibious assaults to secure beach heads for the DCMS's armored and infantry forces, but these instances are outnumbered by the times their pure intimidation value won battles from regressed militias on "in denial" planets, or they gunned down irregular infantry units.
The XBM-1's earned their keep on Alshain, where they intimidated the heck out of regressed militias from "deniers" occupying several continents of Alshain and the "Clan" descendents on the last continent. It was against the ten "Clan" super-mechs and fifteen "Clan" armored exoskeletons that the XBM-1's a) revealed how backward their construction was and b) confirmed the value of superior numbers (a battalion, with normal support units). In review of the battle reports, the DCMS decided that the battalion of XBM-1's brought nothing to the battle that two or three battalions of M-7 battletanks could not have delivered, but the XBM-1's acquitted themselves well on the textbook perfect faceoff on Alshain's Great Savannah. Victory over the "Clan" descendents was attributed to the immediate destruction of "Clan" military assets by the XBM-1's and the damage to "Clan" industrial facilities by DCMS aerospace forces.
XBM-1 MIYOGI
100 tons
10 tons internal structure
19 tons 300 Vlar
....Walking: 3
....Running: 5
....Jumping: 0
2 tons 12 SHS
3 tons gyroscope
3 tons cockpit
19 tons armor
....Head: 3 9
....CT: 31
....RT/LT: 21
....RA/LA: 17
....RL/LL: 21
30 tons 2x GR (RT/LT)
6 tons GR ammo (3 RT/LT)
2 tons 4x MG (2 RA/LA)
2 tons MG ammo (RT/LT)
1 ton 2x CASE (RT/LT)
Both hand actuators present
VARIANTS
The MB-1A differs from the XBM-1 in that the MB-1A Miyogi has an average lifespan to breakdown of 1000km, while the XBM-1 typically managed about 200km. The MB-1B manages about 10000km, and solved the prior models' problems with spontaneously gauss rifle explosions during jams in the reloading operation.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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Karagin
09/07/13 01:04 PM
72.178.85.122
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Quote:
mysterious "Clan" invaders wrecked the only two surviving Combine battlemech factories in 3008 and 3010, respectively.
Could you tell us more?
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Cray
09/07/13 01:21 PM
97.101.96.171
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Mmm. 9 years of thread necromancy. Most impressive your powers are, Dark Karagin.
Use the forum's search function for "Miyogi." There's a number of posts in the same setting.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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Karagin
09/07/13 01:48 PM
72.178.85.122
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Okay thanks...
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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KamikazeJohnson
09/17/13 08:19 PM
50.72.218.68
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Always good to see old favourites popping back up when you least expect them 
Peace is that glorious moment in history when everyone stands around reloading.
--Thomas Jefferson
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Karagin
09/17/13 11:00 PM
72.178.85.122
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Good to see you are still around and kicking!
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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KamikazeJohnson
09/18/13 12:25 AM
50.72.218.68
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Thanks! I actually found a local BTech group, so now if I can only manage to find time, I'm going to get back into the game. I they allow customs, the SNP-2R Snapper may finally see some real combat!
Peace is that glorious moment in history when everyone stands around reloading.
--Thomas Jefferson
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