r/MilitaryWorldbuilding

so basically im working on a cold war/the forever winter/ghost in a shell inspired worldbuilding project

and my mai problme is

looking that im making a sci fi apocalyptic world with guns that look both sci fi,realistic and mainly look like cold war guns

my main problem is the design with rails

cuz if i put rails on my design of my guns they look just like a modern gun

but if i put just a rectangular shape it looks weird

what reason could i give to rails looking like rectangles of plastic to fit the cold war vibe im going for?

Critiques and Recommemdations are welcomed!

Conscripts in the 3rd nation rarely get the best equipment. While the situation is not quite so dire as depicted by films such as Enemy At The Gate, access to resources in the communist state is paradoxically highly stratified. More so than lacking equipment, the 3rd nation concerns itself deeply with the ‘correct’ distribution of resources, getting equipment to those who most represent the nations collectivist ideals. This leads to volunteers and career military receiving the best of the best the state has to offer, while those conscripted are left to pick over the dregs. Occasionally, this results in non-sense allocations. Like an avian volunteer receiving a scoped rifle he has no hope of using. In situations like this, while equipment trades are greatly frowned upon, it is not uncommon for volunteers to engage in some long term loans, exchanging equipment they're unable to effectively use with lucky conscripts who have something to offer. For one particular pair of soldiers, this exchange took on a strange twist. Fynyc, a gold medal avian aerialist originally intended to serve as a recon bird, was mis-assigned to a sniper unit. The bird -given a scoped MD-30 and sent to the front found himself in hell, neck deep in a meat grinder he was never capable of serving in.

Vitally, a conscript of the 3rd nation found himself in much the same position, although in his case -a skilled mouser and accomplished small game hunter, found himself deployed with no effective arm. Instead, instructed to push in to the trenches behind a group of well equipped volunteers who would keep vitally's unit safe until they could reach a forward arming point. The tactic falters, and the young raccoon, terrified and panicking, skittered into a side street and into a series of abandoned apartments overlooking the streets below. The very same building Fynyc was cowering with his rifle in.

The pair meet and after a tense minute of negotiation a deal is struck, Vitally gets the gun, but only so long as he promises to keep fynyc alive until the bureaucratic fuckup is resolved and Fynyc returns to flying. Vitally agrees, and with his rifle secured it seems likely the young raccoon will survive the next couple of hours.

More than a year later, Vitally and his odd avian spotter have made a name for themselves amongst the 3rd forces and were officially members of the 3rd nation's volunteer sniper corps. “Honorary reindeer.” accepted among the highly species specific corps. Fynyc and Vitally would serve across marksman disciplines for the 3 years of their service in Das-k, operating as snipers, anti tank rifle gunners, and in the waning years of the conflict as forward-of-the-front snipers targeting fascist officers and rear line logistics rather than supporting troops on the front.

Out of Character Thoughts:

One of the greatest challenges I face working on my project is balancing coding and authorial shorthand against maintaining the integrity of the setting. Senvar is not earth, and while convergent design allows a lot of familiarity between the equipment my characters interact with and the equipment we have here on earth, its utterly immersion breaking to have characters directly use an earth weapon. While elements of my world building are clearly inspired by the real world, Das-K being furry stalingrad for example, there has to be a distinction, both visually and in nomenclature. But if you push the design too far away from an earth equivalent you lose the narrative efficiency of the coding audience members will ascribe to a given design. These firearms are an experiment to try and find the balance between recognizable historic firearms readers will understand intuitively, and entirely unique designs.

I've tried to include unique design language common to my world building, such as a muzzle break on the rifle to make it more accessible to the diminutive species of Varian who make up the majority of the 3rd nation (and senvar's population in general). Or the mixture of ambidextrous controls on the VSD showcasing the 3rds horseshoe slip into pseudo hyper individualism as a corruption of the more pure communist ideology espoused on paper by the nation

I'm a beginner, so please tell me how I can improve.

Colonel "Sir" Pietro Eriss OTPR

Gender: Male

Home World: Aradin Cylinder (Kadar)

Age: 43 Solar Years

Height: 178 cm

Weight: 61kg

Phenotype: Kadarian Spacer- Imperial mix

Occupations: Power Station Technician, Void Auxillary, Voidsman, Master Gunner, Warlord

Children: none

Spouses: none

Lovers: Major Lana Carrie

Allegiance: Tronarian People's Republic

Pietro was born to a decently prosperous spacer family serving the Imperial Governor of Kadar in his fleets and in managing his space infrastructure. His mother was a Low Imperial biologist and his father was Tronarian Spacer who's family was deported to Kadar before he was born.

He thus was a hybrid, and was throughly raised in Imperial culture by his mother and both sides of his extended family, as his father was busy doing jobs for the governor across the system.

He got a very good education, and due to his family's connections, got a job working on the ground end of a power beam system to run an antimatter factory at 17. Alas, the Imperial Periphery Viceroy needed more certified or semi-certified spacers in combat, not the economy, so he was drafted to serve in a House Dranith fleet aboard the *Demilune-Class* Light Leap Carrier *IVS Infante Arlo Dranith " Steadfast"* as a Void Auxiliary.
He worked his way up the ranks though firefights, landing parties, and missile duels, soon becoming a full Voidsman, and then becoming the Master Gunner of the "Steadfast"

He served loyally until the last days of the Liberation War, but by that point, the fleet was exhausted and felt like they would be getting a better life working for the new states in the Periphery than in the Imperial Heartlands. Pietro was the ring leader of this conspiracy, and a few days after the war officially ended, the mutineers rose up in a mostly bloodless mutiny, seizing the entire fleet and at Pietro's suggestion, offering their service to his ancestral homeland of the new Tronarian People's Republic.

It was at this point that he purged the other leaders of the mutiny, gave himself the unearned title of "Sir" and started his best career yet.

He helped build up the Tronarian People's Defense Fleet, calling in former buddies from the Viceroy's fleets to come to Tronar, and to bring whatever warships they could with them.

He led his newly enlarged personal fleet to help the Tronarians expand and solidfy control over many sights of interest, defeating the nascent Aurumite Royal Navy for control over the Tarsis Whalefall.

In the modern day, however, he has fallen out of favor with the Tronarian government and has lost much of his former power as the TPDF poached a lot of ships and crews out from under their warlords as the state became more powerful.

Right now, he is going back to his roots and is leading a first response element called Pietro's Panthers ( 1st Rapid Mobilization Demi-Division) to the Aurumite Kingdom's intervention on Gal'Haidan. His force is mostly former Imperials and Spacers, with a large helping of Tronarian Commando units thrown into the mix to stop the Aurumite dogs from mauling another democratizing state.

Made cool vector art for The Great Astoran War.

Wanted to focus on heavy contrast and a dramatic red sky backdrop to capture the war's atmosphere. Let me know what you think of the design and vibe!

The L&M HV 188/9, nicknamed "The Woodlouse" is a heavy tank designed mainly by Boris Lefkutter and William Miliksemut. It was built to sweep enemy fortifications and deal severe damage to trenches and bunkers with it's single frontal "Asper" cannon, as well as take down infantry with the 2 machine guns located on the sides.

The Asper cannon could swivel up to 48° on both sides horizontally, but not vertically (A major flaw in early models), while it's machine guns swiveled 60° horizontally and vertically (This is due to the MGs being covered in a lot more cloth than "steel", thus, leaving the gunners more vulnerable)

Another flaw this model had was the limited visibility, only featuring one porthole for the main gunner's assistant to help him aim the Asper cannon. The driver could not see, meaning either he had to rely on the tiny porthole by asking the gunner's assistant to help him, or have the commander stick his head through the top hatch.

The Woodlouse had a crew of 8:

2 Gunners for the Asper cannon (The main gunner and the aim assistant)

1 Loader

1 Driver

1 Commander

1 Radioman

and 2 Lateral machine gun operators

Despite it's problems, the Woodlouse played a crucial role during the Sustenance Wars, in the battle of Takami, supporting the Mantises in the destruction of the Kardenanttan line of defense.

Around 852 units were built since it's creation, before ceasing all production following the capitulation of Antakia.

The Kolter X is a cap-and-ball-style revolver issued as the sidearm of Imperial officers. It has a long barrel, a dark steel frame with red accents, and a flared walnut grip.

Its defining feature is the quick-change cylinder. Instead of reloading chamber by chamber, an officer drops the empty cylinder and seats a pre-loaded spare from a belt pouch, getting back in the fight in seconds.

Rugged and easy to maintain, it serves as both a last line of defense and a mark of rank issued from 1902 to 1930 out of use after semi auto pistol became popular

The WOM 04 is a semi-automatic pistol issued as the standard officer sidearm of the Democratic of Winchestly. It has a long barrel, a dark steel frame with red accents, an integral box magazine ahead of the trigger, and a slim, rounded walnut grip.

Its long barrel gives it better accuracy at range than most sidearms, and its fixed magazine lets an officer fire several shots before reloading. The Winchestly crest is marked on the frame.

Reliable and well-balanced, it serves as both a dependable sidearm and a symbol of an officer's rank issued from 1911 to 1929 out of use because it's too big and inconvenience to carried

The PLRT 02 is a semi-automatic pistol issued as the standard officer sidearm of the Royal Nation. It has a long, slim barrel, a two-tone grey steel frame, and a grip with a crosshatched walnut pattern for a secure hold.

The frame is stamped "Royal Armoury," and the slide carries the "Pistolet de l'officier" marking. Its long barrel and balanced frame make it accurate and comfortable to handle.

Refined and dependable, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank issued from 1905 to 1942 out of use because it feels weird and slippery to hold despite the grip

The İSTM 02 is a double-action revolver issued as the standard officer sidearm of the Empire of Forium. It has a short barrel, a grey steel frame with green accents, and a grip with a crosshatched walnut pattern for a firm hold.

Its compact frame makes it quick to draw and easy to carry, and its swing-out-style cylinder lets an officer reload faster than with older revolvers. The Forium crest is marked on the frame.

Simple, sturdy, and reliable, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank issued from 1899 to 1927 out of use after their semi auto pistol technology is upgraded

The SPM 04 is a semi-automatic pistol issued as the standard officer sidearm of the USNK. It has a compact slide with rear serrations, a grey steel frame, and a grip with a crosshatched walnut pattern for a firm hold.

The frame is stamped "USNK Standard," and a cross emblem is marked on the slide. Its short, balanced frame makes it easy to carry and quick to draw.

Simple, sturdy, and reliable, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank

Issued from 1912 to Present

The T6R is a double-action revolver issued as the standard officer sidearm of the Plychat Empire. It has a medium-length barrel, a white and grey steel frame with purple accents, and a smooth, slightly curved walnut grip.

A side-mounted rod beneath the barrel and a visible cylinder window make it easy to inspect and maintain in the field. The frame carries Korean lettering reading "Empire Standard."

Simple, sturdy, and reliable, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank

Issued from 1900 to 1928 out of use after their shared firearm deal with the Empire of Forium

The RBPM 1898 is a single-shot rolling block pistol issued as the standard officer sidearm of the Kingdom of Honour. It has a long, dark barrel, a polished steel frame with gold accents, and a smooth walnut grip with a gentle curve.

The forend is engraved "For Honour!" and the receiver is marked "1898." Its sturdy rolling block action is simple and strong, with the hammer and breech block sitting in an ornate gold-trimmed receiver.

Rugged, elegant, and dependable, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank issued from 1898 to 1915 out of use due to its obsolescence

The SSA is a semi-automatic pistol issued as the standard officer sidearm of the USDN. It has a long, slim barrel, a grey slide marked "USDN Standard," a black frame, and a walnut grip with horizontal grooves for a secure hold.

A bolt-style knob at the rear of the slide and a long recoil spring housing under the barrel give it a distinctive profile. Its long barrel makes it accurate at range and comfortable to handle.

Sturdy, dependable, and easy to maintain, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank issued from 1908 to 1968 repurposed to a standard police officer pistol until 1999

The HLBP is a double-action revolver issued as the standard officer sidearm of the North Sahathai Federation. It has an exceptionally long barrel, a grey steel frame with a blue star emblem, and a walnut grip with light grooves for a secure hold.

A side-mounted ejector rod beneath the barrel and a visible cylinder window make it easy to inspect and maintain in the field. The extended barrel gives it excellent accuracy at range for a sidearm.

Sturdy, dependable, and easy to maintain, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank issued from 1900 to 1911 out of use due to it's weight

The SVT 02 is a single-action revolver issued as the standard officer sidearm of the Naton Union. It has a long, dark barrel, a grey steel frame with cyan accents, and a flared walnut grip with grooves for a secure hold.

Its long barrel gives it good accuracy at range, and the exposed cylinder with a cyan inlay and gold fittings gives it a distinctive look.

Rugged, elegant, and dependable, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank issued from 1879 to 1950 out of use due to it's obsolescence

The HP 02 is a semi-automatic pistol issued as the standard officer sidearm of both the Manian Federate and the Yapanese Confederate. It has a short barrel with a front sight ring, a boxy grey steel frame with a yellow warning emblem, and a grip with a crosshatched walnut pattern for a firm hold.

Imported from the Axis, its angular receiver and compact frame make it easy to carry and quick to draw.

Sturdy, dependable, and easy to maintain, it serves as both a practical sidearm and a mark of an officer's rank issued from 1906 to 1909 out of use due to it's exceptionally bad at cooling often burning the user hand after a single rapid use

This time I put some effort into the main 88mm gun for the Laskhat Gunboat. I added a recoil spring and made the hinge removable, and I added some ladders and a hatch (why a top hatch like a tank instead of doors is a design choice from the manufacturer and client side). After designing this gun, the next one is the 30mm gun.

Made with FreeCAD and Inkscape.