Sha'mu Dropship (Orca Proxy)

In modern warfare, the fluidity of battle means the rear lines can become the front lines in a heartbeat. In the Sho'vit Coalition, the venerable Orca dropship is being replaced with the Sha'mu, a ship similar in size, but with greater carrying capacity. Following Sho'vit philosophy, the Sha'mu is over-engined, over-armored, and over-gunned.

While the Orca can carry 48 troops and equipment and is usually kept away from combat, the Sha'mu can carry 60 human-sized troops and dozen drones, a dozen Crisis suits, or a single Abrams-sized tank.

Similar to the Goshawk, the cargo pod is modular, and can be configured to carry personnel, medical facilities, barracks or even a mess hall. This allows the Sho'vit forces to deploy a complete forward base in short time.

The "cockpit" is actually a separate small craft, able to hold the pilot, copilot, and 4-man gunnery crew, who gain access from the gunnery room below. While not as agile as a true fighter, the cockpit "pod" still carries the chin turret used on almost all Sho'vit vehicles.

For offensive/defensive capabilities, the Sha'mu carries a single large ball turret, armed with the heaviest weaponry available to date. Two smaller ball turrets and two dorsal turrets protect the sides, top, and rear.

By printing the optional inner wall, you can configure the inside of the cargo pod to suit your needs. For this reason, the seats are also separate, rather than a few long benches. Future releases will include a medevac pod and barracks pod, among others.

Troops are not included with this model, but stay tuned!

Low layer heights and slow speed. Some of the larger parts may take awhile to print, but I tried to design it so any joints are hidden.

When complete the Sha'mu is (13.85 inches) long, 290 mm (11.42 inches) wide, and 115 mm (4.52 inches) tall.