Author Topic: "GROPOS" Troop Transports  (Read 4694 times)

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Offline starfox

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"GROPOS" Troop Transports
Greetings

I just watched the "Gropos", and those Earthforce transports that arrived with the Nova really caught my attention....
We now they are hyperspace capable Troop Transports, but that's basically all, sadly they came and left, never to be seen again...
(at least to my knowledge)

Does anyone have more information of these ships ?
Class name ?
Possible Weapons/carrying capacity ?

Think I'll try to model one someday...
 :D
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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
I think they are more an unclassified equipment transport.  The Nova can transport up too 18,000 ground assult soldiers.  Those other ships are holding  the Valkeries and tanks and whatever else would be needed for a ground assult on a planet.  I forgot how many soldiers were actually invloved now though.  I am sure allot of food and water is needed for that size force.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2006, 06:07:38 am by PSI-KILLER »

 

Offline starfox

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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
http://ntua.gr/lurk/guide/032.html

hmmm, the following site & few others actually indicate that as many as 25000 troops were travelling trough Babylon 5 on their way to the Akdor...
(I think Sheridan and General Franklin also mentioned 25000)

The news broadcast also mentions that these 25000 troops (365th) are not/may not be the total assault force, as "more divisions of Earth troops will join the 356th on Akdor"

Well, for one Nova 25000 seems like too much...

Also, at the beginning of the episode we see columns of Infantry pouring into the station from these Transports....





« Last Edit: July 03, 2006, 06:31:30 am by starfox »
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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
Yeah I remember those shots of the transports in the docking bay,  their is a size/scale probem unless smaller transports go into the bigger transports, the large transport would not fit in the docking bays they were half the height of the Nova.   I got the 18000 Gropos on the Nova from here.

http://www.b5tech.com/earthalliance/earthallianceshipsandvessels/earthcapships/nova/nova.html

But you are right it was around 25,000 .

« Last Edit: July 04, 2006, 09:20:28 am by PSI-KILLER »

 

Offline Prophet

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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
When General Franklin wanted to get his troops onboard B5, he said that he didn't want his troops sitting in transports all the time. I think they really were military troop transports that came in with the nova. But it wasn't them who docked with B5. Remember the episode from season 5 (I think) where Garribaldi visited the Drazi homeworld? The transport he was on resembled quite a bit those GROPO transports.

Could it be we have another CGI glitch here? That they didn't think about size issues when the transport entered the B5 bay (or didn't care). And discovered the model again later and used it again figuring no one would notice.

Having a big troop transport that can land on planets (sure as hell looks like it) makes loading and unloading easier. But wouldn't be too great for a first strike vessel. Then again, where they were going (fighting rebels) I'm sure a nova would be more than enought to neutralize any threat to the transport, ground or space.

I vote we should have both craft. A big troop transport that can carry GROPOS around. And a smaller transport that can be used to ferry GROPOS to and from the bigger transport. Or can be used to deploy advanced troops to bridgeheads so that the bigger can safely arrive to deliver the rest of the troops.
And the smaller could be retextured and used as a civillian liner...
I'm not saying anything. I did not say anything then and I'm not saying anything now. -Dukath
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Offline starfox

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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
After rewatching the GROPOS, I'm pretty sure that those Large Transports that arrived with the Nova are the same ones inside the hangar, which means there is scaling problem/CGI Glitch as PSI-KILLER mentioned
The ones seen entering the B5 are different though....

Anyway, thanks for the hint Prophet, I really need to rewatch the Season 5  :nod:

Having two versions would definetely be good idea
Now we only need class names 'n stuff, I assume there is no official info available ?

Little OT, maybe, but I couldn't help but notice. The Valkyrie Gunships seen in GROPOS (3 of them) are also seen in the "severed dreams", as the Clark's fleet is moving trough hyperspace !

Funny little things they are, these CGI-screenfillers do not take part in any of the action outside the station, nor do they appear in any other scenes, talk about the cgi-error...these gunships are supposed to operate/fight in atmosphere only.
Was Clark planning to invade epsilon eridani 3 in the process, if anyone tried to escape there ?
 :lol:

Has anybody else noticed that ?


« Last Edit: July 03, 2006, 11:57:02 am by starfox »
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Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
Little OT, maybe, but I couldn't help but notice. The Valkyrie Gunships seen in GROPOS (3 of them) are also seen in the "severed dreams", as the Clark's fleet is moving trough hyperspace !

Funny little things they are, these CGI-screenfillers do not take part in any of the action outside the station, nor do they appear in any other scenes, talk about the cgi-error...these gunships are supposed to operate/fight in atmosphere only.
Was Clark planning to invade epsilon eridani 3 in the process, if anyone tried to escape there ?
 :lol:

Has anybody else noticed that ?

I've checked that... and yes there are Valks in hyperspace and in the initial "Fleet approaching"-scene (when the Breaching Pod comes into sight)...
the Valks could be used for patrols inside the giant B5 interior (I like the tough of Clark sending gunships to patrol a park area :D - that paranoid bastard)
 or he could belive that he could capture the great maschine w/ the help of shadow tech mounted on these gunships (although no one found these after the gunships where taken out in battle)
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

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Offline IPAndrews

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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
Valkyrie in Severed Dreams? I'll have to check this out now. Being the big Valkyrie fan that I am. I'm of the opinion that it's one of the more striking and well thought out designs in the whole of the series, but then again I'm a sucker for the drop ships in the Aliens quadrilogy too. I am proud to have modelled half of the Valkyrie used in TBP. The wings engines and fins. Couldn't do the body though and had to call in help  :nervous:. Does someone want to get some screencaps of these mysterious transports by the way?
Be warned: This site's admins stole 100s of hours of my work. They will do it to you.

 

Offline -Norbert-

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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
Maybe the CGI people thought like IPAndrews on the matter and thought that it would be too bad should the Valkyrie make only that single appearacne in GROPOS ;)

And when we talk about ships that where seen in Hyperspace, but not in the battle, then there are bigger fish to worry about (or rather one bigger fish). After all in Hyperspace there was a Hyperion/Midwinter coming along with the Omegas, never to be seen again.

I remember in an earlier discussion (way back) it was assumed that there are two different ships with the silllhoute of the Valkyrie. One being the ground attack vessel we associate with Valkyrie and one being a troop transport and landing vessel bigger than the gunship.

Of course this was just speculation, but it would make sense to bring such ships along when trying to capture B5. First send in the breachin pods to seize docking controll and then bring in the troop transports.

 

Offline 0rph3u5

  • 211
  • Oceans rise. Empires fall.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 
Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
I have too check out that season 5 episode

 

Offline Prophet

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Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
The season 5 episode was "The Ragged Edge"...

EDIT: Sorry. I checked it out and the ship was nothing like the EA troop transport... What can I say, my memory sucks. Heres a pic. It's not a good one, but shows how wrong I was...
« Last Edit: July 04, 2006, 12:47:23 pm by Prophet »
I'm not saying anything. I did not say anything then and I'm not saying anything now. -Dukath
I am not breaking radio silence just cos' you lot got spooked by a dead flying ****ing cow. -Sergeant Harry Wells/Dog Soldiers


Prophet is walking in the deep dark places of the earth...

 

Offline starfox

  • 28
Re: "GROPOS" Troop Transports
Ahh, so it was Drazi Shuttle...
Well, that's one more ship that should be added to the "needs-to-be-modelled-someday-list", if it's not already.
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