Some background:With more and more experience through military mecha in Japan during the late Nineties, Schaft Enterprise’s Europe branch started the development of civil Labors for public use. These models included the Type-8FF firefighting Labor, which was originally created for the Japanese market but eventually only sold and operated in the European market, and the Type-10P, a dedicated police duty Labor and a direct competitor to Shinohara Industry’s highly successful AV-98 Ingram.
The Type-10P was based on a completely new chassis and introduced many composite material elements that lightened its structure and even gave it a light armor protection against small caliber rounds. It was designed to be effective in situations like dealing with stolen labor units or rogue labors, but also for more mundane duties like riot control and escorts. Its intimidating size certainly helped psychologically. However, the Type-10P was not designed to take on military labors in close combat, even though it could be outfitted with manual weapon that would offer considerable firepower at distance. Typical police service weapons included a shield and a stun stick (with an optional taser function) as well as a handheld revolver gun, but other equipment was available, too. Precise manipulator fingers (with three fingers and one thumb on each hand) allowed delicate handling.
The pilot sat in a fully enclosed, climatized cabin in the Labor’s breast section, with an excellent field of view and protected from water and gas. In order to ensure proper surveillance under harsh conditions in any weather and at day and night, the Type-10P received a complex sensor suite, including a telescopic camera boom, a close-range Lidar and a directional microphone. Communication with other units was ensured by both radio and laser communication systems.
Further special equipment could be attached to the Type-10P’s back. These easily interchangeable “backpacks” included an extra battery for extended operation, a fuel-powered external generator with one or two powerful searchlights, a pack with loudspeakers, a large, retractable LED matrix display, and two packs with pressurized canisters that were connected with a handheld spray gun each, either carrying CO2 as a fire extinguisher or OC spray for riot control. Even an inflatable lifeboat was available, as well as special weapons like an EMP pulse rifle, which necessitated an external auxiliary battery pack, and a rearward-facing “brown note” infranoise generator.
Officially baptised “Michael”, after the German police’s Christian patron saint, the Type-10P was in 2000 adopted by special units of the German Bundespolizei and by some major police departments on federal state level. Typical German Labor units would operate two or three of these vehicles, primarily as support units for standard units when called upon in an emergency and also to counter Labor crimes and accidents. Their psychological value in riot control duties was highly appreciated, and the Type 10Ps were also frequently sent to official political events for PR purposes.
The Type-10P was also promoted abroad, esp. in Japan, but it was rejected there due to its size and the strong (and established) competition from Shinohara Industry, namely the MPL-97S “Python” and the AV-98 “Ingram”. However, eight Type-10Ps were sold to the Austrian Bundespolizei and an undisclosed small number was bought by a private security service company in Northern America.
Technical Data: Code name: Type-10P "Michael"
Unit type: police labor
Manufacturer: SEE (Schaft Enterprises Europe)
Operator: German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) and several major German federal state
police departments (Berlin, Northrhine-Westphalia, Bavaria), Austria, USA
Number built: 33
Accommodation: pilot only, in heat- and ABC-insulated cockpit in front torso
Dimensions: Overall height 9.42 meters
Overall width 5.95 meters
Minimum revolving radius: 6.0 meters
Weight: Standard 6.55 metric tons
Full 8.1 metric tons
Armor materials: Light composite armor, effective against fire and small caliber rounds of up to 12.7 mm
Powerplant: unknown
Maximum weight lifting capacity: 2.50 metric tons
Equipment and design features: Visual and acoustic sensors, range unknown, with suitable recording and data transfer equipment
Retractable visor cover
Highly articulated manipulator hands
Searchlights
Flashlights and four claxons/loudspeakers on the shoulders
Armament: No internal weapons installed;
The Type-10P can operate a wide range of handheld equipment like an extendable baton,
anti-terror shields, and weapons like a 42 mm revolver handgun, a taser or a 90 mm pellet shotgun.
Two hardpoints on the lower arms to attach equipment/weapons, plus a single hardpoint on the
back with the option to carry a wide range of equipment packages.
Der Bau des "Michael I" -Polizei-Labors war eine ziemliche Herausforderung - vor allem, weil es nicht einfach war, sich von der "Phantom" -Basis des Modells zu lösen, damit das Ergebnis nicht nur wie eine Farbvariante aussieht. Aber mit einem völlig neuen Kopf- / Schulterbereich sowie leichten Modifikationen an Armen und Beinen sieht dieser Umbau ohne konkretes Vorbild ziemlich eigenständig und sogar stimmig aus - aber immer noch einschüchternd. Die komplett blaue Lackierung ist zwar nicht spektakulär, entspricht aber deutschen Standards und funktioniert überraschend gut und überzeugend.
Mehr zu Konzept, Bau und Bemalung findet sich in einem WiP-Post im Anime & Mecha-Thread in einem separaten Post: https://www.sfmforum.de/index.php/topic,43104.0.html
Thema: Anime & Mecha 1:60 Schaft Industry Europe Type-10P "Michael I", Deutsche Bundespolizei, 2002 (Gelesen 2523 mal)
