From TRO:3025, TRO:3039, TRO:SW The QKD-series BattleMech, more commonly known as the
Quickdraw, is not in my experience a very popular BattleMech. It is rarely considered a true stinker like the CGR-1A1
Charger; it does however suffer from trying to do too much with too little. That being said, when employed properly – like most such “lemons” – the
Quickdraw is capable of contributing significantly to a battle.
The
Quickdraw first entered service in 2779, and was initially fielded by both the Free Worlds League and the Draconis Combine. Its exact provenance is actually unknown for certain, but by implication the current manufacturers of the QKD-series – Technicron Manufacturing of Savannah and Luthien Armor Works – were the most likely original manufacturers from the Late Star League era. This in turn suggests that the
Quickdraw was the product of a joint venture between the two corporations. We are told that the
Quickdraw was designed as a replacement for the
Rifleman, a claim which at first glance makes little sense. The RFL-3N, the
Rifleman’s standard model of the day, is optimized for long range combat with paired light autocannons and large lasers. The
Quickdraw’s initial production model, the QKD-4G, carried a single LRM-10, giving it less than half of the RFL-3N’s firepower beyond the traditional short range brackets. The
Rifleman is also renowned as an anti-aircraft platform thanks to its famous Garret D2J targeting system; the
Quickdraw, by contrast, uses a Dynatec targeting computer. So why was the QKD-4G considered a replacement for the RLF-3N?
What you have to remember is that in 2779, when the QKD-4G entered serial production, the Amaris Civil War ground to its eventual end in September of that year. The SLDF had been fighting continuously for almost fifteen years and suffered horrendous casualty rates in both men and machines. The RFL-3N is notoriously fragile, and would have been forced into front-line duty due to combat losses amongst line combatants such as
Warhammers and
Orions. The QKD-4G then was not intended to replace the
Rifleman as a fire support machine, but was instead intended to replace it as a front line fighter so that the RLF-3Ns could move back into the fire support role.
So with that little bit of deduction out of the way, let’s get to the mechanics! The QKD-4G was built on a standard chassis capable of supporting a max of 60 tons, placing it just on the heavy side of the medium/heavy split. Unlike most heavy ‘Mechs, however, it can reach speeds in excess of 80 kph thanks to its Vlar 300 standard engine. Adding to its impressive mobility for a heavy ‘Mech, it also mounts five jump jets, giving it even greater agility when operating in close terrain. Its movement profile gives it the same maneuverability as many medium ‘Mechs such as the
Wolverine, a staple of both the FWLM and the DCMS, the militaries that first deployed the
Quickdraw. Looking at protection, its armor is unfortunately light for a heavy ‘Mech at only 8 tons of standard plate, arranged 9/17(8)/14(7)/11/15 (HD/CT(R)/ST(R)/A/L). This is actually lighter than some medium machines a good fifteen or twenty tons lighter, while comparable designs like the
Dragon have as much as two extra tons of armor on it. Its thinner-than-expected shell means you have to rely on your jump jets to drive up the to-hit numbers, and that comes with its own problems.
Those problems are, of course, the weapon & cooling suites. The QKD-4G carries thirteen single heat sinks, all in the engine, and if you’re jumping to maximize your movement modifiers than you’re chewing up a significant amount of your heat capacity in the movement phase alone. Your armaments, however, do have the benefit of operating at all ranges. These comprise an LRM-10 in the left torso for long-range engagements, supplemented by a pair of arm-mounted medium lasers and a centrally-mounted SRM-4 for knife fighting. Another pair of medium lasers – yes, two of them – are rear-mounted in the side torsos as well to discourage pursuit or when jumping into the middle of a fur ball. In all, the -4G’s armaments give it an all-aspect combat ability, but if you’re doing a lot of jumping you have to be able to ride its heat curve. That curve is surprisingly gentle unless you’re engaging rearward
and forward targets with your lasers, in which case you need to be careful.
Like so many TRO3025 ‘Mechs, it’s not much of a duelist. It wants to play as part of a team. It can act as a decent bodyguard for a medium fire lance filled with TBT-5Ns and WTH-1s, for example, contributing to the mission with its own LRMs while its short-range battery provides a threat to disruption units that get close. Alternatively, it can be paired with heavier mediums or other fast heavies like the DRG-1N or WVR-series to provide light fire support.
VariantsQKD-4H: While the QKD-4G didn’t spread to the “IS General” category until the Late Succession Wars, the -4H started there in the Early Succession Wars which makes me wonder if this version was originally intended for export. In any case, the -4H is functionally identical to the -4G with the minor difference that the SRM-4 is swapped to face rearward (I know, I know, rear-mounted weapons are generally looked down upon, but they’re a feature of the
Quickdraw rather than a bug) and the two torso medium lasers are reversed to face forward. This swap reduces your crit-seeking ability but gives you better concentrated damage; however, this is where the
Quickdraw’s reputation for being a heat-hog probably comes from. For those of you playing at home, the -4H’s full laser salvo is 12 heat on a machine with a 5-hex jump range and only 13 heat sinks. Learn to the ride the curve, dear friends.
QKD-5A: The QKD-5A is my personal favorite, at least of the Succession Wars models. It pulls the LRM-10 completely for two more forward-mounted medium lasers and four extra heat sinks. This version is a pure knife-fighter and is right at home with my WVR-6Ms, mixing it up with enemies at short range. You’re actually heat-neutral on a jump with your four forward medium lasers, so if you’re planning on bringing the rear weapons or the SRMs into play, plan your heat accumulation accordingly. Unlike the rest of the
Quickdraw’s variants, the -5A isn’t designed from the start as a team player. This one can actually duel against most ‘Mechs around its weight class as long as it plays cagey with movement and terrain to close the distance, but lacking any weapons that can reach beyond nine hexes puts them at a disadvantage against anything much faster with medium and long range guns, like the HER-4K
Hermes II or even the ubiquitous PHX-1
Phoenix Hawk.
QKD-5M: The tech renaissance brought us the QKD-5M which is actually one of the least impressive of the post-Helm Core upgrades. . . while simultaneously being perhaps one of the easiest to accomplish and one of the most sensible. The -5M is a straight upgrade of the -4G. The engine remains the more-durable standard type, but the armor is upgraded to ferro-fibrous while remaining at 8 tons laid out 9/18(8)/17(8)/13/16. Added protection consists of CASE in the left torso to protect the single ton of LRM reloads. The four standard medium lasers remain – one in each arm, with two in the rear right torso – while the center torso SRM-4 has been replaced with a one-shot version of the same launcher to make up the weight lost for CASE. So overall it’s a fairly simple conversion to make, the use of 13 double heat sinks solves its jumping death-blossom problem, and the only real problem I have with it is that one-shot launcher (for obvious reasons). In Early Clan Invasion games, it’s not a terrible upgrade, but as time progresses it ages rapidly and it continues to want to play like its forefather the QKD-4G.
QKD-5K: Also dropping in 3049, the Combine’s take on a first-generation tech upgrade is the QKD-5K. Rather than basing off the -4G like Technicron, LAW based the -5K on the laser-heavy -5A. The way the upgrade is made is actually extremely similar to the Marik path; again, the expensive XL engine is avoided, and all seventeen heat sinks are upgraded to double-strength freezers (which I find curious since the Combine had an issue producing high-capacity sinks early on; surely they could have found better designs to use them on?). Again, the armor is upgraded to ferro-fibrous and remains at eight tons total protection laid out precisely the same as the QKD-5M. As a -5A upgrade, that variant’s armament is retained: one medium laser in each arm, two more in the left torso, another two in the rear right torso, and an SRM-4 in the center torso with one ton of ammunition in the right torso. Like the -4G/-5M upgrade, the -5K needs to be played just like the -5A. It’s a close-range brawler and with those double heat sinks there’s no need to be quite as cautious with your laser usage as before. Just beware that even with ferro-fibrous, eight tons of armor isn’t a lot so stay mobile to keep those movement mods high.
QKD-C: Entering serial production in 3053, the QKD-C is a simple C3 upgrade of the -5K. LAW’s engineers pulled one of the rear-facing medium lasers for a C3 slave. Overall, it’s a fairly simple and effective upgrade. Since the -5K wants to play up in the enemy’s face anyway, it makes the –C a pretty decent spotter for longer ranged lancemates.
QKD-5K2: Following the trend of “small tweak upgrades” for the
Quickdraw, 3057’s QKD-5K2 is similar to how the -4H was altered. In this case, the QKD-5K’s two rear-facing medium lasers are swapped to face forward and the SRM-4 is reversed in response. Overall, I have to say that this one I’m not such a fan of; a battery of six medium is nothing to sneer at, but the design’s only crit-seekers are pointing the wrong way. Sure it can punch holes, but it can’t exploit those holes which makes it less effective in a duel.
QKD-8K: In 3064, LAW brought us the QKD-8K which actually ushers the
Quickdraw into its first really high-tech variant. It continues utilizing the same standard engine and jump jets as all of its predecessors. The skeleton however was rebuilt with endo-steel which when combined with ferro-fibrous armor equates to some good weight savings, although it leaves the -8K a tad short of space. Speaking of armor, the protection is increased half a ton to 8.5 tons, laid out 9/22(7)/16(5)/15/21. This scheme thins out the rear sheeting and the side torsos a little to bump up the protection on the arms and legs, while the center torso can finally take an AC/20 round without going internal. The armaments have also been updated, finally dispensing with the rear-facing guns. The drum total is four medium lasers, all of the extended range type, with two in the left torso and one each in the arms as usual. The two missile launchers of the traditional
Quickdraw are swapped out for a single MRM-30 in the right torso fed by a two-ton ammo bin that is in turn protected by CASE. All told, this combination of increased armor, a standard engine, and CASE’d ammunition makes the QKD-8K a decently tough customer for its size, though the loss of the LRMs and the extension of the 9-hex engagement range of the remaining missiles and lasers to a more medium-ranged bracket makes a pretty decent skirmisher.
QKD-5Mr: This variant is a field refit on the League-standard -5M; thanks to the Outreach Accords, -5Ms had been widely exported and apparently Technicron also widely dispensed the plans for this upgrade to its customers. And this is the high-tech
Quickdraw for me! Entering service in 3070, the QKD-5Mr maintains the same engine, chassis, jump jets, CASE, and armor scheme as the -5M. The changes are all in armament and special equipment: that useless one-shot SRM launcher is pulled, as are five sinks (bringing it down to twelve doubles). The four medium lasers (two in the right rear torso and one in each arm, for those following along at home) are exchanged for extended range types and mated to a targeting computer in the right torso. The LRM-10 isn’t forgotten either, as it receives an Artemis IV FCS, while the ‘Mech as a whole benefits from the addition of a Guardian ECM suite placed in the left torso. I like this one so much because it can come as a surprise to opponents. The ECM is good for breaking up Blakist C3i networks, and while four medium lasers and an LRM-10 is hardly frightening to most, the added accuracy from the tarcomp and Artemis actually lets it hit a little harder than its mere warload might otherwise suggest. With the tarcomp in there and half your laser battery facing backwards, you really have to
literally jump into the middle of your enemy formation to squeeze every possible amount of lethality out of this machine.
QKD-8X: Earthwerks of Tikonov decided to take a crack at an experimental model of
Quickdraws in the form of the QKD-8X. Tinkering started in 3073 off a base chassis of the -8K, and it honestly feels like the Capellans just slapped new toys onto the chassis to see what worked. It continues to utilize a standard engine and jump jets as well as inheriting the endo-steel bones of the -8K. However, the cockpit is moved out of the head to the torso, and a compact gyro is swapped in to save room. Triple-strength myomers are utilized to increase speed and physical attack damage; to aid in activating this system, only a dozen single heat sinks are fitted. The armor package is dramatically upgraded, with a solid shell of twelve tons – in this case, stealth armor – sheathing the ‘Mech and laid out in a 9/30(10)/18(10)/28/16 scheme. A lift hoist of all things is mounted on the rear left torso, while the head is replaced with a turret. Most of the “standard” armament was stripped, all except the two right-rear standard medium lasers (say it with me: feature, not bug!). The head-turret is filled by a standard PPC and a TAG laser, and the Guardian ECM that powers the stealth armor sits near the laser array in the right torso. The generally anemic firepower is supplemented by a variety of hand-held weapon packages: five 12-ton packages and three 6-ton packages. These include:
- LRM-20 with one ton of ammo and one ton of armor
- LB-10X autocannon with a half-ton of ammo and a half-ton of armor
- Three Streak SRM-4s with one ton of ammo and two tons of armor
- RAC/5 with 1.5 tons of ammo and half a ton of armor
- Thunderbolt-10 with three tons of ammo and two tons of armor
- LAC/5 with a half-ton of ammo and a half-ton of armor
- Five machine guns and a vehicle flamer with a half-ton of MG ammo, a full ton of flamer fuel, and one ton of armor
- One medium laser with three heat sinks and two tons of armor
Given the QKD-8X’s extremely varied weapons load – it’s been called a “poor man’s OmniMech” – it’s difficult to describe exactly how to fight it. Of all the hand-held variations, the one I think does best is the LRM-20. The extra range lets it squeeze the most out of the stealth armor’s defensive modifiers by keeping the range mods high as well; I had considered the LBX as a good fit, too, as part of a matched set with the PPC (see:
Thor/Summoner Prime; CTF-1X
Cataphract), but I can’t get over that half-ton of ammunition.
QKD-8P: This is the production model of the -8X, and it does away with some of the more expensive features of the prototype. The head-turret is gone, with the PPC and TAG now situated fixed-forward. The stealth armor is also pulled, though the mass and layout remain the same, and the back-mounted lift hoist is also absent. The torso-mounted cockpit, compact gyro, endo-steel chassis, and TSM all remain. A Streak SRM-4 is added to the left torso, and the right-rear medium lasers are flipped to face forward. The stealth armor may be gone, but the ECM suite is still present, and the -8P uses all the same hand-held packages as the -8X. Given the increase in forward firepower in the -8P and the loss of the stealth armor, I think the trip-Streak package comes into its own here. It can land a PPC, two medium lasers, and twelve SRMs onto a single target, which is no joke for a 60 ton ‘Mech.
QKD-9M: Appearing in the TRO3145:NTNU record sheet compilation, the QKD-9M is the last
Quickdraw to see publication to date. It has an introductory date of 3086 and context clues indicate that it is an Andurien refit that was exported to that state’s post-Jihad allies (the CapCon and Canopus) as well as the Federated Suns and the Republic. Unfortunately, I personally do not have access to its record sheet, but the wiki tells us that it upgrades the arm-mounted medium lasers to standard large lasers that are integrated with a targeting computer. The traditional left-torso LRM-10 is also upgraded, in this case to an LRM-15 with three tons of ammunition protected by CASE II. The armor type is light ferro-fibrous, and a TAG system is also mounted for artillery spotting. Without getting a really good look at the record sheet, I can’t say much specifically about this particular design except that it generally seems pretty solid. Assuming the 5/8/5 movement curve and targeting computer, the lack of extended-range model lasers isn’t a terrible drawback – it has the agility to close with most targets in its weight class and can hit fairly reliably – and I’ve always been a fan of the LRM-15 in particular since it sees heavy use on both FWL and Blood Spirit ‘Mechs (my two favorite factions, for those who never noticed). I’m most curious about the armor layout and the cooling system, because those I think are what will make or break a jumper that wants to skirmish at medium ranges like this one does.
So there you have it. I know it took me a while to get this out there and had a few false starts along the way, but that’s life. So. . . . discuss!
