The flaw I see with a HAG version is the same w/ the RAC5 & LGR ones the IS makes, too much gun, not enough Armor, glass canons.
Tanks are already destroyed easier & harder to salvage than mechs.
Skimping on the Armor just makes the problem worse.
I fully agree and explicitly mentioned in the post you quoted that I was concerned about the HAG drawing more attention than the armor could take. Really, the only reason I could see it happening at all is because the Clans have a bad habit of doing that to every tank they make so a suicidally over gunned variant would fit right in.
This is my point.
They already have a factory that produces simple tanks in large #s.
Refitting it stops production, and then the clan tech version is likely produced in smaller #s over all since clan tech is a higher grade of material.
And all the parts are already in production at FRR factories so its not like they are having any issue keeping up w/ replacement "old tech" parts like they would in the Homeworlds.
The thing is, we know the Bears have been trying to shift fully to Clan tech because it is much better and no harder for them to produce or maintain with their knowledge base.
The issue I see here is no matter how simple a refit you make it, you've now stuck advanced clan tech on a budget tank assigned to militia. Which now means that all those militias have to have techs trained to fix a clan tech weapon system. Where before they could get by w/ the knowledge slightly more than a typical automechanic. Look at how the Dragoons earned major bank by teaching techs from everywhere how to maintain the small amount of clan tech captured by combat units. Many units just sold it to the House for advanced IS stuff that they could work on.
Clearly this stuff has some major differences in it if people couldn't fix it that were trained in fixing "similar" models of IS tech.
That was within the confines of the IS where no one else knew how to fix it. That gave the Dragoons a monopoly so they could quite literally charge whatever they wanted and the IS houses would have to pay it if they wanted to be able to maintain Clan tech. The Bears are Clan so they already have a working knowledge of the equipment and will think nothing of sending out instructions or trainers to bring their techs up to speed on the one or two new weapons they are being issued. Given that properly trained techs do not have any more difficulty working with Clan tech than IS tech, I think it is very clear that once the extra bit of training has been completed there will be no significant maintenance difference between the two.
Also, I find your comment that the techs working on IS gear can get by with "knowledge slightly more than a typical automechanic" laughably absurd because every combat vehicle has a complex set of fire control electronics, shells filled with dangerous explosives, armor that absolutely must be properly maintained and fitted after being removed to work on the internals, and advanced weapons (yes, even the AC/5 counts). Even the militia techs need special training to work on combat vehicles, so adding the maintenance of a few basic Clan tech weapons to their training program would not be that hard to do.
You mention C-bills but a Clan LB5X & IS LB5X cost the same price. Or do they ? Sure the game gives them the same cost but then tells us how Clan tech goes for 4-10x or more on the black market. Or how the NAIS can duplicate a Clan ERML but it costs MILLIONS to do so instead of a few thousand, or days/weeks to complete a single weapon instead of hours.
That is all for IS factions which are making the weapons by hand and have no idea how the Clans manufacture them on assembly lines. We know the Clans can mass produce their own weapons without too much trouble, and the Bears have a history of refitting IS production lines to produce Clan tech so assuming IS prices is absurd.
I see this as something that sounds all good OOC but IC the "fluff" would make it a much more complex, time consuming, & expensive. Sure it will be easier for the Bears but even w/ the knowledge to make something doesn't mean the final production will be as fast. Maybe the factory takes 2x as long to make the clan version, etc etc. Which is all fine an exceptable for a MadDog or T-Wolf, but I'm thinking I want my Vedettes to be as numerous as possible supporting my legions of infantry.
Not really. You just set up a new 5-X line in parallel to the existing lines so you can switch over the gun once it comes online and scale it to match the vehicle production rate. Then you go ahead and retool the old AC 5 line to produce UAC 5's so you can mount both weapons and expand the vehicle line to make more tanks to use the new guns, bring in old vehicles for an upgrade, or send them off to be used in other units. The actual process of changing the vehicle will be very quick because it is essentially a one-for-one swap on the weapons, and if you have a pile of spare UAC 5's or 5-X's lying around you can even switch over the vehicle line before you get the cannon line running to get the improved vehicles coming off the line a bit early. The result is a plan that is easy to implement with virtually no downtime on the production line, has a series of easy implementation stages, increases overall production capabilities, and does not cost all that much.
