Krapp Armaments Fall Catalogue

     Welcome to the Krapp Armaments Fall 32 - - Catalogue. Here you’ll find the latest in Krapp quality arms and armor. It is our hope that Krapp Armaments and Industries can better serve you both on the battlefield and off.

Kampfwagens

Jaeger Pattern Scout Kampfwagen Mk V

Developed originally as a stealthy “hunter-killer” light tankette, the Jaeger Scout boasts a heavy armor piercing lascannon capable of punching through 15” armor plate. Speedy and reliable, the Jaeger’s tracked frame can negotiate the roughest terrain at a speed of around 80 mph.* 

Special Auxiliary Options include:

•Air conditioned crew compartment

•Safety Harness

•27” Armor Upgrade Package***

•Escape Hatch

Available from your local Krapp Arms dealer ** for less than K2,678,999.00****

*Most terrain. Some restrictions may apply

** Offer only available with purchase of ten or more.

*** Base model is unarmored

Arminius Pattern Heavy Kampfwagen Mk IX

Large, imposing, spacious interior, and deadly. This perfectly describes the Arminius. With fore and aft mounted heavy Kannonen MkXXI as well as additional heavy lascannon turrett mounts for anti infantry or anti tank support, the Arminius is the ultimate in medium speed assault armor. Boasting 48” armor plate and extra side mounted gun ports for you and your friends to safely engage in small arms fire with the competition. Arminius’ unique boxlike design also allows for the Krapp Email Order Academy of Military Arts standard tactic of the “Wagenburg” where each Arminius can be lined up end to end to form an impenetrable wall of lead and laser. Perfect for fortifying encampments on the go! With comfortable seating for ten passengers, or if you go with the B model package, spacious seating for four more!*

Options include:

•Sealed gas/bio proof gunports

•Deluxe K-seats**

•English/Galactic Standard labeled instrument panel***

Arminius MkIX A Model: K10,562,999.99

Arminius MkIX B Model: K9,435,999.98*

*B Model comes without ammunition storage hold.

** Base models come without seats

***Instruments labeled in Luxen Standardt/German

Taanstafl Pattern Super Heavy Kampfwagen MkII

Behold! The behemoth of the battlefield! The true super heavy tank of tomorrow’s armies. The Taanstafl is a state of the art, Krapp patented exclusive technological wunderwaffen. Boasting no less than four full field of fire rotating 8” UberKannonen Mk I turrets, fourteen heavy lascannon turrets, fourteen fully sealed gun ports, and the newest designed Krapp weapon, the Sturmlaser Heavy Seige Laskannonen MkII. The Sturmlaser is the weapon of choice for any emperor, generalissimo, or galactic conqueror in the making! Field tests of the Sturmlaser during the Karynthia Merger showed how our siege laser could slice through up to 40’ thick walls and melt the heaviest of Karynthian armored vehicles into piles of slag.* With crew seating for up to twenty, and additional compartment space for ten more, the Taanstafl can function as a proxy armored personnel carrier for dashing commanders in a tight spot. With 100” armor plating and a speed of over 50mph, the Taanstafl is a true titan of war.

Deluxe Options Include:

•Stereo Surround Wave Sound

•3DV Movie Player

•Additional K-View Security Camera Mounts for better visibility while crushing the competition.

Taanstafl MkII: K20,573,823,889.99

*Karynthian vehicles were labeled as unocuppied by our field research teams at the time. No Krapp personnel were harmed during field testing.

Artillerie

Thor Kannonen Mk III

The true foundation of the Krapp Armaments Firm lies in the very first high explosive artillery designed by our ingenious founder Matthias Von Krapp. The Thor continues that tradition of Krapp excellence with its 400” titanium steel barrel, K-Tech auto loader, K-Tech Precise Aim software (along with the tried and tested Krapp gunsight, a three century tradition of quality.). The standard reach of the Thor is rated to 40 miles, much farther than our competitors, with top rated ordinance, the Krapp Deathbringer Shell Mk VIII, and it’s nuclear equipped sister shell, the Krapp Armageddon Mk II. The latest development from Krapp Labs has also produced the vaunted Krapp Overwatch EMP Shell MkI for non lethal artillery strikes. (Also makes a great fireworks display!)

Options Include:

•Internal Noise Suppressors

•Radiation Shielding for Crew Compartment

•40” Armor Upgrade*

Thor Kannonen Mk III: K30,004,569.99

*Standard model comes with 20” armor plating.

[EXCLUSIVE END OF SUMMER SPECIAL! Buy now and receive two free Krapp Armageddon MkI shells for your first purchase!**] 

**Supplies limited, offer not available in the Samarkand Empire or its affiliate states.

Don’t forget! Each Krapp product purchased comes with a prefix code* to register for a free ten year warranty! 

*Krapp is not liable for replacement parts if prefix code is not registered. It is strongly advised prefix be registered with KrappStar emergency services for warranty to be valid. KrappStar reserves the right to deny access to Krapp technologies and products should misuse occur.

We at Krapp Armaments thank you for viewing our wonderful line of quality products and hope that you enjoy your Krapp experience. Remember, if it’s not Krapp, it’s probably junk!

****All prices are listed in Krappmarks (K)

An Overveiw of the Luxen Armed Forces, Personalities, and Krapp Foreign Policy

      It may surprise many readers to know that the Krapp firm has holdings that technically extend beyond the physical borders of the Grand Duchy of Luxendoom. Corporate holdings extend to numerous third party distributors, marketing agencies, shipping concerns (though these are mainly for the more local system deliveries of Krapp arms and other products extended to the far flung backwaters of the galactic fringe.), and even personnel and communications providers. Mining interests form the bulk of this vast outer network of affiliates (the Outer Circle, as it is officially known in the halls of the Luxen court/Grand Boardroom). Mining rights are extended to third party groups (such as the mercenary Forge Co., known for their asteroid mining enclaves, and diminutive stature.) due to the difficulties in obtaining those mines directly. Krapp Armaments maintains its high profit margin due to not having (officially) any factories, mines, or even shipping warehouses outside of Duchy borders.

      This allows Krapp to remain relatively free of foreign tariffs, taxes, and ill advised strategic positions when a planetary government suddenly decides to nationalize their natural resources. Having a third party mine for them while splitting the profits 80/20 with Krapp allows the firm to focus on internal properties. Only when a particular resource is absolutely vital to the manufacture of arms will the armored might of a Luxen expedition be dispatched to the offending system to persuade the locals of their error in judgement. And that in itself is usually a last resort after trade negotiations have broken down to an irreparable state. Once the order is dispatched, Luxen ground forces will fight with the finest of Krapp weaponry to secure the resource. This often, tragically, results in unfortunate casualties and the breakdown of civil order on the planet, resulting in the commander of the expedition to take on the responsibilities of peacemaker. If no effective parties to negotiate a new trade deal can be found, it is standard Krapp policy to absorb all planetary assets as reparations for the expense of the “Security Expedition” and all ineffective “management” of the newly acquired “asset” are “liquidated”. 

Luxen portrait of Krapp “security personnel” engaged in successful “peacekeeping measures” in Rambai City to secure plutonium deposits on the world of Xylon IV. The Xylonese are now happily employed in the “family” of Krapp Armaments. 

      That of course, is the rare exception to the general rule of the vast majority of worlds that happily trade with Krapp Armaments and purchase their quality products. Within the Grand Duchy, things are managed much more efficiently, with hundreds of factory worlds producing every conceivable weapon used in the known galaxy. Along with other, more peaceful, implements such as cookware, appliances, vehicles, even starships (though not on the level of the great shipbuilding firms GaelTech, and StarWays). Every person within the Grand Duchy is employed by the firm in some way or other. Even the children are technically employees in the making as their education is geared towards a future career in Krapp Armaments. The brighter, more promising students get the opportunity to further their education further up the chain of command within the factory world itself. With a very lucky few making their way up the corporate ladder to become “Planetary Executive Officers” or PEOs. If they have the pluck and tenacity to make it. The Von Krapp Dynasty encourages a healthy level of competition among the higher echelons of the firm to ensure only the most qualified are in charge. 

     Those that choose a more martial career enter into one of the three military schools for officer training. The Luxen Schlachtschule, based on Luxen itself on the outskirts of its capital city, Stahlburg. The Thyssendorf Military Academy, which was once in the heart of Thyssendorf’s old capital, Wotansburg, and after the siege during the Thysso-Luxen War now stands in the Karlskreig Mountains some fifty miles to the north. They also have the responsibility of training officers for the Luxen Ducal Navy. The third school is the Kurinia War College, outside of its capital, Lichtenhoff, has somewhat of a reputation as a school of hard knocks with something to prove, being that while the young graduates of the college called for war with Luxen during the Unification Wars, the Countess of Kurinia heeded her much wiser War Cabinet ministers and surrendered sovereignty to the advancing Luxen fleet heading for her planet. Ever since, the Kurinians have felt it a stain on their honor and each graduate of the war college vows to prove himself an unflinching warrior in the face of the enemy. Once again the Krapp belief in healthy competition is applied here as each military school vies for turning out the best and brightest tacticians for the Luxen military. 

Illustration from a training manual of Luxen Schlactshule cadets being taught to march in formation.  While pictcasts and digitized photos are the norm of almost every place in the galaxy, Luxendoom has an ancient tradition of older styles of artwork that they are very proud to keep up. This includes paintings and sketches of Luxen daily life.

     Every member of the Von Krapp House is required by tradition to serve a term in both the civilian and military sectors of Luxen society. With the heir apparent usually in the much coveted command of the I Battalion of the Ducal Guards, the elite of the Luxen armies. Lesser children of the dynasty serve in other branches such as the Navy. And all are required to work in the upper echelons of one of the local factory worlds where the Grand Duke can teach them the secrets of the family business. The current Heir Apparent of the Krapp Dynasty is Prinz Freiderich Augustus Karl Von Krapp, known to the men under his command as “Fritz”. 

Prinz Friederich in his Feldmarschall uniform.

       Another important branch of the Luxen Security Forces (the official name, but many of the officers and old soldiers call it by its older traditional name, the Luxen Ducal Army, for though Krapp Armaments “employs” the soldaten, the warrior spirit and traditions of the past beat strongly in the heart of the native born Luxen junker.) is the General Staff. Known on paper as the “Board of Security Directors”, this is but a thinly veiled attempt to rename the war cabinet as something more civilian to slip under the nose of galactic bureaucracy to hide the aggressive nature of Krapp “acquisitions” and “mergers”. Made up of the junker class of old Luxen (all of whom are “employed” as “execs with lifetime benefits” within the Krapp firm),  they are responsible for the planning of all major military actions undertaken by the Duchy. This is the heart of both the company and the Grand Duchy. For here is where the profit making decisions are made that decide the fate of worlds billions of miles away. Here also is where the betrayal of the old Zollernhoff dynasty occurred when Matthias Von Krapp bought off the junkers, including the “Iron Minister” Rudolph Von Starkheim. He was a “Realpolitik” junker who saw which way the wind of history was blowing and sided with Matthias and aided in the peaceful transition of power. His behind the scenes negotiating also helped lay the foundations of Krapp power by successfully arranging several “wars of acquisition”, as they were called in those days, to grab more land and resources for the new “factory world” concept that Matthias had engineered.

The Luxen General Staff during the reign of Duke Otto Von Zollernhoff, seen contemplating the next invasion during the Luxen Unification Wars.

The acclamation of Matthias as Grand Duke.

Rudolph the Iron Minister convincing Otto to step down as Grand Duke amidst the mutinied officers of the Luxen army. In truth, this scene is pure fantasy, as the real event was much more somber and behind closed doors. The mutinous soldaten were encamped on the palace grounds and guarding the outer halls nowhere to be seen. Luxen soldiers, even when rebelling, are a very disciplined lot.

Portrait of a soldat during the “Merger” on Karynthia. A three year campaign that cost the firm billions of Krappmarks, and the lives of many “security personnel”.  A civil war bled dry of money prompted the General Staff to look into the feasibility of acquiring Karynthia because of valuable deposites of titanium, cobalt, silver, and a rare crystal used in the Sturmlaser design. Karynthia is now a mining world.

The present day Luxen General Staff, trusted advisors of Alfred Von Krapp.

Cutaway of the “Arminius” Pattern Kampfwagen Mk I, from the Saxen-Luxen War. The modern Mk IX  variant has a vastly improved crew compartment with larger ordinance and a stronger power plant. 

A rare picture of Naval officers at attention aboard the Krapp flagship, “Matthias”.

General Rolf Von Bugdorfer, commander of the III Luxen Battalion. A ruthless and competent commander who has urged the use of bio weapons many times. Krapp Armaments has a strict policy regarding the manufacture and use of such devastating weaponry. In that they are dead set against it. Not for humanitarian reasons as is publicly thought, but because a gene virus or plague bomb attack gone awry might threaten to destroy whole galactic sectors and cut heavily into profit margins and even threaten production capacity were such deadly weapons to spread to a factory world. Alfred Von Krapp has even gone so far in his standing as a member of the Galactic Economic Council to ensure the other members were persuaded (via generous amounts of Krappmarks) to outlaw the manufacture and use of bio weapons of all types.

Prinz Hans Albert George Von Krapp, the younger son of Alfred, in the uniform of the Thyssen VIII Grenadiers. Foppish but not foolish, Hans has a grasp on military defense and many of his personal designs for prefab fortifications have been put into production by his father’s firm.

The sharp witted founder of the Krapp family fortune, Matthias Von Krapp. In the uniform of a Luxen feldmarschall shortly after his accession to the Ducal throne in a rare pic image.

On Krapp Armaments and the History of Luxendoom, A LaserStorm Army

     Having repurposed my Prussian tanks from the now defunct Dystopian Wars for 6mm LaserStorm, I felt that they needed  to be an industrial army. An army from a major corporate tyranny, like Krupp. But not Krupp. Maybe.... Krapp? Yes! Thats a good name for a villainous arms manufacturer of interstellar might! And the best part is my opponents when they lose a battle will have to admit they were beaten by total and complete Krapp.

A Short History of the Krapp Armaments and Industries Firm:

       Far out on the edge of the eastern sector of the Milky Way lies a small system that is the heart of a massive corporate empire that produces billions of tanks, artillery pieces, aircraft, spacecraft, planetary defense systems, battledroids, mechs and even simple firearms. That system is the Grand Duchy of Luxendoom, and that corporate empire is the Galaxy famous arms manufacturer known as Krapp Armaments. Three hundred years ago, a humble arms dealer by the name of Matthias Krapp arrived on Luxendoom with a few credits in his pocket, a very special arc rifle, and a vision for the future of his house. His rifle was an inventive redesign of the then very new and dangerously unstable arc gun technology of other competitors. The Krapp rifle was both safe to use and could actually hit the user’s intended target. After a demonstration at the palace of the Grand Duke, wherein the Duke was able to shoot a dozen prisoners of the state hiding and fleeing through his private gardens, Krapp was granted a ten year contract to supply the ducal army with enough arc rifles to take over the other major planets of the Luxendoom System.

      

Luxen Soldat and Kapitan during the Hessiana-Luxendoom War. Armed with the latest Krapp Arc Rifle Mark II

       The Hessiana-Luxendoom War was a costly, but undisputed victory for the Duchy as the Krapp rifle proved more accurate and deadlier than the standard las rifles of the Hessian troops. By this point Matthias was given a baronetcy, and his surname changed to “Von Krapp”. The Krapp factory began producing high quality artillery and new “kampfwaggen” tanks that were both larger and thicker hulled than the standard Earth pattern tanks produced off the templates of the previous century. These new tanks and “kannonen” pattern artillery reduced losses considerably and overwhelmed the planetary defenses of Thyssendorf in the ensuing Thysso-Luxen War. Krapp artillery had proven so destructive that the world of Kurinia surrendered without a shot fired, after observers had witnessed the leveling of Thyssendorf’s capital city. The final planet of Saxenburg fell in a lightning campaign where Krapp tanks skirted the static defenses of the Saxens and literally bulldozed their way into the throne room of the very surprised King Arnulf III, crushing him under their steel treads.

       

The Krapp War Banner/Company logo.

     But fighting three wars in succession is a costly endeavor, and the Duchy bankrupted itself, burdening the serfs with war loans, and the amount of money both paid to and owed to Krapp Armaments put Matthias in a very unique position for an industrialist. He called in the debt owed to him. In quick succession the army that could not be paid revolted against the ducal house, the enterprising arms merchant bought off the Luxen general staff, and the Grand Duke found himself a prisoner in his own palace by the end of the day. Matthias’ terms were simple, that he should marry the Duke’s daughter, and that he step down from the throne and Matthias and his new bride be acclaimed co rulers of Luxendoom. Thereby the state’s debt would be considered forgiven, the army’s pay would be reinstated, and the general staff were now employees of Krapp Armaments.

The Luxen I Battalion, the “Ducal Guard” currently stationed on Thyssendorf, but frequently sent on campaigns of “resource acquisition” by the Grand Duke as this is considered the best drilled of the Luxen units. The large Kampfwaggen “Taanstafl” Mk II carries the latest Krapp superweapon, the Sturmlaser, capable of tearing through thick walls and armor plating in a matter of seconds.

     Today, Krapp Armaments is a thriving Fortune Five Million company with hundreds of world factories producing innovative new ways for galactic empires to murder each other. Krapp tanks are reliable and durable and Krapp artillery is second to none in terms of destructive capacity. Alfred Von Krapp, the current Grand Duke, has an eye to the future, seeking new resources to acquire and innovative designs to sell. He also has an eye to the past keeping the tradition of Krapp quality and high standards of excellence in every piece of Krapp product that exits the factory. Remember, if it’s not Krapp, it’s probably junk!

Alfred Von Krapp in his later years. Portrait taken for the cover of Fortune Five Million inside one of the local plants that produces rail stock and commuter vehicles for the employed masses of Luxendoom.

New Blog, New Lore, Old Minis.

       I’ve finally done it! I’ve completed a full size, big battle, tabletop army for the fantasy wargame Kings of War. Typically I stick with skirmish level games at 28mm because they’re cheaper and quicker to finish armies for but after a friend introduced me to KoW and I discovered I had a 2,000 point army of Undead in the making sitting around in a shoebox at home I decided to dive in and go for it. Having finished basing and painting my “Black Army of Ravensburg” I’ve been so inspired to start a second army (and possibly a third down the road) and write my own lore for each army and the world they share. To do this I’ve decided to create a second blog to post the adventures, folktales, and mythology of this world (I don’t really care too much for Mantica’s lore so I only make a passing accommodation for it in my own.). Below I have posted a link to the new blog. See you all there!

https://ofheroesandgiants.blogspot.com/?m=1