Editing Steam Tank (section)

===Technical Kvetching===
The Empire's steam tanks has a fair deal of issues. First of all is its wheels. It's got four large wooden wheels, which means that it has a fair deal of weight on each of them, putting them under considerable strain and leaves it liable to sink into the mud. The second issue is suspension, or more specifically its non existence. The Rear Wheels are just bolted onto the side of the vehicle directly. This means that every single rock, stick and slightly raised mound of dirt that the vehicle rolls over will be felt as the vehicle is jostled around. Besides the fact that this means that Barf Bags will be a necessity for the crew, this will be hard on the mechanisms and will mean that stuff will be rattling around, which includes burning coals and [[Gunpowder (Warhammer Fantasy)|gunpowder]].

Armament has its own issues. The turret mounted steam gun is a solid enough weapon all things considered. The frontal cannon however is more problematic. First of all it's going to recoil when fired. This can be addressed with rails and mechanisms, even though it would still be a hazard for the crew. A bigger issue is reloading. Unless it's a breach loader getting the gun ready to fire another volley under combat conditions in a cramped box is not going to be fun or quick.

The final points relate to the engine. First of all it's exposed, leaving it vulnerable to attack from the rear. Having a wooden boiler is going to restrict the engine power. Fueling is going to be an issue as space inside the thing is going to be rather cramped and you have to accommodate the coal and a stoker to shovel it in, unless it is powered by a magical artefact which is implied in some of the fluff (although others say it's wood, so who knows?).

That said, these points avoid a critical issue: the Empire's Steam Tanks exist in a world where some variation on Spearman Steve is the standard soldier for most factions. Having any functional tank on a pseudo medieval battlefield is a big deal.

See also:

* “Those wings wouldn’t generate enough lift to get that dragon airborne”.
* “Pointed ears serve no evolutionary purpose”.
* “All those monsters violate the square-cube law”.
* “[[Teclis]]’s giant hat is wholly impractical”.
* “Those [[Slann]] would just shrivel, unless they only fight when it’s raining”.