The Night Hunter Stalks the Night
HACS-01MG-N Night Hunter
Night Hunter
The Hunter has probably the most variants available for a walker combat chassis. Its built-in simplicity make modifications easy, and limited production runs of extremely specialized vehicles are often made by Northco’s sub-contractors. The N-type Hunter, also called Night Hunter by field personnel, is one such specialized unit. It is a night fighting Gear designed by the Northern Guards’ technical arm to answer the field commanders’ requirements. Night fighting is different from daytime combat, not only because of the absence of light (easily remedied by low-light and IR optics) but because the silence and cooler temperatures make it easier to spot a moving vehicle. The Gear was produced in limited quantities in TN 1846 and TN 1897 by Northco at their Fieldstrome facilities near Valeria. The Fieldstrome Manufacturing Compound is not a full production chain; rather, it receives nearly-complete Hunters from the local Northco factory and installs the required specialized systems for whatever variant they happen to be building at the time.
The N is specifically equipped for night fighting and incorporates dedicated systems to improve its performances under low or no-light conditions. Those include additional low-light cameras and sensors as well as a pair of powerful searchlights mounted on the torso (the usual UYT-764 headlights are not present on this variant). The exhausts of the V-engine are covered by a special muffler called “Whisperdeath” that attenuates the noise and disperse the combustion gases by mixing them with cool air and ejecting them in a fan- shaped pattern toward the ground at the back of the machine. Many protuberances on the body of the Gear, such as bolts, are replaced by concealed versions and the entire hull is coated with a non-reflective paint. The paint comes in two grades that have different heat absorption gradients, with both applied in random patterns; this helps break the infrared silhouette of the machine. All these measures reduce the sensor signature of the Night Hunter, though they do not make it a true stealth unit.
Night Huner Variants in Heavy Gear Blitz!
The Night Hunter is a Hunter variant added to the North model list in Heavy Gear Blitz! These additional profiles are Extended Content.
| Model | TV | Roles | MR | Arm | H/S | A | GU | PI | EW | React Weapons | Mounted Weapons | Traits | Type | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night Hunter | 7 | SK, SO+ | W/G:6 | 6 | 4/2 | 1 | 4+ | 4+ | 6+ | LAC, LVB | LRP | Hands, Airdrop, Stealth (Aux) | Gear | 1.5" |
| Night Hunter Gunner | 8 | SK, SO+ | W/G:6 | 6 | 4/2 | 1 | 4+ | 4+ | 6+ | MAC, LVB | LRP | Hands, Airdrop, Stealth (Aux) | Gear | 1.5" |
| Night Hunter UC | 7 | SK, SO+ | W/G:6 | 6 | 4/2 | 1 | 4+ | 4+ | 6+ | MFC, LVB | LRP | Hands, Airdrop, Stealth (Aux) | Gear | 1.5" |
| Rabid Night Hunter | 8 | SK, SO+ | W/G:6 | 6 | 4/2 | 1 | 4+ | 4+ | 6+ | LGL, LVB | LPZ, LRP | Hands, Airdrop, Stealth (Aux) | Gear | 1.5" |
Making your own Night Hunter
This is one probably doesn’t take much to describe, since the Night Hunter is for most purposes, a hunter with a fancy paint job. Assemble your hunter following the normal instructions, and with the correct equipment, and voi la, you have a Night Hunter! If you want to do a bit of work to make them more visually distinct from a normal hunter, then you can file off some of the additional details (bolts and rivets in particular), making them a bit more streamline and stealthy. I also replaced their normal rocket packs with the triangular rockets from the Panther and Black Cat.
