[hider=JCP-009 Gundam Sowerberry]
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[Center][img]-Place mobile suit picture reference here if you have one-[/img][/Center]
[center][h1] 3rd Generation Heavy Armor-Close Range Prototype Mobile suit [/h1][/center]
[center][h2]Unique/Zern Empire[/h2][/center]

[color=B22222][h2][u][b]Unit Appearance[/b][/u][/h2][/color]
The Sowerberry is a large, heavyset, earthy brown colored unit with an extremely large and wide body. The vast majority of its body is covered by a layer of red segmented rectangular plates that overlap with each other like a carapace.
Both of the unit’s arms are large and cylindrical, ending in large hands with circular holes in their palms. The suit’s head is somewhat small compared to the rest of its body and covered on the left, right and back by the same segmented plates as the rest of its armor, with only a small opening revealing the two optics

[color=B22222][h2][u][b]Technical Details[/b][/u][/h2][/color]
[b]Accommodation:[/b] Pilot only, Cockpit in the chest
[b]Dimensions:[/b] 20 Meters tall
[b]Powerplant:[/b] High-output Wilberforce Reactor
[b][b]Equipment and Design Features:[/b][/b]
	
	[color=F0E68C][u][b]•Replaceable reactive armor system:[/b][/u][/color] 
-The core of the Gundam's defense is its self-replacing reactive armor. Most of the Gundam's outer body is covered by a shell made of rectangular plates of nanocarbon reactive armor. When struck the shaped charges on the armor activates and explodes, shooting any shrapnel from the attack flying away from the unit and redirecting the force elsewhere. This armor grants it great protection against long-range ballistics, missiles, and melee attacks. The real beauty of the system comes in after a plate is spent, however. After a plate’s shaped charge explodes, the plate is dropped from the Gundam's outer armor and replaced with a spare, of which the Gundam has many in reserve

	[color=F0E68C][u][b]•Heavy-duty servomotors:[/b][/u][/color] 
- the servomotors in Sowerberry’s limbs are based on prototypes made by Lucas. The servomotors require much more power and are much more expensive than those in normal mobile suits. But their output is much much higher, so much that Sowerberry is capable of wielding its heavy weaponry unimpeded. Even without its weapons Sowerberry has the physical prowess to lift, grapple, and restrain mobile suits.

	[color=F0E68C][u][b]•Heavy Duty Thruster[/b][/u][/color] 
-The thruster mounted at the base of the Sowerberry’s back is larger and more power-hungry than the standard model. But it’s high output makes it capable of propelling the Gundam at high speeds even when it is fully loaded on armor plates. The Gundam still has a hard time stopping and starting quickly, but when given room to maneuver its top speed is surprisingly high.

	[color=F0E68C][u][b]•Heavy Armor Tower shield[/b][/u][/color]
-a 20-meter tall curved tower shield made of solid nanocarbon. It’s solid structure and inward curve make it extremely durable, but its large size means few units are strong enough to hold one-handed. When in use the shield can completely cover the front of the mobile suit, and when not in use it is attached to the back of the suit, preventing any sneak attacks.


[color=B22222][h2][u][b]Weapons and Combat Capabilities[/b][/u][/h2][/color]
[h3][b][u]Handheld Armaments[/u][/b][/h3]

[color=F0E68C][u][b]•50 Ton HEAT Anti Armor Mace[/b][/u][/color] 
	A fifty-ton long-handled mace stored on the Sowerberry’s hip. The head of the mace uses the same principles as the reactive armor, reactive plates covered in shaped explosives. A single swing has enough force and weight behind it that even an attack that fails to break through the armor might cause internal damage just from the force of the blow, and the explosion on the top of that can cripple even heavily armored suits. Directly below where the mace is stored in a container with two replacement mace heads, for when the reactive plates are all used up.
	
[h3][b][u]Fixed Armaments[/u][/b][/h3]

[color=F0E68C][u][b]•Interior Pile Bunkers x2[/b][/u][/color] 

The Sowerberry possesses two pile bunkers with nano carbon spikes inside its cylindrical arms. Due to its pathetic range, the typical use of this weapon required the user to either perform an open palm strike or grapple with the enemy unit. At melee range the bunkers fire with devastating force, enough to smash through plates of armor and pierce the inner workings of its opponent. A solid shot to the cockpit is almost surely an instant kill. The bunker requires a short period of time to reload after every shot, but by cycling between the two bunkers this downside can be reduced.

[color=F0E68C][u][b]•Nanocarbon net launcher[/b][/u][/color] 

Built into the right forearm of the Sowerberry is a net launcher that fires nets reinforced with nanocarbon fibers. These nets can be launched a short distance to weigh down and entangle foes. The nanocarbon fibers make the nets heavy and difficult to break, but they alone are not enough to completely disable an enemy mobile suit. 
[h3][b][u]Strengths and Weaknesses[/u][/b][/h3]
In close range, the Sowerberry is an absolute monster. A swing from its mace is enough to completely cripple most mobile suits. Even without it the pile bunkers can puncture lighter armor and damage the inner workings of enemy suits. It’s net launcher and large hands make it particularly good as a disabling and grappling weapon, bringing opponents to the ground where they can easily be finished off. Furthermore, the Sowerberry is extremely well armored, with the reactive armor protecting it from almost every angle and it’s tower shield picking up the slack in the meantime

However, Sowerberry has some weaknesses. Even with its advanced drive system and heavy-duty thruster it moves noticeably slower on the ground than the other Gundam and has trouble quickly changing directions while in flight. A skilled enough opponent could potentially play keep away long enough to wear the Sowerberry down. Even though it’s reactive armor works to replace lost plates, it only has so many spares and repeated attacks in the same place might land before the spare plates can come into place. Finally, energy weapons such as plasma and laser weapons can easily burn through large amounts of reactive armor, and even melt plates together, requiring the Sowerberry to manually remove those plates


[color=B22222][h2][u][b]Technical History[/b][/u][/h2][/color]
In the novel “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens, the character Sourberry was a greedy middle-class undertaker and coffin maker. Which was perhaps not the most encouraging name considering the head designer was Lucas Ryder, only a part of the project because of his good work in a mechanics program sponsored by the royal family. 

The early development went very smoothly. From the very beginning, the frame was meant to be large and heavily armored with a focus on close-range weaponry. The inner frame, including the net launcher prototype mace and pile bunkers, was created almost without event, the problems first arose from the outer armor.

The outer armor was heavy and bulky but fell short of making the Gundam significantly more well-defended than the others. It became clear an outside the box idea would be required if the Gundam was supposed to reach the heights of a Heavy Armor Gundam. Numerous ideas were considered including reactive armor and a large tower shield. The shield was eventually decided upon as Sowerberry still only needed one hand, but Lucas took it upon himself to design a new armor system

After weeks of pouring over dozens of sources Lucas returned with a prototype for the replicating reactive armor system (supposedly inspired by shark teeth, animal carapaces, and a type of layered plate armor popular in old earth) after some trial runs and testing the reactive armor was added to Sowerberry’s design greatly increasing its durability. This also fixed the problem with placing shaped charges onto Sowerberry’s mace, which was then designed to hold the same moving plates as the outer armor.

Satisfied by the design and happy with his contribution, Lucas and the rest of his team finished development without incident and after several combat tests, Sowerberry was on track to appear at the expo alongside it’s fellow Gundam.
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