[PR] Latest Expansions to Big Bang: The Mostly Illustrated RPG Guide to Modern Weapons
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wenonah, New Jersey
28 JULY 2004
Contact: David Sinclair, Press Manager
ALTERNATE REALITIES PUBLICATIONS EXPANDS THE BIG BANG SERIES AGAIN
We are happy to announce the release of three new volumes for the Big Bang Series. These volumes, called Mini-Bangs, focus on subjects that simply aren't wide enough for a full volume of the series.
BIG BANG: MINI-BANG #2 - THE DEADLIEST WEAPON THAT NEVER WAS
This short addition to the Big Bang line covers an epic failure of a weapon system that haunts the United States Military to this very day. Between 1948 and 1952, the US military learned that 50,000 rounds of ammunition were fired for every enemy casualty caused during World War II, a clear indicator that the much vaunted marksmanship of U.S. soldiers and marines did not actually exist. As the 1950's came to a close, the supposedly obvious cure for this was a superweapon that could fire with beeline accuracy. The result was the Special Purpose Individual Weapon (SPIW) program. Focusing on the use of flechettes, the government expected the program to produce a viable weapon in less than two years at a budget of $20 million. The infant technologies going into the weapon were so promising that the military cancelled all contracts for the continued production of the M-14 rifle. Instead, the concept ballooned, facing impossible weapon specifications, insane budget overruns to the tune of six times the original budget, and endless extensions. With the Vietnam War looming, a shortage of M-14's, and no wonder rifle in sight, the SPIW forced the military into adopting the M-16 rifle before that new weapon was ready for combat. The SPIW program, after evolving into the Serial Flechette Rifle program and Serial Bullet Rifle programs, finally collapsed in 1978, almost 20 years after it began. The primary supporter of the technologies, Aircraft Armaments, Inc., continued supporting the concept all the way up to the early 1990's, developing numerous additional flechette weapon systems for military consideration. A descendant weapon of the SPIW was even entered into the early competition stages for the OICW program. The very same specifications and problems that doomed the SPIW program now 30+ years later also threaten the XM-29 that developed from the Objective Individual Combat Weapon program of the 1990's. This document chronicles the development of the SPIW program and is successors, as well as detailing the numerous prototype weapons produced between 1959 and 1991.
Currently available only in PDF, this 13 page book has an SRP of $1.39. It is available for immediate download from RPGNow ( http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3067& ). It will be released in print at a later date.
BIG BANG: MINI-BANG #3 - EXPERIMENTAL WEAPONS
This minor volume of the Big Bang line focuses on a wide range of failed experimental weapons. These numerous systems often represented astounding advancements in firearms technology and design, yet were ultimately rejected by their target markets. This booklet covers numerous weapons, including:
*The Colt SCAMP, a highly controllable machine pistol that was only slightly larger than the M1911A1, but with nearly 4 times the ammunition capacity.
*The Hughes Lockless Machine Gun, a reliable automatic weapon that with a full 300 magazine, weighed a mere 13 lbs, far less than today's small caliber SAWs and LMGs with half the ammunition.
*The TRW Low Maintenance Rifle, a rifle designed to make the M-16's "never needs cleaning" claims a reality, in an astonishingly accurate rifle that looked like the German WW2 era FG-42.
Currently available only in PDF, this 13 page book has an SRP of $1.25. It is available for immediate download from RPGNow ( http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3282& ). It will be released in print at a later date.
BIG BANG: MINI-BANG #4 - CLOSE ASSAULT WEAPON SYSTEM
With this volume of Big Bang, we focus on the RHINO and CAWS projects implemented by the US military between 1979 and 1994. These projects were dedicated to the development of automatic shotguns for combat use in urban environments, earthwork environemtns, and aboard navy vessels. In the end, the programs resulted in numerous functioning automatic shotguns, but in the end, it was decided these weapons were simply too deadly to be in compliance with the century old Hague Convention used as a guide to conducting modern warfare. This volume covers more than 20 models and variants of automatic shotguns developed between 1972 and 1994, including:
*The Atchisson Assault Gun developed during the Vietnam War.
*The AA12, the second generation of the Atchisson.
*The Daewoo USAS-12, the third generation of the Atchisson.
*The Pancor Jackhammer
*CAWS prototypes from Heckler & Koch, Aircraft Armaments, Inc. and Smith & Wesson.
Currently available only in PDF, this 20 page book has an SRP of $2.50. It is available for immediate download from RPGNow ( http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3429& ). It will be released in print at a later date.
Big Bang is a critically acclaimed line of gaming products dedicated to providing true detail about the weapons of the real world, including technical information, historical facts, and performance data, all presented along with game statistics for several popular systems. The line presents an impressive level of detail, with some reviewers equating it to "A Jane's gun guide for roleplaying games". The line consists of eleven products to date, providing more than 600 pages of information, statistics, and rules.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wenonah, New Jersey
28 JULY 2004
Contact: David Sinclair, Press Manager
ALTERNATE REALITIES PUBLICATIONS EXPANDS THE BIG BANG SERIES AGAIN
We are happy to announce the release of three new volumes for the Big Bang Series. These volumes, called Mini-Bangs, focus on subjects that simply aren't wide enough for a full volume of the series.
BIG BANG: MINI-BANG #2 - THE DEADLIEST WEAPON THAT NEVER WAS
This short addition to the Big Bang line covers an epic failure of a weapon system that haunts the United States Military to this very day. Between 1948 and 1952, the US military learned that 50,000 rounds of ammunition were fired for every enemy casualty caused during World War II, a clear indicator that the much vaunted marksmanship of U.S. soldiers and marines did not actually exist. As the 1950's came to a close, the supposedly obvious cure for this was a superweapon that could fire with beeline accuracy. The result was the Special Purpose Individual Weapon (SPIW) program. Focusing on the use of flechettes, the government expected the program to produce a viable weapon in less than two years at a budget of $20 million. The infant technologies going into the weapon were so promising that the military cancelled all contracts for the continued production of the M-14 rifle. Instead, the concept ballooned, facing impossible weapon specifications, insane budget overruns to the tune of six times the original budget, and endless extensions. With the Vietnam War looming, a shortage of M-14's, and no wonder rifle in sight, the SPIW forced the military into adopting the M-16 rifle before that new weapon was ready for combat. The SPIW program, after evolving into the Serial Flechette Rifle program and Serial Bullet Rifle programs, finally collapsed in 1978, almost 20 years after it began. The primary supporter of the technologies, Aircraft Armaments, Inc., continued supporting the concept all the way up to the early 1990's, developing numerous additional flechette weapon systems for military consideration. A descendant weapon of the SPIW was even entered into the early competition stages for the OICW program. The very same specifications and problems that doomed the SPIW program now 30+ years later also threaten the XM-29 that developed from the Objective Individual Combat Weapon program of the 1990's. This document chronicles the development of the SPIW program and is successors, as well as detailing the numerous prototype weapons produced between 1959 and 1991.
Currently available only in PDF, this 13 page book has an SRP of $1.39. It is available for immediate download from RPGNow ( http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3067& ). It will be released in print at a later date.
BIG BANG: MINI-BANG #3 - EXPERIMENTAL WEAPONS
This minor volume of the Big Bang line focuses on a wide range of failed experimental weapons. These numerous systems often represented astounding advancements in firearms technology and design, yet were ultimately rejected by their target markets. This booklet covers numerous weapons, including:
*The Colt SCAMP, a highly controllable machine pistol that was only slightly larger than the M1911A1, but with nearly 4 times the ammunition capacity.
*The Hughes Lockless Machine Gun, a reliable automatic weapon that with a full 300 magazine, weighed a mere 13 lbs, far less than today's small caliber SAWs and LMGs with half the ammunition.
*The TRW Low Maintenance Rifle, a rifle designed to make the M-16's "never needs cleaning" claims a reality, in an astonishingly accurate rifle that looked like the German WW2 era FG-42.
Currently available only in PDF, this 13 page book has an SRP of $1.25. It is available for immediate download from RPGNow ( http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3282& ). It will be released in print at a later date.
BIG BANG: MINI-BANG #4 - CLOSE ASSAULT WEAPON SYSTEM
With this volume of Big Bang, we focus on the RHINO and CAWS projects implemented by the US military between 1979 and 1994. These projects were dedicated to the development of automatic shotguns for combat use in urban environments, earthwork environemtns, and aboard navy vessels. In the end, the programs resulted in numerous functioning automatic shotguns, but in the end, it was decided these weapons were simply too deadly to be in compliance with the century old Hague Convention used as a guide to conducting modern warfare. This volume covers more than 20 models and variants of automatic shotguns developed between 1972 and 1994, including:
*The Atchisson Assault Gun developed during the Vietnam War.
*The AA12, the second generation of the Atchisson.
*The Daewoo USAS-12, the third generation of the Atchisson.
*The Pancor Jackhammer
*CAWS prototypes from Heckler & Koch, Aircraft Armaments, Inc. and Smith & Wesson.
Currently available only in PDF, this 20 page book has an SRP of $2.50. It is available for immediate download from RPGNow ( http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3429& ). It will be released in print at a later date.
Big Bang is a critically acclaimed line of gaming products dedicated to providing true detail about the weapons of the real world, including technical information, historical facts, and performance data, all presented along with game statistics for several popular systems. The line presents an impressive level of detail, with some reviewers equating it to "A Jane's gun guide for roleplaying games". The line consists of eleven products to date, providing more than 600 pages of information, statistics, and rules.
