I for one am looking forward to trying this unit out on the tabletop. Will they be a staple? I am guessing not, but who knows yet, it all comes down to what the point cost is, and what my other heavy options are. Here is what GW said today about the Ravager and I will check back in with you tommorrow on the latest Dark Eldar news.
Oliver: We wanted the Ravager to relate to its lighter brother, the Raider, whilst having distinguishing differences to mark it as a gunship. One such feature would be the sponsons, which had to be mounted to the hull of the ship, be manned by a crewmember and be able to mount both heavy weapon options without looking too cumbersome. Other design elements, such as the thorn rails, new ram, aether-sail, rudder and hull blade designs, would all combine to give the Ravager a different profile whilst also being interchangeable with the Raider
Building on what had been done with the Raider, we wanted the Ravagers sponsons to be an evolution of the Raider's bow gun, being larger and more complex whilst retaining the same lightweight design inherent with Dark Eldar technologies. At the beginning of the project I had already been inspired, having seen the way crew move around and take up positions quickly on racing sailing catamarans and had the idea of combining this with an aesthetic influenced by the belly gun and waist guns of Second World War planes such as the B-24 and B-17.
Starting with a minimal silhouette consisting of the gun, a crew member and a simple shield design, all three components were posed and moved around until Jes and I found a composition that would work within the space envelope alongside the hull of the Ravager. As the design evolved, the armoured shield not only offered protection for the gunner, but also became the mounting point for the gun and chair with the inside surface being detailed with various instrumentation.
With the shield offering the protection, I wanted the chair and crewman to appear almost as one, with the chair appearing to envelope the gunner in an exotic alloy frame. However there would be no safety harness for the crew member, as this would allow for the gunner to jump out and out to claim a quick trophy, or if he is killed then his crew-mates can quickly replace him.
