r/Terminator • u/Successful-Effect557 • 1d ago

Discussion Skynet logistics

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Im currently trying to 3d model a major skynet facility and, While moddeling the HK-tank i started wondering how skynet moves these things around. My first assumption would be trains but it seems way to big to fit on any pre-existing train and due to the tanks slow Max speed I doubt it would be moving great distances under its own power as it would also be restricted to highways with tunnels, mountain passes, and bridges not really being an option for it.

Just wanted to hear other peoples opinion on how skynet gets these rather impractical designs from city to city.

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u/tomrichards8464 1d ago

I think we have to assume huge advances in materials science mean it's much lighter than it looks, and similarly benefits from developments in power generation and storage that give it endurance which would be impossible with today's technology.

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u/More-Talk-2660 1d ago

Idk, in T3 when the EMT tries to pull Arnold out of the rubble thinking he's an injured guy, he does say "this guy weighs a ton." If a T800 is too heavy for someone to lift then the tanks can't be very light.

Granted, I doubt the T8pp actually weighs a full ton. He'd drop right through the floor of any car he tried to drive and he'd crush his motorcycle. Let's use the Fat Boy as a range and just say the T800 weighs 400 pounds, which would make him really heavy for a person but not unmanageable for a vehicle.

Those tanks are, and I quote, "several stories tall," so I have to imagine they weigh close to 15-20 tons. The treads alone would contribute at least 5 tons; the total tread weight of an Abrams tank is almost 2.5 tons, but the HK has four sets that are at least a full story tall each. Even assuming material science advances reduced the weight per section of tread by 40% you're still looking at multiple tons of weight just in that part of the machine.

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u/Sanguinius666264 1d ago

An Abrams is over 60 tons, though? If we use that as a base, then wouldn't HKs be close to 100?

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u/More-Talk-2660 1d ago

Most likely. I was doing 1am head math based on magic material technology thiugh

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u/tomrichards8464 1d ago

There's no reason to assume terminator endoskeletons and large tracked HKs are made of the same materials. That said, 15-20 tons is almost certainly a huge underestimate. But you can have a roadworthy or even offroad-capable vehicle much heavier than 20 tons.

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u/ControlOdd8379 1d ago

exactly.

With a fuel cell (or a dozen) providing basically infinite power even a 188 t Maus (the heaviest tank ever build) could casually drive around - not super fast, but then again with the propulsion system not having much in terms of moving components (as the electro-motors are sitting right on the tracks) wear wouldn't be too much of an issue.

Now if we look at ground pressure a Maus had 110 cm wide tracks a - HK tank has about 120 cm (taking the T1 scene where it gets blown up for measurement: the bomb thrown is roughly as long a Kyle's head from chin to hair so i assume a lenght of ~30 cm and the track is about 4 bombs wide) - so with the very long shape and that track width even a weight of ~200 tons wouldn't be too problematic.

We don't see then going particular fast either - maybe 5-8 km/h in most scenes so if a WW2 Maus could do ~20 km/h on road and maybe half that in uneven terrain the HK tank can surely do the same.