Blood Angels Legion Sicaran Battle Tanks

The Sicaran battle tank is one of the most advanced armoured units in the arsenal of the Legiones Astartes, with a number of variants that spread quickly throughout the Legions.

These Forge World variants were on display at Warhammer World. I was totally impressed with the painting of these models and the intricate insignia across both vehicles.

The Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer is a formidable tank hunter, utilising the speed provided by the Sicaran’s engines to apply overwhelming short range firepower.

Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer
Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer

It races forwards to ambush and obliterate the lumbering siege tanks of enemy columns, unleashing the brutal energies of its oversized plasma array – a crude, retrofitted imitation of the Mechanicum’s plasma technology that is nevertheless entirely capable of reducing hostile vehicles to smouldering wrecks.

Xiphon Pattern Interceptor

This Xiphon Pattern Interceptor flown by the Ultramarines was on display at Warhammer World.

With unparalleled speed and manoeuvrability, the Xiphon pattern Interceptor saw increasing service in the Legiones Astartes during the dark days of the Horus Heresy.  Based on ancient designs, the void and atmospheric craft carried heavy armaments into battle, allowing it to destroy both air and ground targets with apparent ease. Its pair of twin-linked lascannon and Xiphon rotary missile launcher combined with the Interceptor’s speed and agility to make it a deadly opponent from which the enemies of Mankind could not hide.

This was a Red Scorpions Xiphon Pattern Interceptor.

Xiphon Pattern Interceptor in the Miniatures Gallery

Macharius Omega

The Macharius Heavy Tank is used by the Imperial Guard. As with many Imperial armoured vehicles, there are various variants of the Macharius. The Macharius Omega is one such variant, it is armed with the Omega Pattern Plasma Blastgun.

Macharius Omega
Macharius Omega

The Omega Pattern Plasma Blastgun is a derivative of the Ryza Pattern Blastgun, optimised for reduced weight and size. This is achieved through the implementation of a compact generator and a smaller force crucible, allowing for integration into lighter platforms such as the Macharius.

Macharius Omega
Macharius Omega

The Ryza Pattern Blastgun is commonly deployed on the Stormblade super-heavy tank. 

More photographs of the Macharius Omega.

Crassus Armoured Assault Transport

This beautifully painted Forge World Crassus Armoured Assault Transport was on display at Warhammer World.

Solar Auxilia Crassus Armoured Assault Transport
Solar Auxilia Crassus Armoured Assault Transport

This immense armoured carrier is named after one of Lord Solar Macharius’ greatest generals, Borgen Crassus, who remained steadfastly loyal to the Imperium throughout the grim and bloody Macharian Heresy that followed the Lord Solar’s death. The vehicle can be retrofitted with additional weapons to undertake other battlefield roles as required.

 

Mechanicum Ordinatus

The Mechanicum Ordinatus are massive weapons of destruction that the forces of the Imperium use when faced with unprecedented enemy forces. Essentially they are Titan style weapons on tracks.

In the time of the Great Crusade the Ordinatus macro engines were rarer than even the Battle Titans of the Legio Titanica, and only a handful of Forge Worlds had the resources or indeed the doctrinal blessing and religious authority to produce or maintain such embodiments of the Omnissiah’s divine wrath. Such was the sacredness of these machines above all others, that an entire subcult of the Mechanicum was devoted to their worship and propitiation.

We first saw these vehicles in Epic, and then Forge World released 40K scale Horus Hersey versions of these massive vehicles.

The Ordinatus Ulator is a rare and truly arcane weapon system of huge power. Its primary weapon is the Ulator class Sonic Destructor.

Mechanicum Ordinatus Ulator

Another version is the Ordinatus Sagittar, similar to the Ulator, it is armed with a Volcano Cannon.

Mechanicum Ordinatus Sagittar

These are nice models, but I am not really a fan of them. They look very vulnerable to enemy fire, there is no armour to speak of. They also don’t look very mobile (despite the four tracks). What do you think?

Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider

Minotaurs Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider on display at Warhammer World.

Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider
Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider

I quite like the up-armoured appearance of this pattern of Land Raider, and the weaponry looks quite formidable. I can imagine this being used to clear barricades in the ruins of an Imperial City.

The Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider is the most durable vehicle currently in the service of the Legiones Astartes. These vehicles shrug off weapon strikes that would cripple other battle tanks, and are proof against even the most toxic environment. The weaponry of these vehicles is formidable, featuring an advanced quad launcher and powerful volkite batteries.

This Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider is from the Minotaurs Space Marine Chapter. The Minotaurs is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter whose true origins and genetic lineage remain unknown. The Space Marine formation by this name at large in the Imperium today appears to bear little resemblance to accounts of its past.

Avenger Strike Fighter

Avenger Strike Fighter

The Avenger Strike Fighter is used for high-speed low level ground attack missions. This makes it ideal for attacking armoured vehicle formations and high-value strategic assets such as munitions dumps. Compared to other Imperial Navy aircraft of its size, it is equipped with more weapons and munitions.

Avenger Strike Fighter

This Avenger Strike Fighter was in the displays at Warhammer World.

Land Raider MkIIb

The Land Raider MkIIb is probably my favourite Land Raider variant. I do have one of them in my collection. I knew that if I was going to get a Land Raider it would have to be the Forgeworld MkIIB Land Raider. I did get one in the end at GamesDay 2006. Sadly it was recently retired from the range. I wrote up some reflections on my MkIIB Land Raider, on the current state of the painting and what I needed to do next. In the end I went down a different route.

This one was on display at Warhammer World.

The standard Land Raider, also known as the Land Raider Phobos, is an Imperial main battle tank and troop transport which serves as the “armoured fist of the Space Marines.” It is one of the most resilient and iconic armoured vehicles in the galaxy. The Mark IIb Land Raider Phobos is one of the earliest marks of the standard pattern of Land Raider, and it still bears similarities to both the Land Raider Proteus and the Spartan Assault Tank that served as the models for the design. The Mark IIb Land Raider Phobos is the only pattern of the standard Land Raider Phobos that uses the older armoured sponsons, as they do not allow the weapons they hold to fully rotate. This pattern of Land Raider is mostly extinct, however, some Chapters may still possess one or two as treasured relics of their ancient past.

Of course the Mark IIb reflects the Epic 40000 version of the Land Raider from the late 1990s.

Trojan Support Vehicle

The Trojan is a workhorse used by Imperial Guard armoured regiments as a towing vehicle for artillery platforms and as an armoured ammunition carrier, ferrying extra ammunition to the platforms once in position. Each Trojan is equipped with a crane to lift heavy crates of ammunition from it’s hold.