imperial guard Archives - Felix's Gaming Pages

Imperial Guard Rogal Dorn Battle Tank

There were quite a few Imperial Guard Rogal Dorn Battle Tank models on display at Warhammer World. As well as the display cabinets, some have been added to various existing displays, notably the Imperial Guard parade.

Imperial Guard Rogal Dorn Battle Tank with a twin battle cannon

The Rogal Dorn Battle Tank is larger than the standard Leman Russ battle tank. A huge tank that provides support for the infantry of the Imperial Guard.

This Rogal Dorn Battle Tank is armed with a twin battle cannon that provides a a high volume fire.

This variant has an oppressor cannon with a co-axial autocannon mounted on its side.

I quite like the model, which certainly has an Imperial Guard feel to it and fits in well with other Imperial Guard armoured vehicles. We’ve not seen any variants for it at this time, well in the heyday of Forge World we would have seen alternate turrets, or the hull used as the basis for different kinds of armoured vehicles. Thinking it might be a good platform for a real large missile.

The model did cause some negative feedback from modellers, who didn’t like the fact that the model did not have an underside.

When it came out I did wonder about it in this blog post back in October 2022.

I do wonder why they decided to design a completely new tank. I suspect it might be that attempting to recreate an existing resin model in plastic was challenging, and to ensure that the sprues would fit in the box they needed to start from scratch.

Well since then Games Workshop have released a plastic version of the Malcador. I am now wondering if we will see a plastic Macharius tank?

Imperial Guard Basilisk

The Imperial Guard have a range of artillery, one of the most common variants is the self-propelled Basilisk.

It is used extensively by the Imperial Guard and is produced in vast numbers.

This is a Catachan Basilisk on display at Warhammer World.

Valkyrie Airborne Assault Carrier

This Catachan Valkyrie was on display at Warhammer World.

The Valkyrie are troop carrying gunships used by the Imperial Guard. They are used to take soldiers into the heart of the battle. Flying through the enemy gunfire, landing in the hotzone and dropping off their payload before flying up in support.

Sometimes the troops are jumping, using grave chutes, from high above the battlefield.

The Valkyrie is armed with lascannons or a multi-laser, and under the wings are missiles or rocket pods.

The Valkyrie, like most of the Imperium’s aircraft, is piloted and operated by the Imperial Navy, with a pilot, co-pilot and two door gunners.

There were some Tempestus Scions Valkyries on display as well.

The Tempestus Scions are elite special forces of the Imperial Guard. They have the best equipment and weapons.

Though not a helicopter, the Valkyrie is used in a similar way.

I do have one of these, but it currently remains unbuilt in its box. I did though paint some for Aeronautica Imperialis.

Gallery of Valkyrie models.

Imperial Guard Macharius with Vanquisher Cannons

The Macharius Heavy Tank, often referred to as a “Second-Generation” Baneblade, is a heavily armoured tank of the Imperial Guard. It is larger than the standard Leman Russ Tank but smaller than the Baneblade it was built to replace when none are available. Macharius tanks are built by Adeptus Mechanicus Forge Worlds that are eager to secure large military contracts, but do not possess the Standard Template Construct (STC) designs which are needed to manufacture super-heavy battle tanks such as the Baneblade or Shadowsword.

This is the variant with Vanquisher Cannons.

From Damien Pedley’s collection on display at Warhammer World.

Imperial Guard Stormblade

The Stormblade super-heavy tank is a variant of the Astra Militarum’s Shadowsword Titan-killer tank. It is armed with a Plasma Blastgun instead of a Volcano Cannon, but it is still able to perform the role of Titan-hunter on the battlefield.

This Imperial Guard Stormblade was in the displays at Warhammer World.

Stormblades are built on Forge Worlds that lack the ability to build true Shadowsword tanks, and thus have to compensate by using different weaponry and other less advanced technologies than the original.

Another Stormblade from the cabinets.

From Damien Pedley’s collection on display at Warhammer World.

I like the lighting effect that has been used on the model.

Doomhammer

This Imperial Guard Doomhammer was on display at Warhammer World.

The magma cannon of the Doomhammer is a smaller version of the volcano cannon, though its compact size allows for troop transport space within the hull. The Doomhammer is armed with a fearsome array of weapons – none more so than the mighty magma cannon on its turret. It can also be equipped with a pair of sponsons sporting a twin heavy bolter or twin heavy flamer, each capped by a lascannon turret!

Imperial Guard Hellhammer

Hellhammer from Damien Pedley’s collection on display at Warhammer World

The Hellhammer is a super-heavy tank of the Astra Militarum that is a variant of the infamous Baneblade tank. The Hellhammer replaces the rocket-assisted Mega Battle Cannon or Baneblade Cannon of the Baneblade with a Hellhammer Cannon, a variation of the Battle Cannon commonly found on the Leman Russ main battle tank.

It has a shorter barrel with special heavy-gauge suppressors built into it that allows it to fire extremely high-calibre shells without ripping itself apart. These shells are designed to destroy armour and emplacements with an unstable sub-atomic charge.

Hellhammer on display at Warhammer World

Imperial Guard Baneblade

This Imperial Guard Baneblade super heavy tank was on display at Warhammer World. It was from Damien Pedley’s collection.

The Baneblade super heavy tank is the standard super heavy for the Imperial Guard. It’s huge and the design is one of the oldest in service with the armed forces of the Imperium. It is one of the Standard Template Construct (STC) designs that ensures that Forge Worlds across the galaxy are able to easily manufacture the tanks to a consistent design. The size means a large crew, ten in all. They are often used as command vehicles by Imperial Guard commanders.

With a range of armaments, a Baneblade is less of a tank and more of a tracked fortress. An unmistakable icon of the Imperium’s armoured supremacy, a single one of these super-heavy war engines can serve as the mailed fist of an Imperial Guard offensive, or as the unassailable lynchpin of even the most desperate of defences.

This Tallarn Desert Raiders Baneblade, from the ‘Eavy Metal team, was also on display at Warhammer World.

Another Baneblade painted by the Games Workshop team, was also at Warhammer World.

The Baneblade was originally an Epic design, but was then available as a modelling project in White Dwarf. Forge World produced a resin version for many years. In 2007 a plastic version of the tank was made available. We shouldn’t forget the 1/6th scale version that Forge World showcased at Games Day 2006.

Initially I wasn’t a fan, I thought it was too big, but over the years I have come to like the concept. Will I buy the model? Well I might.

Solar Auxilia Shadowsword Super Heavy Tank

This is a Solar Auxilia Shadowsword Super Heavy Tank on display at Warhammer World.

The Shadowsword is armed with a fearsome array of weapons – none more so than the mighty volcano cannon on its turret. It can also be equipped with a pair of sponsons sporting a twin heavy bolter or twin heavy flamer, each capped by a lascannon turret! The Shadowsword is the sister tank to the Baneblade, a super-heavy vehicle employed by Solar Auxilia cohorts to engage and destroy enemy macro-engines with its volcano cannon.

A single super-heavy tank is a dominant presence in the Solar Auxilia battle line. As it ploughs inexorably forward it lays down a wide path of destruction. Enemy ranks shatter long before it reaches their position, and those unlucky few who are able to maintain their defensive formations are ground to paste under the slab-like plates of its tracks. The Shadowsword is equipped with one of the most fearsome primary weapons – the dreaded volcano cannon – and is capable of taking down Titans at extreme ranges. Nothing short of the most powerful energy fields can hope to stop a direct hit from its blasts.

The same chassis has also been adapted to mount different primary weapons suited to their own modes of destruction, like the bunker-busting Stormsword siege cannon or the versatile plasma blastgun of the Stormblade.

Stormsword

This Imperial Guard Stormsword super heavy tank was on display at Warhammer World.

The Stormsword is a super-heavy tank of the Astra Militarum that is the result of an ad hoc field conversion of a wrecked Shadowsword tank. The Shadowsword’s original Volcano Cannon and all of its internal components have been replaced with a massive Hellhammer Siege Cannon, called a “Stormsword Siege Cannon” when deployed on this tank, and internal storage for its huge shells. The Stormsword has proven very reliable during urban combat, and is equipped to fight in close-quarters and against garrisoned infantry.

The Stormsword fills the role of a close-combat super-heavy tank, whereas the Shadowsword fills the long-range role, the Stormblade fills the medium-range role, and the Baneblade fills the “all-around” role, capable of fighting equally well in close, medium, and long-range battles.