warhammer the horus heresy Archives

Sons of Horus Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer at Warhammer World

This Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer was on display at Warhammer World.

The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is a fearsome and highly specialised variant of the venerable Spartan chassis, developed during the Great Crusade and unleashed upon the galaxy by the Legiones Astartes. While it sacrifices the Spartan’s substantial transport capacity, its massive hull is uniquely adapted to house the complex apparatus required for its devastating primary armament: a prototype Neutron Laser Projector (often a triple-barreled configuration known as a Neutron Laser Battery).

The Neutron Laser is a weapon of the Dark Age of Technology, its principles still only poorly understood by the techno-savants of the Mechanicum. To manage the immense energies and deadly output, the Cerberus’s hull is crammed with sizeable arc-reactors and heavy radiation shielding. The weapon stands as one of the most effective anti-tank systems available to the Space Marine Legions.

This is the plastic kit for The Horus Heresy. The original resin kit was announced back in 2012 at Games Day.

Land Raider Spartan Assault Tank at Warhammer World

These are various Land Raider Spartan Assault Tanks that were on display at Warhammer World.

The Spartan Assault Tank, often referred to as the Land Raider Spartan, is a formidable armoured vehicle designed to breach the most impenetrable enemy defences and deliver devastating blows with its payload of Legion Astartes infantry. Its nigh-impervious hull, capable of shrugging off even the most potent anti-tank weaponry, makes it a truly formidable war machine. During the Great Crusade, the Spartan became an indispensable asset for the Legion Astartes. Its immense firepower and exceptional durability allowed it to lead the charge into the heart of enemy territory, paving the way for Legionaries to storm enemy fortifications. With a capacity to transport up to 26 Legionaries or 13 Terminators, the Spartan provided a mobile, armoured fortress that could be deployed rapidly to any sector of the battlefield. Despite its massive size, the Spartan possesses a surprising degree of agility, enabling it to manoeuvre effectively in tight spaces and avoid enemy fire. Its combination of speed, firepower, and protection makes it a truly versatile and devastating weapon, capable of turning the tide of battle in favour of the Legion Astartes forces using it.

More photographs of the Land Raider Spartan Assault Tank.

The Dropsite Massacre

Within the Urgall Depression, the Salamanders fall back from their faltering attack on the Warmaster’s fortress, expecting the newly arrived Second Wave to bolster the assault and finally break Horus’ defences. Instead, Vulkan’s warriors unknowingly turn back towards their annihilation – the guns of the Iron Warriors arrayed against them in betrayal. Their presumed allies unleash a ruthless barrage of fire into the Salamanders’ lines, turning the black sands into a mire soaked with Nocturnean blood.

Warlord Battle Titan at the Dropsite Massacre

Originally planning to show the pivotal moment of the betrayal, the Warhammer World Studio instead decided to set this diorama late in the battle in order to convey the absolute devastation caused. Panels of trackway, providing access to rapidly deployed emplacements, were built to reflect the Iron Warriors expertise at engineering and siege warfare.

Over a thousand casualties were created for this diorama. One set was converted in a range of static poses, and cast in resin. A second set, with only bodies and legs were also assembled, then moulds made and hundreds cast in resin, before individually adding the arms, heads anc backpacks in different poses.

Legio Custodes Ares Gunship

The Ares Gunship is a potent terror weapon, bypassing enemy armies as it blazes over their lines in the shadow of its eclipse shields.

Using its immensely destructive Arachnus magna-blaze cannon against the monuments and edifices which an enemy culture hold most dear to their hearts, it strikes a decisive blow against their will to wage war.

This heavily-armed super-heavy gunship is ideal for taking out large targets such as monsters and vehicles, and even packs enough of punch to take down the void shields of Titans. It is protected by its eclipse shield, making it nigh-on impervious to return fire.

This Forge World model was on display at Warhammer World.

Legio Custodes Gyrfalcon Pattern Jetbike

The Gyrfalcon Pattern Jetbike is a masterwork of Great Crusade-era engineering, a sleek and predatory silhouette defined by its elongated, aerodynamic chassis.

The Gyrfalcon is a fusion of ornate auric plating and exposed, high-output engine cowlings. Its hull is etched with the signature artistry of the Custodian Guard, belying the sheer raw power of the gravitic engines housed within—units capable of producing violent, overwhelming bursts of acceleration that blur the vehicle’s form to the naked eye.

Coronus Grav-carrier

The Coronus Grav-carrier is a hallmark of the Legio Custodes motor pool, blending heavy protection with a level of grace that puts standard Imperial tanks to shame. As the technological ancestor to the Pallas and Caladius patterns, this skimmer ensures the Golden Legion reaches the front lines with unmatched speed, bypassing difficult terrain and avoiding the quagmire of static warfare.

Telemon Heavy Dreadnought

Fewer than a handful of Telemon Dreadnoughts are to be found within the ranks of the Legio Custodes, each intended to stand sentinel over its charges no matter the forces brought against it. The honour of interment in one of the few existing Telemon sarcophagi is awarded to only the most celebrated warriors. Rare is the foe who can stand against the array of esoteric, hand-crafted weapons that grace its chassis or the ferocious will and warrior skill of the master Custodian interred within.

Legio Custodes Orion Assault Dropship

Created as a dedicated assault dropship for the Legio Custodes, the Orion can carry a full task force of the Emperor’s Talons into combat.

Protected by frontal armour superior to that of the Legiones Astartes Thunderhawk Gunship, its Arachnus heavy blaze cannon and Lastrum bolt cannon can swiftly clear a landing zone of hostile infantry and armour with brutal efficiency, allowing the units within to deploy before it soars back into the sky to unleash death upon any foe who dares approach.

Warlord Battle Titan at the Dropsite Massacre

One of the new dioramas at Warhammer World was The Dropsite Massacre. In corner of the display was this Forge World Warlord Battle Titan.

Raptors 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 retired from the range.

This Raptors Land Raider MkIIb was on display at Warhammer World in April 2026.

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 within Space Marine Armouries, having been replaced with newer marks and patterns of the standard Land Raider Phobos. However, some Chapters may still possess one or two as treasured relics of their ancient past.

Go to the MkIIb Land Raider Miniatures Gallery.

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.