This Sons of Horus Arquitor Bombard with Spicula Rocket System was in the displays at Warhammer World.
The Legion Arquitor is a heavy artillery platform designed to operate at the forefront of a Legiones Astartes advance. Equipped with a reinforced chassis and brutal short range firepower, it is called upon to break the most stubborn of fortifications or to annihilate massed enemy infantry and armour. The spicula rocket system fires rippling salvos of unguided missiles that crash down on enemy positions, creating massive cumulative blasts that can scatter whole formations.
This Sons of Horus Deimos Pattern Whirlwind Scorpius was on display at Warhammer World.
Sons of Horus Deimos Pattern Whirlwind Scorpius
An ancient variant of the more common Whirlwind missile tank, the Scorpius was designed with a single purpose in mind – the destruction of heavily armoured infantry. The Scorpius variant replaces the Whirlwind’s multiple missile launcher system with the intricate drum-fed scorpius launcher, whose implosive warheads are devastating to armoured infantry and light vehicles. The Whirlwind Scorpius’ origins lie in the dark days of the first inter-Legion civil war and, in more recent times, it has become an all but forgotten relic amongst some Chapters as the ability to manufacture its complex munitions has become a forgotten art, but for other Chapters it still remains a potent weapon of war.
The Spartan Assault Tank also known as the Land Raider Spartan, this armoured carrier was designed to punch through the most overwhelming enemy defences and deliver a knock-out blow of massed Astartes infantry. It became a common assault vehicle during the Great Crusade, where its nigh-impervious chassis could shrug off regular anti-tank weapons as it ferried up to 26 Legionaries – or 13 Terminators – into the fray, with a surprising turn of speed for its size.
These Sons of Horus Spartan Assault Tanks were on display at Warhammer World.
This Sons of Horus Typhon Heavy Siege Tank was on display at Warhammer World.
Named for the ‘Great Beast’ of Ancient Terran myth, the immense Typhon Heavy Siege Tank was developed by the Mechanicum alongside the Spartan, with which it shares a basic chassis design.
The Typhon’s primary armament is the massive Dreadhammer cannon, and was created in response to a request from the Primarch Peturabo, master of the Iron Warriors. He demanded a Legiones Astartes war engine that could rival the great batteries of the Imperial Crusade Army in firepower, but manoeuvre and deploy at the speed of a Space Marine force.
This Solar Auxilia Medusa was in the display cabinets at Warhammer World.
The Medusa artillery tanks employed by the Solar Auxilia are armoured bombardment platforms, their heavy guns mounted on a hull derived from the Leman Russ. Enclosed against enemy fire and protected from the hazardous atmospheres of toxic or alien worlds, these mobile siege batteries can keep pace with the cohort’s advance, pummelling the foe’s positions even as main line units move to engage any survivors. The Medusa’s mortar fires munitions heavy enough to shatter mighty walls.
I much prefer the original Imperial Army Medusa, however that model appears to have been retired.
The Aurox Armoured Transport is an armoured troop transport tank primarily used by various arms of the Imperial Army to carry veteran grenadier units to battle or to protect their commanders while dictating the course of battle. A further variant of the Aurox is used by the Solar Auxilia, re-fitted for extreme environmental conditions.
This Imperial Fists Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport was in the displays at Warhammer World.
The Mastodon was one of the heaviest assault transports in the arsenal of the Legiones Astartes during the Great Crusade, and is still found in the armouries of the Space Marine Chapters of the 41st Millenium. Its cavernous assault bay, capable of housing almost half a Company, is protected both by thick layers of ceramite armour as well as crackling void shields. It also mounts a fearsome siege melta array, allowing it to breach even the most formidable defences with ease, as well as an array of secondary weaponry intended to defend the vehicle as it approaches its target. Unleashed only against the most fearsome of enemy redoubts, there are few obstacles that can stay the wrath of this relic of the Imperium’s bloody birth.
This Imperialis Militia Carnodon Battle Tank was on display at Warhammer World.
The Carnodon is a versatile medium battle tank which acted as the lynchpin for many of the storied successes of the Imperial Army during the Great Crusade. As a premier mobile fire platform, it was regularly adapted to combat a wide variety of foes and respond to any number of battlefield conditions. During the early years of the Great Crusade, it rapidly became a byword for conquest amongst the Expeditionary fleets, a legacy which led to the production of the dedicated Imperial battle tanks of latter-days. As the Great Crusade moved ever outwards and supply of the Aurox chassis peaked, it is thought that many Carnodon tanks entered a strategic reserve and were distributed to Crusade muster worlds behind the front lines; with over two hundred thousand examples thought to have been stored pending secondary mobilisation in the warrens under the world of Tallarn.
The Master of the Ravenwing on display at Warhammer World.
The Master of the Ravenwing on display at Warhammer World.
Master Sammael of the Ravenwing is a true Angel of Death. From the saddle of his jetbike he cuts down any foolish enough to stand in his path with the infamous Raven Sword, its blade cut from the same meteorite as the Sword of Secrets. A highly accomplished hunter of The Fallen, Sammael is rightly honoured by his brethren and he is feared by his foes as few other holders of his rank have ever been.
The technology used in the production of these jetbikes has long since been lost to the Imperium. The only jetbike known to survive into the 41st Millennium is Corvex, used by the Grand Master of the Ravenwing company of the Dark Angels chapter, currently Sammael.
Imperial jetbikes were common among the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and the Heresy, typically operated by Sky Hunter Squadrons.
The Sky Hunter models have been recently released as a plastic kit for The Horus Heresy. Previously there were resin models from Forge World.
When Warhammer 40000 was originally released their was a jetbike available for both Space Marines and (interestingly) the Imperial Guard. The Mk14 Bullock original miniature first appeared in White Dwarf 96 in December 1987. It was designed to be used with the RTB01 plastic space marines.
I did buy a pack, but not sure where they are now, or even if I sold them on eBay twenty years ago.
When the Dark Angels were released I really liked the Master of the Ravenwing on the “last” remaining Imperial Jetbike, so much so I knew I had to get one for my Grey Knights army.
At the time I thought possibly maybe more than one!
This Sons of Horus Deimos Pattern Vindicator Laser Destroyer was on display at Warhammer World.
Tearing through the armour plating of enemy vehicles, the Vindicator laser destroyer array is a potent weapon of destruction. First retrofitted into the heavily armoured Deimos pattern Vindicator chassis during the dark days of the Horus Heresy, several Legions took to fielding this variant as a mainline battle tank, proving itself on many occasions as an able tank hunter. After millennia of brutal warfare across the galaxy, it is still in favour within the Space Marine Chapters, the Vindicator Laser Destructor continuing to bring retribution to the enemies of Mankind.
