The Battle of Signus Prime

The Battle of Signus Prime was a diorama at Warhammer World where the Blood Angels Legion are advancing towards the Cathedral of the Mark across the devastated landscape of Signus Prime.

Mastodon Heavy Assault Transports lead the forces into battle.

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.

Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport

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.

Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport

Under the assault of the Chaos gods and their dominion, Signus Prime has been turned into a  field of stinking mud and broken rocks.

Visibility was heavily reduced due to the slow relentless rain of sulphur and brimstone.

You can hear the cries of Daemons, nightmares given a corporeal form. Weapon platforms, such as the Legion Deimos Pattern Whirlwind Scorpius are made ready to launch death and destruction on the chaos forces.

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 roar of engines of thousands of vehicles is heavy in the air, the Blood Angels Legion anticipate victory. The skies are filled with the aircraft of the Blood Angels Legion.

Sacred Legion Javelin Attack Speeders are flanking the battlefield to take out the enemy.

Larger and more heavily armoured than the common pattern of Land Speeder, the Javelin Attack Speeder is a nigh-irreplaceable relic of a bygone age of technological mastery. Gravitic nullification plates, the secret of whose production and maintenance have long since been lost, allow the Javelin to mount an array of heavy weaponry more akin to a heavy tank destroyer than a nimble Land Speeder, allowing them to make pinpoint strikes on enemy armour or infantry with devastating lascannon or missile barrage.

Kharybdis Assault Claw

Employed by many Legions as their primary ship-to-ship assault craft, the Kharybdis is a monstrous drop pod capable of carrying large assault forces through the void and mounting significant firepower to blast a path through defending small craft.

This Kharybdis Assault Claw was part of a diorama at Warhammer World.

Legion Kharybdis Assault Claw
Legion Kharybdis Assault Claw

As a fully operational dropship, Kharybdis assault claws also serve as orbit-to-surface transports, a role that allows them to use the firepower of their storm launchers and melta cutters to scour clean their chosen landing zone before disembarking their deadly cargo.

Some aggressive commanders employ the Kharybdis as an effective tank hunter, ramming enemy armour in daring low-altitude attack runs.

Adeptus Mechanicus Onager Dunecrawler

Owing its origin to the lost knowledge of millennia, the Onager Dunecrawler is based on the Mars Universal Land Engine; itself inspired by the bad-tempered beasts of burden that transported their masters across Holy Terra in ancient times. The Onager Dunecrawler, rather than being a mere people-carrier, is absolutely brimming with advanced, powerful weaponry capable of reducing worlds to wastelands.

Adeptus Mechanicus Onager Dunecrawler
Adeptus Mechanicus Onager Dunecrawler

This Adeptus Mechanicus Onager Dunecrawler was in the displays at Warhammer World.

Land Speeder Storm

The Land Speeder Storm is an uncommon variant of the standard Land Speeder used by the Adeptus Astartes. The Land Speeder Storm sacrifices the heavier weaponry of the more common Land Speeder variants, such as the Land Speeder Tornado and Land Speeder Typhoon, in exchange for a modest transport capacity.

This Ultramarines Land Speeder Storm was on display at Warhammer World.

Land Speeder Storm
Land Speeder Storm

The Land Speeder Storm is capable of carrying a small squad of Scout Marines into battle without any loss of performance. The Land Speeder Storm is mainly used as a fast reconnaissance vehicle, and is capable of deploying Scout Marines deep into enemy territory without being noticed.

See the Land Speeder Storm Miniatures Gallery.

Ultramarines Whirlwind

The Whirlwind is an Imperial artillery support vehicle based upon the Standard Template Construct (STC) Rhino armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis that is now primarily used by the Space Marine Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.

This Ultramarines Whirlwind was on display at Warhammer World.

Ultramarines Whirlwind
Ultramarines Whirlwind at Warhammer World

See the Space Marines Whirlwind Miniatures Gallery.

Leman Russ Main Battle Tank

The Leman Russ is the main battle tank of the Astra Militarum, and is also the most widely deployed tank in the Imperium. The tank is named after the Space Wolves Primarch, Leman Russ. Far from a sophisticated vehicle, the Leman Russ was designed and built with reliability and versatility in mind. It can survive the worst the galaxy can throw at it, and can run on almost any combustible liquid fuel.

This Steel Legion Leman Russ Main Battle Tank was on display at Warhammer World.

Leman Russ Main Battle Tank
Steel Legion Leman Russ Main Battle Tank at Warhammer World

See more photographs of the Leman Russ Main Battle Tank in the Miniatures Gallery.

Elysian Tauros Venator

This Elysian Tauros Venator was in the displays at Warhammer World.

The Tauros is a light, sturdily built, all-terrain utility and tractor vehicle used on many Frontier Worlds. Its rugged drive axles are individually powered by high-yield galvanic motors that allow the vehicle to maintain its speed even when some of its wheels may be damaged or destroyed. The Tauros and many similar vehicles have also been used by Imperial exploration teams and sometimes by brigands, marauders, and rebel factions.

The Tauros is even used as a light attack and reconnaissance vehicle by the Elysian Drop Troops regiments of the Imperial Guard. The Elysian Drop Troops have modified the Tauros for airborne operations, stripping off any unneeded weight so that it can be carried into battle by their Valkyrie Sky Talons.

The Tauros comes in two standard variants: the four-wheeled Tauros Rapid Assault Vehicle which serves as a long-range scout vehicle, mounting potent anti-personnel firepower in the form of either a Heavy Flamer or Tauros Grenade Launcher, and the six-wheeled and more heavily armed and armoured Tauros Venator.

Elysian Tauros Venator
Elysian Tauros Venator at Warhammer World

The Tauros Venator variant is armed with a Twin-linked Multi-Laser for anti-infantry work or a Twin-linked Lascannon for anti-vehicle duty.

I have a Elysian Tauros Assault Vehicle on the workbench which I prefer over the six wheeled version.

I didn’t realise that Forge World had stopped making their Elysian models, which is a pity.

Imperial Guard Hellhound

The Hellhound is a flame-thrower tank of the Astra Militarum that is based upon the Imperial Chimera armoured transport chassis. Its main weapon is the Inferno Cannon, also known as the “Dragonfire Thrower,” which is a large Flamer that projects streams of burning Promethium at range, making the Hellhound well-suited to close-range fire support missions such as countering enemy melee units that attempt to assault Imperial armour and driving dug-in enemies out of cover.

Imperial Guard Hellhound, from Forge World
Imperial Guard Hellhound, from the Forge World displays at Warhammer World.

See more photographs of the Imperial Guard Hellhound.

War Mûmak of Harad

The armies of Harad often employ Mumakil, massive war-beasts trained by the Mahud, to trample their enemies under colossal hooves. A Mumak is nigh unstoppable once is begins its charge, tossing aside enemies like broken dolls. The largest model in The Lord of The Rings range, a Mumak can break through an enemy line while Haradrim warriors rain deadly arrows from atop the howdah on its mighty back.

A Mumakil from the display cabinets at Warhammer World.

War Mûmak of Harad

See the Mûmak Miniatures Gallery.

Adeptus Titanicus Warlord Battle Titan

This Adeptus Titanicus scale Warlord Battle Titan was in the displays at Warhammer World.

Adeptus Titanicus Warlord Battle Titan

Warlord Battle Titans bestride the battlefields of the Imperium, their thunderous tread heralding the destruction of the enemies of Mankind. A mainstay of the Collegia Titanica, Warlord Battle Titans are among the largest and most powerful war machines ever devised by the Mechanicum.

I really like this model and the larger scale makes it a much nicer model that the old (smaller) Epic versions. The downside is they cost a lot more.