The Manticore, also known as the Manticore Rocket Launcher, is a self-propelled rocket artillery piece used by the Astra Militarum that is based on a variant of the Chimera armoured personnel carrier chassis.
This Manticore was painted many years ago for Epic 40000 (so well before Epic Armageddon as well).
Epic Manticore
These were quite fiddly models to glue together. I remember getting the rockets stuck on my fingers a few times…
Epic Manticore
It was a pity that when we finally saw the 40K scale version, it wasn’t anything like this.
The Manticore is a mobile multiple rocket launcher variant built on the Chimera chassis. The launcher is capable of firing a variety of rockets, from standard high explosive fragmentation warheads to oxyphosphur incendiary warheads, from air-gas to surface-to-air interceptor missiles.
New from Games Workshop (well announced this week) are the Imperial Guard Manticore and Deathstrike missile systems.
Deadly long-range artillery, the Imperial Guard Manticore Rocket Launcher and Deathstrike Missile Launchers are incredibly destructive war machines. While the Manticore launches a salvo of rockets, each of which disperses into multiple warheads, the Deathstrike fires a single, incredibly dangerous missile.
These fearsome vehicles are favoured by Imperial Guard commanders who like to pound their enemy into oblivion with relentless firepower from the other side of the battlefield.
These models which originated from the Epic gaming system give Imperial Guard players some very heavy artillery. It comes as one kit with the choice of either making it up as a Manticore or as a Deathstrike. Forge World gave us a 40K Manticore, but this is the first time we have seen an (official) Deathstrike.
I do like the Manticore which as a much lower profile than either the Epic or Forge World versions, but as for the Deathstrike… well it’s a nice model, but having seen the Epic version! I know that I would have liked to have seen something similar to this.
Nice models, and I suspect Simon will be buying a few boxes…
I have always liked the (Epic 40,000) Imperial Guard Manticore model. It is something about those large missiles which makes this look like an artillery piece which means business.
I was always disappointed as a result with the Forgeworld version which looks less like an artillery piece and more like an anti-aircraft weapon or a much lighter artillery piece.
Thinking about it, I wonder if I could (or should) build a 40K scale version?
An Epic Imperial Guard Armoured Company moves through the ruins of an Imperial city.
As mentioned before, I do like these Epic miniatures and though they were fiddly to put together (these are the Epic40K era miniatures) compared to the current Epic Armageddon miniatures.
