The Fawcett Avenue Conscripts are a group of table-top wargamers who get together on Thursday nights to enjoy some gaming, some beer and a few chuckles courtesy of our hobby.
Since Kill Team came out I've been putting together a few teams from my very random collection of impulse buys and forgotten minis. So far I've put together a chaos renegade/Alpha Legion team and an Eldar team. The Eldar models are among the first models I ever bought way back in the early 90's! I realize that many of you started collecting in the 80's and before, but it's still a depressing realization for me.
Chaos Marines build from random bits I had lying around.
Bought during Last Chance to Buy. Arms, legs and weapons from Victoria Miniatures
These were bought in either '95 or '96 and just painted them now. The grav platform is from a 15mm vehicle kit.
Even older is my collection of Matchbox and Hotwheels cars. My mom kept them around for my nephews when they were young and planned to do the same for my daughter. She's only 5, but she's been very curious about all the guns and spikes I've added to the cars for Gaslands. Luckily she hasn't asked why the cars need guns and spikes.
Perhaps Dallas will recognize the paint job for the first car in this line-up
New plastic Warlord Titans and Questoris Knight from GW's new-re-released "Adeptus Titanicus"
Oh man...so much to blather about here...apologies for the too-long post...
It's back - finally! I honestly never thought it would come back. There have been rumours for years. Reports of playtests at events like Adepticon, fuzzy photos on the Web. All circulating for years. But as a devoted fan of the old, long-discarded "specialist" games such as Epic, I always thought it was just vapour. I totally discounted the rumours. GW had killed these games off, and bringing back something like "Adeptus Titanicus" would be something akin to admitting a mistake, which the GW-type entities of the world almost never do. It would also be something along the lines of observing your audience and responding to demand, something which I am always hard-pressed to see any evidence of GW doing.
Besides, it was taking so long to actually show up (the "official" rumours had been out there for years), it was practically moving on Kickstarter-style timelines. Just vapour. Even with the actual arrival of official photos, and promotional posts in GW's official online community, I still didn't believe it would happen.
Ah - the good old days! Gigantic robots, you say?
But it has, in fact, happened! A new version of "Adeptus Titanicus" has hit the shelves! Unlike so many Kickstarters, it physically exists, and you can purchase it! Devoted fan that I am, I of course made a purchase. My good friend Curt has a very sane and mature overview of the new game over at his Analogue Hobbies blog, and I encourage you to check that out. It is more thoughtful and well-organized than the rest of this post...
I was quite excited to finally get one of the new box "Adeptus Titanicus" sets late this summer. Dismissive as I had been about the notion that the game would ever be released again, once I actually had it, I was really fired up. Yet these emotions were mixed, my excitement quite evenly matched with long-held grudge of how these games had been "managed" by the GW clowns in the first place. It is impotent, pointless fan-rage. It has no meaning or force in the world (which is why GW can ignore it), but it was there all the same as I dove into the new game, this strange combo of excitement and frustration, all at once. What is wrong with me? Anyway...
If you are, like me, a keeper of the flame for the old "specialist" games, then you would find this new box game to be very much the epitome modern GW - capable of incredible feats of hobby creativity, great rules and stunning models, together with decisions which appear to be specific attempts to anger long-time customers in ways that would rival the practices of any airline or cable company.
The new "Adeptus Titanicus" game is at once great and also frustrating. It pays homage to the old game, while also urinating more than a bit on the old game and its fans, and doing so in douche-bag ways. You will love it, and hate it. You will wonder at what blend of opaque committee thinking led to this specific approach by GW to the release of this game. You will be thrilled to have it. Excited. And disappointed. You will wonder at why GW can look at an open net, and still miss many of shots...
Long time fans of the TV show "The Simpsons" may recall that early season when Homer purchased Krusty the Klown doll for Bart in one of the Halloween Specials...getting the new Adeptus Titanicus is pretty much like this:
So if you used to love Adeptus Titanicus, you will love the new one. You will. But yes, the frogurt is also cursed.
I will share some of my many contradictory and convoluted thoughts amid photos of some newly completed models. Please note that the Warlord Titans and Knight seen in the photos in this post are from the new GW box set. The Reaver and Warhound Titans in the photos, however, are not new GW models, but are private sculpts and not commercially available. GW is coming out with plastic kit versions of those variants (the new Reavers are already out there, and Curt will have one up for view soon I'm sure) which I expect will scale much better with the big new Warlord kits.
The Models
New Warlord class Titan for Legio Mortis. The "Death Heads" fight for the Warmaster, for hope and for change!
You receive a big schwack of plastic in the box. Two Warlord Class titans, six Questoris class Knights, a bunch of new modular buildings, and a set of markers. It's a lot of plastic!
The models are compelling and baffling all at once. Compelling, because they show GW at its very best. Very best. The new Warlord kits are marvels of plastic model engineering - bloody amazing. They are not simple to slap together by any means - be ready to take some time to do it right. I lost count of all the parts. This is no lame two-piece Contemptor Dreanought form the "Betrayal at Calth" box. This is a full-on, serious kit that will reward your time and effort.
Warlord class Titan for Legio Gryphonicus. Foremost among the ranks of the so-called "loyalists", these dupes of the False Emperor waste their God-engine's glory engaging in acts of futile terrorism against the beloved Warmaster.
The yellow on this sucker was a real challenge...the photos flatter it. Up close, it is not quite so nice...something to remember for next time - choose a better base coat for my yellow!
In particular, take your time "posing" the legs on the Warlords - there is, in theory, a lot of possibilities for articulation thanks to all of the parts. But the overall size and shape of the model limits the actual useful outcomes with posed legs - the torso, the weapons, that is all a considerable amount of stuff up there, and you need to make sure the leg pose you develop will hold the whole thing up.
The old and the new...the old 1990s Warlord Titan on the right doesn't even top the "hips" of the new edition Warlord!
You will see one of the Warlords in the photos here (the Legio Mortis engine) is posed mid-stride. This was an ACCIDENT on my part (I thought it would be stepping forward - I suck), and not recommended, as the whole weight of the thing is supported on the base by only one leg. Not ideal at all...we'll see how long this fellow lasts on the table...
I achieved something of a "mid-stride" look on this one by total accident, and this is not recommended...
A view of the incredible and intricate detail on the back...I did a pretty basic paint job, but if you are inclined, there is a great deal of detail to go to town on here...
As many others have suggested, consider painting the armoured plates separately from the skeleton underneath. I think you will find this makes the painting smoother overall. Yes - I hate painting parts separately or on sprues, but it does work with these suckers, and I'm glad I took that approach.
The weapon points on the Warlords can be easily magnetized - in fact, the models were designed to hold little disc magnets - huge "thank you" to Curt for pointing this out, and to Byron for spotting me some magnets on short notice!
As you can see, the completed Warlord Titans are HUGE! Way, way bigger than the old plastic Titan models from the 90s. I'll have more to say on that further down (see "The Scale of the Game"). But these models are incredible, really something to see up close.
Are there downsides? Well aside from the cost and scale incompatibility (again, more on that below), the big disappointment here is the weapon load out. The Warlord model comes with ONE weapon load out - only ONE. And it is a boring one! Two Volcano Cannons for the arms, and two Apocalypse Launchers for the carapace mounts. Come ON, man!! All this money (see "The Cost" below) and you get two Warlords with the SAME vanilla weapon load out? That is so LAME. And so BORING. Dickmove. And a huge whiff when you consider that so much of the fun of the original game came from cooking up the different weapon load outs. Come on, GW...
One of the new Questoris Knights for "Adeptus Titanicus".
This whiff is even more baffling when you consider the Knights. The plastic Knight models are quite cunningly designed and very nice. They are faithful recreations of the new, "28mm" scale Knights released for the 40k game some time ago. Again, these show GW at the top of its game. Where the Warlords will take quite a while to assemble properly, the Knights are very fast and straightforward to build - I think I managed to put three of them together in about 25 minutes or so.
Lovely little plastic kits, go together fast, and paint up fairly quick as well.
But weapons for the Knights? You have three different weapon load outs for the Knights, all on one sprue, complete with an option to replace the secondary heavy stubber with a melta gun. So, GW designers, you could figure that out, but couldn't get a power fist or set of laser cannons in for the Warlords? Come on, man...
The buildings are clever and very nice. They are made to be modular, but they do not go together so smoothly - much trickier than they should be, amplified by instructions which, in my view, give poor direction. The end result is worth it, as they are looking pretty neat (although, of course, I don't have painted ones to share yet - too busy painting Titans). I confess I miss the simpler buildings from simpler times, but the new ones are very, very nice. I'm thrilled to add these to my Epic collection, and I hope little Space Marine Legions have a great time fighting over them.
The Game
When we think of GW, we think so often of rules systems like 40k, which, though now on their 8th edition, are still so...bad. But GW has actually been home to many innovative and fun rule sets, and this new edition of "Adeptus Titanicus" looks to be one of them. Players will be tracking the detail on specific Titans such as the state of their shields, hits to specific locations, and - I can't wait to have fun with this - the status of their reactors. Let's push that plasma reactor, shall we? I mean, what could go wrong with a plasma reactor? I'm sure it's totally safe to operate above-maximum, just for a turn, right?
Family photo! Legio Mortis battle maniple, ready for action.
Are there some nits? For me, not so much with the rules mechanics themselves, just the design decisions. The thin rule book is nice, but there is no index or glossary, so you get to have fun hunting and pecking around the book to find information. There is also a tendency to make simple ideas sound much more complicated than they are - such as all of this "matched play" vs "narrative" vs "open play" nonsense. Meanwhile, the book itself contains no listing, statistics or points costs of the Titans or Knights, or the weapons they use. For that, you need the cards and the "terminals" which come with the game. Come ON, man.
The cards and "terminals" are very nice from a production value standpoint. Like, really nice, on par with the nicest stuff you are seeing from board games out there. But not having that info listed in the book, thereby compelling you to have the cards and terminals themselves if you want to play the game, is just a bit of a dick move. Like, GW couldn't spare two pages to just list this stuff out in the rule book too? Come on guys (see "The Cost" below for more).
Legio Gryphonicus battle maniple, ready to sacrifice their Titans in some pointless stand against the glorious Warmaster, Horus Lupercal!
Another little piss-in-the-beer aspect of the rules relates to the weapons mounted on the Warlord Titans. Warlords have always had four weapon mounts - two on the carapace, and two "arms". At first glance on the new models, you would think the new ones do too. But...you're wrong.
If you have an old collection of the plastic models from the 1990s like I do, I expect you have all sorts of whacky weapon combos on them - but that very few of them would have the weapons on the carapace mounted in pairs...?
In this new edition of the game, a decision has been made that all weapon mounts on the carapace of Warlord Titans will be "paired". WTF? Why? I suspect this decision was spurred by a some kind of design restriction on the fancy "terminal" cards, which would not have room for four different "weapon cards" - and thus the carapace mounts were decreed to be "paired", keeping the limit to three weapon slots on the "terminal". This is actually a pretty material change. Not only is this lame and less fun, but I bet very few of your old models have pairs of weapons up on the carapace, right?
So, look, the rules look fun. But are there some dick moves? Yep.
The Scale of the Game
To the extent that the vapour/rumours/chatter online was out there about this game while its development wound through whatever byzantine, years-long new-product process GW follows these days, the largest amount of discussion focused around the "scale". The models were said to be "8mm" instead of "6mm". A dick move was widely predicted, and this did come to pass.
So...everyone has a different opinion on scales of things, but there is no way the old Titans will mix with the new ones on the table, save perhaps as a sort of statue or monument, a piece of terrain?
Seeing the models for real, yes, they are larger - not just in "scale", but just in size generally. The old classic "turtle shell" Warlords from the 1990s don't even clear the leg pistons on the new beasts!
Revising the scale strikes me as a deliberate douche bag move - pissing on the old guard still out there who nourished collections of old models. I...don't understand this.
Hey, few can unleash more fan anger at GW than me, but there are a couple ways to look at this...the first is to say, yes, dick move, but the new models are just incredible. Could they have been smaller and still incredible? Well, yes...the plastic Knights prove that. But all the same, even with all my GW-loathing, I have to say, right up front - these new Warlord models are really, really stunning. If you take the point of view that the Warlord Titan is a penultimate beast, and you want to let your new model-design capabilities go to town...well, I can respect that.
New Knight beside an old Warlord...again, the old models are just TOO small to ever mix with the new stuff.
Now, lets go back to scale again. Sure, the old Titans won't mix. But what about the old Epic foot troops and vehicles? Well, IMO if you have Epic vehicles and infantry, I, for one, actually think these new Warlords are just fine. Are they f***ing huge compared to the Epic Land Raiders and Space Marines? Well, YES. But...they should be! The massive size relative to the old infantry and tanks doesn't bother me so much... and what is so odd is that the new buildings and the new Knights match up so nicely, scale wise, with the old infantry and tanks too. I think there was a case to be made that the old classic plastic Titans were more than a touch too small vis-a-vis the old Epic infantry and tanks. Well, if you thought that...then the new models have got a treat for you!
New Warlord with a Land Raider from the old "Space Marine" game. Again, everyone's preference varies, but this would work for me...
These huge beasts do impose other challenges on your sci-fi gaming too, namely...how do you come up with cover? Mountains...OK. How big of a hill can you put down? Do you have 12mm sized sci-fi trees? Probably not. Even the new buildings, when stacked up, don't do much to obscure the view of the new Warlord Titans...I mean, they are HUGE. The old time buildings made of card certainly don't. Now, this is not an insurmountable obstacle - certainly there are some way more creative terrains types out there than I - but it will be something to think about as you plot your "Adeptus Titanicus" games. I may need to plot some kind of huge refinery or something made of straws and cans, something clever like Dallas comes up with all of the time...making terrain? Me? I dunno...but we'll see.
One of the new Knights with the old Land Raider. Again, I think this would be fine on the gaming table...YMMV.
The large models also serve to limit the size of games you can play, even on a standard 6' x 4' table. If you go back to the big all-Titan game of Epic we played back in 2013 as an example of what was possible with the old models, well, you could never do that with these new models - there would not be enough room. Another factor for your table - remember you will need space for the "terminals" to track the status of your God-engines. These "terminals" are, as I said, very nice, but they are large and will eat materially into available gaming space. The game designers claim they have put the rules together with this in mind, suggesting many games would take place on a 4'x4' table...but making the models huge AND shrinking the tables...look, this is not a deal breaker - it is just not a consistent approach. Come on, guys.
The Cost
Oh man. Even by GW's OPEC-like standards, the price of the new "Adeptus Titanicus" stuff is absolutely eye-watering. Just...wow. So, like, I hate the GW prices, just like everyone else. But at the same time, well, it's a free market, and they can charge what they like so...if you see the value, you can pay, or you can decide not to.
Me, I absolutely love the Horus Heresy setting, love the stories of the Titan Legions, love the Titans and love the game. So I am right in the marketing crosshairs for this, and even at these bowel-adjusting prices, I am going to participate. But to say "this won't be for everyone" is a material understatement. To assemble an "axiom battle line" maniple formation for just one Titan faction will easily set you back something in the neighbourhood of $350 to $400 CAD, probably more, depending on how much they price out the Warhounds once they are released (pending as I type this). And remember you need cards for the weapons (as the weapon stats are not in the rule book) and the "terminals" (as the Titan core stats are not in the rule book). That's just to put your maniple on the table, and ignores terrain etc. So, this is going to be a niche game. I encourage you to try it, because the setting is so cool! But...it will cost, yes.
Profile view of the loyalist Warlord Titan.
Detail view on the rear of the loyalist Titan.
Even if you are happy with your old models and "just" want to try the new rules, well, you can buy the book (and the "terminals" and weapon cards). But as per above, the switch to paired-weapons-only for the Warlords is a big change, and will be something you will need to work around.
The money you pay also amplifies the frustration you feel at the aspects they whiffed on. For me, one stands out - as mentioned above, I cannot believe the vanilla weapon load out they put into the Warlord kit - just astounding when you consider there is so much else to totally LOVE about those new models. I expect the power fists/plasma annihilators/vortex missiles etc will come later in some manner of separate kit or upgrade set. I am concerned this will be from Forge World, which, in addition to the even-higher than normal high prices, will introduce the unreliability of resin castings, separate huge shipping charges, and weapons which are too heavy to be supported by the magnets...sigh.
And So...
Look, for all of the frustration, I am very pleased to see this game out. There is a lot of good stuff here, and potential good stuff for the future. The good parts are great, GW doing what is can do best. And the frustrating parts are also very GW too: GW annoying and enraging fans the way only GW can. GW won't change. If I boil it all down, I can't wait to play this with my friends!
Costly? Well...yes. But if you like them, better buy them before they are gone...
I am trying to gather the new models while I can. Between the pricing and uneven marketing, I expect this game is at great risk of heading into the GW doom loop, where they release something that is too expensive, it doesn't sell, and then they kill it because it doesn't sell...look, I'd rather be ranting about a game that is still for sale, than one that was killed off before it could take off. So I hope it sticks around. It won't be for everyone, but if you dive in, I think you will really like it.
We'll take the new models and new rules out for a spin this week with the gang on Fawcett Avenue. Reactors to full power! Full stride! Horus for hope! The God-engines will walk!
Reinforcements for my Epic 30k forces - two Warhound class "scout" Titans
I have been ripping through some different projects in the vast "pending" pile on my painting tables. Inspired by the arrival of the new version of "Adeptus Titanicus", as well as some fun Epic 30k gaming a couple weeks ago, I pulled up two Warhound class scout (!) titans for my Epic 30k collection. These models (private sculpts, not available commercially), had been sitting in their black base coat for months waiting for my painting whims to return to science fiction, to 30k and to Epic.
Loyalist Warhound titan.
Turbo-lasers on the right arm.
"Vulcan mega bolter" on the left arm
My Epic 30k Titan collection featured engines from two different Legions - the Legio Mortis for the Warmaster, and the Legio Gryphonicus for the loyalist side. Each Legio in my force already had a single Warhound painted already (see here for some action shots of the Titans for both forces). Often in the "fluff" of the setting (and in many formations from older version of the Epic game) Warhounds seem to be deployed in pairs, so I split up the newly painted Warhounds accordingly to ensure parity in my growing Epic 30k collection - by adding one new Titan to each side, each of my Legios would be able to put a pair of Warhounds out on to the table.
The new Warhound (left side of the photo) forms up with its brother-engine which had already been painted.
While the idea of a so-called "scout Titan" is pretty silly, I have to say I totally love the notion, and the Warhound is a fine-looking beast of war. In Epic 30k the Warhounds can cover the battlefield with solid mobility, enjoy the protection of heavy armour and some shielding, and their weapons hit with enough power to wreck enemy detachments.
The loyalist Warhound here is sporting a set of turbo-lasers (great for wrecking armoured stuff) and a "Vulcan Mega Bolter", which will reduce even heavily armoured infantry detachments to mist (unless, of course, Byron is rolling saving throws for them - but I digress).
Rebel Warhound class Titan.
Turbo lasers on the right arm.
Very nasty Plasma Blastgun on the left side.
The rebel Warhound is also equipped with turbo-lasers, but its other weapon is a plasma blast gun, a nasty, nasty piece of kit that can harm just about anything, even other Titans.
The newly expanded Legio Mortis Warhound pack pose for a photo together.
Of course these "lighter" Titans are more vulnerable once the big guys like Reavers or Warlords show up, or if the enemy can bring some of the big super-heavy tanks into action (such as the Space Marine Legion "Falchion" tank). The Warhounds have some shields and armour, but limited amounts, and are vulnerable to the big "Titan Killer" class of weapons - if the shields are down, they can vanish after a single shot...
With the re-release of "Adeptus Titanicus", I expect GW will be rolling out with new versions of the Warhound models for their game (and they will probably be a lot larger than these, based on what I have seen from the massive size of the new Warlord Titan models). I haven't seen the new Warhounds yet - so far only the Warlord and Reaver class Titan chassis have been put out for sale - but it shouldn't be too long...
Whether it is more Epic 30k, or a game of "Adeptus Titanicus", I hope to get these "little" guys out on the table for a game sometime this fall!
Blast markers abound in an Epic 30k confrontation at Byron's place last week!
Games Workshop has recently re-released the game "Adeptus Titanicus". As a long, long time fan of GW's long-abandoned "Epic" games and the 30k setting, news of the return of "Adeptus Titanicus" stirred many feelings. I'll probably share/rant about those in another post. But more than anything, news of the release made me, first and foremost, want to get a game of Epic 30k in! I haven't played the setting or scale in many months, and back from my summer at the lake, I was keen to play a game - Byron M was kind enough to host and oblige last week. Here are some pictures of the game.
For rules we used the "Epic: Armageddon" version of Epic, and stats from this amazing Epic 30k wiki. The scenario was not at all complex - a meeting engagement of two opposing detachments. Byron brought his lovely Epic 30k Death Guard to the table, while I played the part of the "loyalist" fools, deployment a force of Imperial Fist Legion Space Marines. There were no Titans in the game, but each side had a couple of super-heavy Legion tanks backing up their forces. The objectives were brutally simple - break the other force! The first side to have five detachments broken would lose...
Initial deployments taking shape...the Death Guard seem to be moving right into my trap *cough* (that's the official version I'll report to Malcador later...)
The first turn looked good for the Imperial Fists, as Byron struggled with his command rolls and so my forces were able to get a bit of a jump on the Death Guard. Little did I suspect this would be the high-point for the Sons of Dorn...
Here is an ominous sight...Death Guard Spartan troop carriers, backed by a deadly Glaive super heavy tank...
Fellblade, Flachion and Dreadnoughts advance on the Death Guard flank.
In subsequent turns, Byron's evil dice mojo returned, with amazing saving throws, solid command rolls and other sinister benefits (no doubt derived from his forces' devotion to the great Warmaster, Horus Lupercal). Meanwhile, I whiffed on command rolls, rolls to hit, rolls to save...you know, ALL THE ROLLS YOU NEED TO MAKE. Sigh.
VII Legion armoured forces move out - Falchion providing cover at the top of the photo.
Falchion barely lumbering forward, thanks to failed command rolls on my part. Oh well. What could go wrong?
My Fellblade detachment wrecked some serious sh*t, blasting the Death Guard Sicaran tank detachment to tiny pieces. But that was it for meaningful success. Among many low points, the worst for me was the moment I thought I had Byron's assault marines dead to rights: surrounded by my Sicaran tanks, I was certain all of those Herakles auto cannons and heavy bolters would ventilate those sad Sons of Barbarus...but, no, Byron had blazing hot saving throws and...
Stars of the show for me - Fellblades, oh yeah!!
Spartans move ahead, carrying a detachment of tactical marine aboard.
And so...my Land Raiders broke, then my Spartans, then my Predators were blasted to pieces, then then one of my tactical detachments was broken in an assault carried out by the Death Guard assault marines who should have been misted by my Sicarans...the final blow came when my Falchion was blasted to particles...VII Legion suddenly remembered a meeting they needed to attend off world, and beat a hasty retreat, leaving the table to the victorious Death Guard.
Battle is joined - Death Guard Sicaran tanks halt my advancing spearheads...although the Fellblades (top right of the photo) will soon make short work of them...
The mendacious assault marines of the Death Guard.
Old Skool Predator tanks of the Death Guard move on through a drop pod LZ.
Another view of Byron's fine Sicaran tank detachment.
Near final dispositions (the only thing yet to happen before my defeat is the obliteration of my Falchion super heavy tank, seen hiding out near the middle bottom of the photo).
This game was a lot of fun, and again a reminder of just how excellent the "Epic: Armageddon" rules system can be. The current editions of 30k/40k are such a morass, it is easy to forget that GW did release so many fun and excellent rules, "Epic: Armageddon" being foremost among them. The rules reflect the character and "fluff" of the factions very well. And the 30k setting is just such a favourite of mine, so this was a great time. I hope to organize another Epic 30k game soon.
Sicaran tank of the XVI Legion on maneuvers with some infantry.
And in yet another jarring switch of settings, we zoom away from the battlefield of late 19th century France and into the distant and grim dark future - back to some more 30k stuff again! If you are going to bring "hope and change" to the galaxy, you might as well do it in style, and so I present a Sicaran tank from the armouries of the XVI Space Marine Legion, the Sons of Horus. This model was assembled for me by the excellent Steve B here in Winnipeg (you can see previous examples of his modelling skill on display here).
If the Mechanicum had ever designed a sports car, it would have looked like this. Steve did a great job assembling this beauty for me - thanks Steve!!
When Forge World first rolled out the 30k kits years ago, they were both faithful to the original setting (as seen in the very old game "Space Marine") while also very clever in bringing out new old models for 30k players. Part of the ambient setting for 30k is the deep, fundamental difference between a Space Marine Chapter (of the 40k "times") and the Space Marine Legion (from 30k). The Legions were huge, with tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of Space Marines. The powered the Great Crusade with their own fleets, and had clouds of vehicles to support their operations. To add to the more exotic and cool flavour of the Legions (as opposed to the 40k Chapters), "lost" vehicles appeared, with the idea being such vehicles were around and available by the boat-load in the "good old days".
Twin "Herakles Pattern" auto cannons in the turret will make mincemeat of most so-called "loyalists".
The Sicaran tank is one such design. An altered take on a classic Land Raider chassis, the Sicaran is meant to be a faster-yet-still-tough tank design. It carries no troops, but between its powerful auto cannons in the turret, and sponson weapon options, it provides solid armoured support. And it just looks awesome - the slope of the armour, etc. As Byron has often remarked, the design just looks menacing, and fits the Space Marine legions very well. It fits right in with the Land Raiders and Rhinos, but also looks a little different, a little exotic. The sculptors at Forge World hit a home run with this vehicle design.
Heavy bolters on the sponsons, and another on the front hull, provide some additional anti-personnel firepower.
Not only does the Sicaran tank look cool, it performs well on the table. The GW designers conferred impressive performance stats on these vehicles. The auto cannons in particular are quite potent weapons. These tanks are so tough that you see them constantly pop up in the 40k forces at tournaments, supposedly as a relic remaining in the 40k chapter armoury (one more reason I laugh at tournaments, but anyway). When it comes to 30k games, this vehicle will fill the obstructionist terrorists known as "loyalists" with all sorts of high-velocity slugs for the betterment of the galaxy, and I look forward to a game where this joins a Sons of Horus armoured column.
Forge World has gone on to add a number of variants of the Sicaran chassis to the product lineup over the years. One such, the Sicaran Venator, looks pretty cool, and I have some of those lined up to join my collection at some point. The other variants look...well, not as cool. YMMV. But for now, one Sicaran is enough. This vehicle will join my already pretty-large XVI Legion motor pool for operations on the Fawcett Avenue gaming tables.
Lovely angles on this model - great design by Forge World.
Byron has had one of these beauties for his Death Guard for a long time, and I have been impressed each time I have seen it. I was keen to add one for my Sons of Horus - it sure took me long enough, but at least I got it done eventually!
