Some more new kits for Legions Imperialis are heading our way: Sabres and Termites for the Legiones Astartes along with a kit that makes Leman Russ Exterminators and Annihilators. The rules for these are in the recent Devastation of Tallarn campaign book, which we reviewed a few weeks ago.
Thanks Games Workshop for sending us some of these to play with.
Legion Sabre Strike Tank Squadron
Sabres are another new tank kit and the first one we have to fill the Light Armour slot for either faction.They can be armed with neutron lasers or autocannons, and multi-meltas or heavy bolters. The kit provides all these options and also the sabre missiles they have stuck on their sides.
As a kit there isn’t too much new to say to be honest. They’re another really nicely made Legions Imperialis vehicle. They fit together really smoothly and the end result is pretty much exactly like the full-size vehicle, only smaller. The only tricky bit is the missiles on the sides, which all come individually and are really, really small. Also you have to check you have the right ones, because they’re grouped on the sprue with four identical missiles, rather than two for each side of the tank they seem to be with. My ageing eyes required a magnifying glass to check I had the right ones and it takes a bit of effort to get them all pointing in the right direction. But with tanks this small and this detailed you can’t avoid things being a bit fiddly and I got there in the end.
I built my first four sabres with neutron lasers and multimeltas to provide some mobile hitting power for my Imperial Fists Armoured Company. They painted up quite quickly too, with enough detail to draw the eye without being excessively fiddly.
I’ve made the other four with autocannons. The next formation I’m planning is a White Scars Sky-hunter Phalanx so I have plans for painting red zig-zags across their mostly-white hulls, when time allows. The kit doesn’t come with commander options but I took a spare one from a Sicaran and found it fitted perfectly.
Termite Assault Drills
The termite is interesting because it’s a very different shape to anything else, so it’s quite a unique build. Each one only has nine pieces and five of these are nearly identical hull segments.
It’s important to get the correct five segments for each termite. I cut out the wrong bits for my first one and found they didn’t fit together. It doesn’t help that the parts are set out differently on the sprue to usual. Most vehicles have one model in each half or quarter but not these. Instead all the part #1s are together, all the #2s are together and so on. Here’s a sprue after removing the correct bits to make the first termite.
Each termite is made up of a left and right plate with holes for the storm bolters (or a closed hatch piece, which is provided) and three identical pieces with no holes. All the parts are keyed so you can only build it the right way. If you find yourself wanting to cut off any of the keyed parts because it doesn’t fit you should stop, because you’ve got the wrong bits.
Once the hull is together it’s a very simple job to stick on the nose and tail, followed by either a pair of combi-bolters or blank plates. Here’s a step by step.
The result is a lovely little model with loads of detail. This construction allows for better detail around the tracks and drill than you get with most vehicles, as none of the detailed parts are cast side on. This also means you don’t have to remove a mould line from the middle of the track, as you do with so many other vehicles.
I had a bit of fun painting my termites as I thought they ought to look really beaten up after drilling through the ground. I had an idea that my siege-themed Fists have captured them from the Sons of Horus so after their yellow base coat and sticking the transfers on I gave sponged on a bit of Lupercal green. That was followed by sponged on vallejo steel, stirland mud and MIG concrete pigment, in an attempt to show that they’d gone through the ground before emerging into the city.
I can’t actually see much of the green any more but I know it’s there. I think the end result looks quite good. I’ve got four more to do and I’m going to have to come up with a way to give them unit markings that show through all this muck, preferably visible at tabletop level.
Here’s a size comparison shot of some of the various Legiones Astartes hulls. As you can see the Termite is relatively large, closer to the size of a Sicaran than a Rhino.
Leman Russ Exterminator and Annihilator Squadron
I reviewed the Demolisher Leman Russ sprue here, including a painting guide. The Exterminator/Annihilator sprue is the same with the exception of the turret weapons.
They build nicely, with nice detail and the gun barrels are nowhere near as fragile as the Storm Cannon barrels on the Astartes Leviathan dreadnought.
Here’s a nice close up of one.
As with my view on the previous Leman Russ kits, it’s got lovely detail, takes contrast and drybrushing well, and is fairly easy to build. The biggest issues are the sprue nubs on the tracks and making sure you’ve dealt with them and the sprue nubs on the trench rails.
It’s a great kit, and the Annihilator is a good anti-infantry/walker build for the Russ.
Wrap Up
Thanks again to Games Workshop for furnishing us with additional tiny tanks. Goonhammer embraces tanks of all sizes with great enthusiasm.
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