Legions Imperialis – Solar Auxilia Leman Russ Exterminator and Annihilators Squadron

And we're covering the third Leman Russ plastic kit, the Exterminator and Annihilators, for Legions Imperialis, after the Leman Russ Strike Squadron, the Executioner and Demolisher today.

All four new variants are included as formations in the new Devastation of Tallarn campaign supplement. They start out as squadrons of four and can be upgraded to a squad size of 10. Note, these can not be mixed, each squadron consists only out of one variant. With six different variants of the Leman Russ covered, the only one missing would be the Leman Russ Incinerator, with the Volkite Macro-Saker.

Beyond that, as we covered the Leman Russ and its status as a tank in the other reviews, as well as the full scale Horus Heresy kit of the strike tank, we won't explain that again in this review, as everything related is linked.

There are no surprises with this kit, we have two identical sprues covering four tanks each, an instruction leaflet and a small Solar Auxilia decal sheet. From this boxed set you can build a total of 8 tanks, either as Exterminator or Annihilators, for a RRP of 41 EUR / 31,50 GBP.

As the layout of the sprue is pretty much the same (we go into a closer comparison in the next step), the available space is properly used and nothing wasted. You get a total of four turrets per sprue, but enough weapons to build either a full set of Exterminators or Annihilators. Unlike other Legions kit, you can't swap inbetween both variants, as you don't have enough turrets - as for example the Sicaran tank provides. Beyond that, very little mould lines and crisp casting.

To show you what they changed in these variants, we highlighted the replaced areas. At this point, I am not sure if this is an entire new mould or if they have a modular mould and replaced parts of it. Some manufacturers do so (for example Warlord Games with some Bolt Action infantry kits, like the Italian Infantry or US American Infantry/Rangers), but due to the numbers being produced and the cash flow that Games Workshop has access to, I assume its different moulds, they "just" some money in the developing process.

There are currently two different decal sheets for Legions Imperialis, the smaller one is included with this kit and covers 288 decals (yet, that is a high number, but the decals are small), covers insignia of 8 different cohorts of the Solar Auxilia in black and white, covering the same insignia in regular and inverted print;

Arkadian Janissaries, Cthonian Headhunters, Manachean Bulls, Saturnyne Rams, Lord Marshal's Own, Ash Scorpions, Bormanite Devils and The Deathless.

All variants of the Leman Russ so far have the identical first few steps. You build the core of the hull and add the sides. Be aware the that exhausts and trench rails can be a bit delicate, as well as the options for the hull weaponry (laser cannon or heavy bolter), make sure to be patient and use a sharp blade when removing them from the sprue and cleaning mould lines, to not damage any details.

Now we add the turrets, who are either armed with twin autocannons (Annihilator) or twin lascannons (Exterminator). We have various option for the turret hatches, either closed or open with tank commanders and optoinal pintle mounted weaponry.

As mentioned further above, we now have six different Leman Russ tanks for Legions Imperialis and we show them side by side, as well as in comparison with the other battle tanks, the Baneblade and Malcador.

And of course, the small tank from different views.

Conclusion

A bit tricky to write a conclusion on this kit, as it is so similar to the other two, without repeating yourself over and over again. But for the models the rating is the same - 41,50 EUR for 8 tanks is not cheap, but still within reasonable pricing, especially if you get a bit of discount at your FLGS or go for either the battle group or splitted starter sets. Having the turrets swapable would be a great addition, but the sprue didn't provide space for that. Anyhow you could very small magnets a try.

The rules for this kit, as well as the the Executioner and Demolisher can be found in the latest supplement for Legions Imperialis, The Devastation of Tallarn. And if we take the Liber Imperium and its Solar Auxilia army list as a foundation, we now have all the options from the regular strike tank and assault tank variants fo the Leman Russ, with the exception of the Incinerator and its volkite macro-saker. And as I wrote the in the last review, I am not sure if we will see that one as a plastic. Never the less, the quality and amount of detail we see in these small kits is fascinating and very well made. Something that I already found very impressive on the first Aeronautica Imperialis kits, was stunned with the Adeptus Titanicus range and now are - at least for the vehicles - still impressed with at Legions Imperialis.

This won't be the last Leman Russ chassis I will cover on here as a review for Legions, as we're already working on the Medusa and Basilisk kit, that was already released earlier this year but not yet done as a review - yet. As we now have quite a bunch of tanks, it might be an interesting idea to give you some ideas on conversions for command tanks. The late 90s Epic 40k series had these published in the White Dwarf back in the day, that is surely something we should re-visit.

The Horus Heresy and Legions Imperialis are brands by Games Workshop.

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.