Legions Imperialis – Solar Auxilia Leman Russ Executioner and Demolisher Squad

Along with Shadowsword and Sicaran, the second of three Leman Russ tank kits for Legions Imperialis is available for pre-order as well. While we have the regular Leman Russ Battle Tank and Vanquisher since the starter set, we now have access to the Executioner and Demolisher, with an further upcoming release of the Annihilator and Exterminator later this year.

The Leman Russ is one of, if not the work horse of the Imperial war machine. The chassis is used for multiple variants, mostly the Leman Russ battle tank with various turrets (And even beyond the 6 mentioned above, there are still further variants to explore) and before the chimera chassis was developed used for artillery and self-propelled guns.

Just like the other Legions Imperialis kits, we have two identical sprues, an instruction leaflet and a small Solar Auxilia decal sheet. From this boxed set you can build a total of 8 tanks, either as Executioner or Demolisher, for a RRP of 41 EUR / 31,50 GBP.

Once again the sprues are properly filled and no space is unused. In direct comparison with the older sprue, you can see how the layout is almost identical, but the main weapons were replaced. Per sprue you get enough parts for four tanks, including to arm each of the turrets with either a Plasma Destroyer or Demolisher Cannon. Casting is once again superb!

The decal sheet with 288 decals (yet, that is a high number, but the decals are small), covers insignia of 8 different cohorts, Arkadian Janissaries, Cthonian Headhunters, Manachean Bulls, Saturnyne Rams, Lord Marshal's Own, Ash Scorpions, Bormanite Devils and The Deathless. All of these are black and white, not additional colours, yet we have all insignia in both black and white, so you can use them against lighter or dark backgrounds.

The build of the hull is pretty forward and the Citadel design team split the parts cleverly to cover as many details as possible. The exhausts and trench rails can be a bit fragile, 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, to not damage any details.

Now we move on to the turrets. While we do have enough parts to build either 8 Executioners or Demolisher tanks, we only have four turrets per sprue, meaning you have to choose one option. You could probably magnetise them using really small magnets, but in case you don't go too tight on WYSIWYG, you should be fine.

Each turret comes with various hatch options, you have the option for a closed commanders hatch, a pintle mounted weapon or different poses for the crew / tank commander.

Here's a set of the content of one sprue, with various mixed weapon and crew options. Along with a side-by-side of the new variants, Executioner and Demolisher, next to the regular Battle Tank and Vanquisher.

The Leman Russ is the smallest of the tracked vehicles (if you don't count in the cyclops), but still makes its impression.

And some shots of the final builds from different angles.

Conclusion

With the Leman Russ being included in the starter set as well as the battle group, you can create a tank company quite easily. And at 8 models at 41,50 EUR the squads are not cheap, but still within reasonable pricing. It's a bit sad, that you can't swap the turret as in other kits, but the sprue just didn't provide the room for that.

It is going to be interesting how the role of the tanks will change with the latest supplement The Devastation of Tallarn, as it covers the biggest tank battle in Imperial history, and due to some limitation regarding vehicles in fulfilling certain mission objectives. But the view alone, of having multiple squads of 8 to 10 Leman Russ on the table is such a fulfilling thing, and the scale as well as the rule set makes it possible, without breaking the bank as it would in 28mm.

If we take the Solar Auxilia army list for comparison, we have all the options of the regular strike tank (Battle Tank, Vanquisher, Exterminator and Annihilator) and with this kit two of three assault tank variants (Demolisher, Executioner and only missing the Incinerator with a volkite macro-saker), we basically have almost everything covered. If we see the Incinerator as a plastic kit as well (due to the turret being a bit different) or as a maybe resin upgrade by Forge World - of which we haven't seen any so far. Beyond that, as usual with these kit, proper quality of cast and details, good fit while assembly. Yet, with so many tanks in my collection, I will have to look into adding some sand bags to the turrets and maybe a bulldozer blade or two for further variation, maybe even some tiny banners for the command tanks.

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

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.