Legions Imperialis – Mastodon Super-Heavy Assault Transport

This is quite the release, with a whopping five new plastic vehicle kits for Legions Imperialis! We kick off our coverage with the largest vehicle in this wave: the Mastodon Super-Heavy Assault Transport, along with the Liber Strategia and Token/Objective set.

If you are not familiar with the Horus Heresy, you may not know about the Mastodon. I saw the larger Horus Heresy model 'in the flesh' at the Warhammer World exhibition, painted in the colours of both the Imperial Fists and the Sons of Horus.

The Mastodon is a massive siege transport designed to deliver large numbers of Space Marines directly into enemy fortifications. Its primary weapon is the forward-firing Siege Melta Array (anti-tank, demolisher and engine killer), which can burn through even the strongest walls to create breaches for assault. Once a breach has been made, the Mastodon's assault doors and rear ramp open to let squads pour through, with the vehicle itself serving as an armoured tunnel. Heavily armed and armoured, it carries secondary weapons such as lascannons, flamers and a Skyreaper Battery (light anti-tank, skyfire and tracking) for air defence. The interior is divided into compartments with reinforced bulkheads for protection, and can be fully sealed against chemical or viral threats. Even when destroyed, the Mastodon often remains an almost indestructible bunker, continuing to shield those inside.

This is reflected in the rules for this new unit, which were introduced with the Liber Strategia. The Mastodon can be put into service as a Heavy Armour Detachment of one, with the option of adding up to three further Mastodons to the detachment. As a Large Assault Transport (8), it is essentially a rolling Thunderhawk Gunship with Void Shields.

Regardless of their size, the two Mastodons in this kit come with two identical medium-sized sprues, a greyscale instruction leaflet, and a Legiones Astartes vehicle transfer sheet. Pre-orders will open on 23 August, with the set available in stores from 6 September. The recommended retail price (RRP) of this set is 31.50 GBP / 41 EUR.

As you can see, the massive hull of the Mastodon takes up most of the sprue. You will also find all the parts for the crew options and sponsons, as well as heavy bolters, laser cannons and heavy flamers. The casting is properly done with a good amount of captured detail.

For this review, we will build a single Mastodon. Although the kit comes with the option of a tank commander, it does not offer the option of pintle-mounted weaponry.

Although the interior is not detailed or sculpted, you could probably quite easily convert the front doors into an open stand. I have done something similar with the Thunderhawk, and I might try doing this with the second kit. For the purposes of this review, however, we will keep it as it comes from the sprue.

The side tracks are built from multiple layers to capture the detail. Nevertheless, the tracks themselves lack a bit of structure, as the larger model has bolts on the single tracks, which they were unable to capture at this scale/due to the way the pieces were orientated on the sprue.

Now that the main hull is finished, it is time to add further details to the Mastodon. In this case, these are the support beams on the sides, the void shields and the Siege Melta Array, which can be angled at the front.

Next, we will add the Skyreaper Battery and the optional tank commander. As the Mastodon has two hatches, you can also add crew members. He wears Mk 3 armour.

Last but not least, we will add the four side sponsons. These have a fixed option at the front with heavy flamers and, at the back, either heavy bolters or las cannons.

To give you an idea of the Mastodon's sheer size, I took a few photos of it alongside other Space Marine tanks, a Super-Heavy Solar Auxilia tank, and some infantry bases.

It is a massive vehicle that dominates the tabletop.

Conclusion

This unit is a perfect fit for this game. As a Super-Heavy Assault Transport, it is the perfect centrepiece for your Legiones Imperialis army, and even the price tag of 41 EUR / 31.50 GBP for the two isn't too much of a stretch. If you can pick it up at a discount, it's quite reasonable.

Honestly, I would have been so happy if they had added the option to build it in a 'deployed' mode with a partially sculpted interior. While you can cut open the front ramp, opening up the back ramp takes more time. However, just as we saw an aftermarket set for the Thunderhawk interior, perhaps someone will create one for this.

Assembly went smoothly with no issues regarding the fit at any stage. Due to the size of this model, you can really do a lot of weathering and add decals. I'm looking forward to painting this one.

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

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.