Legions Imperialis – Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer Squadron

Two Heavy Armour Detachments for the Legiones Astartes are based on the Spartan Assault Tank chassis: the Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer and the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank. Both will be reviewed today, but separately.

The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is a rare, experimental, super-heavy vehicle that was used by the Space Marine Legions during the late Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. As mentioned above, built on the Spartan Assault Tank chassis, it was designed by the Mechanicum to test the Neutron Laser Projector — a retro-engineered relic of Dark Age technology capable of crippling even Titans. However, the weapon was highly unstable and failed shots could cause catastrophic feedback; a damaged Cerberus risked detonating in an apocalyptic explosion. Despite these flaws, the vehicle was deployed on the front line by several Legions and later served Traitor forces during the Heresy. Secondary armaments included heavy bolters, lascannons, flamers and missile systems, while its flare shield offered additional protection. Following the Second Founding, the Cerberus fell out of widespread use due to the instability of its technology and the Imperium’s inability to maintain or reproduce its advanced systems.

I think the name Cerberus fits well, as it has three barrels of the Neutron Laser Projector, matching the three heads of the hell hound from Greek mythology.

In terms of the Legiones Imperialis, it is armed with a hull-mounted Neutron Laser Battery (Shock Pulse), a combined version of the weapon system mounted on the Sicaran Venator and Valdor Tank Hunter. The sponsons can be armed with either Heavy Bolters or Laser Cannons. The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is categorised as a Heavy Armour Detachment with a unit size of one, but can be upgraded with up to three additional tanks.

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

As you would expect, the sprue is fully packed and features lots of crisp detail!

Each sprue contains the parts needed to build two Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyers, as well as options for the side sponsons and crew wearing Mk 6 armour.

For this review, we will build a single sprue to make two Cerberus tanks. They are built from the inside out, beginning with the inner hull. If you have built the Spartans before, you will recognise most of the steps, as they are pretty similar. The core is very stable, and then the side pieces and drive sprockets are added.

Once the hull is complete, the main weapon system can be added: the Neutron Laser Battery. The three barrels are aligned and glued to the front, along with gun shields above and below the battery.

Only the addition of the side sponsons and the crew remains. For the sponsons, you can choose between a heavy bolter and laser cannons, as well as an open or closed hatch and optional pintle-mounted weapons (multi-melta or heavy bolter). The tank crew wear Mk 6 armour.

This is the fully built Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer. I swapped the crew for one from another Astartes kit wearing Mk 3 armour.

As the Cerberus and the Typhon are very similar, I would like to provide a side-by-side comparison. The differences, besides the main weaponry, are minor details on the tank's roof, primarily the power supply to the weapons.

Further comparisons can be found below. The first row covers the Spartan chassis tank family, and the second row covers the different sizes, from Rhino to Mastodon.

In conclusion, I will show you the Cerberus from various angles.

Conclusion

This was an entertaining build. I was honestly surprised that they made the Cerberus and Typhon kits individually, as I had expected them to be a mixed kit (with one of each per sprue), similar to the Valdor Tank Hunter and Malcador Infernus kit. With a detachment size of 1 to 4, it would have made sense to combine them, and probably many people would have been content to buy one or two boxes for their forces.

The kit provides all the necessary options. You could probably angle or lift the weapons if you wanted to. Beyond that, I can't think of anything that's missing.

In my opinion the price is still reasonable, especially if you can get a discount. After all, these models have a special role and, compared to the 'regular' Spartans, they are not 'just' transports.

You can find the rules for the Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer in the Liber Strategia.

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

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.