Legions Imperialis – Vindicator Siege Tank Squadron
To bring you up to date with the latest releases, we will be covering the final two kits from Saturday's pre-order: the Vindicator Siege Tank and the Whirlwind/Scorpius Missile Tank.
The Deimos Vindicator is an early siege tank design used by the Legiones Astartes during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. It was later succeeded by the more common Mars Pattern. Built on the Deimos Rhino chassis, it features reinforced armour and a Demolisher Cannon that fires forward, making it ideal for short-range devastation in urban warfare and assaults on fortifications. Its heavy armour and low profile made it ideal for close infantry support, enabling it to act as a mobile strongpoint while smashing enemy barricades, vehicles and fortified positions. Unlike the Mars Pattern, the Deimos Vindicator could swap its main gun for a Laser Destroyer Array, converting it into an effective tank hunter. Many of these ancient tanks remain in service with Space Marine Chapters in the 41st Millennium, though they are far rarer than in the days of the Legions.
In the Horus Heresy, the Deimos Pattern Vindicator is used as the Mars Pattern had not yet been invented. In Legiones Imperialis, the unit only covers the Siege Tank with the Demolisher Cannon, not the Laser Destroyer. The hull-mounted Demolisher Cannon counts as a Demolisher and ignores cover. Vindicators come in a detachment of four and can be upgraded with two, four or six additional vehicles.
The Vindicator Siege Tank Squadron went on pre-order on August 23rd, with the set available in stores from September 6th. The recommended retail price (RRP) of these sets is, as usual, 31.50 GBP/41 EUR. The Vindicator Squadron boxed set, which contains eight vehicles, includes two identical medium-sized sprues, a greyscale instruction leaflet, and a Legiones Astartes vehicle transfer sheet.
As you can see, the Deimos pattern vehicles have lots of small details and pieces. However, they are cast properly with only minor mould lines..
For this review, we are going to build a single sprue, producing four Vindicators. The sprue covers the optional parts for Mk 6 armoured crew members.
The Deimos chassis can be assembled quickly. First, you build a frame from the upper and lower hull, then add the side pieces. As the tracks are covered from above on the Rhino chassis, this step is quicker compared to Land Raider-based vehicles, as there is less work involved in removing the mould lines along the individual tracks. You will notice that the Vindicator has upgraded side armour and, as a result, no side doors.
The next step can be a bit tricky. Each Vindicator or Rhino-based vehicle has four exhaust pipes, which are small individual pieces. Snapping them off the sprue and removing the mould lines/attachment points takes a bit of patience, as you do not want to lose any of them. For the Vindicator, we also add the hedgerow cutter/lower lip of the siege shield to the chassis.
There is not much else to do after that. We add the Demolisher Cannon, which can be elevated slightly, and the upper part of the siege shield. The last step is to add the optional crew and twin-linked bolters. The crew hatch can be built open or closed and there is one Mk 6 armoured tank commander for every four vehicles.
This is what a small detachment of four Vindicators looks like.
Here is the Vindicator next to its larger counterpart, the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank.
Based on the Rhino chassis, the Vindicator is one of the smallest vehicles in Legions Imperialis (slightly larger than a Sabre Strike Tank) for the Legiones Astartes.
I replaced the Mk 6 armour with Mk 3 armour from another kit because I wanted older armour patterns for my Imperial Fists.
Conclusion
In terms of product quality, this kit delivers. The level of detail is impressive, and assembly is straightforward if you take your time with the exhaust pipes. With eight vehicles per box, there are enough models for two detachments, or to field a single larger one. At a price of 41 EUR / 31.50 GBP, it's reasonably priced.
However, I did expect them to mix this kit like they did with many of the others and make it 50/50 Demolisher Cannon and Laser Destroyer. They handled it this way with the Valdor/Malcador Infernus or the Whirlwind/Scorpius, and the Vindicator invites you to do the same.
The only improvement would be to include more crew members, ideally in different armour patterns, as there is space within the frame. This is especially the case as only one crew member per four is a bit low compared to other kits.
The Horus Heresy and Legions Imperialis are brands by Games Workshop.
The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.
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