Legions Imperialis – Whirlwind and Scorpius Missile Tank Squadrons

The final release in the Legions Imperialis series are the Whirlwind and Scorpius Missile Tank Squadrons, which are based on the Rhino chassis.

The Whirlwind is a Space Marine artillery support vehicle designed to provide indirect fire against entrenched infantry and light vehicles from behind cover. During the Horus Heresy, these vehicles were built on the Deimos Pattern Rhino chassis, which was later succeeded by the more common Mars Pattern. Its primary weapon is the Whirlwind Multiple Missile Launcher: a turret system mounted on the vehicle's dorsal surface, capable of firing different types of warhead, such as Vengeance missiles for light vehicles and Castellan incendiary missiles for flushing enemies out of cover. Although the Whirlwind's range is shorter than that of the Imperial Guard's artillery, it compensates with a faster reaction time, greater mobility and the ability to relocate quickly after firing. During the Great Crusade, the Deimos Whirlwind Scorpius variant was equipped with the experimental Scorpius Multi-Launcher: a rotary-fed system delivering faster, more concentrated barrages of implosive warheads, which were devastating against armoured infantry and light armour. Although production of the Scorpius system was lost in the 41st Millennium, surviving relics remain highly lethal when deployed. Overall, the Whirlwind serves as the Astartes' flexible artillery platform, softening defences and providing suppressive fire in support of Space Marine assaults.

This boxed set includes both the Whirlwind Missile Launcher and the Scorpius Missile Launcher for Legions Imperialis. The differences are not just aesthetic, but also affect the in-game stats. The Scorpius Missile Launcher provides Barrage and Light Anti-Tank, while the Whirlwind Missile Launcher provides Barrage, Ignores Cover and Rapid Fire. A detachment of these missile tanks consists of two vehicles and can be upgraded by two, four or six more vehicles.

Each squadron comprises eight vehicles in total: four Scorpius and four Whirlwind. The boxed set contains two identical medium-sized sprues, a greyscale instruction leaflet and a Legiones Astartes vehicle transfer sheet. Pre-orders 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.

As you can see, the available space per frame was used properly, but there simply wasn't enough room to give each tank both options. The casting is very clean with only minor mould lines.

Each sprue contains enough parts to build two Scorpius and two Whirlwind missile tanks. This kit does not include crew members or sponsons.

We start building these in the same way as an ordinary Rhino, with the upper and lower halves and the side parts. This provides us with a chassis that looks almost identical to the Predator ones, with only the addition of the front plate and side exhausts remaining. The latter are the most time-consuming parts, as you need to ensure that none of them are lost while cleaning and preparing them for assembly.

Each sprue contains two different turrets. The first, the Scorpius Missile System, is quicker to build as it only has a mount and a launch system on each side. It's basically a smaller variant of the Arcus system on the Sicaran.

The second is the Whirlwind Missile System, which has a few more parts but is still manageable. All of the turrets can be turned and there is an option to add hedgerow cutters to the front.

Vehicles based on the Rhino chassis are among the smallest Legiones Astartes vehicles, just after the Sabre Strike Tank.

The final set of pictures shows the Whirlwind and the Scorpius from various angles.

Conclusion

This is a brilliant release with lots of new content for Space Marine players. All of the kits were really well made with no issues regarding fit or quality, and this one is no exception.

The mixed kit of Scorpius and Whirlwinds makes sense, as you get two different detachments (or even four if you opt for the smaller ones) and due to the size of the parts it was a reasonable for the sprue. If you purchase two of these boxes, you have a lot of flexibility, as you can play with two detachments at maximum size or multiple medium-to-small ones. Regarding missile tanks, they are comparable to the Sicaran Arcus as they are both in the 90–100 point range per two-vehicle detachment. The Whirlwind fulfils a different role due to its much longer range and different weapon traits. Depending on your gaming style, you may prefer the Sicaran Arcus (16/20", 2 dice at 4/5+, -2 AP with AT, ripple fire or skywire with tracking) or the Scorpius missile system (18", 2 dice, 4+, -2 with barrage and light AT). The biggest benefit of the Whirlwind/Scorpius is certainly barrage.

Therefore, I can see myself (and others) picking up two of these boxes and converting a few vehicles into firing poses using missiles from the Aeronautica kits, wire, flock, etc. Just to make them stand out more.

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

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.