Horus Heresy – Legiones Astartes Mk II Tactical Squad
Although we didn't have the opportunity to review the Saturnine boxed set for Horus Heresy on the blog, I wanted to supplement the coverage of the Assault Squad in Mark II armour by presenting the standard Tactical Squad.
I didn't want to skip the tactical squads after covering the Mark III Iron Armour and Mark VI Corvus Armour, especially since we still have to wait until we receive the Mark IV Maximus and Mark V Heresy pattern armour.
The Mark II Tactical sprue is slightly different to the other power armour sprues. Unlike the others, where you get a single sprue with the pieces for five models, this one has two sprues of the same size for ten models with a similar layout — just a small alteration. As you can see, the second sprue is nearly identical to the first, just rotated by 180°, with the Warhammer logo on the other side. The poses are identical, the heads are the same, and so on, for unknown reasons.
We get the same five tactical marines with bolters and bayonets as with the other sprues, but with Mark II armour and Phobos-pattern bolters.
September 2025 review
That was September. We attended the second-to-last event of the year for us - the Rhein Main Multiversum (including a loot post)!
Next time we'll be out and about for our hobby will be the Paint Meeting in Lützensommern (you can find a recap of last year's event here).
This month we released the 500th review on this blog! That is certainly a milestone and we managed to schedule it in a way, that this special review would be of the Super-Heavy Tank Fellblade! On the same day, we reviewed the Mk II Assault Squad for Horus Heresy. I am really glad that I have been able to present so many articles on the blog over the last 15 years..
Horus Heresy – Legiones Astartes Mk II Assault Squad
Along with the Fellblade Super-Heavy Battle Tank, a new infantry plastic box set is introduced for the Legiones Astartes in Horus Heresy: the Astartes Assault Squad in Mark II armour.
This new boxed set of ten Legionaries as an Mk II Assault Squad is available to pre-order for 44,50 GBP / 57,50 EUR from today, 20 September, with an official release date of 4 October.
As we haven't yet covered the standard Mk II tactical power armour, I would like to provide you with a brief description of this piece of equipment's lore. Mk II armour, also known as Crusade armour, was the first fully enclosed, mass-produced power armour widely used during the Great Crusade. It featured environmental systems and life support, enabling Space Marines to fight in the vacuum of space and on hazardous worlds. The armour patterns were then further developed, enhanced and streamlined to suit the needs of battles beyond the Great Crusade, through the Horus Heresy and beyond. The Mk III power armour pattern was a modification of the Mk II, featuring heavy armour plating at the front (including larger chest, groin and shoulder pads), intended for use in boarding actions, tunnel assaults and void warfare, for example. It was never intended to replace the previous Mk II, but rather to provide an optional variant for certain operations. This boxed set is therefore the perfect addition to your force if you use Mk II or III and want to field assault squads in matching power armour patterns.
Horus Heresy – Legiones Astartes Fellblade Super-Heavy Battle Tank
More than 15 years have passed since I last covered a Super-Heavy Tank kit in 'full scale' on this blog. When the Fellblade teaser was shown at the Dropsite Preview, I was really excited about this kit. You know what that means: we're not doing things by halves here, so we've gone for a full review and build report with 100 (!) pictures!
But let's dive in. The Fellblade Super-Heavy Battle Tank of the Legiones Astartes for Horus Heresy is available for pre-order today, September 20th, and will be released on October 4th. It is a full plastic kit and has an RRP of 125 GBP / 160 EUR.
Rhein Main Multiversum 2025 – Loot!
It has been a while, since last did a loot-post! Actually 2,5 years ago for Hamburg Tactica 2023. And today I want to show you, what I brought home from the Rhein Main Multiversum 2025!
Usually when I went to an event and I picked some things up, I shared them with you. But the last few years my shopping endeavours changed a bit in habbit, and thus less reason for that kind of post - or my loot was manageable and I just covered it in one of my monthly recap.
A few things at the Bring & Buy caught my eye, like two old copies of the Space Marine Codex of the 6th and 8th Edition. This is not for any gaming project, but rather an addition to my wargaming library, as they cover quite a bit of illustrations and lore and cover the transition from First Borns to Primaris Marines. As well as 9 Imperial Credit coins from the Skullz campaign for a proper deal.
At Spielkontor I picked up a tower from the Renedra Castle range, I already have a few items from that range and the price was decent so I couldn't say no!
Warhammer 40,000 – Leman Russ Imperial Battle Tank Assembly Instructions
As part of our retro projects and coverage, I'd like to give you some throwbacks and vintage insights on the older kits. And today we're covering the Leman Russ Imperial Battle Tank.
While the Leman Russ Imperial Battle Tank is still around in a pattern / design that is very close to the vintage kit, there are some differents. We're going to look into it in one of the upcoming classic reviews, but here for now are the assembly instructions, as a first piece of guidance and check up to see if you got all the pieces you need or something is missing.
This is the instruction that came with the mid to late 90s boxed set of 2nd edition of Warhammer 40k. It was gray-scale and did not only provide the build instructions across eight pages but the data fax as well. All of it in four different languages, English, French, Spanish and German.
Rhein Main Multiversum 2025
The 11th instalment of the Rhein Main Multiversum, hosted by the Tabletop Club Rhein Main, took place in Nidderau, in the state of Hessen (about half an hour north-east of Frankfurt).
Entry was free, and the show took place on 13th and 14th September last weekend.
The venue was the Kultur und Sporthalle Heldenbergen, which has plenty of parking right outside. However, as they share the car park with the surrounding stores, this can be an issue on Saturdays.
August 2025 review
While it was a bit slow in the beginning of the month, at least in terms of published articles, but that was due to the preparation of a major release of reviews towards the end of the month.
We went big on the latest pre-orders of Legions Imperialis, covering the book and all new plastic kits.
- Liber Strategia
- Mastodon Super Heavy Assault Transport
- Order Tokens and Objectives Markers
- Typhon Heavy Siege Tank
- Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer
- Whirlwind and Scorpius Missile Tank
- Vindicator Siege Tank
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.
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.
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