How to differentiate a Leman Russ from its tank commander?

[antique_nova]

Hi all,

 

So, I've been thinking of how to differentiate a normal Leman Russ from one with a tank commander, because I've never liked them popping out of the tanks during battle. The only exception is a commissar waving his power sword and demanding that the crew driver him closer to the enemy so he can hit the enemy with his sword!

 

I also don't like the little insignias on the side of the tanks, because it doesn't feel realistic and the crew have radio comms.

 

So, how would you differentiate a Leman Russ from one with a Tank commander and do so again with Pask in the same army without using their respective commander models?

 

Maybe I'll just rely on the insignias that come with it?

[Michaelum]

Well you just discarted adding modeled details, painting is all that´s left for you, paint a part of the barrel or turret on red or so, could work

[Indefragable]

Antennas.

 

All the radio antennas you could possibly have.

 

Clearly a tank commander needs to communicate with four times as man vox channels as a lowly line tank?

[hushrong]

Aside from the earlier suggestion just paint the Cupola gold to signify status.

[Kinstryfe]

I hit on the idea to take some old banners (used the old WHFB Empire Knights banners as they're fairly compact), put them on brass rods, and then drilled a hole near the back of the tank on the top and bottom so I can slide the rod thru to hold it in but let me remove it easily. So when fielding them as normal Russes they have no flags, when they're Tank Commanders they're flying them. It's worked really well for me so far because it's 100% flamboyantly obvious which is which. My army is being modeled for a bit of an anachronistic vibe though (infantry squads have banners and bugles instead of voxcasters), so it fits right in. Higher tech options could be basically anything similar you can remove. Little shrines, an extra big spotlight or vox unit, an aquila, or some other suitably noticable bit to make it look different without looking silly (like a tank commander sticking his whole body out of a tank).

[Bryan Blaire]

Radar dish, and the previous suggestions, more aerials, and I would second the shrines mounted into the tank exterior body.

[Kierdale]

With a sufficiently flashy commander in the turret;

And you can’t go wrong with a bugler*

* with no space for said bugler with the Command tank, a new bugler may need to be ‘recruited’ after each battle.

[Kinstryfe]

With a sufficiently flashy commander in the turret;

And you can’t go wrong with a bugler*

* with no space for said bugler with the Command tank, a new bugler may need to be ‘recruited’ after each battle.

I absolutely want to model up little carts for my tanks to pull a bugler and banner waver around in behind them now.

[antique_nova]

At first I thought you said burglar, instead of bugler! XD

 

Also, it's really weird that the Leman Russ Demolisher kit does not have an antenna at all.

 

For now, I think I'll stick with the numbers so differentiate them further. 

 

Because right now, all the tank commander have lascannons, Pask has a lascannon, storm bolter and hunter killer missile. (Why is there no hunter killer missile or storm bolter in the demolisher kit?) And the rest of the tanks have hull mounted heavy bolters. Everything else is the same.

 

Also, I'll have the numbers represent different squads, because there isn't enough alphabets.

 

Skull - Warlord/character

01 - 02 - 03 etc - 1st, 2nd, 3rd Tank Commander etc.

11 - 21 - 32 - 1st squad 1st tank - 2nd squad 1st tank - 3rd squad 3 tank