Horus Heresy Tarantula Missile Battery

[Rusted Boltgun]

2 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

I quite like the variant with only two missiles (I'm not so keen on the one with banks of them for the reasons @The4thHorseman mentioned - I think the older Hyperios launcher looked better - however, I'm wondering if they can be used to make a Whirlwind conversion that's a bit closer to the old 2nd Edition model ...)

 

And make it more like the Action Force (GI Joe) Wolverine I sold to fund my Warhammer hobby. Yes, please.

[CL_Mission]

Never heard the old whirlwind described as "crayon launcher" before but I totally see it. As possibly my first ever tank (it's that or the old razorback) it's got a special place in my heart and it would be tempting to pick these up to recreate it with one of the deimos pattern vehicles, unless they want to do a dedicated kit of course.

[Aarik]

Good, cool-looking models that I've got zero problems with in a vacuum.  But how many people actually wanted these in plastic?  Especially, wanted them over any other current non-plastic kit?  I feel like we've had it beaten into our heads how expensive it is to make molds for plastic kits and so GW has to be ever so careful and can only make them for kits it is confident will sell well enough to recoup the cost and more.  So it feels strange that they would dedicate such an apparently precious resource to something so random and ancillary (IMO only, no offense to anyone who likes it!).  I felt the same way, but a bit less strongly about the plastic Arvus lighter.  Cool model, the back hatch gunner looks sick, but who actually wants this?  Surely a plastic Taurox/Carnodon kit would sell much better and be much more useful?  Same thing here.  There are a ton of resin models that I am sure people would prefer to be plasticized ahead of the Tarantula.  I can understand SDS's decision to seemingly prioritize plasticizing the various Heresy tanks over many of the power-armored kits because its based on the premise that the cost/effort of resin tanks was a bigger barrier to Heresy army collecting, even if I may disagree.  But this seems like unnecessarily scraping the bottom of the barrel, or slavishly sticking to an overall plan that everything in LI would come to 32 mm too, when there are tons of higher priority models to focus on instead.    

Edited Thursday at 05:16 PM by Aarik

[Firedrake Cordova]

47 minutes ago, CL_Mission said:

Never heard the old whirlwind described as "crayon launcher" before but I totally see it.

I've only seen the current model described as a "Crayola launcher" (other brands of children's colouring implements are available) due to the "two jumbo missiles" assembly option.

 

48 minutes ago, CL_Mission said:

it would be tempting to pick these up to recreate it with one of the deimos pattern vehicles, unless they want to do a dedicated kit of course

I'm in the same boat. I'm seriously considering using it to make a "modern" Whirlwind, rather than a "modernised" Deimos-platform Whirlwind.

[Nephaston]

32 minutes ago, Aarik said:

Good, cool-looking models that I've got zero problems with in a vacuum.  But how many people actually wanted these in plastic?  Especially, wanted them over any other current non-plastic kit?  I feel like we've had it beaten into our heads how expensive it is to make molds for plastic kits and so GW has to be ever so careful and can only make them for kits it is confident will sell well enough to recoup the cost and more.  So it feels strange that they would dedicate such an apparently precious resource to something so random and ancillary (IMO only, no offense to anyone who likes it!).  I felt the same way, but a bit less strongly about the plastic Arvus lighter.  Cool model, the back hatch gunner looks sick, but who actually wants this?  Surely a plastic Taurox/Carnodon kit would sell much better and be much more useful?  Same thing here.  There are a ton of resin models that I am sure people would prefer to be plasticized ahead of the Tarantula.  I can understand SDS's decision to seemingly prioritize plasticizing the various Heresy tanks over many of the power-armored kits because its based on the premise that the cost/effort of resin tanks was a bigger barrier to Heresy army collecting, even if I may disagree.  But this seems like unnecessarily scraping the bottom of the barrel, or slavishly sticking to an overall plan that everything in LI would come to 32 mm too, when there are tons of higher priority models to focus on instead.    

I assume they're gonna be cheap as chips points wise. which means that they're gonna be real good in filling those leftover points so any one player might just pick one up. Not even mentioning the occasional collector who doesn't magnetize, needs multiple of each, and/or has multiple legions. Or the eventual hevy bolter tarantula pulling double duty for auxilia players.

 

Either way the boffins at geedubs have decreed profitability, therefore it shall be so.

[StratoKhan]

Yeah! Woo! Plastic Rapiers!

Oh… wait a minute…

[Captain Idaho]

Been thinking... if a model is released by GW then that means it won't be legends released right?

[Nephaston]

1 minute ago, Captain Idaho said:

Been thinking... if a model is released by GW then that means it won't be legends released right?

Probably. It's not a named character like Titus initial release, or some celebratory model like provisionally provided. But until they update the mainbooks it'll be a download as said in the article.

[Gorgoff]

1 hour ago, Aarik said:

Good, cool-looking models that I've got zero problems with in a vacuum.  But how many people actually wanted these in plastic?  Especially, wanted them over any other current non-plastic kit?  I feel like we've had it beaten into our heads how expensive it is to make molds for plastic kits and so GW has to be ever so careful and can only make them for kits it is confident will sell well enough to recoup the cost and more.  So it feels strange that they would dedicate such an apparently precious resource to something so random and ancillary (IMO only, no offense to anyone who likes it!).  I felt the same way, but a bit less strongly about the plastic Arvus lighter.  Cool model, the back hatch gunner looks sick, but who actually wants this? 

 

Me. 

Sick model and they updated it's rules so it actually usable. I can just tell from personal anecdotes and what the people on the discord server said but it was well received and people were happy. For SA it fills a niche none other unit could fill. 

1 hour ago, Aarik said:

Surely a plastic Taurox/Carnodon kit would sell much better and be much more useful? 

 

Debatable but yeah would be nice to get those in plastic. 

1 hour ago, Aarik said:

 

Same thing here.  There are a ton of resin models that I am sure people would prefer to be plasticized ahead of the Tarantula.

 

Oh absolutely. 

1 hour ago, Aarik said:

  I can understand SDS's decision to seemingly prioritize plasticizing the various Heresy tanks over many of the power-armored kits because its based on the premise that the cost/effort of resin tanks was a bigger barrier to Heresy army collecting, even if I may disagree.  But this seems like unnecessarily scraping the bottom of the barrel, or slavishly sticking to an overall plan that everything in LI would come to 32 mm too, when there are tons of higher priority models to focus on instead.    

I too think thst it was an odd choice to bring. Rapiers would be immensly more important but I have a glimpse of hope that the new rules will be in a way that those are playable again. The models look great and it would be cool to field them. 

[Marshal Loss]

Looks fine, but this is a strange kit to prioritise moving into plastic over the myriad of other things I think would be far more useful/in much higher demand.

[Matcap86]

Might be; IF the rumors of a new edition are true, they're getting the more esoteric units out beforehand. Then have the more core units as the big waves. But that's just me spitballing.

[PerfectChocolateMadeleine]

the models looks really cool!! hoping it's a small trickle of what they have lined up for this summer (GW show us the Mk IIs!!!)

[Xirix]

Always liked the Tarantula Sentry Guns, hope this means we get the Heavy Bolter/Lascannon ones too.

[SkimaskMohawk]

16 minutes ago, Nephaston said:

I assume they're gonna be cheap as chips points wise. which means that they're gonna be real good in filling those leftover points so any one player might just pick one up. Not even mentioning the occasional collector who doesn't magnetize, needs multiple of each, and/or has multiple legions. Or the eventual hevy bolter tarantula pulling double duty for auxilia players.

 

Either way the boffins at geedubs have decreed profitability, therefore it shall be so.

 

Idk how many examples we have of PDF units getting updated rules. The arvus got updated from its core rule version to be... basically the same. The exemplary battle stuff stayed... basically the same in their paid book. So tarantulas will most likely stay... basically the same. Maybe some variant of the missiles that will still scrap planes off intercept and do not much else otherwise.

 

The other thing is that unlike LI, AoS, or 40k, you need to have left over slots to take units, not just points. And there's a host of good fast attack choices to choose from.

[Hfran Morkai]

They're cool.

 

I would have hoped the anti-air version would come with a radar node but understand why they'd not include it.

 

Definitely would have been lower on my personal priorities.

 

As others have said, may be useful as a basis for a non-Scorpius Whirlwind.

[Marshal Mittens]

9 hours ago, Xirix said:

Always liked the Tarantula Sentry Guns, hope this means we get the Heavy Bolter/Lascannon ones too.

Maybe the Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Autocannon ones will be in the launch box? A quad Autocannon one made for AA would look like one of the models valrak described for the launch box. 

[Mogger351]

16 hours ago, Valkyrion said:

Being released later this year with free rules to download may imply that the Libers aren't being updated at launch of 3.0, further implying that the new edition will be an update rather than reboot maybe?

I'd read it as the opposite. Later this year can be 3 weeks away, it also doesn't rule out a day 1 "index" dump as it'd still be a free pdf until such time as it was printed somewhere.

 

If they'd published them in a supplement that would mean that the supplement was likely supported and the rules fairly stable. The fact they're holding off to bundle them in with something in a new edition signals new army books to me.

Edited yesterday at 07:56 AM by Mogger351
Weird triplicate post

[lhg033]

I like them ok but they dont have a 'wow' factor that will make me want to just buy them as a project piece. If they get included in a boxset I may end up with them.

What they have done is remind me I need to finish off painting the hammerfall bunker I was bought a while ago. 

I too would like the gun options, but mainly to see what they might be like for razor back turret alternatives.

[Gorgoff]

12 hours ago, SkimaskMohawk said:

 

Idk how many examples we have of PDF units getting updated rules. The arvus got updated from its core rule version to be... basically the same.

They gave him a 5+ save against intercept reactions which should make a big difference. 

And if they just add the rule from 1ed where they had preferred targets based on their guns they would be alright. 

[SkimaskMohawk]

4 hours ago, Gorgoff said:

They gave him a 5+ save against intercept reactions which should make a big difference

 

It helps on the intercept, sure. But without any real guns you don't really need to intercept it; you can just blast it in the shooting phase. And maybe swapping out the non functional smoke launcher is an indication that they'd fix the tarantula targeting.

 

They're just so inconsistent though, and it's hard to be hopeful.

 

 

[Xirix]

7 hours ago, Marshal Mittens said:

Maybe the Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Autocannon ones will be in the launch box? A quad Autocannon one made for AA would look like one of the models valrak described for the launch box. 

Maybe. If I recall that rumour was that the emplacement was massive though, but maybe that part was wrong.

[Mandragola]

1 hour ago, Xirix said:

Maybe. If I recall that rumour was that the emplacement was massive though, but maybe that part was wrong.

I think the rumour would have said it was a tarantula if it had been something so recognisable. And also these seem to come in twos. Might just be a coincidence and not prove anything either way.

 

I'm not personally excited by these but that's fine. The Heresy range is pretty huge now and it's probably not healthy to want all of it. It's nice to be getting to the more obscure stuff in a way. Or it would be, if it actually meant all the Core stuff was done. One day!

 

I'm not a huge fan of how they've designed these things. The missiles they fire are enormous, which is a problem when they only hit as hard as something a Legionary can fire from his shoulder. Very little would survive a hit from one of those Hyperios missiles in reality, for example, but mostly they'll just knock 1hp off, if that. Those frag missiles look like they could bring down buildings.

[Xenith]

Out of left field but I'm a fan, love some missiles, and they look like they'll fit in the turret ring of a scorpius? 

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

On 4/3/2025 at 9:06 PM, The4thHorseman said:

While I can appreciate the nod to the old Whirlwind Crayon launcher design, I do prefer the Previous Version of the Tarantulas.

 

Nah I prefer this new version based on the OG Whirlwind. Each to their own though, it'd be a boring, boring world if we all prefered the same thing, and to be fair I do really like the older one you shared with us, just not as much as the new one. Speaking the second ed Whirlwinds, do people think that the new multiple tube launcher would look good mounted on a Diemos Rhino as a Whirlwind substitute in my 40k 2nd edition army project or is it horribly over/undersized?

[LameBeard]

On 4/4/2025 at 5:14 PM, FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants said:

Nah I prefer this new version based on the OG Whirlwind. Each to their own though, it'd be a boring, boring world if we all prefered the same thing, and to be fair I do really like the older one you shared with us, just not as much as the new one. Speaking the second ed Whirlwinds, do people think that the new multiple tube launcher would look good mounted on a Diemos Rhino as a Whirlwind substitute in my 40k 2nd edition army project or is it horribly over/undersized?

The great thing about Warhammer is that there is not such thing as “horribly over-sized”. Dooooo iiiittttt.