Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

This whole thread just reinforces how much I hate the Leman Russ... chaos0xomega, when are you gonna get finished with that tank!!!.

My opinion is that there is a beauty in practicality and functionality. All tanks throughout history, even the modern ones, have never been considered "Beautiful"(One of the reasons you'll never Designer Car use a tank's aesthetics), but my problem with the Leman Russ is that it's so horribly made that it has no functionality or practicality. It's so bad, it's more of a liability on the battlefield than anything else.

The funny part is, my games so far have shown this. Every vehicle(LRs and Chimeras) I have ever fielded that went into terrain has been immobilized(I'm only play a few games, but still) and lost me the game because of it. I don't see why suspension has to be the most advanced piece of vehicle technology that the Imperium owns, that can only be given to Space Marines and the Baneblade. It can't be that great.

Until GW get's their act together, I will use Elysians for my infantry(As Cadian proportions suck), This: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/275225.page for my Chimeras, Lots of Valkyries/Vendettas and this: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/60/294661.page for my Leman Russes.

/Rant over

Well that is why superheavy tanks never really caught on. Air power and all that good stuff, but damn it do they look cool!

In all honesty the Leman Russ resembled the bastard child of both the Mark I, and a World War II tank. In all honesty, I do quite like the design, which is why I field a lot of them. I do complain that the gun is too wide for its length, but I overlook that in favor of the brutal agressive look. Does it make sense? No. Does it look badass and cool? Yes.

Remember, in 40k, Rule of Cool IS physics.

They don't make any sense, but it doesn't matter to me. They're big metal chunks with oversized cannons, WW1 tracks and sponsons, and they fit the Imperial Guard to a tee in my opinion... I was very relieved when the new Russ kit came out that they didn't change anything too much.

The Baneblade is kinda the embodiment of Awesome but Impractical.

"ELEVEN BARRELS OF HELL!"

Just because the models dont show it well doesn't mean its not there, leman russes are shown to have suspension in a lot of BL books and in imperial armour are shown to be considerably bigger than the models imply.

And with regards to the lack of sloped armour, if you were to field a vehicle that will either end up fighting against weapons that lack the ability to get through the hull (Autocannons, Shootas etc) or dont give a damn how sloped it is (Bright/Darklances, Railguns etc) would you really bother with such a minor and somewhat redunted design as sloped armour? or just rely on the thousands of other tanks rolling of the line behind it to get the job done knowing that the losses will be replenished in a few days due to the mass production?

In the Imperium it's quantity over quality.

Taking a second look at the model, the Russ does indeed have sloped armor. Laser weaponry though renders it half-moot (sloped armor is designed to both increase thickness to actual material ratio, AND to help deflect projectiles. While it still provides the extended thickness due to being sloped, it does zero difference to deflecting a laser shot, as that just melts through the armor, caring not for it's shape).

10 SM in PA could never fit in a Rhino! His head is below his shoulders! His shoulders are wider than the door! His legs would never fit! That range is way too small for a gun that can fire a round a mile away!

These complaints always arise and always have a degree of validity. I also think sacrificing scale and realism for playability and aesthetics is perfectly justifiable in a fantasy/sci-fi miniatures game.

Personally, I think IG tanks are just fine. Not great, but more than adequate. Yes, they're predominantly impractical, but so is having a face that's perpetually contorted in a primal howl of rage. They have a distinctive look and feel which I think suits the IG rather well. Could they have pulled off the "World War Grimdark" a tad better? Surely.

They've got their own style, which is alright, but practicality doesn't really come into it. Fluff wise I could understand if they were build and created on a world without so many millenia of advancement, but to call some of the vehicles out there the pinacle of mankind's engineering is a bit tongue in cheek I think-sure the marine tanks are just converted exploratary vehicles, and sealed enviroment craft, but what does that make the guard ones...is the chimera meant to be a heavy goods vehicle originally or something? Anyhow, they're mehish. Personally I prefer to make my own tank, in keeping with the GW style, just because the GW models don't appeal to me much. =/