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So I built my landraider, followed the instructions in the kit and placed the side sponsons of my hurricane bolters where they recommended, which was at the back of the model.

I played a game with a player who had his sponsons mounted on the front part of the side of the tank.

Is that legal?

Ive seen pictures of it done both ways by players
And even GW has the flamestrom cannon mounted further forward.

Was I an idiot for not mounting them at the front and gaining that +2.5"? why wouldn't every one do this?
And why would GW tell you to put them further back if they can be mounted at the front?

It doesn't matter. They are shown many different ways, forward and backsides. And there are many different threads on this topic.

Some people don't mind, some claim it's MFA. As GW itself has the sponsons all over the place, and I know from personal experience older kits told you to place them in whichever place you want, I know how I feel about it.

Your model, you can do what you want with it. If your opponent has a problem, he can decline playing with you. If you are competing in tournaments, check with the TO, as his is the only opinion that matters on that day.

There are periodically threads that show up where this gets hashed out again.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/525568.page
was the last time, My post in there references the time before. Enjoy.

Oh god not this again.

I put my Hurricanes to the back in 5th so I wouldn't have disembark issues with terminators. Now that it is a 6" move, that doesn't matter so much. But a 2" range advantage isn't the worst thing I've seen.

Use the search button, all your answers will be found there. If you can't be bothered to do that, then here's the answer that usually gets given a million times each time this thread comes up, which is so often that it seems to have replaced the 'fate of the Primarchs' weekly guest spot;

Your model, your rules. Front or back, no one actually cares, both are legal.

Oh christ, I thought this topic had died...

It's entirely up to you, you paid for the model, you could mount them on the roof facing backwards for all it's worth, but a difference of wherever they're on the front or rear positions is unlikely to cause major rules discussions unless you're up against a really TFG.

The original box for the current landraider model has them mounted on the front.

With 5th ed disembarking rules it was sometimes tough to get all of the models out of the front ramp on a redeemer or crusader so rear sponsons was sometimes good. 6th has pretty much made this a non-issue.

Lots of people have very strong opinions on which looks better - I prefer the look of front myself (plus who wants to get out of door that's right in front of a weapon mount!)

ETA:

 Scott-S6 wrote:
The original box for the current landraider model has them mounted on the front.

With 5th ed disembarking rules it was sometimes tough to get all of the models out of the front ramp on a redeemer or crusader so rear sponsons was sometimes good. 6th has pretty much made this a non-issue.

Lots of people have very strong opinions on which looks better - I prefer the look of front myself (plus who wants to get out of door that's right in front of a weapon mount!)

ETA:

you know what I like about that image? The LandRaider has cargo for on top of it, like an IG tank would.

I always figured that the lascannons drew their power from a generator on the engine, which is in the back so it made sense to put them there. The flamers and bolters, however, have their own ammo packs so they can be wherever, and the front makes sense due to the nature of the weapon. But that's just how I do mine.

Personally, I would mount them up front, myself. (I'm a big fan of the school of thought that doesn't want to put the doors in the firing path of the weapons. I KNOW the weapons would be firing over your head, but it's a paranoia thing.)

It may help you to get some perspective on this if you read some of the older threads. Some people feel very strongly that assembling your models in any way other than what is shown in the assembly instructions is the very definition of modeling for advantage. In this poll, 9% of respondents felt that the assembly instructions were rules, which had to be followed the same as any others. 14% of respondents felt that assembly instructions could sometimes be interpreted as rules, while 73% felt that the assembly instructions had no bearing on the rules and the legality of models.

Personally, me and a dead owl don't give a hoot. Build your models however you like.