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Look at this finished works of Mk. 1 Leman Russ tank.
'Leman Russ' as we known to day is Mk 4 (or Mk 5) i think., ones that only turrets updates with new editions. the track bogie still remains the same, (except in sprue details). but... the first Leman Russ shown up in EPIC 40k, and each 'marks' has some 'noticable' differences. namely that Mark 1 is more like a landship with smaller turret than mark 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W1RpsY321A

^ The 28mm scale, is it the works of Dakka members? and who?
I can say it is indeed scratchbuilt.

http://www.displacedminiatures.com/semai99/image/1310/11073/
^ The earliest Leman Russ released by GW. (Mark 1 and 2). note that the track bogies look so edgy, it eventually becomes rounder in Mk 4.

the differences of the two 'marks' means that Admech did improve the modern designs over previous ones. (developed either by crew experiences or the new STC printous discovered... but not everything ADMECH creates are STC designed, look at Ragnarok backstory. it was designed out of urgency in Krieg where resources and facilities required to make Leman Russ was not available due to the wartime damage). yet no puctures of LRuss Mk1 interior ever released. i supposed that it is different to Mk4 (which released in GW books. please DON'T show LRuss interior here OK?) . it might even be a dead track or primitive sprung suspensions just like WW1 landships. but sure that Mk4 is better.

on the history
1. Is Mark 1 appears during Horus Heresy? or before that?. Leman Russ is relatively new compared to STC-designed Blade family (IG Baneblades, and SM Glaives, for example), and the most ancient Imperial vehicle classified as battletank is Malcador. which it reflexes real world evolutions of tanks. Malcador itself is landship and share some performances of WW1 'landships'--i.e. lumbering slow, unreleiable, noisy, bulky, yet intimidating.
2. Is Conqueror also Mark 1? Standard leman russ did not become common in the times Admech can still produce 'Executioner' tank (one that has plasma main gun). also lighter Conqueror was more common in the times of Horus Heresy. Conqueror uses (gunpowder) cannon. similar to Leman Russ. (but weaker!). While the reasons Executioner becomes rare in the 41st /42nd millenium is obivious (modern Admechs lost its technology and tools to produce plasma maingun). the reasons Conqueror is no longer common is more dubious. technology to make Conquerer main gun is not complex. it shares the same as battlecannon. why is Conquerer no longer a preferred tank of any IG formations.? is Leman Russ Mk 4 MBT an 'improvement' over Conqueror too?

GW released the Mk1 back when Epic was set during the Heresy, but the Mk1 was still the main version when Epic was bumped forward to M41. As far as I'm aware GW has never given any indication that the 'Mk1' actually exists in the modern timeline.

The LRBT Mk1 looks like a strange hybrid of the Mark 4 British WW1 tanks, and a Hotchkiss H-39 turret and tail with a slightly larger bore gun.

As for the Conquerer. It to my knowledge is not a Mark 1 and came much later, being mainly about its cannon which had a smaller propellant charge allowing it to be fired on the move, but later rules made it obsolete or something. I don't remember much about it.

The initial Russ kit was a french interwar tank design kit with a new GW sprue with turret, sponson and weapons. Its been through enough redesigns now that it is uniquely GW.

The in universe history of the tank is that it is an ancient design that's low tech but rugged and easy to maintain. So it has lasted while the heavy tank designs like the Maldicore and Sigilate heavy tank based designs were mothballed.

I keep hearing of the original design for the Russ being based on a tractor or some other utilitarian vehicle turned war machine. I can't really believe it overall at least not in a manner of the Leman Russ being a tractor with a gun bolted on.

Mostly due to the rhomboid tracks.

It might be my knowledge of history with the early tanks literally taking the tracks and suspension designs from the Holt Tractor and just bolting armored boxes on top of these tracks (see the French St Chamond and the German A7V).

While others divert completely the other way and practically ignore the tractor altogether, only keeping the tracks themselves and making a new suspension design like the British rhomboid tanks, the Whippet "medium" tank, the FT-17 Renault etc.

by interwar tanks barely had any influence of the Holt tractor left. and when WW2 hit there was no trace left besides the constant caterpillar tracks themselves which had improved and changed in design.

My personal beliefs of the Leman Russ origins is a hybrid of WW1 tank creation and the evolution of the MBT.
It could have been influenced by the original utility vehicle (the missing [track] link) but the design quickly gained the rhomboid appearance of its brethren (like the forge world heresy tanks) and over time it was constantly refined and perfected, much like the lascannon. as it evolved from the Mk1 its turret widened and flattened as it progressed through the marks and with combat experience and the introduction of a modular turret design that is roughly standardized in the imperium, multiple variants evolved with different weapons systems and abilitys.


The modular set up of the Russ, its sheer robustness, ability to run on anything that burns, and the fact that an idiot could operate the machine and it would keep going made it outlive its mechanical brothers in arms not counting its ancient big brother the Baneblade which possibly influenced the little Russ due its modular design and ability to have its hull or other systems calibrated to be used for other roles like Titan Killer, Siege breaking and more.

Its kind of how I came to the design concept of my own version of the Russ, which I named the "Vanguard" but that's another story.

As for "official" history. All I can find it that it says it served in the Great Crusade (battle tank and executioner versions) and that "all other history is missing" or some other wording saying there is no information on where it came from.


Edit: I found a tank that looks a lot like our little friend the Russ.
The French ARL 44 is a WW2 tank design (designed in ww2, and actually built afterwards)
It looks a lot like the Russ, make the tracks likely more rhomboid, bolt on sponsons and a lascannon and your really close.