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.

Quick question about the solar auxilia tank commander. He's bought in the HQ section as an upgrade for a leman russ or a baneblade. Do I have to have purchased the tank he goes in in the heavy support/lord of war section for him to ride in, or does the tank become a HQ selection?

The commander's points cost is given as '55+cost of tank' which would imply that I buy it as a HQ, but the entry also says 'must be attatched to a tank that is also present in the army'.

Any help here?

My reading is that you take the vehicle as a HS/LoW slot, and then the Tank Commander is simply an upgrade that happens to cost a HQ slot as well.
So a Tank Commander Malcador would use both a HQ and a HS slot, and also count as your mandatory HQ for an Allied detachment.
It means that the number of tanks in the army is still limited to the availability of HS/LoW slots remaining. I would assume that they also count as both a HQ and a HS slot for objective purposes.