The Land Speeder Missing Weapons Options

[ElectricPaladin]

I was flipping through my copy of Codex: Blood Angels and I saw something odd - the land speeder has two equipment options that are not present in the box. The rail-mounted gun can be a heavy bolter or a multi-melta (both in the box), but it can also be a heavy flamer (not in the box). The chin-mounted gun can be heavy flamer or an assault cannon (both in the box), but it can also be a multi-melta or a heavy bolter (not in the kit).

Now, the fact is that none of these weapons options are really all that attractive in a typical game... but I play a lot of variants, and I have to admit that some of the missing options would be neat. I mean, a land speeder with two heavy flamers in a Cities of Death environment? Screw your cover! Two multi-meltas in a game of Spearhead? Screw that tank in particular! Boom!

The conversions don't seem particularly hard to carry off - The body of a heavy flamer and a multi-melta are similar enough that I can just swap the barrels and have a pretty convincing heavy flamer for the rail and multi-melta for the nose, and I can more or less do the same thing to turn the nose-mounted assault cannon bit into a heavy bolter. Before I start sharpening my knife, though, I have a few questions...

1) Is this oddity present in the newer version of the kit?

2) Is this disparity still present in the newest Space Marine codex (since we already know that variant marines tend to follow the C:SM version)?

3) Is there anything else I should know before I start spending money on bits?

[Darren Richardson]

Ok C:SM says all Landspeeders are armed with A Heavy Bolter as standard.

They may trade in the Heavy Bolter for a Heavy Flamer or a Multi-Melta

And any Landspeeder make take one of the following options as well
Heavy Bolter
Heavy Flamer
Multi-melta
Typhoon Missile Launcher
Assault Cannon.

From Gamesworkshops Website

This box set contains one multi-part plastic Space Marine Land Speeder. This 60-piece kit allows you to assemble any of the three Land Speeder variants, including the Tornado and Typhoon pattern Land Speeders. This set contains all of the weapon options allowed by Codex: Space Marines including: an assault cannon, a heavy flamer, a Typhoon missile launcher, a multi-melta and a heavy bolter. Also included are Chapter symbols for the Blood Angels, the Dark Angels, the Ultramarines and the Space Wolves.

Hope this helps EP

Edit:

looking closely at the pictures though, I only see an underslung Assault Cannon on any of the models shown.

[Darren Richardson]

ah looking through an old 2004 catalogue I notice the older LS Typhoon kit had metal components for an underslung Assualt cannon AND Heavy Flamer, so I assume that the writers have allowed for older models to be usuable.

which makes a change

Edit:

Looking through the old 1991 catalogue, Landspeeders back then all came with Heavy Bolters & either a Multi-melta or a Plasma Gun!

[Darren Richardson]

looking through the 2002 SM Collectors Guide, the classic (2nd Ed) Landspeeder had a Top Mounted Heavy Flamer and came with an underslung Multi-Melta as standard.

[Wolfshade]

looking through the 2002 SM Collectors Guide, the classic (2nd Ed) Landspeeder had a Top Mounted Heavy Flamer and came with an underslung Multi-Melta as standard.

I don't know what you mean, mine has the top Heavy Flamer and the bottom multi-melta...

[Darren Richardson]

I don't know what you mean, mine has the top Heavy Flamer and the bottom multi-melta...

Wolfshade that's the 1st ed landspeeder, this is the 2nd Ed version



Edit: Sorry don't know how to get the picture bigger.

[Wolfshade]

I know (all)

I was just showing that mine had the top mounted flamer

[Darren Richardson]

I know (all)

I was just showing that mine had the top mounted flamer

Dooh!

I feel for that one hook line and sinker Wolfy...

I forgot the older versions you could interchange them!

[Storm96]

The new C:SM has all the same weapon options as the one listed in C:BA. The current Space Marine Land Speeder kit comes with top mounted heavy bolter or multimelta and an underslung assault cannon or heavy flamer. And of course the typhoon launchers. There is no top mount heavy flamer nor underslung multimelta or heavy bolter included in the kit. Now I imagine conversions aren't too difficult but it would've been nice if all weapon options for all locations were present. I have many many land speeders and the ones not finished yet are the ones with dual weapons (dual hb, hf and mm). Ive just been too lazy to convert weapon positions.

[ElectricPaladin]

Honestly, the only conversions I'm likely to do are the upper flamer and the lower multi-melta. A dual flamer speeder for chasing light infantry out of cover and a dual melta for tank hunting are just too good to pass up. A dual heavy bolter speeder.... eh... why wouldn't I just want either an assault cannon for anti-infantry or a typhoon launcher for range?