Goonhammer reviews new Horus Heresy tanks, modular kits for painters

The new plastic tank wave is built for painters

Goonhammer’s Horus Heresy tank review lands exactly where armour painters live, between the build stage and the first coat of primer. The Falchion super-heavy tank, Whirlwind missile tank, and Spartan with different guns are not just new boxes to crack open, they are big, modular canvas pieces built around the things you notice first on the painting desk: broad plates, repeated panels, weapon swaps, and the kind of silhouette that can carry a full legion scheme without getting lost.

That modularity is the real story for hobbyists. Instead of treating these tanks as fixed, one-note kits, Games Workshop has leaned into combinations of existing tank forms and new sprues, which means more posing options, more weapon choice, and more opportunities to personalize the finish. For painters, that translates into cleaner sub-assemblies, easier access for weathering, and more freedom to decide whether the tank should look freshly rolled out of the forge world or hammered by a decade of Heresy campaigning.

Falchion: the biggest weathering canvas

The Falchion is the obvious centerpiece if you want your next project to feel like a statement piece. Games Workshop first revealed the plastic Falchion on March 9, 2026, describing it as a Titan-hunting super-heavy with a neutron-wave cannon, and the later preview lined up pre-orders alongside the Spartan Prometheus. It also brings a strong set of sponson choices, with laser destroyers, gravis heavy bolter batteries, or lascannon arrays available, so even the side profile can be tuned to match the look you want.

From a painter’s point of view, that is a gift. The Falchion’s long armour runs are perfect for layered weathering, streaking, and transfer work, while the weapon deck gives you a place to push contrast with heat staining, dark metals, or chipped hazard details. If you like classic Horus Heresy armour that looks credible under dust, grime, and battle damage, this is the kit that begs for a restrained basecoat and a lot of patient finishing.

It is also the strongest argument for dry fitting and sub-assemblies before paint. The review makes it clear that the new plastic build is a better experience than the older hybrid plastic-resin super-heavies, but it still rewards careful planning. Leaving the treads off until the final weathering stage, and treating the hull as a separate canvas from the lower run, makes the whole project easier to finish cleanly.

Whirlwind: missile lines, panel marks, and a cleaner read

The Whirlwind missile tank offers a different kind of satisfaction. Where the Falchion wants heavy weathering and the Spartan wants a broad legion billboard, the Whirlwind is the tank that rewards crisp graphic work and disciplined panel treatment. The missile tank silhouette naturally pulls the eye upward, which means markings, squad numbers, kill stripes, and chipped edge highlights have room to do more of the visual work.

That makes it a strong choice if you prefer a slightly cleaner finish. You can push the classic Horus Heresy look without burying the model under too much texture, focusing on the contrast between the launcher hardware and the armour plates around it. It is also the kind of vehicle that benefits from subtle unit identity, because the missile role reads best when the tank feels part of a disciplined artillery line rather than a lone wrecking machine.

For painters who enjoy a contained project with plenty of armour surface but less pressure to make every panel look crushed by combat, the Whirlwind sits in a very comfortable middle ground. It still belongs to the modular plastic push, so it carries the same advantage of easier handling and better access during the build, but its visual language is sharper and simpler than the super-heavy’s.

Spartan: the legion colour showcase

The Spartan Prometheus Assault Tank may be the best pure legion-colour display of the three. Warhammer Community’s May 17 preview put it up for pre-order alongside the Falchion and described it as a massive transport that can move Space Marines safely across the battlefield while also providing fire support. It can also be armed with laser destroyers or gravis heavy bolter batteries, which gives you enough weapon presence without overwhelming the hull itself.

That balance matters for painters. The Spartan’s long sides, broad front, and transport profile give transfers and chapter markings plenty of room to breathe, while the assault-tank silhouette keeps the model from feeling plain. If you want a vehicle that shows off a clean legion scheme first and weathering second, this is the one that lets the colour do the talking before the damage layers come in.

The Spartan also benefits from the same wider plastic retooling push that has been running since at least March 30, 2023, when older Horus Heresy resin vehicles were being converted around shared plastic sponson weapon frames. That kind of design consistency helps when you want your transports, support tanks, and super-heavies to look like they belong in the same force on the shelf as well as on the table.

Why this release wave matters to the hobby desk

This tank wave is part of a longer shift toward easier builds, more interchangeable parts, and better compatibility across the Legiones Astartes range. That matters because a great centrepiece kit is not only about the finished silhouette, it is about how comfortably you can stage the work: dry fitting, gap filling, leaving sections separate for primer and oil work, and returning later for chipping, rust, and dust. The review’s mention of an unfinished Blood Angels project because time ran short says plenty about these kits too, they are not quick wins, they are deliberate projects.

The new Mailed Fist: Legiones Astartes Super-Heavy Tanks Journal Tactica adds another layer to that picture, with 48 pages of background, new rules, and datasheets for new Legiones Astartes tanks. That gives the release real weight in both the lore and tabletop spaces, but for painters the appeal stays wonderfully immediate: these are models with enough surface area to carry a whole legion identity, enough modularity to support personalisation, and enough armour to make weathering look earned rather than added on.

For the next Horus Heresy project on your bench, the choice is now beautifully clear in spirit even if the kits each do different jobs. The Falchion gives you the most dramatic weathering canvas, the Whirlwind gives you the cleanest missile-platform character, and the Spartan gives you the broadest stage for legion colour and battlefield grime. That is exactly the kind of armour showcase painters notice first, because the best Heresy tanks do not just look lethal, they make every brush decision feel like part of the war.