by Jaenen

So, I had a notion; and that notion was that my Marines needed more tanks. Even more; it came to me that given all the new Primaris tanks are hovertanks; it could be fun to have some other hovertanks to go with. This was the result from a lot of fiddlefarting around in TinkerCAD. I think I have all the sources I lifted parts from listed; yes, there is an actual tank model underneath all of the nonsense; it's just badly covered over as I built a spacefuture tank around it. I used a different source for my sponson lascannon; the sponson mount is off of Seb's Sicaran proxy, so any of its sponsons should work too. Speaking of, I got the plasma cannon turret off of Seb's Omega Sicaran; but thingverse is being fiddly about letting me site stuff for some reason. Likewise, I found a different source for my turrets; but I can't find it now to site; so... sorry.

The intention here was for a Predator proxy; the datasheet came from my brain being a strange place to inhabit. I intended the turret and base to magnetize to the tank itself; for transport and swappableness. There's also a blank version of the bow (no DAngel winged sword; no imperial eagle) to make it easier to place a nice big chapter symbol down.

Anyway, hope this comes in useful or amusing for folks. Happy printing and happy gaming!

And of course there's lore to go with this; it wouldn't be me without it:

The Landshark Grav Tank is another fruit of the labors of Belisarius Cawl and his faction within the Adeptus Mechanicus. Intended to fill the same role in purely Primaris formations which is filled by the Predator Tank in standard Space Marine forces; it is a highly mobile light grav-tank capable of sporting a variety of armaments.

Details of the project’s origin are somewhat clouded; suggesting that Cawl himself (who never misses an opportunity for self promotion) had limited involvement with the project. Likely the Archmagos merely providing political cover for the development of such a new tank. Multiple Techmarines have commented that the anti-grav system of the Landshark bears as many similarities to that found in the wreckage of Tau Hammerheads as the system used by the venerable Land Speeder. Interestingly, it bears little more than token similarities with that of the Primaris Repulsor(which has the upshot that, unlike the Repulsor, it does not destroy any ground over which it passes; indeed it is almost as hard to track as a Landspeeder). This has lead some to speculate that, if the Magi who developed the tank did not enjoy the Archmagos’ patronage, they would very likely be looking at an investigation for Xenotech heresy.

However suspicious the tank’s origins, in its early tests it has proven a capable and dangerously mobile weapons platform; able to apply the Emperor’s Justice where it is needed with speed and precision. It is not without its limitations, however: the anti-grav system employed by the tank seems to have a rather hard upper limit to how much mass it can support; one that is not much higher than the weight of the tank; munitions; and crew itself – indeed, when equipped with the Onslaught cannon or Predator Autocannon; it is slightly sluggish at full load, which leads some tank crews to only bring partial ammunition loads; relying on the tank’s mobility to disengage and rearm rapidly.

Likewise, the interior of the tank is rather restricted. While it is clear that the designing Magi did know precisely how much space a Primaris Space Marine takes up, and they did, to their credit, ensure that there is technically enough room in the crew compartment for the crew to move around; they gave little to no thought to making doing so easy or convenient in any way. Some tank crews respond to this by stripping down their Mark X armor to its most streamlined form; compromising their own safety should enemy fire penetrate the tank’s armor. In some Chapters, the Landshark has actually been assigned to older; standard Space Marine crews; who find the tight confines of the Landshark to be less of a burden than their larger brethren – the cramped crew compartment means that they can easily reach controls intended for counterparts a full foot taller.

While it is uncertain if the Landshark will prove itself a mainstay of the Astartes armory – if nothing else; the possibility exists that Mars may take a hand in reigning in Cawl’s more exuberant underlings – those Astartes Chapters who have them at their disposal are making good use of them to deal with the Emperor’s enemies.