The Horus Heresy train has no brakes! Here is our review for yet another plastic set, this time for the ever-popular Leviathan Dreadnought in its close combat configuration with a choice of siege claws and/or drills. Let’s see what’s hidden in the box and what all the options are.

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Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with claw and drill weapons packaging
This item was provided by Games Workshop. Thoughts and opinions are our own.

The Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with claw & drill weapons will be available for preorder starting Saturday, July 23 2022, and on sale one week after. This kit has close combat weapons only, so apparently, there will be another set with ranged weapons at a later date, however, an exact date is not yet known. Update: The ranged weapons Leviathan Dreadnought has been released, check out our review here. The close combat weapon arms sprue will also be available separately from games-workshop.com next week.

Leviathan Dreadnought review

The plastic Leviathan Dreadnought box reveals four medium-sized sprues, an 80 mm base, and a small transfer sheet with Sons of Horus and Imperial Fists iconography. Body and upper arms are distributed over 3 sprues, while the fourth sprue has the close combat hands. Judging from the sprue layout, it’s very likely that the ranged weapon kit will just swap the close combat sprue for a heavy weapons sprue.

Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with claw and drill weapons box contents
Leviathan Dreadnought with claw and drill weapons unboxing

Just as the plastic Contemptor Dreadnought, this is a complex multipart model that is freely posable thanks to articulated legs, arms, and fingers, and a hip swivel.

Leviathan Siege Dreadnought body sprues
Generic Leviathan Dreadnought sprues

The body has a lot of customization options. A choice of flat and stepping feet allows for a variety of poses and stances. While there is only one head, there are three different chest plates (a bare one, one with a scroll relief, and one with a skull and lightning arrows). There are also three different groin guards (a bare one, one with a skull and laurel motif, and one with the eye of Horus). It doesn’t stop there, we also have two optional carapace trims, and there is a plain frame for the head and one with a serrated halo. Pretty cool, and also bodes well for the expanded Contemptor kit.

Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with claw and drill weapons sprues
Legs and close combat sprues

For the armament we get two hands, both can be built with siege claws or as siege drills, so you can double up on your preferred close combat weapon. For the body, there is the choice between heavy flamers and twin-linked volkite calivers, and you can also add an optional phosphex discharger on top of the carapace.

Magnetizing the plastic Leviathan Dreadnought

The arm joints are similar in design to the plastic Contemptor, so magnetizing shouldn’t be a problem. Changing the claw and drill fingers will be difficult, because the contact surfaces are very small. As you can see on the sprue, you only get two “hands”. However, there are cables that connect the lower arms with the shoulder pieces D16 and D17. From what I’ve seen on the promotional pictures, the ranged Leviathan Dreadnought doesn’t have these cables and uses different shoulder pieces for parts D16 and D17 without connectors for the cables. So if you plan on magnetizing the arms you should probably wait for the ranged Dreadnought version to plan accordingly. Update: Check our review of the ranged Leviathan for a comparison between both shoulder assemblies.

Value

The RRP of £47.50 / 62.50 € is another step-up from the Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought. And even though the Redemptor is slightly larger, the Leviathan Dreadnought is a more complex build and has one more sprue than the Redemptor.

Comparison of a resin Leviathan Dreadnought and Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought
Size comparison of a Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought and resin Leviathan Dreadnought (source unknown, image used without permission)

Since the plastic Leviathan Dreadnought is significantly cheaper than the resin model (the Legion-specific bodies currently cost £58.50 and the arms £15.50 each), I find the price acceptable, especially as there are many build and weapon options included. Of course, it would have been great if the ranged weapon arms had also been included, but I’m sure that would have made the model significantly more expensive.

The Leviathan Dreadnought is available at our partner stores Wayland GamesElement Games, and Taschengelddieb, which offer welcome discounts of up to 20% over RRP:

By using our links you’ll support our work here at Tale of Painters at no extra cost to you, thank you very much!

13
3
0
1
2
0

9.0
Score

Pros

  • Fully posably with articulated legs, hips, arms, and fingers
  • Both hands can be assembled as claws or drills
  • Multiple chest and groin plates and personalization options

Cons

  • Ranged weapons will be available in a separate kit
  • Rather complex assembly

Final Verdict

Another perfect plastic recreation of a beloved Horus Heresy design. The Leviathan Dreadnought is chunky, fully posable, and doesn't compromise on details with a choice of secondary weapons and customizing options. Some will complain that you have to get a second Dreadnought for the ranged weapons (not yet released), but on the other hand, the price remains quite reasonable for probably exactly that reason.