Review: Horus Heresy Leviathan Dreadnought with ranged weapons

After the plastic close combat Leviathan has taken the hearts of hobbyists by storm, now comes the Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with ranged weapons. In our review, we take a look at the new ranged combat sprue and show you what options you can look forward to (and what you will, unfortunately, have to do without).

The Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with ranged weapons will be available for preorder starting Saturday, August 13 2022, and on sale one week after. This kit has ranged weapons only, so for the close combat options, you need to get the other Leviathan Dreadnought set or pick up the close combat weapon arms sprue, which is available separately from games-workshop.com. The ranged weapons sprue will also be available separately next week.

Leviathan Dreadnought review

When we crack open the Leviathan Dreadnought box, we’ll find four medium-sized sprues, an 80 mm base, and a small transfer sheet with Sons of Horus and Imperial Fists iconography. If you bought the close combat Leviathan Dreadnought or read our review, you know what to expect: Body and upper arms are distributed over 3 sprues, and instead of the close combat sprue we get a sprue for the three ranged weapon choices.

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

As the sprues are the same as the close combat Leviathan, 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.

The kit has a choice of three ranged weapons for the arms: a grav-flux bombard, a cyclonic melta lance, and a storm cannon. Each weapon is only included once, so if you want to double down or add a close combat weapon, you need to get an additional weapons sprue from Games Workshop’s website. 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 ranged Leviathan Dreadnought is a bit easier to magnetize, as the weapon arms don’t have exterior cables that connect to the shoulders. But this also does mean you need to get creative when you want to switch between close combat and ranged weapons, as the close combat arms require pieces D17 and D16 for the shoulders to accommodate the cables, while the ranged weapon arms require the exhaust grills E32 and E31, which lack the cable sockets. Compare steps 10c and 10f in the manuals.

Value

As I’ve noticed in my close combat Leviathan Dreadnought review, the RRP of £47.50 / 62.50 € is another step-up from the Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought, though the Leviathan Dreadnought is a more complex build and has one more sprue than the Redemptor.

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, though it stings that you need to purchase an additional sprue if you want to double down on a single weapon choice, unlike the close combat version, which could assemble both hands with claws or drills. With an RRP of £16 / 21 Euro, the weapon sprues are quite pricey, considering they are direct only items that aren’t available from independent gaming stores with a discount.

However, the Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with ranged weapons is, so you can grab the kit at our partner stores Wayland Games, Element Games, and Taschengelddieb with discounts of up to 20% over RRP:

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