Land raider sponson positions

[trjames]

Hi all,

I've seen a discussion lately about where to put sponsons on land raiders, but I lost it and there never really was a consensus (may not have been on this forum, can't find it with search).

When you're modeling your land raiders, where do you put the sponsons? I often see plain jane LRs with them on the rear, and LRCs with them on the front. Is that dictated by some rule somewhere that I'm not aware of, or is it personal choice?

I'm just now getting around to attaching my sponsons with something more substantial than blue tack, and I personally am leaning toward putting all of them on the front position - wouldn't want to get out of a door in front of a lascannon or hurricane bolter myself, why would I force my troops to do so?

Vote your preference!

[Nabterayl]

Those are the traditional depictions; i.e., the way GW builds its Land Raiders and variants. Personally I think you're free to do either. I note that leaving the front side hatches free gives you a little more flexibility in terms of how you deploy, though you sacrifice a bit of range.

[themacdiesel]

You forgot the option "magnetize them so you can swap back/forth..."

Seriously though, was just having this conversation with my son about a LRC he is building. I think putting the hatches in the back gives you more options/ability to deploy large squads... remember your 2" disembark move, and the size of those hatches, and it's marginally harder for an enemy to surround a LR to prevent you from disembarking if they pop it.

[trjames]

You forgot the option "magnetize them so you can swap back/forth..."

Seriously though, was just having this conversation with my son about a LRC he is building. I think putting the hatches in the back gives you more options/ability to deploy large squads... remember your 2" disembark move, and the size of those hatches, and it's marginally harder for an enemy to surround a LR to prevent you from disembarking if they pop it.

This is the option I've been researching since I posted that. Thinking about making a small plasticard and foam drawer to fit in the assault ramp as a place to store the weapons not currently in use. That'll be the ticket. I've only got one regular LR at the moment, but I think I'm going to order the LRC/LRR sprue so I can have all three options. :D

[lobster-overlord]

Personally, I always build them on the front, mainly from a "don't mow them down" philosophy. Why would you deploy your troops in front of your guns. Having the guns to the front would allow them to provide cover fire while the troops disembark to the side behind them. If they are too close together when you disembark, you can't even shoot through them as they could potenitally block LOS completely, and not even get the shot off.

The last thing you need to do is mow down 12 neophytes with your hurricane bolters in their first battle.

John M>

[chromedog]

Given that the box artwork shows them in both forward and rear positions, then the correct place to put them is in either location.

Yes, for some weapons, rear loses some range (2" or so - important on template weapons, not so on lascannons), but it doesn't really matter to me.

I use the rear spots for all of my Raiders. This way the front doors can have "Caution: Do not stand in front of laser cannons" decals applied to them.