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Land Raider Celebrates 25 Years as a Warhammer 40,000 Icon
What is the appropriate tribute for a tank’s milestone? Perhaps updated tracks or specialized maintenance supplies? In a unique commemoration, Games Workshop is marking the 25th anniversary of the Land Raider for Warhammer 40,000 with a retrospective, celebrating the history of this iconic armored vehicle within the popular tabletop wargame. This tribute highlights the enduring legacy of the Land Raider, a cornerstone of many Warhammer 40K armies.
Origins of the Land Raider
The Land Raider, in its current iteration, has reached its quarter-century mark. Games Workshop notes that its lineage extends back to the initial edition of Warhammer 40,000 in 1987. The original model was a handcrafted miniature, conceived from spare components by sculptor Dave Andrews, who ingeniously utilized pen caps for the tank’s treads.
Evolution from Scratch-Built to Plastic Kit
A commercially available version emerged the following year, becoming one of Games Workshop’s pioneering plastic model kits during a period dominated by lead miniatures. This initial kit was smaller compared to the contemporary MkIII variant. The MkIII, launched 25 years ago in 2000, was then the largest plastic kit offered by Games Workshop. According to the company, it was “at least a third larger than its ancestor,” featuring functional doors that provided a view of the interior, prompting speculation on how it could accommodate ten space marines.
The Land Raider’s Place in Warhammer 40K Lore
While cherished as a centerpiece for tabletop armies and digital forces in games like Dawn of War, the Land Raider‘s background is a subject of debate among Warhammer 40K enthusiasts. As chronicled in the Horus Heresy series, the names Land Raider and Land Speeder do not denote ground-based travel. They are both named in honor of Arkhan Land, a figure from the tech-priesthood.
Arkhan Land and Deeper Lore
This detail may elicit skepticism from readers of 40K novels, yet these unconventional details are integral to the Warhammer 40,000 universe. This information is not recent, dating back to at least a 1990 article in Games Workshop’s magazine, White Dwarf, and it offers a certain internal consistency. Just as one might take a train instead of a car to navigate city traffic, the naming convention within the lore holds a similar rationale. Furthermore, the existence of dedicated adherents within the Imperium, persisting millennia later in meticulously correcting the tank’s nomenclature to “Land’s Raider,” exemplifies the intricate and sometimes eccentric lore that prevents Warhammer 40K from becoming overly grim.
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