Chaos tanks

Chaos vehicles conversions are always great. Som today we look at some brightest examples of Predators and Vindicators, found in the Internet.


The Predator Destructor is the original model of Predator battle tanks, with its origins dating back to the Dark Age of Technology. The Predator was built in direct response to the threat of Orks, which were proving difficult for humanity to handle. Its combination of heavier armour and weaponry allowed the Predator to withstand Orkish attacks and easily destroy their vehicles. Soon the Predator became the standard fighting vehicle for all of humanity's armies, and would remain in that position throughout the Great Crusade, where its small troop carrying capacity would be replaced with space for more ammunition. Eventually, similar to the Rhino it was based on, the Predator Destructor would be restricted to use by the Space Marines only.


The Predator Annihilator is the second and latter of the two major patterns, though its introduction was not without controversy. According to the Liber Armorum the model did not appear until M36 - when it appeared during the Skarath Crusade.

The Adeptus Mechanicus was suitably infuriated at the Space Wolves' blasphemous alteration to a holy STC design, however their success could not be denied. While the Space Wolves continued to field Predator Annihilators, the Tech-priests examined the design, debated its sanctity in councils and ran extensive trials. Two hundred years later, it was found that the modified tank was not only acceptable to the Machine God, but that the Predator was intentionally designed to accept such a retrofit. The Predator Annihilator has since found its way into the Armouries of many other Space Marine Chapters.



When they first rebelled against the Emperor, the Traitor Legions took with them their Predator Destructors, many of which still remain operational over 10,000 years later. Though they share some similarities to their Loyalist cousins, many of these once-noble machines have been twisted and warped by the power of Chaos, including outright possession by Daemons. Older patterns of Chaos Predators dating back to the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy are known as Infernal Relic Predators.



The Vindicator has been in use by Imperial forces since the Great Crusade, and it has hardly changed since those turbulent days so long ago. The Space Marine Legions that sided with the corrupted Warmaster and Primarch of the Luna WolvesHorus Lupercal, used their Vindicators against the Loyalist forces of the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. The Traitor Legions used hundreds of Vindicators during their Siege of the Imperial Palace on Terra at the end of the Heresy, where the vehicle's extreme firepower overwhelmed the extensive Imperial fortifications and helped the Traitors get ever closer to the Imperial Palace.



After the Horus Heresy ended in a pyrrhic victory for the Emperor's Loyalists, the Traitors fled into the Eye of Terror, and luckily the number of Vindicators they still have in their possession is quite low in the 41st Millennium, due to the Traitor Legions' inability to easily replace their losses. The only Traitor Legion that still commands a large number of Vindicators is the Iron Warriors Legion and their various warbands. The Iron Warriors maintain a large number of Vindicators, enough to field them in entire squadrons. These vehicles are adorned with statues from cities destroyed by the Iron Warriors. There are rumours of Vindicators that have become corrupted and infected with the power of the Warp, making them all but unstoppable on the battlefield. These Vindicators have nearly impenetrable armour adorned with chains, talismans, and cursed, glowing Chaotic sigils that are driven by no living creature but animated by the possessing spirit of a daemon.




The Vindicators under the control of Chaos Space Marine warbands are usually armed with either pintle-mounted twin-linked Bolters (Combi-Bolter) or other Combi-Weapons. Vindicators in use by Chaos and Renegade warbands that have recently betrayed the Imperium, or recently captured Imperial Vindicators, may be armed instead with a Storm Bolter or even a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher. They can also be armed with a Havoc Missile Launcher, an ancient weapon system that has long fallen out of use in the Imperium.



Chaos Vindicators can also be equipped with Siege Shields, destroyer blades, Dirge Casters, extra armour plating, Chaos Icons or Marks, or Warpflame Gargoyles. They may also be possessed by a daemon, or be bestowed with other "gifts" from the Chaos Gods. The Vindicator gives all of its interior troop space over to carrying the ammunition for its Demolisher Cannon and as such cannot transport any passengers.



The Imperial Vindicator is armed with a hull-mounted, forwards-firing Demolisher Cannon. This large weapon fires massive, rocket-propelled high-explosive shells that are capable of inflicting great amounts of damage against enemy structures. Several Demolisher Cannon shells fired from this tank are usually more than enough to bring down most buildings. The Vindicator is often used during urban battles, or battles fought in dense terrain such as jungles and forests, so that the weapon's relatively short-range will not affect its performance. The Vindicator is not equipped with any other weapons, but can be equipped with a pintle-mounted Storm Bolter