Manufacturer: 3-D Printed
Year: 2021
Range/set: Rogue Trader Artillery
Model number: 503278
Sculptor: MKojiro (Cults)

Thanks to Roger for printing these for me.

More precisely spelled “bombot,” these little fellas were first featured in the “Miscellaneous Equipment” list in 1987’s landmark Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (page 121). They even got an illustration, yet were never made into miniatures!

For your pleasure, here is the full text from the entry:

“A bombot is a simple robot. It is designed to move towards a target and explode. Bombots has [sic] a move of 4”, subject to the usual modifiers, and are moved just like ordinary troops. During his own turn a player can elect to explode his bombot at any convenient (or inconvenient) moment. Bombots explode with the effect of any of the grenade types. Technical level 7.”

I have numbered them in order to easily identify them when carrying different types of grenades. Curiously, there is no indication in the text of an armor save. I have typically played with bombots having a 6+ save, although “rules as written” I expect you would treat this as a “Small Tracked Robot” with 1 Equipment Point, and if a save roll is desired, fill that slot with a random type of Field Armour (Conversion, Displacer, Refractor, or Stasis). Man, I love Rogue Trader.

These first saw action in the Rogue Trader scenario at 3-D Roleplay Con III in May of 2023. The enemy – played by my friend Nico – was very disappointed when he nuked one of my bombots and the only outcome was the removal of a handful of shrubs from the field, thanks to the anti-plant grenades the bombot had been carrying.