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Hello Dakka


I've been tempted to start a Tau army for some time now...but there is one thing that bugs me about them...they have the potential to be a real grimdark, nasty looking, badassery styled force...but how the feth would I go about modelling them like this???


I'm mostly just looking for inspiration...but any tutorials of how others have made their Tau more awesome would be greatly appreciated

Spiky bits. and black paint.and red paint.

...you are joking...right? XD

LazzurusMan wrote:...you are joking...right? XD

What? he only described the basic requirements for Grimdarkness...

Basing has a really big effect on the overall appearance of a model. Tau soldiers, even in their usual brown/orange theme, look much more "grim-dark" on a base of ashes/ruins/war remains.

Also, adding war fatigue will help (i.e. weapon burns, engine exhaust, a little blood here and there).

I intended to paint them fittingly...it's just I was wondering if it is possible to model them in a more...combat orientated way...I've seen people make battle suits look less like a clunky suit of armour...and more like a...well...there is better description...a Gundam :/

I was wondering how easy this was, and whether anyone else has done anything to their Tau firewarriors and the like to make them look more...battle hardened and...well...Badass


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Squidmanlolz wrote:

LazzurusMan wrote:...you are joking...right? XD

What? he only described the basic requirements for Grimdarkness...

In the 40k universe, there are two armies which are essentially evil forms of a good army - Chaos Space Marines (Space Marines) and Dark Eldar (Eldar). Sounds like what you're looking for is Dark/Chaos Tau.

Here are some picture comparisons of basic troops for those four armies. Hopefully it'll give you some ideas on how Chaos Space Marines and Dark Eldar look similar but more evil than their good counterparts.

Chaos Space Marines


Space Marines


Dark Eldar


Eldar



Adding spiky bits from the Chaos Space Marines and Dark Eldar should give your Tau that grimdark look you're after. For a colour scheme, think of colours that are traditionally associated with evil - black, charcoal, crimson, navy, hunter green, purple, dark brown.

Battle damage, darker washed out and weathered colors? bad ass poses?

Just to clarify...

I DO NOT WANT BAD GUY TAU


I am looking for ideas into making Tau look more badass...like the mobile suits you see in the movies...like the soldies in the movies...shoot first, let their gods sort them out sort of look


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Molotovsoda wrote:Battle damage, darker washed out and weathered colors? bad ass poses?

I don't know if and how to do the bad ass poses...that's pretty much what I'm asking XD

I don't want to buy them to find out that bas ass poses require lots of conversion work that I was not prepared for

LazzurusMan wrote:
I don't know if and how to do the bad ass poses...that's pretty much what I'm asking XD

I don't want to buy them to find out that bas ass poses require lots of conversion work that I was not prepared for

you can cut body parts, reposition them and remodel the gaps and missing bits with GS

Okay...does anyone know where I can find pictures of Tau in bad ass poses?

Don't say google...I have very little time due to doing 5 things on the net at once...trawlling accross the net is not one of them

I rather like this guys' Tau. They look pretty badass to me. All sneaky-like.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/423848.page

and if it's badass poses you want, this classic can't remain unmentioned:

Gallery Search.

If you want to look for just Tau, I'd advise looking at a board like advancedtautatica.com that offers competitions for mods and what not, but exclusively for Tau.

As to how hard a mod is, that really depends on your skill level. I've found even the basic arm and leg repositionings difficult, if only for my lack of quality tools.

One last thing, apparently all it takes to be evil in 40K is red Hair, and Tau already have that

Well this: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/429128.page is where I got the inspiration for my Tau army...I'm just not sure how I'd pull it off...or whether stuff like this is even possible with the firewarriors :/

Okay, here is what I would do in your position. Give them darker armour, meaning stick away from the brighter end of the spectrum, I reckon a dark blue would look cool, perhaps with glowy yellow/ blue eyes? This armour should have significant wear and tear, namely chips and scorch marks.

Vets armed with katanas and shields would be the height of bad assness if you could pull it off!

Of course, urban basing with rubble, barbed wire and signposts is essential. These guys need to look like they have fought a drawn out fight and have changed from their shiny brothers into something dangerous looking

Hope this helps! The idea is a very good one, makes me want to pick up a squad or two for myself!

LazzurusMan wrote:...you are joking...right? XD

Yes and no,

Yes because thats how GW does grimdark... spikes , skulls, and blood. mounted on base with more skulls on spikes.

But realistically, the gritty grim dark Tau I have seeing are the one that is painted like actual military camo.

More grimdark than any spikes or skuls

You could do a realistic "universal" camo similar to the US' ACU
use colors like slate grey, dark olive green, and very dull brown.
you could use any camouflage design as long as you avoid blending the colors.

I think I will definitely be choosing Tau now that I have some Idea of how to make them look much more like a 40k army and less like toys from an Anime


How about a light grey with dark clothing?
This way I could make them look like they were originally bright and shiny...but after fighting a long, hard, brutal engagement they look very much battle hardened?


I'm actually rather good (if you look out for me in the modeling section you'll see) at Basing, so an urban theme with plenty of battle marks and grimdark should be easy

Anyone know of any way I could make my weapons look more...customised?
As if during the fighting their guns have either broken or been lost...so they've had to...improvise...with what they have?

You could make the rifles look "sawed-off" cutting off a length of the barrel and reattaching the tip part with the actual barrels.

Tau have a number of modeled upgrades that can be used to represent an "enhanced" scope or gun sight.

Awesome help guys

I will definitely be picking up some Tau in the near future

Plenty of dark muted colours with lots of weathering...some re-positioning...some awesome basing...hell...I think this might work

Skulls.......always more skulls on the bases.

bombboy1252 wrote:Skulls.......always more skulls on the bases.

/slap

LunaHound wrote:

bombboy1252 wrote:Skulls.......always more skulls on the bases.

/slap

/Skull

bombboy1252 wrote:

LunaHound wrote:

bombboy1252 wrote:Skulls.......always more skulls on the bases.

/slap

/Skull

/vomits blood ( thats what you want next right T-T )

Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have some pics up of a squad or two

Maybe even a battle suit! XD

LazzurusMan wrote:Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have some pics up of a squad or two

Maybe even a battle suit! XD

Looking forward to it

LazzurusMan wrote:Well this: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/429128.page is where I got the inspiration for my Tau army...I'm just not sure how I'd pull it off...or whether stuff like this is even possible with the firewarriors :/

Conversions for firewarriors tend to be Gue, or alien conversions. Popular ones include using Cadian heads and legs with Firewarrior part to form Gue'vesa. (human helpers) Or lizardman parts, as there are fluff races of lizard like beings. I've also seen "my favorite army as Gue" in the form of leonine units using Beastmen, rat units using Scaven, etc.

I plan on making four units of Gue before I'm done, A Lizard counts-as Firewarriors, a goat counts-as Kroot, a human counts-as Firewarriors, and a Skaven counts-as Pathfinders. Of course, I'm also aiming for a Black Sheep Squad, where none of the units are 'top tier' units.

EDIT: Links to Firewarrior Conversions

http://www.dakkadakka.com/core/gallery-search.jsp?u=13443
http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-23432-15925_Bor%27kan%20Nul.html
http://www.advancedtautactica.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=16567&p=207136&hilit=naga#p207136

Unfortunately I think I'll be sticking with standard firewarriors...I'm just trying to give them a look of desperation and despair...as if they know they wont win...but wont give up

(Suits me perfectly when I'm playing 40k! )

LazzurusMan wrote:Unfortunately I think I'll be sticking with standard firewarriors...I'm just trying to give them a look of desperation and despair...as if they know they wont win...but wont give up
(Suits me perfectly when I'm playing 40k! )

Guy on the RIght.