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I sure hope you can enclose that compartment either by design or because it's a relatively simple conversion.

I like the model otherwise, but the exposed crew...why?

It looks pretty cool .

I keep wondering if this thing would have been better off on a Skimmer chassis....
How long till Tau just abandon vehicles entirely in favor more and more stupid mech-suits?

Tau is about big robots. GW loves them a big robot. With Knights being the hotness, of course, Tau get a giant robot.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
Tau is about big robots. GW loves them a big robot. With Knights being the hotness, of course, Tau get another giant robot.

Fixed that for ya .

TYVM. I hope Tau get lots of FW options for this.

 Dr. Delorean wrote:
I sure hope you can enclose that compartment either by design or because it's a relatively simple conversion.

I like the model otherwise, but the exposed crew...why?

Its a headscratcher, but I think it would be easily fixed by a bit of plasticard

I'm not planning on getting this, but a nice looking hatch wouldn't be too hard to create. I have to say though, I love the insides.

Yeah a hatch shouldn't be hard to make. The interior of that compartment is the only thing I like about that model...
cheers
Kahnawake

 Quickjager wrote:
Anyone else see the new pics that show the crew of the suit is apparently OPEN-TOPPED? Wth is with this idiocy.

Links to pics?

The open topped hatch is so dumb.

I wouldn't be so bothered if Tau where the only ones with 'Big Giant Robots,' that could easily be the factions 'gimmick' and I highly approve of each faction having something that marks them as unique. The problem is this suit is 'just another Big Giant Robot' in a game that already has so many spread across many Factions. Tau are not even the faction that does the 'Big Giant Robot' concept the best, even the fluff acknowledges this when it informs us the Supremacy Suit was created because the Tau had "nothing" to deal with Titans or Wraith-knights.

They had Tigersharks and Mantas. Both Titankillers that are far more practical that the Tuna suit.

 TheCustomLime wrote:
They had Tigersharks and Mantas. Both Titankillers that are far more practical that the Tuna suit.

Both of which are aircraft, and as such are subject to weather conditions and AA. Not to mention there are places where aircraft can't go.
There's a reason why we still have ground forces today.

So it does make sense that the Tau would want a land-based alternative.
However, at S10 I'm not sure GW successfully conveyed its titan-killing role.

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:

 TheCustomLime wrote:
They had Tigersharks and Mantas. Both Titankillers that are far more practical that the Tuna suit.

Both of which are aircraft, and as such are subject to weather conditions and AA. Not to mention there are places where aircraft can't go.
There's a reason why we still have ground forces today.

So it does make sense that the Tau would want a land-based alternative.
However, at S10 I'm not sure GW successfully conveyed its titan-killing role.

Yeah but Titans are massive, colorful, slow and have no anti-air defenses. If Tau have air superiority then Titans are pretty much sitting ducks. It's the problem Germany ran into during the Western front from '44 on. Sure, a King Tiger is a nice tank and can blow the crap out of any Sherman that had the gall to show it's face from even 1km away but that doesn't matter much when the Allies had free reign of the skies. Those big, slow tanks sure made for nice targets for Allied Fighter-bombers.

I understand the reasoning for a land based Titan killer as there could be some fights that can happen with Titans being involved but no air support available but why not just stick a Titan killer gun on a hover tank? That would be far more practical that a huge mecha-suit. But nope GW just has to have their big stompy blammy battle bots.

Titans themselves may not have AA defenses, but you would have to be a fairly incompetent general to not give it an escort.

Titans also do not care about weather conditions.
But yes, once the AA is down a Titan would be a prime target for an airstrike.

Perhaps that is what the Stormsurge is really for; to take down AA quickly and efficiently.
Still needs S D though.

And yes, more skimmer varients would be nice. There are what, 7 different types of suits now? I get that the suit is an iconic Tau thing but come on.

 TheCustomLime wrote:
That would be far more practical that a huge mecha-suit. But nope GW just has to have their big stompy blammy battle bots.

Given the sales of the super tuna (above and beyond expectations) I wouldn't say GW is off the mark in giving players what they want.

You can see most of the whining in this thread is that it's not a big enough robot, and it doesn't have big enough guns.

I'd say that is somewhat revealing of what some players expect these days.

I hope that SH Skimmer Tank rumor pans out from FW. It claimed it was an idea being considered, so don't expect it any time soon if they do decide to take a shot at it.

I think its gun is too big.
Its only S10 too. What, is the slug made out of confetti?

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Its only S10 too. What, is the slug made out of confetti?

See, that's what I mean

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Titans themselves may not have AA defenses, but you would have to be a fairly incompetent general to not give it an escort.

Titans also do not care about weather conditions.
But yes, once the AA is down a Titan would be a prime target for an airstrike.

Perhaps that is what the Stormsurge is really for; to take down AA quickly and efficiently.
Still needs S D though.

And yes, more skimmer varients would be nice. There are what, 7 different types of suits now? I get that the suit is an iconic Tau thing but come on.

Agreed. I think the problem is that GW wants to appeal to a younger audience and that audience would appreciate a big stompy blammy battle bot more than a hover tank.

Yoyoyo wrote:

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Its only S10 too. What, is the slug made out of confetti?

See, that's what I mean

Look, I'm saying that the bigger the gun the bigger the bang, you know?
Its orky math; bigga gunz means betta dakka

Yoyoyo wrote:

 TheCustomLime wrote:
That would be far more practical that a huge mecha-suit. But nope GW just has to have their big stompy blammy battle bots.

Given the sales of the super tuna (above and beyond expectations) I wouldn't say GW is off the mark in giving players what they want.

You can see most of the whining in this thread is that it's not a big enough robot, and it doesn't have big enough guns.

I'd say that is somewhat revealing of what some players expect these days.

Well, that's because a hover tank with a twin linked S cannon isn't as good as big stomply blammy battle bot because MCs are better than vehicles in 7th ed. Better rules+Decent model=$$$

I do prefer the idea of the mobile air fortresses being the Tau's true titan killers. Especially since this seems to be more geared towards artillery support than the standard attempts to shoot D weapons from beyond the target's range.

I just wish they made either aircraft worth taking, with flight stands that can hold them, and better priced.

Also the open top is completely stupid. It shows that the pilots are operating a machine and not really plugged into it like standard suits. They are very clearly using targetting equipment so the open top provides nothing for visibility and just makes the giant warmachine susceptible to small arms and anti-personnel munitions.

I hope there is a way to cover it, if not the rules should be changed to Open Topped Super Heavy Walker.

 TheCustomLime wrote:

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Titans themselves may not have AA defenses, but you would have to be a fairly incompetent general to not give it an escort.

Titans also do not care about weather conditions.
But yes, once the AA is down a Titan would be a prime target for an airstrike.

Perhaps that is what the Stormsurge is really for; to take down AA quickly and efficiently.
Still needs S D though.

And yes, more skimmer varients would be nice. There are what, 7 different types of suits now? I get that the suit is an iconic Tau thing but come on.

Agreed. I think the problem is that GW wants to appeal to a younger audience and that audience would appreciate a big stompy blammy battle bot more than a hover tank.

I'm 30 and I love the KX139. It's more or less the coolest mecha I've ever seen. The 128 isn't that cool, on the other hand.

I like big suits AND tanks. For me, Tau tanks are the coolest in the game. Still, I like suits as well.

 Vector Strike wrote:

 TheCustomLime wrote:

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Titans themselves may not have AA defenses, but you would have to be a fairly incompetent general to not give it an escort.

Titans also do not care about weather conditions.
But yes, once the AA is down a Titan would be a prime target for an airstrike.

Perhaps that is what the Stormsurge is really for; to take down AA quickly and efficiently.
Still needs S D though.

And yes, more skimmer varients would be nice. There are what, 7 different types of suits now? I get that the suit is an iconic Tau thing but come on.

Agreed. I think the problem is that GW wants to appeal to a younger audience and that audience would appreciate a big stompy blammy battle bot more than a hover tank.

I'm 30 and I love the KX139. It's more or less the coolest mecha I've ever seen. The 128 isn't that cool, on the other hand.

I like big suits AND tanks. For me, Tau tanks are the coolest in the game. Still, I like suits as well.

I happen to like both, actually. The 139 is the better model, but I do have a slight fondness for the 128.
I would give it two extra legs and give it a bigger head though; that tiny little crisis suit head looks silly. Why is it even there? There's clearly a vision slit in the front.
Also, the supposed open hatch is pretty dumb. I still can't find it, but that's probably due to picture quality.

I just would have preferred more skimmers instead of more suits.
Soon the Tau codex will consist of nothing but suits and a single kroot named Steve.

EDIT : Ok, I see where the opening is. Its really fething dumb.

Why on earth is it open topped like that? What, so the pilots can stand up and have a peek? Wanted to shave a few space bucks off of each suit?

EDIT: Nvm, it says you can glue on an armored plate onto it. Though why you would want to paint the crew if you can never see them again is a mystery to me.

 TheCustomLime wrote:
Why on earth is it open topped like that? What, so the pilots can stand up and have a peek? Wanted to shave a few space bucks off of each suit?

EDIT: Nvm, it says you can glue on an armored plate onto it. Though why you would want to paint the crew if you can never see them again is a mystery to me.

I don't think they mean on top, covering the pilots. I think they meant straight on.
Otherwise they would show versions of it covered.

 TheCustomLime wrote:
Why on earth is it open topped like that? What, so the pilots can stand up and have a peek? Wanted to shave a few space bucks off of each suit?

EDIT: Nvm, it says you can glue on an armored plate onto it. Though why you would want to paint the crew if you can never see them again is a mystery to me.

Same reason Rhino's and Land Raiders have interior pieces with stowed bolters and screens and the like. It's a bone GW can toss to the people who just want another feature to paint (though I think the placement of that cockpit, from a design perspective, is insane and *very* thinly armored) and can use to accentuate the price a bit more upward. For most people, it's not something they'll bother with.

 Vaktathi wrote:

 TheCustomLime wrote:
Why on earth is it open topped like that? What, so the pilots can stand up and have a peek? Wanted to shave a few space bucks off of each suit?

EDIT: Nvm, it says you can glue on an armored plate onto it. Though why you would want to paint the crew if you can never see them again is a mystery to me.

Same reason Rhino's and Land Raiders have interior pieces with stowed bolters and screens and the like. It's a bone GW can toss to the people who just want another feature to paint (though I think the placement of that cockpit, from a design perspective, is insane and *very* thinly armored) and can use to accentuate the price a bit more upward. For most people, it's not something they'll bother with.

I actually paint the interior of my rhinos myself . Though that's different because you can open the back hatch and have a peek. Front in the case of the Land Raider.

Wait, if this thing really is open topped... that... that doesn't.. what? A lucky hit from a mortar could take this thing out. Did someone at the GW studio look at a WW2 open topped SPG and though, "You know, artillery seems to be open topped! I should make this massive towering walker that the Tau seems to love to put on the front line open topped too!". Back in WW2 in made sense since armoring up wasn't as much of a concern for an artillery tank as having a good view and even then it was dangerous. But the Tau have enhanced optics and heat seeking missiles.

You know, some Earth caste engineer probably thinks he's really funny for successfully submitting a silly design feature like that. Or budget cuts to big suit manufacturing forced the Tau to shave some ceramic materials off production.