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The Velk'ta Sept
“Among the frozen forests, we endure”



I must admit when I first saw the Tau when they came out many years ago I wasn’t impressed, over the years my opinion softened and then two things tipped me over the edge, one was managing to get a 1500 point army for about $150 NZD and the other was Lew_b81’s amazing log began. Those two happened pretty much simultaneously and thus the Velk’ta Sept was born. The issue was however that I had another couple of forces to finish first and that ended up taking a bit longer than I planed. However now that I have finished off those forces (Blood Angels 2nd Founding, Penal Legion and Minotaurs 1st Company), I can now get onto a force I have been wanting to do for a great while and it's by pure chance that GW has just released an update for the Tau. I kid you not, it is by chance. I can prove that as well since I doubt I will be buying any of their latest offerings, hate the new big suit, not a fan of the new FW helmets and the Ghostkeel, while alright, doesn't really push any of my buttons in a big way.

I did some test units a while ago but thanks to GW’s changing their paints (which is why I am moving to Vallejo) they have to be stripped. This is what they did look like though:





As you can see, similar to Lew’s… just not as well done and a bit more dirty. I’m pretty up front about that, I think his scheme is amazing and I’m going with the idea that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. There will be some differences though and that should become apparent as I go along. Anyway the Pathfinders and Sniper team are in the stripper and things are happening. This time when they get paint applied they won't be quite as dirty. Sadly painting is still a little ways off as I have to wait a while for the paints I ordered to arrive, one of the joys of living in NZ. However the in the mean time there is a lot of converting to be done and I can give you the first chapter in the saga of the Velk’ta Sept. This story is going to jump around a bit, it starts off very Tau focused, then jumps to the Imperium for a bit but then should jump back to the Tau side. You will see why in the coming weeks. Also leadership starts from the top so what better to open with than the Ethereal that will be leading this Cadre and something else a little special as well (what oh what could he be…).



The Velk'ta

The Velk’ta Septworld lies right on the northern edge of the Damocles Gulf half way between Mu”gulath Bay and Aethas Moloch and one of the first Tau Empire outposts on the Imperial side of the Damocles Gulf. Velk’ta’s history is a tragic one: it’s birth glorious with a childhood of hope followed by a disastrous coming of age.

Pre-History

The small ball of icy rock slowly orbiting a distant and dying star was not always so. It used to be a verdant forest world full of green tall trees and deep oceans not unlike Terra when the Emperor was but a boy. “Lefax” as it’s native human population called it was brought into compliance with the rest of the Imperium at some point during M34 after being brought to the Imperium’s attention by a Rouge Trader. The White Consuls Chapter who under took the action found the population ready to accept the Imperium’s Light when it became clear that their meager military could never hold back the Astartes might. Being a small and single planet orbiting it’s star with no natural resources to speak of and a population offering no resistance the planet’s new conquerors moved on to greater glories. A simple tithe of 1 regiment of the faithful every generation as well as medical supplies was enough to keep the Munitorum happy and, other than the replacement of the Tree God with the Emperor in the holy books, life continued on as normal for the population. The Adeptus Ministorum judged that the previous religion of worshiping the god of the forest resting in within the branches of a golden tree was simply a variation of the Imperial Cult and as such was of no danger.

A space port was built on the equator on the shores of the biggest sea and served as a centralized meeting place for the tribes who wandered the forests replacing the tents and tree houses that once served a similar purpose. It was here that the Ministorum made their central church, although they did have outposts or shrines in nearly every village and the Planetary Govenor maintained a winter household.

The single moon that orbited the planet proved that, while lacking in the mineral resources that the Adeptus Mechanicus had hoped for, it was an idea place for a space observation post and mounted a large research facility.

The Coming of the Tau

In M39 a new race began to emerge as a power in the Eastern Fringe, the blue skinned and expansion focused Tau Empire started to make inroads to worlds further afield than they previously had. Known to them as the “Second Sphere of Expansion” for the first time this brought them into contact with many Imperial Worlds. Rather than annex them with force the leader of the Etherels; Aun’Wei instead decided to rely on the diplomatic skills of the Water Caste. Thanks to their silver tongued promises entire systems were opened up without a single shot being fired. Lefax was such a system.

The Etherels saw Lefax as a perfect candidate for a future colony for the Greater Good for multiple reasons: isolation from other systems, an immediately habitable world with a pleasant and agreeable climate and eco system, a stable if primitive system of government and most importantly: plenty of room to develop both the technology and the infrastructure level of the population. The Imperium had not advanced the technology of Lefax’s population much in the thousands of years it had been in control and as such it was classified under Ministorum definitions as a “Feudal World” barely above horse and cart levels. Interactions with the Tau could bring a new golden age to the world not seen since the Imperium’s first arrival. For the Tau they would gain yet another base of operations with which to launch future expansions from.

When first approached by the Tau the inhabitants of Lefax with the offers of incorporation into the Empire (like most of the other Imperial worlds) told them, in no uncertain terms, to remove themselves and their xenos taint. However as the years went by and successive Governors saw that the Water Caste envoys did indeed mean what they said and presented no threat to their position or Imperial rule they came to reconsider their position on the strange blue skinned aliens. What harm could it be to conduct a little trade with them? The planet could handle it without impacting their commitments to the distant Golden throne, there hadn't been a muster in nearly 200 generations and the technology the Tau spoke of would be very useful to the people, what’s more the "incentives" that they were being offered personally were certainly worth considering. So like Taros and many others, doors began to be opened and trade slowly but surely began to flow. It was a story that was being repeated of scores of other worlds and within a few decades occasionally the blue tau began to be seen in limited numbers on the streets of the capital. The local Church, already in decline for years tried to prevent the “taint” from spreading but their protests fell of deaf ears.

In time the rulers of Lefax reconsidered the Tau’s offer of being folded into the Tau Empire for the Greater Good, to them it had made a lot of sense, in the 20 years since they had opened up to the Tau Empire their people were healthier and their technology greatly advanced, no longer did they feel beholden to rulers far away but instead they saw a light that had not illuminated them for many years. Why should they continue to pay tithes to an Empire that did nothing for them other than keep them in servitude and threaten to take their sons away from them to fight and die on some foreign field? The Tau had done the exact opposite, allowing them be master of their own destiny to an extent and would offer them protection; already they had beaten back raiders whom had been plaguing the sector for decades.


So Ethereal:




Pretty simple conversion obviously, just one of Aun'Va's bodyguards with some cutting, dremelling and greenstuffing over various parts to make him less naked. He's not as thin as other Ethereals which isn't ideal but this was part of the reasoning behind the dremelling and greenstuffing, the bulk can be passed off as clothing to deal with the cold. Not 100% happy with the staff but it'll do for the moment.

And then this....




A cookie to whoever can guess all the parts, because that's always a fun game. As for what he is... he is my version of one of the Deathsworn.

The Morralain Deathsworn

The Morralain are an enigmatic and secluded race and despite being official part of the Tau Empire, in reality they have very little interaction with the wider Empire. A two legged hominid race much like many others within the Galaxy their society is a highly complicated system of family alliances and holdings relying on a large amount of automated labour by machines. So much so that it is estimated by the Water Caste that the droids that serve the Morralain out number them 25 to 1 and while they are not as advanced as the drones that the Tau use they are more than effective enough to till the fields and tend to their charges every whim. This reliance on machines to take care of all manual labour leaves the Morralain themselves the time and resources to engage in games of power as various families try to over take each other within the government and increase their wealth. The Deathsworn are the exception to this rule.

The Deathsworn are a breed apart from the rest of the Morralain society, while the other dynasty's focus on the games of politics and are loyal only to themselves the Deathsworn bear no loyalty to anyone specific but instead are loyal to the whole Morralain race and, as such they are forbidden by Morralain law from entering any positions of power or influence. It is their job to serve, not to lead and it is they who take on the role of bodyguards for heads of the families.

The birth of this anomaly is shrouded in mystery, some say they are the last remnants of an ancient race of warrior monks while others say they are idealists who have turned to mercenary ways in order to fund their livelihoods but regardless of the truth of the matter they are utterly loyal to their masters as long as the required funds are in place. Prior to the assimilation into the Tau Empire the Deathsworn formed a large amount of the population and backed up by swathes of war droids the Morralain were able to see of most threats that attempted to destroy them.

When the Tau first came across the Morralain the Deathsworn mobilised in great numbers and for a few months the entire race came together, putting aside their petty feuds to discuss the terms which the Tau laid out. Eventually it was decided joining with the Tau Empire would be beneficial to the Morralain on the proviso that the Tau not interfere with any actions that the Morralain took on their home planet. Free from external threats thanks to the protection of the Tau Empire (a protection bought with the droid tended foodstuffs and raw materials of Morralian Prime) the Deathsworn soon found themselves devoid of Morralian employers. The Deathsworn, having had no say in the decision that removed the majority of their livelihood took the news stoically and within their own ranks decided that they would offer their services to the wider Empire at large. If the threat would not come to them then they would go it as after all, if the Tau Empire was to fall then the Morralian would once more find themselves under threat. Now the Morralian can be found in small numbers across the Empire protecting high status individuals from among any of the races inhabiting the Empire. Much like in the days before the Tau came it is their job to protect their ward with their life and as such swear an oath to protect them unto death, literally becoming “Deathsworn”.

The Deathsworn are raised from birth with one purpose in mind: ensuring the continued survival of their wards and to this end their bodies are modified to make them stronger, faster and more resilient than a flesh and blood Morralian. Morralian technology has always been highly advanced in mechanical and bio mechanical areas and while their work may lack the graceful lines of the Tau it is still far above anything the Imperium can produce. Although each Deathsworn is different it is not rare to find a Deathsworn that look more similar to the droids that tend the fields than it does to a Morralian politican or businessman. The replacement of limbs, subdural armor plating and inbuilt weapon systems are all common advancements for a Deathsworn. In battle the Deathsworn tend to shy away from ranged weapons and instead rely up on blades and polearms so that they are able to solely focus on the immediate threats to their wards.

Not entirely sure how I'm going to paint it yet in terms of intergration with the rest of the force.

Next up is 10 Kroot. Now I swore I wouldn't do this but... they are being converted.




It just seemed a bit wrong, even though Pech does have tundra wastes, that they were bare so I've been working on adding some rags and clothing. I'm not 100% happy with the way it is going then I came across this image again which I had seen a while ago from Pfreck over on Dakka:

I really like that style of chest armor so I'll be trying to do something similar on mine, will also cover some of the more unsightly rag jobs.

As a reward for doing some infantry conversions I started work on this and most Tau players should know what this pile of parts means conversion wise:

Some really great work there. Shame about having to strip the models, but we've all been once or twice. Your GS work on the Kroot gives new life to a very old figure.

As for the vehicle conversion, I've never played as Tau, so I'm going to have a stab in the dark and say it's some big Drone with missiiles.

Im just hear to play the game. The head and left leg are from the skitarii ranger kit, the body is a harlequin solitaire, the axe/sword is from the wood elf wildwood rangers and some silly tau drone bit.

Can I have my cookie?

 Bash the Bosh wrote:
Some really great work there. Shame about having to strip the models, but we've all been once or twice. Your GS work on the Kroot gives new life to a very old figure.

As for the vehicle conversion, I've never played as Tau, so I'm going to have a stab in the dark and say it's some big Drone with missiiles.

Yeah it's not great but I'd rather just do it now and have consistent colors all the way through the force. The only issues I've got with the kroot kit is the lack of ease of convertability in the poses, they are pretty locked in with the arms and while the stock poses are great, if you have a problem with "not converting" things like me then means you really have to up your game to make them unique. As for the vechicle conversion, you would correct good sir. See below for more details on it.

 TheFivth wrote:
Im just hear to play the game. The head and left leg are from the skitarii ranger kit, the body is a harlequin solitaire, the axe/sword is from the wood elf wildwood rangers and some silly tau drone bit.

Can I have my cookie?

Sorry no cookie for you. You are correct in the Solitaire and the Wildwood Ranger parts, and the Tau bit obviously but nope, no Skitarii rangers were hurt in the making of this mini.

As soon as that Solitaire mini came out I knew I had to use it for something. I managed to get hold of one for cheap and then had to find a home for him. I did consider putting him in one of my =I= warbands (probably the Radical Malleus) but decided to go down this route in the end. Pretty glad I did. I hadn't considered making any of the droids but now you mention it maybe I could. Some combitation of the Rust Stalkers kit and some Necrons. Maybe with some DE bits thrown in for good measure. I'd have to think more on the purpose of them. Tending some artillery maybe? Defensive guns? Hmmm the possibilities. Mate your force an't boring! Anything but! Speaking of the =I= however, if anybody likes what they see here then they should also check out this thread the Ordo Xenos team at the start of the thread will play a big part in the Saga of Velk'ta later on in their history. You'll also see why when combined with the Kroot I am running out of greenstuff!


Nope not a Sky Ray. The force won't need much in the way of AA fluffwise but that will become apparent in time. Nope it is the beginings of a "counts as" Remora Stealth Drone Fighter. A few other people have used the Skyray turret as the basis of one and I'm not different, I'll be taking mine a little further than a lot of others and changing a couple of elements to it, making it look a little less like the Remora but also a little less kitbashed. Anyway:



I started by building the back of it up like many other people have with the Skyray parts and some engines from Seeker missiles. I've also sliced the bottom of the ring off replaced it with a bit of plasticard cut to shape and then GS'd the grove that was left.




I'll wait for that to cure and then start working on things below it. Still deciding if anything above that line needs any more work. Will take another look tomorrow with fresh eyes, obviously there are some things that -need- to be on the mini so will have to draw up a list and do some mock ups.

Finally there has been some work done on the Kroot. Worked on 4 primarily today. Not all will have armor but I'm thinking over half and they will all look a little different for two reasons, one is that it keeps the "rustic" appearance of the Kroot and two it means I can have a bit more fun with all of them rather than just trying to replicate the same thing across all of them.

And of course a little bit of fluff for you:
The False Liberation

In 742.M41 the slow moving mass that is Imperial Government realised what was happening along the Damocles Gulf and responded with it's characteristic brutal hand. The Damocles Crusade fleet smashed into the region driving out the ill prepared and shocked Tau forces. Worlds burned and the Tau forces were pushed back from every world they had slowly but surely annexed into their Empire. Some time in late 743.M41 two Imperial Transport ships with cruiser escort exited the warp and immediately gunned for Lefax and seeing that Lefax's Astropath codes were years out of date they correctly assumed that, like many of other worlds before it, Lefax was no longer completely loyal to the Imperium.

For 3 months the same small Hunter Cadre from Vior’la that had been deployed to watch over Lefax as protection against pirates did what they could against the Imperial advance party but despite their best efforts however it soon became clear that they could do little to stop the Imperial onslaught. With over half the Cadre’s number killed or captured, the population watched in horror as the Tau reluctantly pulled away from orbit and left them to the mercy of the Imperial Guard but hope remained as the final transmission from the Cadre Fireblade to Lefax promised that the Tau would return and that the Fire Caste would reap bloody vengeance for every wrong done to them. Sadly what wrongs they were: 5 days and nights of gun smoke and bloodshed followed where the “liberators” ran amok as they set about chasing down perceived xenos in the forests and burning settlements in their ruthless hunger to take vengeance on a foe which had been illusive and loath to fight. After 120 hours of destruction the Imperial commanders reined in their men and victory was declared and though the people of Lefax thought the worst was behind them little did they know the real horror of the Imperium was yet to come.

The Ordo’s Hectarius and Xenos descended upon wings of fire and the Trials began.

Not very interesting but did a little more work on the Kroot today. Three of them being:

.

As I say, not very interesting but have run out of GS now so I guess I will have to go buy some more. The rest of them just got more scraps of cloth added to them really.

Well I ran out of greenstuff and since my local hobby shop is run by a bit of mong I'm having to wait for a few days till some new stuff arrives in the mail. I could head into the local GW but... no... just no. Got things to get on with as it is anyway, I thought I'd post up some images of the progress on that drone, it's a counts as Remora but I'm dubbing mine a "Moray", anyway:







So as you can see, takes it's inspiration from the kit bashed conversions of the Remora and then adds a bit to it. As you can guess, adding additional weapons to it... pretty dam easy with those hard points all sitting there waiting to be swapped around. Currently thinking up the fluff and maybe some home brew rules to go with it. Very little in the way of scratch building really, just that engine at the back. I'm very tempted to make another one, because having stuff in pairs is always better. Once I've painted the infantry I'll see how I feel. Speaking of infantry today I sat down and made a start of the bases for the infantry. Before and after shot below:



Still need to add some more sticks to various ones but that has made quite a dent in them!

Intrigued and watching, especially to see what you do with those kroot.

Well it’s funny how much can change in a week. The original plan for this force was to have 28 infantry, namely:

1 Etherel
1 Deathsworn
1 Cadre Fireblade
8 Pathfinders
6 Firewarriors
10 Kroot
1 Sniper Drone Controller

I was really not looking forward to painting all that having just painted 130 Space Marines, the reason I originally bought Tau was to make battlesuits after all. I was really looking at that infantry as a chore that I had to do before I got to the fun stuff and then I had a thought of “If it’s a chore why are you doing it? You are never going to play a game with them so just paint what you want”.

Right time to cull then. The new list of infantry being:

1 Etherel
1 Deathsworn
8 Pathfinders
1 Darkstrider
5 Winged Kroot (counts as Vespid)

Should I ever want to play a game I would just play unbound with a mix between the normal Tau Dex and the Farsight Enclaves list and be done with it. Alternatively I may write up my own custom dex for this force depending on how far I take it. Anyway, some stuff is staying, some stuff is going. But enough about that, ultimately it means less infantry to paint and less time to wait until I get to having some fun with battlesuits. But now some pictures:



With the exception of the snow and touching up some of those tree trunks these bases are all done, that’s all the infantry and some of the drones bases done. Which is nice to get out of the way.

Next up is my Darkstrider conversion, originally he had a pulse rifle and was the Cadre Fireblade but then I made my cull. I think he still works as Darkstrider:




Now Pathfinder Squad 1, not sure what drones they will have yet, they will certainly have some just still having a think about it. I suppose in a pinch these guys could also be fire warriors with Pulse Carbines if I eve needed them to be. You may notice they are a little different from normal Tau…





Just an old metal PF, nothing really been done to him, just a scarf, I may give him a shoulder pad yet. I have a love hate relationship with this mini, sometimes I think the sculpt is good, other times I just a Tau trying to dance. He will be the squad leader.



The other proper Tau in the squad, again an old PF mini, this time I have changed his arm a little bit but using a plastic carbine and arm. Just makes him a little different from stock. Again another scarf. Again I will probably give him a shoulder pad as well. I really like that style choice GW did.



Not sure what exactly which race this Auxie is, obviously he is based on some previous Auxie conversions that have featured in various White Dwarves and places online. Mine is a little different and I’ll look into the existing fluff for them and probably tweak it a bit to fit my force.



And then there is this guy, I’m really stoaked with how he has come out, recognisably human but also tau influenced and hard looking. You’ll notice that the two auxies also have shoulder pads but different to the Tau, I think it’s a nice point of difference but also keeps them looking similar.

Way back when I first bought the minis for the force the plan was actually to have a full squad of each of these guys. That would be a lot of work! I don’t know maybe one day. If I ever need actual Fire Warriors in number I will certainly do it, I’m not a huge fan of the new helmet design for them.



Howver the Pathfinders won’t be the first things I paint, it will be these Devilfish Chassis, 2 will be DF while the other two will be Hammerheads. I just want to get something done and I’m thinking these will be a good start, stop them cluttering up my work bench as well. I’ve had to a do a fair bit of clean up on them thanks to their previous owners. And I should include a shoot of the surviving Kroot. Waiting on some wings for them:



Also... more fluff:

The Trials of the Turncoat Tree

At the center of the Space Port sat the Church of the Emperor and at the center of the Church grew a tree that was said to be the very tree that the Forest Father had slept in until he ascended into the Golden Tree of Stars and took his final resting place there. It had been a place of peace and love. When the Inquisition came it became a place of pain and suffering. The first act of the Imperial Forces, once the Tau had been pushed from the planets surface, was to march the leaders of each tribe into the clearing of the Golden Tree of Stars and hang them from the highest branches so the birds could peck their eyes from their sockets and all could see the price traitors pay. The Inquisition, lead by an old and bitter Ordo Xeno’s Puritan by the name of Vegat, took up residence in the clearing’s guardhouse and begun to systematically interrogate the merchants and the farmers who had held contracts with the Tau. Within days they too joined the tribal leaders suspended in the branches. The few remaining leaders of the Imperial Church who had at first welcomed the Imperial “liberation” as judgment from on high were also strung up for failing to prevent the Xenos taint from taking root. Next it was the first born sons of the leaders and their wives after they refused to help weed out dissidents in their domains. Soon the entire population, whether they had been for or against integration with the Tau, was living in constant fear of the black hooded men and women of the Inquisitional Death Squads who came to take their friends and family seemingly at random. It was decided by Inquisitor Vegat that any who had come into contact with the aliens would pay a price, be it a flogging or death by hanging. By the end of the purges (6 months after VL day) every single branch of the Turncoat Tree’s 100-meter height had at least one body hanging from it and the once green and verdant glen was black with dried blood from the floggings.

Inquisitor Vegat, pleased with the judgment that he had passed, departed the world but left them one final punishment: one surviving male from every family was sentenced to serve in a Penal Legion and would end their days fighting in the stars to atone for the sins of their planet. He also left behind the Isulu 93rd “The Scorchers” as a garrison force for the inevitable Tau counter attack.

“The Scorchers” had not been one of the original Imperial Regiments to land on Lefax and as such they had not taken part in the immediate atrocities that had followed. This made them slightly more amiable to the survivors of the purges but they were still loyal and staunch followers of the Imperial Creed who looked down upon the population with a stern condemnation for their turning from the Imperial light. They were chosen for their reputation, as being hard but fair and Vegat knew they that they would keep the planet in line. For their part the Lefaxan population was simply glad to be rid of the Death Squads, they knew the Tau Empire would return for them and they simply had to bide their time. Weapons were stock piled and resistance cells prepared for the day they could reveal themselves.

They didn’t have to wait very long.

Started work on those Devilfish hulls today. While the method Lew_b81 has come up with is indeed a fast one when you are working on 4 tank hulls at once things can only move so fast! The first step was to figure out the chipping color and as GW has so nicely decided to stop making Charcaradon Granite I have been forced to improvise. Luckily I have some supplies to facilitate this:



20 minutes later and nearly 2 pots of paint later we have a success! So this is what the hulls looked like before I started:



Looks alright don't they. Well post white primer the truth is revealed:




These poor things were hammered when I got them, in pretty poor condition (one was actually in 4 pieces and that was just the hull let alone the engines.) and I did my best to save them but as you can see I couldn't get everything. It didn't help I may have overprimed them a little bit. The great thing about Lew_b81's method is that it makes hiding stuff like that quite easy! Seriously that man is a genius! Working shot below:



This is just the first pass of the weathering. In later stages I'll clean it up a bit with some white and take it back a degree. First up though I had to black out various areas. I thought that would be a quick job. I was very very wrong. The engines alone took nearly 3 eps of Buffy. However this is done now:




So next up is the re-whiting of things. I can see why Lew doesn't want to include any tanks in his force, batch painting them isn't an exciting task! That said it's just a case of the white to touch up, black to highlight and then the details of sept markings and lens/lights and then the hulls are done (still got two turrets, cupolas and drones to go obviously). It's all down hill from here tankwise the only other tanks I have to do is two Pirahna.

I must say, I really enjoy reading the small blurbs of exposition!
Totally subbed to your thread!

Good good! Always glad to hear people like the fluff, half the fun and reasoning for the army comes from diy fluff. Hopefully the standard can remain where it is or higher. Didn't get a chance to do any painting today as I was too busy playing my first games of Space Hulk. Very fun!

Lovely work here

Excellent work on theconversions.

The tanks are looking cool, loving that heavily weathered/battle damaged look.

D

 angelofvengeance wrote:
Lovely work here

Cheers hopefully it continues that way!

 evildrcheese wrote:
Excellent work on theconversions.

The tanks are looking cool, loving that heavily weathered/battle damaged look.

D

Haha well once you read what happened tonight you may change your mind! Hopefully it continues to satisfy!

Well tonight was an interesting disaster. It turns out, and I don't know why I didn't spot this before, that the white primer I use and the white paint I use are in fact different shades... I'm an idiot I should know this by now. The primer spray is Army painter and it has a slightly yellow tinge to it compared to the Vallejo White. Ergo my touche ups on the white came out a different color... so I had to basically go over all the white with new white and then go back over the brown/grey again. This is what happens when YOU DON"T DO A TEST MODEL AND JUST RUSH IN LIKE A ORK WITH ANGER ISSUES! To make myself feel better I went ahead and pressed on with the one hull I'd been working on and did some Sept markings which you can see and based the lens as well to make me feel like I was getting somewhere:




So still need to touch up the white a bit more and pull back the weathering I think but that can happen more later on, I think it's going to take a couple of sessions per tank to get it right since I have to cover the old white. I'm still trying to figure out where should be white and where shouldn't. Could probably do with more "streaking" and less "sponging". What do you guys think?

Also got to highlight the black and finish the lens. Consider this a lesson learned.

Been very busy with real life stuff the last couple of days so not a huge amount has been done on the fish I've been working on. Highlighted the black using the same method as Lew (metallic highlight rather than grey) and finished those lights off. Also be a constant game of touching up the white, the advantage is that you can keep tinkering with it as much as you like due to the messy nature.

Also started on the remaining bits, hatches (for two of the other tanks), base, burst cannon etc. Haven't touched the drones yet. I'll do them as a full 8 batch.

Working on the drones for two of the hulls at the moment but here is what the DF looks like pretty much completed, I was forced to use a flying stand on the base, I'm not as talented at balancing things on sticks as Lew is. Probably still got the odd bit of rewhiting to do but I'm happy with how it looks atm. 1 down... 3 to go...

Most of my painting time recently has been taken up with my =I= but I have got a little bit done on the next DF and I'm still working away on the drones:



Just got to tidy up a couple of joins, glue the guns on and then we are done. The wings for the Kroot also arrived so I'm working on a prototype:

TY7 Devilfish Transport Hov’el



The Devilfish assigned to Shas’ui Velk’ta Hov’el’s Pathfinder team exemplifies the common Tau APC encountered by Imperial forces on Velk’ta. It features two gun drones that detach if required as well as a chin mounted burst cannon. The Velk’ta sept symbol can be seen on the right hand door while it’s unit marking can be seen on the left.



The coloring of the vehicle was designated as being of “Lew Beightyone” pattern by Imperial Intelligence and while not a common form of camouflage for Tau forces was noted across several different septs. It proved to be a very effective form of camouflage for snow environments, breaking up the lines of the xeno’s vehicles and adding in their evasive movements.




Constantly baiting and evading the Imperial battlegroup of Column 4 this vehicle was ultimetly destroyed by Imperial Forces in the action to assault “The Boxer’s Grin” although it’s payload of Pathfinders was successfully deployed and would go on to reap a heavy toll on Imperial Forces in the following action.





Also more fluff:

The Second Coming.

754.M41. The counter offensive launched by Aun’Va, lead by Farsight and persecuted by the Fire Caste rips through the worlds taken from the Tau during the Damocles Crusade. Lefax is one of the first to be retaken. The Tau strikeforce made up of Cadre’s from Vior’La and Tash’Var used the bulk of the system’s star to block out the Lunar Observation Post’s sensors and deployed Pathfinders, Sniper Drone Teams and Stealthsuits to the planet’s surface first to ascertain the Imperial Disposition. They found that while the “Scorchers” were an over manned Garrison force they had also become careless over the last 11 years of sentry duty. They also found the resistance patiently waiting for their return. With data provided by the resistance the strike force struck hard and fast. The forward elements sabotaged enemy vehicle depots and airfields while Battlesuit teams smashed into the Regiments command posts butchering the officers and communication teams while the Resistance took on the unpleasant job of assassinating those who had sided with the Imperials. Finally through the ruins of Imperial domination Fire Warrior teams strode through the fire and smoke systematically forcing out the “Scorchers” while Kroot kindred scattered into the forests to track down and feast upon fleeing Guardsmen.

The final stand for the Imperial Administration was, fittingly, at the Turncoat Tree. A desperate attempt to sally forth and take the fight to Tau was repulsed easily by the combined forces of the Tau strike force and Resistance. The Imperial Governor, the head of the Church and Colonel Jelm of the “Scorchers” were all strung up on the highest branches of the Tree before it was set on fire. It is said that the tree burnt for a full month before finally going out.

It had taken the Imperial Forces 3 months to take Lefax from the Tau the first time but with detailed intelligence and superior technology it took 5 weeks for the Tau to return the favor. Lefax was no more; Velk’ta was born.

Great work mate, the weathering contrasts nicely with the White.

@Bash. Thanks man, that's what I was going for.

So thanks to photobuckets stupid bandwidth limits I'm having to go through and relink all my photos which as you can imagine is not fun at all seeing as there is about 200 of them over two logs. I also have resize most of the images so bare with me while I do that. However the good news is that I've finished my Ordo Hereticus warband so I can focus on the Tau a lot more now. Which means, Devilfish number two:



Black has been highlighted, just needs an inking and then the details (green and blue) plus the DF specific parts.

One small suggestion: you have lots of weathering down to the "primer" layer, but your red bits have no weathering down to the white underneath even though they have lots of bare primer showing. So it's very clear that you painted the tank and then added another layer of dark paint on top of it. In reality the red parts would wear away to the white, and then the white would wear away to the primer. So before you do the primer layer you should add a layer of white chipping to the red areas, and try to keep most, if not all, of the primer color on spots that are already white.

Sorry I'm not sure I follow, there are no red parts on the minis. I'm a little confused.

 Shas'vre wrote:
Sorry I'm not sure I follow, there are no red parts on the minis. I'm a little confused.

I'm talking about the markings like the stripe above the cockpit in this picture. It looked red on my screen originally, but now it looks green?

Hmmm that's weird, they've always been green, I certainly didn't paint them red and then change it to green! That's a very good point though. I'm still undecided whether it's "primer" or it's actually camo. If it's primer you have a very good point there! Guess I have a decision to make!

 Shas'vre wrote:
Hmmm that's weird, they've always been green, I certainly didn't paint them red and then change it to green! That's a very good point though. I'm still undecided whether it's "primer" or it's actually camo. If it's primer you have a very good point there! Guess I have a decision to make!

I'm looking at these on a laptop screen, so it's just a viewing angle issue. Anyway, you're undecided but I'll tell you that your current method looks nothing like camo. The shapes, focus on edges that would see the most wear, and colors you've got are always going to look like damaged paint because that's what real damaged paint looks like. If you want to make it look like camo you need to change the shapes and brush strokes so that it looks like a dark layer was painted over the white instead of having a white layer flaking away to reveal the colors underneath. And you'll probably want to change the colors as well. Winter camo wouldn't use such a dark color*, it would probably be more like white and light gray.


*Where you see this kind of white/dark camo on real-world tanks it's because a dark-colored tank has been quickly painted white and the white is wearing away to reveal the original color. That's paint damage, not a deliberate choice of camo pattern.

You may want to consider hosting your pics on dakka as it appears that your pic account is out of bandwith and some of your pics come up with that warning. I hope to see more of your work soon!

Yeah I'm aware of the issue with photobucket, currently trying to work through it, means I have to go through and relink all the images to another server. Hopefully have it done in the next day or two. Apologies about that.