A few years back I started collecting and semi-painting models again. I've always loved 40k and 6th Edition Pre-apostrophe Tau rules had come out. I had a few Forgeworld battlesuits lying about so thought it might be fun to create an army of mostly Crisis-suits. Mostly...

Well that idea turned into a characteristically incomplete Farsight Enclaves type affair which I managed to play a fair few games with and had loads of fun. The plog for that can be found here:

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/634794.page

Part way through that project I decided to start sourcing models and ideas for the complete opposite – a Tau Cadre that was almost exclusively infantry; with just a smattering of vintage XV15 Stealth Battlesuits. The aim is to use the classic Tau ochre colour scheme but to make it look a little more naturalistic and worn. Initially I had planned a MTP coloured digi-cam for fatigues and vehicles details but gave up pretty quickly as I knew it meant the models would never see the table! Unless noted I tend to use Citadel paints. As usual I am cutting corners galore as my goal is just to get a playable force painted for games…

Here are some progress shots of the first Strike Team:

I don’t bother undercoating these – just a spray base of Citadel Zandri Dust. Fatigues and non-armour plated areas then have a wash of Citadel Agrax and then armour is line shaded with Citadel Nuln Oil. I accidentally bought Agrax gloss which is apparently a thing these days. The effect isn’t right but I used it anyway. I panted the weapons on this team with Valejo’s famously shiny Game Colour Black. I won’t be using it again for weapons.

Here’s the team with highlights of Citadel Ushabti Bone and some Warpstone Glow and Meph Red for lenses. I think I just used Balthazar Gold for the Gyro-like bits on the guns which people tend to paint gold. The rocks on the base are just made from wood chips from a children’s play park. Assuming you don’t have one of your own, I would recommend borrowing a small child when you go out collecting these.

Here’s the Strike Team with a bit more detail and lighting.

I’ve added some sponge weathering here. A 50/50 mix of Citadel XV88 and black. Applied with a Vintage 1990’s bit of blister pack foam!

I made up a squad marking to put on all their right pads with white paint.

Team Leaders will have a little white stripe down their left pads.

Chuck on some static grass (thanks Randy McStab) and they’re good to go!

I have three Strike Teams and two Breacher Teams made up. You might notice they are a mixture of old and new kits. I’ve also shared out the Breacher heads and backpacks to give the teams a more organic, less uniform look.

Thanks for looking. More to come soon...


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I had obtained four devilfish/tank hulls over the last few years and wanted a 5th for this project. I ‘won’ a cheap Ebay 2nd hand hull which had been gleefully plastered in orange and purple paint. It was cemented together and thus too large to strip.

I tried to address mold lines and glue melt and resigned myself to hitting it with about a million coats of thinned Zandri Dust to try and glaze out the bright colours underneath without killing even more of the detail. But as this only cost a few quid off Ebay I’m not too fussed. This would also be the first vehicle I’ve for over a decade…


The hull after a Zandri spray and then maybe five or six coats. Unfortunately I can’t find the photo I took of it beforehand. It was a mess. As this was a Devilfish now destined to be a Gunship, I snipped off the chin burst cannon and stuck on a Crisis Suit shield generator. We can pretend it’s a RADAR of something.

I was doing this as 8th Ed was seeping out. As you can see it started life as a Skyray. Then I had a chance to read the Skyray entry in Index Xenos 2…

...so it quickly became a Railhead. Unfortunately I missed a few stages here as I barely have time to paint these days let alone take photos. The ‘black’ areas are actually based with Valejo Model Colour Dark Bluegrey and then washed with Nuln Oil. This is something new I tried as a lazy way of adding depth to black areas. I’m fine with the results.

Between panels are shaded with Agrax and then the model has a highlight of Ushabti Bone. As per my infantry lenses are done with Warpstone Glow and Meph Red although I think in this case I used a base of Castellan Green to give the viewports a bit more depth.

Transfers are from the old Tau sheet and then scratched up with a blunt craft knife and then matt varnished to remove some of the shine.

The turret and gun are done in much the same way. I added sponge weathering to make it pop.

And here he is complete! ‘Good enough for government work’ as they say.

Some group shots of the two units I’ve finished:



Thanks again for looking. Next I’m painting a Breacher Team...

Nice, simple techniques giving really good results. Right up my street.

Nice looking Tau and one of the best usernames I've encountered.
Keep up the good work.

Man I love the low-contrast look. Rare you get it on Tau and it looks really good

You know what would look triple-a awesome? Some light weathering with Rhinox Hide roughly drybrushed on exposed edges...

Huginn wrote:Nice, simple techniques giving really good results. Right up my street.

Thank you Huginn. That's the idea - I've about 2K points of infantry and armour for this project and 0 points of time and patience so hopefully it'll all come together on the table.

DaemonJellybaby wrote:Nice looking Tau and one of the best usernames I've encountered.
Keep up the good work.

Thanks!

Ynneadwraith wrote:Man I love the low-contrast look. Rare you get it on Tau and it looks really good

You know what would look triple-a awesome? Some light weathering with Rhinox Hide roughly drybrushed on exposed edges...

Thank you - these guys are all sponge weathered with a sludgy browny colour (I think it goes without saying that I've posted some terrible quality photos so a fair bit of detail is lost). I try to avoid drybrushing anything non-organic as I'm not keen on the result. I'll deffo try some Rhinox weathering for the next unit though.

Glad to see you start this, I've been badgering him for a while. I really like the clean finish you get on these guys.

 RandyMcStab wrote:
Glad to see you start this, I've been badgering him for a while. I really like the clean finish you get on these guys.

Thanks dude! The nagging really does help x

Hello I’ve managed to put some time into the first of two Breacher Teams over the last few weeks so here’s an update. The process of course is much the same as for the Strike Team above but hopefully a bit cleaner and more refined now. Here’s the team built and under/base coated:

This team is a mixture of old and new Fire Warrior parts. I only bought one box of the lovely new Fire Warriors and managed to build two teams of Strikers and one team of Breachers out of them by using loads of bits from the squishy old kits. As with the Strike Team I am mixing up the two different types of helmets and shoulder pad as I like the way it looks. I also don’t like the Breacher back packs with their funny little sticky-out bits so all of these were cut off and the pack itself flipped 180 so that the pulse magazines were all the same way up. The little field amplifiers were cut off and added to the belts of each Shas to help them get their sweet invulnerable save in-game.

Here’s the team with the weapons etc. based with Valejo Dark Blue/Grey:

Fatigues then have a wash of (matt) Agrax…

Apologies for the terrible photos – I have to move my kit around a lot and only get to work in the middle of the night. Also my video card died a few weeks ago so I’m slumming it on integrated graphics.

At this stage the team is base coated and inked (Nuln Oil for armour plates). The weapons and kit are also washed with Nuln to darken the grey and give them some shade:






The next stage is armour highlights with Ushabti Bone and after that we’re onto the home stretch.

In other news Randy McStab and I finally managed to have our first game of 8th Edition (and also christened his lovely new home with the blood of Xenos). It was great fun, very tense and extremely bloody versus his Guard at 1.5k points (*how* many infantry??). We left it as a draw at the end of turn 4.

There were no plans to batrep it but I did catch a few snaps of the action (thanks also to Alex Kolodotschko for donating the terrain to our Randy):





That’s all for now. Thanks as always for looking at this.

They are coming on really well, you got more snaps than me, I only got a few of the set up. I will post them on my Blog, the lighting (for the game) was bad for pics but the board and terrain look good. There was 92 infantry....over half of which died :(

 RandyMcStab wrote:
They are coming on really well, you got more snaps than me, I only got a few of the set up. I will post them on my Blog, the lighting (for the game) was bad for pics but the board and terrain look good. There was 92 infantry....over half of which died :(

If a guardsmen is not dying for the Emperor, he’s not doing his job.

Nice looking Tau. I’ve always liked the look of their tanks and infantry, but almost everything you see fielded is suits. Nice to see the “normal” Tau represented.

They could use a touch more weathering. Some sucking chest wounds usually look good on xenos.

#TauAbuse

Just checking in.

Now that’s the right amount of weathering.

If you are tired of those flimsy flight stands holding up your tanks, you could replace them with a SM scout affixing a melta bomb to the underside of the vehicle, or some guys with thunderhammers around the edges.

Alex Kolodotschko wrote:Just checking in.

Thanks Alex - I feel safer already. Lets get a game/drink in soon?

Nevelon wrote:Now that’s the right amount of weathering.

If you are tired of those flimsy flight stands holding up your tanks, you could replace them with a SM scout affixing a melta bomb to the underside of the vehicle, or some guys with thunderhammers around the edges.

Well I'm considering cutting out the middle man and just remodelling my entire army as casualities/wrecks to save time.

Over the last few weeks getting some painting time has been a battle. However thanks to Mrs Crisis Suit going away to visit friends overnight, and Baby Crisis Suit crashing for a two hour nap, I’ve finally managed to get the highlighting and squad markings done on yon Breacher Team…


Here is the Shas’Ui; as you can see he has a Pulse Pistol under his pack for ‘close encounters’ (despite the fact he is also carrying a super-destructive alien shotgun). I actually built my Breacher ‘Uis with pistols well before 8th Edition just for flavour but he’s actually allowed to fire it now,

This is an example of the trimmed and flipped Breacher backpacks which I have shared out amongst my infantry teams. I think they blend in fine.



A few more pics of the Shas’La – Squad markings are bit scrappy but any kind of freehand is new to me. I’m trying my best and will hopefully improve over time.


The ever-faithful Guardian Drone. Again I’m not super happy with the quality of unit markings but It’ll be fine to have games with. I’m not even sure if this guy will see the table for a while. Breachers will continue to be a critical element of my force but probably don’t need a 5++.

And finally a group shot (there’s nine Breachers in the team).

So onto the final few tasks next – weathering, basing and then a little highlight on the gold weapon gyros.

Thanks for looking – advice is always appreciated and sometimes even taken .

Looking really nice, I think your photos could be brighter to help show off the dudes. Look forward to shooting at them.

Nice looking Tau. Freehand looks good to me, don't be so hard on yourself.

I haven't looked that closely at the new tau rules, but why wouldn't you want the 5++ from the drone? Sure, it won't help getting mowed down from bolters, but would help you live vs. anything nasty sent at them.

RandyMcStab wrote:Looking really nice, I think your photos could be brighter to help show off the dudes. Look forward to shooting at them.

Cheers. I know right? I've been reading some photo tutes and messed with camera phone settings. Think I'll have another go later. I'm actually really pleased with how this team has come out so do want to show them off properly.

Nevelon wrote:Nice looking Tau. Freehand looks good to me, don't be so hard on yourself.

I haven't looked that closely at the new tau rules, but why wouldn't you want the 5++ from the drone? Sure, it won't help getting mowed down from bolters, but would help you live vs. anything nasty sent at them.

Thanks Nev. Most nasty stuff *should* be pointed elsewhere. If the Breachers aren't in thier ride they should be in cover with a 3+ and/or getting charged. He costs the same as a gun drone which has bare dakka.

I managed to get the Breachers done – sponge weathered with Rhinox Hide as recommended by a kind poster on this thread. It works and means I don’t have to mix my own gunk.

I have tried to get some better photos this time, and also used Dakka’s auto adjustment because I think the colours looked a little richer. You be the judge etc.

The team:











And as an added boner, some re-shots of what I had finished previously:

Strike Team...



Railhead…


And some drone objective markers…


Finally, I’ll be doing a Devilfish next (for my Breacher Team to drive about in). Built a year or so ago, I even went to the effort to magnetise the side hatches. I then got bored of having an elastic band wrapped around it during games so glued the hull together. I imagine I’ll just paint the inside of the doors now.



Inside there is a Pulse Blaster, Pulse Pistol and a Bombay Badboy(TM). Note also the ensmallended Chin Burst Cannon. The stock gun makes it too front heavy I think (although apparently I stole the idea off someone else).

Cheers then x

Photos are much better and are doing justice to your efforts. Tau dudes are looking really nice.

Have to say I love the paint jobs. I am still figuring out how to do highlights/shadows properly. I have a couple of shaded washes (black and umber) but getting them to *only* shade the crevices is mostly a pain.

RandyMcStab wrote:Photos are much better and are doing justice to your efforts. Tau dudes are looking really nice.

Cheers! I'm off to buy a daylight bulb for a second lamp tomorrow. Hopefully this will improve things further.

Niiru wrote:Have to say I love the paint jobs. I am still figuring out how to do highlights/shadows properly. I have a couple of shaded washes (black and umber) but getting them to *only* shade the crevices is mostly a pain.

Thanks mate. I think the most valuable (painting) lessons I've learned this year are to just paint and don't let things not being perfect put you off, avoid the temptation to drown all the model's surfaces in a shade wash, and use a really really tiny brush for everything.

Oh and obviously paint everything multiple times but with really watered down paint

Hi all. It’s been a month since an update but I’ve been chipping away at my T’au in 20 minute sessions when real life permits. I’ve made a bit of progress on the Devilfish and also done a few other bits and bobs. Also got in a game (or two?) with some buddies – but more on that later. Behold…

I decided to make bases for my hover tanks. I ordered a handful of ghostkeel-sized lazor mdf bases from a shop called ‘Troll Trader’ off Ebay. The toll was not unreasonable. Using PVA I glued on a low flying base and some bark…

Next I glued on some fine sand and painted with XV88 and Mechanicus Standard Grey. Would you play me if...

The whole thing is then washed with thinned Abaddon Black and then drybrushed with XV88, Mech Gray and then Admin Gray. Add some tufts and static grass and they are done…



The Devilfish has now been base coated, panel-lined with Agrax and then (mostly) tidied up. The dark gray areas have a heavy wash of Nuln Oil as usual…


The interior just had a rough wash of Agrax just for some definition. It’s obviously not a display piece so I doubt I’ll be opening the hatches again once he’s finished. But at least * I * know there’s a gun in there…


Engines…

Drones...


The hull is now almost ready for highlighting so must of the laborious work is complete. As you can see there is still tidying to do on its rear end…



Fingers crossed the next update will see this complete as I am sick of the sight of it on my desk.

I was also able to play a 1.5K game against infrequent Dakka poster Mephistoned a few weeks ago. I think it was a ‘The Scouring’ and despite three turns of what felt like a massacring by my Infantry supported by a Riptide the game actually ended in a draw on account of the clutch objective being held by a stealth team but contested/won by a few Tacs in a Rhino thanks to their fancy new objective secured. To Mephistoned’s credit it was his second game of 8th and he’d not had an opportunity to delve much into the new rules and tweak his favourite units.

Once again a stealth team proved to be incredibly durable and for some reason I keep rolling sixes to wound with my Railgun. In this game I managed to shoot through three Death Company with a single Railgun shot (always been a dream of mine) and even scored the mythical five markerlights on a unit. Obviously that unit was Scouts. I know on Dakka Riptides are rubbish but with a Heavy Burst, SMS and an extra -1AP it really pulled it’s weight and held the flank versus a load of heavy weapons and dedicated assault units.

Fingers crossed I’ll be playing a 2K game next week versus the usual suspects who will have an allied Blood Angel and Ultramarine force. Hashtag living the dream etc.

Thanks.

Those look great I like the bases too. I look forward to seeing him done with all insignia and that. Are you leaving it factory fresh or doing weathering?

Many thanks. As this is Breacher One's 'Fish I was gonna go all out with the weathering to represent all the tank charges and overwatching melta gun hits.

I done a Devilfish.

It's finished now and here are some photos of the process over the last three weeks...

Here it is base coated and mostly edge highlighted. I've got three other hulls built and under coated for this project. I think if I hadn't already built them then I'd be doing sub assemblies as getting a stable position to edge highlight onto the bigger models is an arse.




A few shots of the markings/transfers process. For everything bar the gun drones I’m using the old Tau waterslide sheet. The symbols on the nose and hatches are meant to match the team marking on the Breacher Team I did before this. Well it’s a close approximation. Each of the vehicles will have a little bit of T’au gobbledegook on the canopy which is meant to be the pilot’s name. This one probably translates to ‘Husker’. I’m using Vallejo matt varnish to fix the transfers. It still leaves a bit of shine but once you’ve done a bit of weathering it’s not really noticeable. At this point I also brushed a coat of matt varnish onto the sharp edges of the model – particularly the black areas. Model Colour Dark Blue/Grey is not a hard wearing paint and I’m forever scratching the edges down to the spray undercoat as I’m rotating it to paint.



And so the weathering is done. I usually have a bit of a tidy up with the base colour (Zandri Dust in this case) once I’ve gone over it with a sponge. If you can keep the weathering following the edge highlight closely, you get that nice ‘micro-detailing’ thing going on which is great for a sense of scale. Probably went a bit overboard on this chap but it’s all just practice I suppose.

I’m leaving lenses and any metallics until the very last on these so that those areas do not get weathered. My rule is – anything that is looked through (like a viewport) is Castellan Green dulled with a wash, then Castellan again, and then Warpstone Glow with pure white for any reflecty bits. Targeting lens type things are Mephistoned Red with a dark wash and then blended up with Flash Gitz Yellow (i.e. the yellow I just happen to have within reach). Anyway…






So there you have it. I’m glad this one is finally done. I doubt it really took up many painting hours rather my time at the desk is limited so it just feels like a total slog. No Sept symbols to be seen so I can choose the cheesiest ‘chapter tactic’ when the book finally comes out (-1 to hit maybe ). Only joking – all the markings are white so the whole army will obviously be from T’au itself!

Thanks for looking and I hope you like. I promise the next unit is going to be a different colour.

p.s. - Bonus glamour shot illustrating the whole reason for this vehicle’s existence – chucking a team of Breachers up the table to die in a blaze of glory…

Looking really good, I like how the last shot shows the magnetised and hinged access points. The weathering works really nicely with the otherwise clean look. I look forward to seeing more.

Really nice Tau, will be following.

TheEldanariPrince wrote:Really nice Tau, will be following.

Thanks very much!

RandyMcStab wrote:Looking really good, I like how the last shot shows the magnetised and hinged access points. The weathering works really nicely with the otherwise clean look. I look forward to seeing more.

Cheers as always for your patronage Randy. Here is some more...

Last year I grabbed 13 *WHITE METAL!* XV15 Stealth Battle Suit models off Ebay. Most of them needed stripping (I used Dettol) and all of them needed serious de-burring and mould line removal. When I was conceiving the Infantry Cadre I realised that I would need Elites (which at the time were all battle suits) and as I was eschewing anything heavy, it seemed like the lightweight vintage stealth suits would fit the theme well.

As of 8th edition I was chuffed as not only did the stealth teams get a statline buff, they also retained their ‘infantry’ status via keyword unlike all the heavier Tau units. So far they’ve been great in games so were moved up the painting list…


Here are six of the models mostly ‘raw’. I’ve snipped the base slots ready for mounting on 32mm bases and you can also see where I’ve sawed off one of the cannons to dry fit a fusion bastard.





The toughest job here was to make a converted fusion operator using a steadied cannon model rather than the usual ‘gun in the air’ XV15 which tends to be used for this purpose (I have one of those as well and didn’t want to duplicate). Lots of careful snipping and razor-sawing was required to make a cavity for the blaster. The blaster itself (from the old XV8 kit) had to be chopped about also so it slotted in to the cavity.



Once the other bits and bobs were done I finished it off with a bit of scrappy greenstuffing!


32mm bases here – just some cork board this time. As the stealth teams were to be my only elite units I wanted them to stand out from the normal basing style of my basic infantry.


The other bits and bobs mentioned were attempts at making kit and ammo boxes clipped to the teams’ armour. I also omitted the big antennae on the jet packs and will use a few of these later to represent drone controllers. The little targetty things on the side of the helmets are optics snipped from fire warrior pulse weapons. There are some really good examples of this online so I stole the idea.


Here’s a max sized fusion team ready for paint…



...however I’ve picked out just a five man team to paint as this is how I’ve been fielding it of late.

Painting-wise the plan is to do them predominately green/olive drab with black weapon bits and under armour. I may apply some triangle cammo to larger areas but I might be too scared. This leads us to my conundrum - I can’t decide which green to use for the base armour. I’m stuck between (Citadel Base) Death World Forest or Castellan Green…


Here’s a comparison snap with some hastily painted shoulder pads. I’ve stuck a drone in between them as that’s the majority colour of the army and it would be good if the stealth teams compliment the larger force. Right now I’m liking Death World as it pops a little more and looks less… Cadian.


I’d be grateful to hear anyone else’s opinions before the base coating begins.

Thanks for looking – I hope to have another update very soon!

xx

I like the Castellan as it looks more varied than the other green which you might find too similar to the base army colour (though you might want that).

It's horrifying to see those poor XV15s mistreated like that!
The conversions look good though.

Regarding the green, have you considered using Death Guard Green? Or maybe looking at some other colors?

Stormvermin Fur, for example, when painted over black looks closer to an olive grey than it does black/brown.


Also, the whole army looks great. Gonna be watching this thread...

RandyMcStab wrote:I like the Castellan as it looks more varied than the other green which you might find too similar to the base army colour (though you might want that).

Yeah I get you but I didn't want the green to be too much of a contrast.

Kanluwen wrote:It's horrifying to see those poor XV15s mistreated like that!
The conversions look good though.

Regarding the green, have you considered using Death Guard Green? Or maybe looking at some other colors?

Stormvermin Fur, for example, when painted over black looks closer to an olive grey than it does black/brown.


Also, the whole army looks great. Gonna be watching this thread...

Thanks Kanluwen. I actually took your advice (when you gave it over three months ago) and crept into my local GW for a fumble around in the paints. I was pounced on by a genuinely friendly and helpful employee who did me an impromptu painting demo.

We established that Death Guard Green was too pastel for my tastes and after testing some others settled back with Death World Forest. I did pick up some more suitable choices for edge highlighting though.

So here we are after an xcom2 induced bout of painter's block and I've finally managed to get the stealth team base coated. Black areas have already been shaded...




So just a small update there and next will be shading and highlighting the armour. At the moment I don't think a cammo pattern is going to happen but I'm certainly open to ideas, encouragement and threats. Ta

Looking good, I do still like the idea of a dazzle style jagged block camo on them, would set them (further) apart and reinforce the primary idea of the unit (stealth {and cheating}). But that's just my opinion.

 RandyMcStab wrote:
Looking good, I do still like the idea of a dazzle style jagged block camo on them, would set them (further) apart and reinforce the primary idea of the unit (stealth {and cheating}). But that's just my opinion.

I agree. I think a more modern/tech looking pattern looks better on the T’a’u’. But stealth suits should have something going on besides a normal paint scheme.

Lovely Tau! Nice and simple and straight to the point!

 Cosmic wrote:
Lovely Tau! Nice and simple and straight to the point!

Thanks Cosmic. That's what I'm going for; I'm a slow painter and get bored quickly. Hopefully this approach will get me 1k points fully painted to get on the table this year.


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RandyMcStab wrote:Looking good, I do still like the idea of a dazzle style jagged block camo on them, would set them (further) apart and reinforce the primary idea of the unit (stealth {and cheating}). But that's just my opinion.

Nevelon wrote:I agree. I think a more modern/tech looking pattern looks better on the T’a’u’. But stealth suits should have something going on besides a normal paint scheme.

Ok then you ball bags if you insist. Here is my first attempt at the camo that was in my head. I suppose it's more of a splinter than a dazzle. I'm not as disappointed by it than I thought I would be so I guess it's going on the rest...



This guy has had a bit of an agrax shade for some definition but needs a tidy. The triangles are just abadon black. When I do the highlights I'll just touch the edges and high points with mech gray or something lighter. Once the weathering is applied some of the dodgy edges should be hidden.

Some glamour shots...


[url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/925910-.html]

I've used Agrax for a shade instead of Nuln (which is what the Firewarriors are done with) because there's a lot of nuln on the burst cannon and I wanted the materials to look different. I'm not convinced though. Does the armour plating look too gunky? Who knows. Here's a size/colour comparison next to one of the regs...
[/url]

So there we have it. Randy and Nev I really appreciate the feedback and encouragement. Also I'm not sure why the text has gone all yellow but hey ho.

Loving the T'au man!

Also the stealth suits contrasting colors look great next to the rest of the army! The camo pattern is very unique as well.

Keep up the good work!

I really like it and don't find the armour too gunky. Now all you need to do is a smaller set of triangles in a nice Scorched Brown or so slightly over the original set. It's what I did on my Ratlings and I think it looks good.

LtChrispy wrote:Loving the T'au man!

Also the stealth suits contrasting colors look great next to the rest of the army! The camo pattern is very unique as well.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks LT. I was really unsure how to do these XV15 justice as there are a tonne of amazing examples of active stealth and traditional camo out there that I just can't replicate. I think these guys will do fine though. I've got 15 of them in total. And a Ghost keel that I imagine will have the same or similar scheme. It's probably best not to think about all those little triangles though.

RandyMcStab wrote:I really like it and don't find the armour too gunky. Now all you need to do is a smaller set of triangles in a nice Scorched Brown or so slightly over the original set. It's what I did on my Ratlings and I think it looks good.

I knew you'd say that. And just... no. As much as you are right another level of splinter would be great, I just don't have the patience.

Anyway sorry for Stalloning you. Here's a palate (or should I say *palette* ho ho) cleanser:

So that;s a no then.

Hello, I'm ashamed to show my face in here without any painting updates but I thought a little interval battle report might be fun...

It was late, on a school night, and having cycled to Randy McStab's house with a case of models balanced precariously on my bike I was able to pressure him into a quick 1k game against his Ultras using the Open War cards. We took some photos as it was also a good opportunity to show of the lovely table and terrain made by Alex Kolodotschko.

We chucked some terrain on the table and drew a 'Hammer & Anvil' style deployment which had us deploy up to 15" towards the table centre. Our mission was 'Glory (Hole) Seeker' which is basically power level-kill points or double for a Character, Vehicle or Monster.

The forces:

Randy’s Ultramarines (Patrol 1000ish pts):

[Warlord – Not sure ] Librarian (Storm Bolter, Force Axe and a relic).
8 Sternguard with default guns.
10 Tacticals with a heavy bolter and melta gun.
5 Scouts with a power axe.
5 Scouts with a heavy bolter.
Razorback twin Lascannon.
Storm Talon with twin assault canon and skyhammer rockets.



Mid-Life’s T’au (Battalion 999pts):

[Warlord – Inspiring Leader] Fireblade (PEN chip).
Commander (2 Fusions and 2 CIBs).
5 XV15 (1 Fusion).
9 Pulse Rifle Fire Warriors.
9 Pulse Rifle Fire Warriors.
9 Breachers.
Devilfish (stock).
9 Pathfinders (2 shield drones, pulse accelerator, grav inhibitor).
Hammerhead (Railgun and SMS).

The table had a medium-sized rock spire in its centre, surrounded by trees and a crashed lander. Larger spires and the odd elevation were spread around the edges of the table.

Deployment:

Randy deployed his transports (including Tac squad) ready to advance but with his command Rhino (Sternguard and Libby) hidden to avoid a pesky turn 1 Railgun round. His Lasback menaced the Tau right and a unit of scouts were placed to protect his rear from a Manta Striking Commander. The second unit of scouts were deployed behind the centre rock spire ready to charge. The Talon was deployed out of LOS with Randy’s Command Rhino.




I deployed my Fireblade, Strike Teams and Pathfinder Drones as a gunline out on the open and vanguarded the Pathfinders toward the treeline for cover. My Railhead hovered nearby the Fireblade and his PENchip and I hid the Devilfish and Breachers behind the spire on my right. My Stealth Team infiltrated to my left-centre to threaten Randy’s Scouts and the Commander stayed in the Manta for later…




Randy won and accepted the first turn. I failed to steal it back.

Turn1 Ultras…

The central Scout squad moved into charge range of the Stealth Team, both Rhinos head off towards the central spire and the Talon headed down Randy’s right to get good LOS on the majority of the T’au force.

The Lasback manages to hit and wound the Railhead but it passes the first of many 6+ saves.

The combined fire of the Scouts and Rhino Storm Bolter wound one XV15 and the Talon whiffs with it’s Skyhammers versus the Railhead but manages to assault cannonise the Pathfinders leaving just three in the fight.

The Scouts successfully charge the Stealth Team (losing a Marine to overwatch) and kill off the wounded battlesuit and taking no damage in return. I forgot to measure the Grav Drone range at this point but in retrospect it was probably a few mm out anyway.

Two Pathfinders break and run, leaving only to Shas’Ui on the board.

Turn 1 T’au…

Both Strike Teams move up a little and reposition for range and LOS while the Breacherfish emerges from behind a spire and enters the treeline. The Fireblade stays put in an attempt to keep the force in leadership range.


The Stealth Team disengages from combat and falls back just a little.

The Fireblade opens up the shooting phase by marking the Talon, and the remaining Pathfinder does the same to the Scouts.

The Stealth Team and one of the Strike Teams reduce the Scouts to one Marine. The Railhead then puts five wounds on the Talon (without needing command points or PEN!) and finishes the scouts with its smart missiles.

The remaining Strike Team manage to put one more wound on the Talon and bracket it.

End of round score = whatever the power rating of that Scout Squad was.

Ultras Turn 2…

The Librarian disembarks and the Rhinos move into the cover of the central spire.

The Talon moves forward into the T’au deployment zone and the remaining Scouts continue to guard the Lasback.

The Libby Smites a wound of the Stealth Team but fails to cast a second spell.

Once again the Talon’s Skyhammer Rockets can’t hurt the Railhead but chews up the Fire Warriors on the T’au left with its AssCans leaving two alive.

The Lasback continues to unsuccessfully target the Railhead.

Thanks to the Fireblade’s warlord trait, the Firewarriors hold their ground.

T’au Turn 2…

The Breacherfish flat outs into the treeline and the Strike teams and Drones head to the cover of the treeline leaving the Fireblade behind.

The Stealth Team move up through the crashed lander into range of the Talon and lead Rhino.

The Commander drops into the treeline next to the Breacherfish.

The Fireblade puts a Markerlight on the Talon and helps the Railhead damage it for another three wounds (2 left!).

Both Strike teams make good use of the RR1s and put another wound on the Talon.

The Stealth Team splits its fire and fails to bring down the Talon but does five wounds to the Tac’s Rhino.

The Commander overkills the damaged Rhino but there are no casualties to the Tacs or nearby units who disembark in the shadow of the central rock spire.



End of round scores: Ultras () and T’au (+Rhino

Ultras Turn 3…

Finally in a position to fully engage, the Scouts move downrange to find targets, the Libby moves up for better smiting and the Tacticals reposition to slaughter as many filthy Xenos as they can.

The Talon closes in on the exposed Fireblade.

The Librarian’s Smite and his other similar power (Randy?) puts an end to the Stealth Team.

The Talon continues to phone its Rockets in but still manages to wound the Fireblade 7 times. The nearby Drone unit eats four of these, leaving the T’au Warlord on one wound.

The Tacs and Rhino choose their targets with care and finish off the Drone unit and the damaged Strike Team. The Tac’s melta gun misses the Breacherfish.

Unsurprisingly the Lasback fails to damage the Railhead however the Scout’s heavy bolter puts a wound on the Breacherfish.

The Tacs fail a charge (there was less than an inch in it) and lose a Marine to overwatch/FTGG.

T’au Turn 3…

Breachers and gundrones disembark in pain range of the Tacs while the remaining Strike Team and Commander reposition to maximise overwatch the following turn.

The Devilfish flanks right so it can charge any remaining units while the Fireblade dives into his minions/honoured comrades for safety.

The Fireblade gets a marker on the Tacs and the infantry opens up with pulse blasters and volley fire. The Tacs are destroyed.

The Commander kills the Talon with his CIBs (which doesn’t explode over my gunline) and then uses his meltas to pop the Command Rhino (rolled a 5 and a 6). The Sternguard disembark with no casualties.

At this point the Ultras give the signal to fall back.

The End.

We did work out the scores eventually but it was moot as Randy conceded after my 3rd shooting phase was more effective than I ever could have predicted. I had an unusually large amount of good rolls in this game and Randy didn’t really get into his stride of rolling terrifying strings of power armour saves.

It was nice to use my breachers to good effect and get a Fireblade Volley Fire in as the last few games I’ve had against guard had left me feeling a bit limp. Still, this was a tiny, very random game so it mostly came down to the dice rolls.

Anyway I hope you liked this quickie and sorry for the crappy photos – We were both very tired and I was just pointing my phone in the general direction of the table in between turns.

Randy – feel free to add your thoughts and correct my mistakes; and don’t forget to put a link in your plog too!

The spell was called Psychic Scourge and it's basically another smite. The Sternguard lost 4 in the explosion hence conceding there. The game was actually marginally close until I failed the charge with the Tacks (even with a reroll) and then the commander killed all but one of my vehicles in 2 turns (for double victory points each time). I think this game illustrates how bad a place SM are now. Elite points cost but without the elite hitting power or survivability, SM need to come down a lot in points. Makes me feel that SM will end up being shelved till 9th ed, which is a real pity as I was trying really hard to enjoy them but games like this make me wonder why I would ever play anything but IG. Tau commanders are broken as feth too. I did cheer myself up by writing a 2k IG list.

There's a link to my blog in my sig. Sorry for the but I think most SM players feel this way.

 RandyMcStab wrote:
lĺlSorry for the but I think most SM players feel this way.

Don't worry I'm used to it. Marines do feel as though they have had their teeth pulled in 8th but I've seen you make the infantry shine with auras and the twin linked strat etc. I worry that the lists you like to use are (while being true to the background and exactly the kinds of lists I like to play against) are inefficient by (the writers') design because the missing punch is to be found in nasties like special characters, Primaris and those new fangled Centurions they have now. Just a thought really; I'm not very sensitive to balance issues and got used to losing against your Marines and Guard way more often than winning years ago!

I'm fine with playing against guard next time and won't need to change my list but I reckons you should stick at it with the blue gakkers for a bit.

And for the record I'm not a 4 weapon commander kind of player but I wanted to taste the forbidden fruit before the codex pops and I've got something more interesting to shove in my hardpoints (hopefully).

Hello,

My last update was late Feb but I promise I’ve not been completely idle. My cases have been at a friend’s house for a few months now so I wasn’t able to continue to work on those XV15s further up the page. Instead, I found myself staring at a Battlesuit Commander that I had kitbashed some months ago out of a Broadside kit and some other scavenged bits. I was never happy with the pose so gambled (and won) on some precision snapping and reposed his arm and base position. Here we have a piccy of the reposed Commander (apols for the lack of building images – I just can’t find them):

As well as Broadside, he has XV8 and XV85 bits in him too. As this is a bad photo I’ll elaborate as I post clearer photos.

This Commander was built for 7th Edition (as was most of this plog) to rep a Commander with Iridium Sig System, and was to be my only large ‘suit acting as more of a Dreadnought type role. Getting a lick of the old Zandri Dust here:

...and after 3-4 Zandri coats and some panel shading with Agrax:


I won’t go into colour choice and process again (pretty much everything in the plog is painted in the same way) but I used Administratum Grey as a base for the shoulder pad and head:

A few more WIP shots of the post-shading tidy up:



More to come soon...

He's looking boss, nice and imposing. He's so powerful he needs a big stompy model. Be interested in seeing the CIBs mounted as I've not seen them on yet.

RandyMcStab wrote:He's looking boss, nice and imposing. He's so powerful he needs a big stompy model. Be interested in seeing the CIBs mounted as I've not seen them on yet.

Well thank you. It's been strange using the small (but perfectly formed) Forgeworld XV89s to rep a 5/6 wound armed-to-the-teeth behemoth so I'm looking forward to getting this chub on the table!

Now I know I said...

Mid-life Crisis Suit wrote:And for the record I'm not a 4 weapon commander kind of player but I wanted to taste the forbidden fruit before the codex pops and I've got something more interesting to shove in my hardpoints (hopefully).

...but I've sold out to 8th (and most of the cool support/sig systems became strats anyway):


Here are two CIBs I made out of Commander kit Plasma Rifles and Pathfinder Ion Rifles. The Ion Rifle is asymmetrical so I had to chop off the little underslung bit and its ends and swap them round. Very tense but it worked out. These will go on the side-arm points.



A bit of highlighting. The jets here are from the XV8 kit. I drilled holes into the Broadside 'shoulder' mounts and the existing pins on the jets slot in nice and snug!



Some more post-highlights, pre-tidy shots.


A better shot of the CIBs.





Some markings and whites - I used a 70/30 Admin Grey/Valleyo White mix to build up the shoulder pad and head. Not too pleased with it but it'll be my first white painting in yonks.

Thanks for looking then. Will hopefully get a chance to post finished article very soon x

Love your take on the Tau - all clean and just what they should look like

 IGtR= wrote:
Love your take on the Tau - all clean and just what they should look like

Thank you please!

Unfortunately though the next stages include weathering so not so clean I'm afraid. Here are hptos and some comments from the final stages of my Cadre's Commander...



Waaaargh!




And there you have it. I'm really glad he's done (esp. as he was 4-5 units down the list so it feels like a bit of a bonus) and I'll be happy to put him on the table for a scrap.

Some elements I would have like to have had another stab at are the whites (needs a lighter base), the main lense (I was having a shakey hand day and it just doesn't pop), and the base (there's actually a little ginnel runnng through the centre with a weathered Boltgun part submerged in what was meant to be some kind of... fluid). I started layering watered down PVA in there for a cheap water effect but got bored of waiting.

For reference here a few build/design notes:
- Body legs and right shoulder from Broadside kit.
- Arms and left shoulder from Commander kit.
- Shield generater stuck to back to cover the missing Broadside Generator.
- Jet packs from XV8 Crisis kit.
- Base made from layered cork tiles.
- Broadside lower-leg stabilisers removed and filed down.
- CIBs from Commander (or possibly Broadside) Plasma Rifles and Pathfinder Ion Rifles.

Hope you like and thanks for looking. Gentle constructive feedback is always welcome and occasionally heeded x

Hopefully I'll get back to that Stealth Team next...

He looks really great. Nice to see all the bits on him for once too. I don't think anything needs re doing, other than it obviously needz moar skullz. And purity seals. And a nerf.

[Grrr – I actually did this update last night on my phone but Dakka crashed as I tried to submit. I’m now sciving off work in order to try again…]

Hello, two months on and after what seems like an age of sweltering heat I’ve finally completed another stage of those green XV15s. In the meantime I managed to play a few games of 40k (a draw of sorts against Randy McStab’s overpowered guard and a complete ochre-wash against Mephistoned’s Blood Angels although it was his first game with his Codex and I really should have toned my list down – sorry). I’ve also been working on conversions for Firesight Marksmen and DS8 turrets but more on that later.

The Stealth Team are just base coated, shaded and tidied but painting all the tiny black triangles has really tested my patience!

Here is (what will become) the Fusion Blaster-armed Shas’Vre. Despite the razor saw mutilation and shoddy green stuff I think it still works, and because of the labour involved in tearing the weapon out of a single-piece metal model he is a relatively unusual thing to see out and about.

A Burst Cannon chap – here you can see the extra kit and optic I have added to the team – made from T’au antennae and pulse weapon scopes respectively.



The other three Burst Cannon-armed Shas – Once these are done I’m looking forward to getting back to the mould-line free and clear detail of modern plastic kits. T’au collectors are spoiled these days .

Group shot – Like many early 2000s GW minis XV15s were static, squishy and had few variations. I’ve tried to add some personality and energy to the team by carefully bending a leg here and there and playing with the height of their bases (which are 32mm BTW).

Thanks for looking – hopefully I can keep up the momentum and get stuck into edge highlighting this week x

They're looking great already and really nice pics too, look forward to seeing them done.

I much prefer the look of the old stealth suits to the new ones. Nice job on that camo.

RandyMcStab wrote:They're looking great already and really nice pics too, look forward to seeing them done.

Thanks for the photo feedback Randy - a good picture makes a big difference. These look quite scrappy IRL!

Nevelon wrote:I much prefer the look of the old stealth suits to the new ones. Nice job on that camo.

Thanks Nevelon. Painting angular camo terrifies me as I get too intimate with each shape and even though I know painting perfect 10+ perfect triangles is not a healthy expectation (unless you're this guy), failing to do so still saps my mojo. Still we all know that a scrappy painted unit on the table is better than a half finished model on the shelf!

I loved the plastic xv25s when they came out and had a dozen back in the day. These days the mature, refined Mid-life prefers the understated design of the originals (and it fits my 'no battlesuits' theme a bit better).

Anyway I've not been idle and there are four or five projects on my desk at once that I'll eventually blog - but for now because there was a risk I'd want to use one or two of them in a Killteam game, I based and snapped a couple of XV15s that'd had their edge highlights done...


So this is a Deathworld Forest base with a main edge of Elysian green and then a final highlight with Krieg Khaki (I think) which is one of those fancy new Citadel 'edging' paints.

Plenty more to do on these but next episode on the T'Plog will deffo be KILL TEAM BATTLE REPORTS!

Lovely paint jobs, and best username haha

 JohnnyHell wrote:
Lovely paint jobs, and best username haha

Thanks JohnnyHell. My username is some of my best work!

We done played a Killteam…

Eager to play and actually finish a game with our 40k toys, Randy McStab and I managed to play two fun games of Killteam last week.

As I’m writing this I’ve realised that, thinking I had uploaded both games’ photos to Dakka the other day, I deleted all the pics off my phone so unfortunately I’ll only be able to show images of the first (and crappier lit) of the two games we had. Balls.

Our terrain was limited as Randy’s existing ruins are still out for repairs and the lovely Killteam starter stuff is yet to be built and painted.

Before the game was released we had shared our concerns about the limited size of the default play area, and having accepted that the board size was obviously related only to the starter set box size, both agreed that a 3’ by 3’ space would be more… tactical? Or something.

We used the same teams for both games (no wider roster to choose from) that were mostly chosen from models we had painted for our 40k armies… mostly.

We also decided to let the survivors level up between and after the games and incorporate them into the inevitable future campaign…

The Teams:


Randy’s Ultramarines Scout Killteam - left to right in the first image we have Solidus Anguis (BP CCW), another BP CCW Scout (Marius Chronus) and two Boltgun Scouts (Cassius Dysorius and Ollonius Cassus). Next is a Agies Polorus, a HEAVY Gunner armed with a Heavy Bolter who obtained special dispensation to wear a Camo Cloak despite the fact the default, unconverted HB scout model DOES NOT COME WITH THAT PART!!), Scout Sarg Titus Varenus (LEADER with Shotgun and CCW), an actual SCOUT (Marcus Cassus armed with a shotty), and SNIPER Cato Cassus (armed with a Sniper Rifle and cloak). There’s another non-specialist with a Sniper Rifle (Ollonius Tarentos) tacked on the end who is actually part of the Fireteam. And for the T’au...


...we have La’Rua N’Lan Gal’Leath, who are a team of tech-minded stealth experts on a mission to seize vital intel (according to my 10-sided die). The team consists of Shas’Las Lorma, Kasashi, K’yen, Murakan and Loressa who are a fire team armed with Pulse Rifles; a Recon, Pulse and Grav drone; and are lead by Pathfinder Shas’Ui Watana. The team specialists are Shas’La Pashera (a SNIPER armed with a Pulse Rifle and humping a Missile Pod DS8 system), Shas’Ui Sel’tas (a SCOUT armed with a Pulse Blaster), and Shas’Ui Midaro – a VETERAN armed with not only a Pulse Rifle but also this nostalgic beauty:


Battle One – Covert War…

For our first game we used the ‘introductory’ open play mission and rolled up/placed a single objective on symmetrical flanks (T’au right, Astartes left) within our deployment zones.

The Ultras attempted to take forward positions in the scouting phase, and although I had elected to ‘eliminate sentries’, the two Scouts who moved up did so out of sight of my guns :(.

Stupidly I forgot to do an ‘overhead’ of the terrain and deployment to put everything into context. Here’s what I did snap though:

Sniper (with his DS8) and Leader camp the objective on my right flank. There’s a Recon Drone a few inches away behind the rock.

In the centre of my deployment zone, and obscured by two ruined buildings, my Fireteam and Veteran are placed for good fields of fire. To their right my Breacher Scout lies in wait.

I think (the camo is just too effective) Randy has his Fireteam (sans one Boltgun) deployed here on his right in cover plus his Scout, who may or may not be the guy who has advanced into the open.

Sniper specialist sets up in the trees in Randy’s centre-left, supported by the remaining Fireteam member. He has eyes on the objective in the T’au deployment zone.

On Randy’s extreme left is his Heavy Specialist guarding the Ultra’s home objective. Somewhere in those trees lurks the Scout Sarg (Randy – these reports would be a lot easier if you painted everything bright red).

So, on to the turns themselves. I’m not going to break the game down into turns and phases because I didn’t take any notes or enough photos. This is basically how it played out…


The Fireteam Scouts and their Scout Scout specialist Scout, Scout up the T’au left in order to get the drop on the central blob of Firewarriors.

They put one unlucky Shas out of action but lose a man in return despite being almost completely obscured through the ruins.

Because of cover, range and Camo Cloaks the T’au are universally rolling sixes to hit. This combined with my ability to pass unfeasible numbers of 4+ saves means very little damage is traded beyond a flesh wound dealt to my Sniper and another Fireteam member taken out. However, the advancing scouts manage to engage my Veteran Shas’Ui and the drones in combat. The Pulse Drone is sacrificed to ensure my Vet survives after my Breacher Scout blasts one of the following-up Scouts to the ground using the ‘Decisive Shot’ tactic.

Over on the Ultra’s left flank, the Sniper and Heavy specialists ready-up and do good work suppressing my guns as the Scout Sarg thinks about giving me the good news.

During turn 2 or 3 my Pathfinder Leader finally manages to hit the Heavy Bolter Scout with his Marker light (base 4+, -1 long range, -1 obscured, -1 Camo Cloak) and gleefully spaffs a command point on ‘Uplinked Markerlight’ to unlock all the bonuses…

...and of course not only does a full house of markerlights fail to improve my hit chances beyond a 6+, but Randy proceeds to tactic away that single, potentially game-changing failed saving throw!

Scout Sel’tas puts another scout out of action which neutralises the Astartes’ flank assault.

However in the Morale Phase Shas’Ui Watana loses his grip on the exhausted and shaken T’au and the team begins to crumble.

The T’au give the signal to fall back as Sgt. Varenus and a member of the Fireteam stalk through the ruins ready to dispatch the shaken Xenos…

So there you are – I hope that was at least mildly entertaining. We enjoyed the games and in retrospect made surprisingly few rules errors (although KT is very simple). I’d say the main thoughts I brought from the games were:

- Remember to take nerve tests, and remember which models have a nearby or table-wide impact on nerve and break tests. This is important for managing your own team’s morale but will also inform your enemy target priority.

- Similarly, because of how morale works (and how shooting doesn’t) it can be more effective to target a lower-threat model that you actually have a chance of hitting than to pour fire into a high priority target that you’ll forever need sixes to hit – maybe he’ll just panic later on.

- Playing on a 3’x3’ table seems to work. I can see how potentially having to cover a few extra inches might worry a Tyranid etc. team, but the step up in lethality for ubiquitous rapid fire weapons at <12-15” means few teams can afford to sit and snipe from the edge of the board. I also enjoyed having increased scope for tactical movement.

- Close combat and turn initiative. You really are buggered if you get an isolated model into ongoing combat and then win initiative the following turn – especially if there is an angry Breacher nearby.

- Take notes AND photos. Even though there is more going on, photographing the phase-ends of a moderately sized 40k game seems to provide sufficient retrospective info for a battle report. In KT, because there is arguably less going on and many of the units are almost identical, it’s really hard to remember who did what each turn although it’s safe to assume most models fired and missed!

- Take close up (and in-focus) photos. In KT the struggle between an Space Marine and an Firewarrior is as epic and meaningful as two Eldrads beating off a whole company of Conscripts in 40k; but it’s a lot harder to get a camera phone to focus on.

Thanks for looking – I’m off to actually paint something now...

Well done for doing this I know how long it takes. I loved the bionic card too, classic stuff right there.

It is harder to do a report in KT I think, we may have to do notes which I normally can't be bothered with.

Morale is cruel, once I'd shot up enough guys and you did the decent thing and failed your bottle test there was little chance of anyone passing a nerve test and all but a few members would be paralyzed effectively ending the game.

Still I enjoyed those games and will play more, now Conquest is happening I will get a Primaris KT for free and I've those Deathwatch to make too (for added variety and when shooting at another Camo cloaked Scout would make you scream).

*** Puts 50 pence in the meter and cranks the little dial thing...***

Hi there, it's been almost three months since my last emission. The Dragon Quest 11 honeymoon period is over and that poor XV15 team has finally had some attention. So here we go...


The whole team - 'Vre has a fusion blaster made from a crisis suit one. Earlier on the blog you can see how I hacked out the metal burstcannon from this mini. Bonus points for guessing what the little ammo tank thing on the back is from.



The 'Vre in close up. You can see here where his/her legs have been bent and raised in order to vary the pose a little.






Three burstcannon 'Uis. I tried to do the little wrist computer things to look like they actually have a display like you see other painters do. It didn't really work but it's a new new technique for me and hopefully I'll improve.


And the final burstcannon guy with the cool pose. I've added little details like the ammo pouch thing that you can just about see on the left of his chest armour.

So not much more to say about these guys. I'm glad they are done and think the splinter cammo works as does the little conversions like the helmet targeter they all have. These can be stored away in their case now never to be seen again!

Thanks for looking. Hopefully if you've followed the blog a bit you'll be as relieved as I am to see them finished

Some Pathfinders next I think... or maybe even some filthy Imperial Xenos!!!

These look really ace. Very nice subtle stippling and the neatness of the edge highlighting is excellent. I like the little screens and think they work. I look forward to swearing at them across the table.

 RandyMcStab wrote:
These look really ace. Very nice subtle stippling and the neatness of the edge highlighting is excellent. I like the little screens and think they work. I look forward to swearing at them across the table.

Thank you. These were an interesting exercise as my style relies a lot on minis with good definition and inherent detail (like the latest T'au infantry) and those old stealth suits are the opposite. In fact LDP made a similar comment on their blog the other day.

Started selecting members for a Pathfinder team today so hopefully more photos soooooooon.

Quick update...

As usual I've quite a few projects going on in the background such as more complex conversions for the Cadre, a Scions kill team and a naively ambitious terrain plan... but I've decided to maintain my T'au focus at least up to 1,000 points (which I'm reasonably close to now!). To that end I have turned my attention to a Pathfinder Team.

So far we have the following gathered together...

40k-wise I've never fielded a team in this configuration but I expect all models to be useful for both 4ok and kill team so it seems sensible to get them done together. The recon, pulse, and grav drone have already been base coated for kill team as has the 'Ui (more on him below). I've also done a rail rifle and ion rifle as they are both pretty good in 8th (and I imagine quite a lot of fun in kill team if you can ever hit your target). Other than that there are just five standard marker-'Las.



The 'Uis arms are obviously from the venerable Tau tank sprue. I shaved off the little circular pouldron things and had a stab of making some angular ones to match the other 'finders out of green stuff. Shouldn't be noticeable in a crowd.



There are few deviations from the vanilla Pathfinder kit (no need it's ace) but I have attached some scopes to the special weapons (snipped from pulse weapons). Now I'm sure Pathfinders have all kinds of hi-tech synchronised targetting kit in their helmets but you should always have a back up right?

Just a few accessories to fit on the team and I can get the paints out!

Some nice looking tau there. Don’t think I’ve ever seen some of those guns before. Pathfinders come with something other then markerlights?

I’m sure once painted they will make some fine targets for the Ultramarines.

 Nevelon wrote:
Some nice looking tau there. Don’t think I’ve ever seen some of those guns before. Pathfinders come with something other then markerlights?

I’m sure once painted they will make some fine targets for the Ultramarines.

Thanks as always for your feedback, Nevelon. As mentioned above rail rifles and ion rifles aren't bad in 8th edition thanks to a points drop from 7th and various rules interactions introduced with the new edition. I think the reason we don't see them is that they only come on Pathfinders and Pathfinders aren't quad fusion coldstar commanders, storm surges or riptides so aren't really called on for causing actual damage by most.

Anyway - update time. I managed to get the team base coated a few weeks ago and also done the rocks on thier bases. I've used a heavier wash and greater highlight contrast which I think makes the rocks look kind of glassy. Which is ok:


I then messed with some more triangle splinter cammo a la those XV15s and found that death world forest green gave just enough definition to survive an ink wash...




I then jumped ahead a little and did the ink washes/recess shade on this guy, a bit of a tidy up on the cammo to bring the green back up and this is the kind of thing I'm going for...




Hopefully I'll get a few chances to paint throughout December as there's a Blackstone Fortress-shaped box hidden under some clothes in my wife's wardrobe so I'll probably be spending January swimming through cards, tiles, counters and models without hoofs.

Thanks for looking x

Edit - New page baaaaaam!

Like the rock. Makes it feel like he’s fighting on an alien world, not just scraps of gravel from the side of the road.

Camo looks very nice. My only problem is a general one with camo: it’s boring. While probably that guy would blend in well on an actual battlefield, as a tabletop mini he lacks anything to make him “pop” Might just be at that stage of WIP. Pick out a few more details and you will be good.

Bonus points for the classic Stealth Suits - always favorites of mine. I like your bold, solid colors personally.

He's looking really nice, those triangles are far too neat, you need to embrace 'good enough-ness', you'd double your output!

Nevelon wrote:Like the rock. Makes it feel like he’s fighting on an alien world, not just scraps of gravel from the side of the road.

Camo looks very nice. My only problem is a general one with camo: it’s boring. While probably that guy would blend in well on an actual battlefield, as a tabletop mini he lacks anything to make him “pop” Might just be at that stage of WIP. Pick out a few more details and you will be good.

Thanks Nev - this is the age old dilemma of camo on scale models. While I'm trying for a 'realistic' look for all of these guys it does make them quite literally rather drab. They will be grateful of this when they have to hide from a rampaging army made up solely from space marine captains!

I'm hoping that these Pathfinders will catch the eye more once the highlights, markings and details are done. We shall see...

kestral wrote:Bonus points for the classic Stealth Suits - always favorites of mine. I like your bold, solid colors personally.

Thank you Kestral. You could argue I'm 'speed painting' these hence the limited colour range and heavy washes. Just very slowly.

RandyMcStab wrote:He's looking really nice, those triangles are far too neat, you need to embrace 'good enough-ness', you'd double your output!

Cheers. I tried to tone down the precision and the team of seven are now getting their final coat before details go on. Here's the weapon specialists...



Ion rifle gunner - he actually is ready for highlighting.



Rail rifleist - needs some touching up, in fact the paint is still wet!

And how about those chapter approved points reductions for Tau eh? Just in my tiny 'paint 1,000 points' list I've had to add a little extra unit to make it back up to 1k. I've also got about 13 lovingly converted XV8s just dying to be pressed back into service now they are significantly cheaper.

I'll keep plugging away at these guys for now. There has been much talk of a small themed Ultramarine 10th co versus Tau ambush game and I'd love to start the new year with an all models painted batrep.

Night night.

Looking great. I still think the back end bit (the boxy thing past the blob above his shoulder) of the Ion rifle needs to go away.

I look forward to a nice themed game, sooooooon.

 RandyMcStab wrote:
Looking great. I still think the back end bit (the boxy thing past the blob above his shoulder) of the Ion rifle needs to go away.

I look forward to a nice themed game, sooooooon.

Ta. I'm with you on the Ion Rifle thing. That gun has a kind of magical crystal thing in it for ammo (one of the models in the kit has the rock/crystal popping out the top). Anyway while it doesn't quite work I appreciate the attempt at an 'alien' weapon design. It kind of reminds me of the weapon tech from District 9 which can only be a good thing if you ask me.

Well, the in-laws are only hours away so I think I've done my last bit of painting until after the big C. Would have been nice to finish the team before the chaos starts but that's just the way she goes.

Here's where we are. Left to do are weathering, lenses, metalics and bases all of which will hopefully make them look less brown:

The team marking is just random which is fine because it's a made up language!

Specialists and 'Ui. The weapon guys don't have a right pouldron so unit icon goes on the left (they have read the Codex Astartes).

Once this team is done I'm planning a little group photo shoot really just to highlight to myself that I've now managed to paint 6 or so whole units!

Thanks for all the feedback and encouragement here on Dakka this year. It's been a brilliant way to focus my limited hobby time.

Happy New Year etc! X

Those guys look great. I look forward to seeing them finished. How was the Xmas with all the family invading. Did they behave themselves?

Howdy doody!

Well I not only survived 2018 but also user Randy McStab's epic birthday weekend (which involved an 8 way Blackstone Fortress orgy so violent the Eldar Ranger's Longrifle got snapped again).

I'm now done with the Pathfinders and will finish up their support drones next. I enjoyed painting these as it was a small squad with a number of novel elements. While the camo is hard to spot it does the job and I will maintain the scheme for future 'finder squads.

I screwed the lighting up a little (slightly overlit) and only repositioned for the last two photos so appols for that...


Shas'ui which is officially my first bare fishface (although you can't really see due to the giant binos).



Special weps (I've got parts for another pair of these so a more focussed weapon team is a future option).





Four redshirts. I tried to pile on the kit with these guys in order to convey their utility and specialist nature.


...and the group shot.

Well hope you like them and thanks for looking!

Finally, thanks to the generosity of fellow Bristol gaymers Randy and Meph I am now the proud owner of three of these beauties:

...and couldn't resist a bit of a dry fit. These guys won't be on the table for a good few months I would imagine and will also need to be painted in sub-assemblies so don't hold your breath.

Ta.

Tau came out looking very nice.

For filthy xenos...

They look great. I think you are losing some of the excellent subtly in your shading with those pics. The lenses look fantastic too. Really nice.....

For filthy xenos.

The suit looks good, how about a scale comparison with the OG ones, I've never seen them side by side. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with them.

Those eye-lenses in pics 3 and 4 especially are just jaw-dropping. Taking notes for my own purposes for sure!

Nevelon wrote:

For filthy xenos...

Cheers Nevelon. I've painted enough Tau squishies to not be afraid to get stuck in so hopefully the final push to 1k, which involves another 15 infantry, won't be too far away.

RandyMcStab wrote:For filthy xenos...

Yes they were a bit lit-from-above which helped the lenses but hid some of the other details. Happy with how the Pathfinders came out but all the exposed fatigue just highlights how badly the hoofs and gators etc. are being ignored. I've a Fireblade to do as you know so maybe I'll dial it up for that one a little.

I'll be sure to do a XV8 comparison when I start plogging the build.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:Those eye-lenses in pics 3 and 4 especially are just jaw-dropping. Taking notes for my own purposes for sure!

Thanks Gwyn, I think the lighting makes them look better that they are in real life. I hate mixing paint and I'll probably get a pot of something to simulate warpstone glow plus white which hopefully will still have a good effect. I think colour selection is more important than accuracy with gems and lenses; your eyes/brain do the hard work!

So, a little update. I had a handful of drones belonging to various units that needed squaring away. I shan't bore you all with WIP photos so here are five shield drones...



These two belong to the Pathfinder Team I recently did. Hopefully the markings match. I did some sponge weathering over the freehand in Zandri Dust (my base colour) and I think it worked well to blur up the dodgy edges and hide brush marks. These two will join the Recon, Grav and Pulse Drones which I will be painting next (BORING!).


Three of the drones are magnetised. Any new ones I build get the magnet treatment so that I can later just paint different lower parts for marker and gun drones and reuse the lids when possible.


...and here are the Stealth Team's helpers. I decided not to replicate the green and black splinter scheme as they don't have the 'stealth' ability in-game. I removed the antennae for a low-profile look!


Finally, the poor old battered shieldy who goes with the Breachers and their Guardian Drone. When the Breachers next come out of their case we will see if the unit markings match.

That's all for now. Sorry for *droning* on for so long.

I'll keep plugging away as I'm on a promise of a birthday game of 40k in a few weeks which I'd like to do a batrep of.

...for filthy xenos.

These look ace. I love the frisbees of death. The stippling looks rally good and I think I will do a bit on my robot thing. I like stippling back on top of the detail, looks very effective.

Look forward to seeing 1k of your guys done soon!

Hello,

Although I've not updated for two months I feel I have, on reflection, had a pretty action packed wargaming time. I have:

- at least 'tabletop ready' completed 1,000 pts of my Tau (will upload pics shortly).
- had a 1k cities of death NARRATIVE game with RandyMcStab (we have loads of photos so will do a batrep. Promise!)
- played a game of Killteam (Pathfinders V Primares).
- completed the access route to the third stronghold in our Blackstone Fortress campaign.
- prepped and began painting three magnetised Crisis Suits!

Today I am here to talk about those Crisis Suits...


Here is the current project. Everything is clean and built as sub assemblies as I want to do a nice tidy job of them.


Bases are done.






I've sunk a round magnet into each arm and right booster. The arms needed a bit of gouging and although I've looked at a lot of tutorials this seemed to be the simplest way to go (probably needed smaller magnets.

Rather than using magnets for the weapons and kit I just made a little plastic plug and fitted a bit of paperclip. The connection is not as strong as I would have liked but it will be fine for games and provides a larger margin of error for connecting other bits and bobs (I only prepped plasma, missile and shield).



I made a start on painting. I'll probably basecoat components for a whole battlesuit at a time to help with the motivation!

Thanks for looking. I'd be grateful for any ideas about markings and other details for the team, I'm also on the fence re drone flying base bottoms - clear or painted?

Very lovely stuff. I like the subtle camo on the pathfinders. I'm just starting out with tau myself so I'll be following your updates closely from now on.

Lovely smooth paint job on the suits.

Regarding magnetised weapons, i can highly recommend 3mm square and 0.5mm thick magnets. They surface mount really easily and fit nicely on Tau suit weapons.

They are looking great, I look forward to being unable to harm them due to a wall of expendable drones.

Nice to see Fireknives too, classic config. Will you do a scale pic as well? I'd like to see them in comparison to the OG XV8s.

Flapjack wrote:Very lovely stuff. I like the subtle camo on the pathfinders. I'm just starting out with tau myself so I'll be following your updates closely from now on.

Thanks - I'll keep an eye out for updates to your Tau. I also like your AWI and other historical stuff.

Flinty wrote:Lovely smooth paint job on the suits.

Regarding magnetised weapons, i can highly recommend 3mm square and 0.5mm thick magnets. They surface mount really easily and fit nicely on Tau suit weapons.

Thanks Flinty. Multiple thin coats etc. Yep with the magnets. I used round as that's what I had but I regret taking the extra time to source square ones. Hopefully it'll all work out in the end!

Keep plugging away at those Blackstone minis. Mine have seen heavy play but are all still bare plastic.

RandyMcStab wrote:They are looking great, I look forward to being unable to harm them due to a wall of expendable drones.

Nice to see Fireknives too, classic config. Will you do a scale pic as well? I'd like to see them in comparison to the OG XV8s.

Thanks Randy. Fireknives are pretty retro these days but they look cool and since CA18 points drop they're a pretty flexible budget choice.

Will deffo do a scale comparison when I finally assemble (hopefully this year).

Game wise I imagine the XV8s will be a swap with your favorite XV15s so at least you can have a break from -1 to hit. Obviously the XV8s can bring six drones though

I've made a little progress on them. All legs are base coated now...


...and made a start on heads. The 'Vre's head is a base of administratum grey, shaded with agrax and is now being slowly built up with ulthuan grey. I'll highlight with white and the result will hopefully be less jarring than the white on Shas O'Bese...




I'm going to have a little break from the Crisis Team now and focus my limited time on writing up a battle report of the game Randy and I had in March. You can expect adrenaline-fueled action like this...



...so stay tuned (or at least check back in a month or so).

Peace out x

 Mid-life Crisis Suit wrote:

Flinty wrote:Lovely smooth paint job on the suits.

Regarding magnetised weapons, i can highly recommend 3mm square and 0.5mm thick magnets. They surface mount really easily and fit nicely on Tau suit weapons.

Thanks Flinty. Multiple thin coats etc. Yep with the magnets. I used round as that's what I had but I regret taking the extra time to source square ones. Hopefully it'll all work out in the end!

Keep plugging away at those Blackstone minis. Mine have seen heavy play but are all still bare plastic.

I will most definitely do so I've run 2 expeditions so far and need to get stuck into one of the bad guy lairs. Pondering which models to do for this month's painting comp.

Looking forward to the batrep. Tau are what cozened me back into the hobby when I was getting a bit bored so they have a special place in my heart

+1 on the Fireknives. Iconic.

 Flinty wrote:


Looking forward to the batrep. Tau are what cozened me back into the hobby when I was getting a bit bored so they have a special place in my heart

+1 on the Fireknives. Iconic.

Just for you Flinty, and several months later as predicted - I've finally written up the batrep from MARCH!

Way back in March It was my birthday. I had mostly finished 1k of my current T’au project, and my regular 40k buddy Randy McStab had also finished a squad of SM Reivers and some more SM Scouts. We had previously talked about taking a morning off and playing/photographing a small narrative game so it seemed reasonable to dive into some of the content from Chapter Approved ‘18 as we were keen to try the expanded Cities of Death rules for cover etc.

Randy also committed to doing a stellar job of painting the terrain from the Kill Team starter in time for our game.

I have now finally got around to sorting through the photos and putting something together and so may I present...

Village of Light Injury – Relief Force (a Cities of Death narrative battle report)

“Pathfinder Shas’Ui Watana inhaled slowly and deeply as the rest of her team moved quietly into position. She could taste on her breath the acrid tang of the tall, green-needled trees that dotted the Cadre’s rally point; it was an unfamiliar sensation which pulled her mind back to thoughts of the ghost-like Xenos force that she knew had been stalking her Cadre for many ‘Rota.

Watana glanced across to the right of the cramped ruin and watched as the taciturn and heavily armoured XV15 team finished making adjustments to their kit and began setting up the orbital beacon.

Suddenly, and as one, the XV15s froze. A moment later four of the team blinked into shadow leaving only the team’s Vre visible. Watana barely had time to decipher the ‘Vre’s hand signals before he too engaged his optical camouflage and dissolved in a cascade of pixelated light.

The Gue’Ron’Sha predators had found them”.

Mission – Relief Force (CA18 CoD Narrative). This is an asymmetric scenario where defenders are tasked with holding a central ruin initially with only a small portion of their force against the attacker’s full (and potentially flanking) strength. Additional defender units enter the battle from turn 2 on a roll of 3+.

House Rules – Not loads but we generally count the footprint of several small groups of trees as area terrain.

Playing Area and forces – The battle played out on a 6’x4’ with medium ruin and woodland terrain (although we were using CoD rules).

We agreed that my Tau would consist of models I had painted and that Randy’s force would be made up of Scouts, Rievers and light floating things. Approx. 1k points each:

Attacker – Ultramarines Scout Force:

[Warlord – Adept of the Codex] Sgt. Telion.

Lieutenant with Primarch’s Wrath (relic bolter) and Axe.

10 Scouts with cloaks, 9 Rifles and a Missile Launcher.

10 Scouts with Shotgun/Axe (Sgt.), 2 Shotguns, 6 CCW and a Heavy Bolter.

10 Scouts with Bolter and Sword (Sgt.), 8 Bolters and a Heavy Bolter.

6 Reivers with Grapnel, HB Pistol and CCW.

Land Speeder with H Bolter and H Flamer.

Land Speeder Storm with H Bolter.

Stormtalon with Twin AC and Lascannons.

Defender – T’au Sept Infantry Cadre:

[Warlord – Exemplar of Mont’ka] XV8 Commander with Iridium Armour, Vectored Thrusters, 2 CIBs and 2 F Blasters.

Cadre Fireblade with PENchip (-1 CP).

9 Breachers with 1 Shield Drone and Guardian Drone.

9 Strikers with Rifles (‘Ui has a Carbine).

9 Strikers with Rifles (‘Ui has a Carbine).

5 Strikers with Rifles and a SMS DS8.

5 XV15s with 2 shield drones (‘Vre has a F Blaster).

7 Pathfinders with 1 Ion Rifle, 1 Rail Rifle, 2 Shield Drones, Pulse Drone, Grav Drone and Recon Drone.

1 Devilfish with Gun Drones.

1 Hammerhead with Railgun and SMS.

As per the scenario, I had to select two infantry units to deploy in the ruined building which was to be the objective. I went for my Pathfinders because they had a large drone unit attached, and the XV15 team who are notoriously difficult to dig out of cover (and would be able to use the ‘finders’ drones for ablative wounds. I prepared my Commander for Manta Strike, and the rest of my force would be walking on from turn 2 onwards.

Randy deployed his sniper Scouts centre right in woodland, his bolter scouts on his centre left, and five of the CCW scouts embarked in the Storm and facing the objective. The remaining HB combat squad took cover on Randy’s far right in front of the Stormtalon. The Ultramarine Lt. and Telion stood bravely in the open so their commanding presence could be felt by the two large scout squads. On Randy’s left flank were the Landspeeder and Reivers.

The Ultramarine attackers took the first turn…

Turn 1:

Ultramarines...

The Space Marines begin the laborious task of clearing out multiple drones from the ruin. The Reivers advance towards the target ruin through parallel cover and both ‘speeders head to its base in preparation for an assault.

The Stormtalon strafes the front of the ruin as it moves across the Ultramarine’s left flank.


Even under the watchful eye of Sgt. Telion and the encouraging roars of the Lt., the combined fire of Randy’s force is unable to clear the wall of protective drones. The XV15 and Pathfinder teams are left relatively unscathed and ready to answer the Marines’ opening volley.

Tau...

Leaving their shield drones sparking and smoking on the ground, the Stealth Team boost up to the ruined roof of the objective building, delivering heavy damage to the Landspeeder. The Pathfinders further damage the ‘speeder while repositioning in preparation of the inevitable charge from Randy’s Scouts.

The Tau will have to weather another blistering fusillade before they can expect their relief force to arrive…

Turn 2:

Ultramarines...

Goaded by promises of organic engine oil from its crew, the Landspeeder’s Machine Spirit pulls the vehicle’s smoking chassis away from the Stealth Team’s heavy weapon.

Confident in the disembarking Scouts’ ability to decisively provide the Pathfinders with ‘the good news’, the majority of the Astartes guns are pointed at the Stealth Team. Hard Cover (thanks to Cities of Death) and the coruscating nimbus of the Xenos stealth tech result in only light damage!

The Pathfinders are not so lucky as shotgun shells and explosive bolts churn into the ruins, but as the Scouts charge in they are cut down by ion and rail fire, as well as plunging burstcannon rounds from the ruins above!

Once the dust has settled the surviving Pathfinders break and run…

Randy’s Reivers move out into the open as they close on the objective and the ‘Talon moves deeper into the Tau right flank, hunting for the Xenos relief force.

Tau...

As the clouds part, Shas’O’Bese descends heroically from the sky and takes position on the Ultramarines’ left flank. The XV15s jump away from the objective ruin, ready to support their Commander.

The battlesuits split their fire, wrecking the Speeder...

...but only slaying a single Reiver. O’Bese is wounded when one of his weapons overheats.

Additional relief arrives in the form of a Devilfish packed with a frustrated Breacher Team which screams down the Ultramarines’ right flank.

A team of missile turret-equiped Firewarriors and the Cadre’s Fireblade also move into position.

Turn 3:

Ultramarines...

Presented with the juiciest of targets, the Stormtalon vectors its strafing run straight towards the Tau Commander and combined with the heavy fire of Scout snipers (using the ‘Master Snipers’ stratagem no less), brings him close to death!

Viz magazine – it’s like 3 quid an issue now! Thanks Obama.

The Landspeeder Storm zooms right into the Tau lines and blasts one of the DS8 team Firewarriors.

The Reivers continue their advance toward the objective building and take cover out of LOS ready for the next wave of Tau reinforcements. Telion and the Lt. continue to support the Scout gunline and put additional pressure on the XV15 team.

Tau...

“Tau Va!” Two units of Firewarriors rush into the AO desperate to protect their Commander from the aircraft screaming overhead.

Shas’O’Bese activates his automated repair system and boosts into melta range while his warriors attempt to distract the Stormtalon…

...which manages to remain airborne (or jams according to the photo).

XV15s take a flanking position and rake the Reivers with burst fire but they are protected by thick Mark X armour (and perhaps their terrifying visage?).

The DS8 team hold position and target the approaching Storm while their drone turret sends a barrage of smart missiles into the Reivers, again failing to leave a mark!


Meanwhile on the Ultramarine’s right, the Breachers disembark but score few kills due to extreme range. Their Devilfish flanks the Scouts and rams through the trees towards them.

Turn Four:

Ultramarines...

As the sun sets over the ruined village, victory seems certain for the Marines…


Although badly damaged and belching smoke, the Storm Talon finally dispatches Shas’O’Bese and turns its Assault Cannon towards the Firewarriors.

Deploying their grappling hooks, the Reivers achieve their mission and take the objective ruin! Now they just need to hold it…

Tau...

Unaware of the late hour the Breachers single-mindedly assault the Scouts with point-blank Pulse Blasters – ouch!

While the Devilfish and its Drones race towards the centre ruin and cause light damage to the Reivers holding it.

In a last ditch effort to clear the objective the Tau infantry and their Cadre Fireblade pour rapid-fire pulse rounds into the Reivers but the hulking man-monsters hold fast!

Phew - I think the write-up was more exhausting than the game itself. it was fun and frustrating - a very difficult scenario for Tau with so few units starting and such a big element of chance for reserves coming in - did anyone spot the complete adscence of my Railhead? Quite a large part of a 1k force never deoployed due to bad luck. I'm pretty sure we played it correctly and there is no 'comes on automatically by T 3/4 kind of rule.

Well I hope you enjoyed - great work by Randy McStab for painting the Killteam ruins up so beautifully and so quickly.

Reivers FTW! Well done for doing this, I know how long it takes.

It was a good game as I wouldn't have stood a chance normally but the scenario allowed me an opportunity (and the total lack of Railhead helped a tidge). It was a fun game and I got to use all my sneaky stuff in one go. Also got to use a bit of BOLTER DISCIPLINE for the first time too!

Nice battle report! It's always nice to see an old fashioned text and pics report, I prefer those over youtube videos. Both your armies look great on the field. Very good looking terrain too.

Death to the filthy Xenos! None can stay the Emperor’s wrath.

Fun report, always nice to see two well painted armies clash on a full table. Low point games with heavy reserves can be very swingy, but it looks like fun was had regardless.

Keep on fighting the good fight. Being the punching bag for the noble Ultramarines is a dirty job, but someone has to do it...

 Flapjack wrote:
Nice battle report! It's always nice to see an old fashioned text and pics report, I prefer those over youtube videos. Both your armies look great on the field. Very good looking terrain too.

Thanks Flapjack. I too prefer the classic photo reports and usually abandon video reports before the end (although I have huge respect for the efforts made by the likes of SS82 and Winters).

Lighting is always an issue for us due the colour of the walls in our usual play space and the fact we tend to play late at night once our respective spawn are a bed.

Having a fully painted force on the tabletop is an unfamiliar experience for me so being able to do it and then look back at the snaps is a great painting motivator!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Nevelon wrote:
Death to the filthy Xenos! None can stay the Emperor’s wrath.

Fun report, always nice to see two well painted armies clash on a full table. Low point games with heavy reserves can be very swingy, but it looks like fun was had regardless.

Keep on fighting the good fight. Being the punching bag for the noble Ultramarines is a dirty job, but someone has to do it...

Thanks Nevelon. I usually let Randy win to be honest as he cooks a mean curry and I like to be invited back over.

I'd definitely like to have another shot at this scenario but with the roles switched around.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Well, Crisis Team is finally done and I have very few wip images so I'll jump straight in...

The team - classic fireknife config (plus shield generator) mainly because it looks cool. The arms and right jet pack are magentised so the inevitable switch to flamers or CIBs wont be too difficult. Being unfamiliar with the 'new' kit I was conservative with the poses but I think I managed to avoid making them look too clumsy.


Shas'Vre - I had a few extra bits so I was able to give all three models cyclopean heads. I also managed to step up my white game.


First Shas'Ui and a bit of detail. Probably could have got the right arm a little higher but they are big models so his aim is pretty much at centre mass of a primaris marine at double tap range!



Second Shas'Ui - taking a defensive posture. The insignia on the legs and back hatch are from the 2002 Tau transfer set just with some heavy weathering. Markings on the right shoulders are a simple freehand which matches the rear hatch unit marking. Easy to apply to the six shield drones which will no doubt be joining them soon.

I enjoyed this project and I'm happy with results. The kit was a generous xmas gift and I wanted to do it justice. Looking forward to getting them zapped off the table by psychic powers!

Thanks for looking. Feedback very welcome as usual.

These are really excellent, definitely some of the best stuff yet. I like the weathering, very well executed, it gives them a real world feel. Even got some lovely flowers in there.

I'd be interested in seeing them next to the old suits (and a Terminator squad) to see the difference between the old and new models.

What's next on the schedule?

 RandyMcStab wrote:
These are really excellent, definitely some of the best stuff yet. I like the weathering, very well executed, it gives them a real world feel. Even got some lovely flowers in there.

I'd be interested in seeing them next to the old suits (and a Terminator squad) to see the difference between the old and new models.

What's next on the schedule?

Thanks for the lovely feedback, Randy. I managed to avoid getting lost in details and re paints and while there are plenty of cut corners the whole job took relatively few actual painting hours. It was the prep and sub assemblies which took all the time but it was totally worth it.

As requested here is a comparison photo with an OG xv8...

Not massively different size-wise eh? Stick the old ones on bigger bases and they'd be hard to spot.

What's next? I have some base coated dregs which all need highlighting, weathering, lenses etc...

Specialist drones from those Pathfinders...

A 5 Shas Firewarrior team with a custom and magnetized DS8...

A 9 Shas Firewarrior team...



And Mr Kicky himself (my grizzled custom Fireblade). Shas'Nel Kicky has a bionic leg made from bits of plastic rod and green stuff. It's a bit rough around the edges but will hopefully scrub up well!

So plenty to be getting on with.

I also just rescued 14 Kroot off Ebay

Great updates! The battlesuits look swell and kicky certainly looks the part. I liie what you did with the bionic leg.

I'm surprised how similar in scale the suits are. The new ones are much more lovely however. I'm glad to hear you finally tracked down some Kroot, they could be fun.

Looking forward to seeing those infantry topped off. It shouldn't take long to get those dudes nicely finished.

That missing leg going to show up anywhere as a trophy? I wouldn’t say that ripping a leg of a filthy xenos and beating his squad to death with it is something that always happens, but it’s been known to...

Nice looking guys there

*bitz orders T'au leg*

Hello.

Obviously it was the promise of playing endless games of 9th Edition 40k and launching ineffectual volley after ineffectual volley of BS4+ pulse fire into space marines with eight wounds and 50" AP-2 small arms that has motivated me to paint and post after quite a few months.

I've not been idle though and many a game of Descent and now Blackstone Fortress has been enjoyed. Also Battletech on Steam, which was so amazingly good I relapsed straight back into Xcom 2.

I'm always working on little builds and conversions for my Tau, and while I do enjoy a bit of painting it certainly doesn't come naturally.

Here is a finished one of those - a super simple bashed Sniper Drone team, and a not-so-simple Firesight Marksman:

New phone (turns out the old one wasn't bubble mixture-proof) means new camera so it might take a few sessions to get the settings and lighting sorted.



The Marksman was quite a complicated job and is made from:
- Tank commander torso from the venerable (and still sole) Devilfish/Hammerhead kit.
- Some 'running' Firewarrior legs.
- Firewarrior arms both with whatever they were holding shaved off and thier wrists repositioned.
- Binos and a markerlight, plus some tiny plastic rod to make a little laser designator.
- Wiring made from green stuff connecting the torso to a special backback thing which I think is from the Pathfinder kit.
- Also did a little unholstered pulse pistol narrative thingy.


The drones themselves were a lot simple and are made from a gun drone with the endy bit of the right carbine replaced with the longer barrell of a pulse rifle, and the left carbine completely replaced with a battlesuit support system of some kind.

Like a lot of niche Tau units, sniper drones got a bit of love in 'The Greater Good' PA book so I'm keen to put some on the table.

I'm working on my gaming buddies here in Bristol to jump back into 40k post-pandemic via Crusade so my updates here for the rest of the year will probably be finishing up units for a small crusade force. Fingers crossed the others will feel able to lower themselves to using power level

Enjoy x

I really like the marksman. Great conversion and paintjob. I don't think I've mentioned it before but your ochre tones are really cool. Subtle yet effective!

That's a great conversion. Much better than the boring stock version. Love the cabling back to his little walkman. I look forward to exploiting the new Look out Sir rule to pick him off. Looking forward to your completed Crusade force.

Flapjack wrote:I really like the marksman. Great conversion and paintjob. I don't think I've mentioned it before but your ochre tones are really cool. Subtle yet effective!

RandyMcStab wrote:That's a great conversion. Much better than the boring stock version. Love the cabling back to his little walkman.

Thanks very much for the feedback both of you

Even if the GW sanctioned Drones and Markman didn't cost a ludicrous ammount, and weren't (generally) finecast, I'd have always made my own as the sculpts (esp. the Markman) kind of suck balls.

RandyMcStab wrote:I look forward to exploiting the new Look out Sir rule to pick him off. Looking forward to your completed Crusade force.

Don't get any ideas - he'll have plenty of friends to hide behind. Unless you're a Storm Talon.


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What is this MADNESS - two updates in as many weeks?

My 'waiting for the paint to dry' project is finished. Three very simple DS8 turret conversions...

I'd previously made a prototype of these for Killteam. It's just three of a particular battlesuit support system stuck together with a missile pod magnetted to the top. There are a lot of really impressived DS8 conversions about but at least these are easy to make and I seem to have little piles of the required parts spread about the house like tuppences (or err).

I sliced off the three missile blobs and replaced with two slightly filed-down pulse blaster ammo (clever eh?) and a kind of dome-thing off a plasma rifle. I think it makes more sense for a S5 four-shot weapon.

Not a lot of bling or detail on these althogh I did use the big flat space on the pods for some transfers. I wonder what is says?

These three belong to the five-strong Strike Teams in my Crusade. The Firewarriors are very nearly done so hopefully I'll be able to update the plog in a week or so.

Thanks for looking etc.

x

Hello,

As advertised in Randy McStab's Dakka plog, we are speed painting Blood Angels for our buddy Mephistoned who is too socially-encumbered to paint his own stuff.

My mission was four Sanguinary Guard...

...and a Rhino.


Painting gold was lots of fun and the vehicle was already sprayed red so was a very quick job. The wings on the Sangers were an arse of course, and don't hold up to close scrutiny. Battle Ready (TM) if you will.

I've got some basing and transfers to do next and after that I've been volunteered to do a Baal, and something called a 'Blood Angels Librarian Dreadnaught'. Should be interesting.

Oops - only just spotted that I missed out the headlights on the Rhino :(

In a previous life I was also a Tau collector (everything bar a few Forgeworld battlesuits sold on) and I owned some Kroot but never got to painting them.

Some months ago I got a handful of them off eBay for a song. They were in various states of disrepair so I did what I could to dismantle and clean them up and ended up with this:



I had limited bits to work with and wanted to both decrease their profile and tie them in with the rest of my T'au Sept infantry. I have shortened most of the rifles and removed the muzzle spike, and added a stripped-down Firewarrior pauldron to each left shoulder which will be painted to match the Shas.

I had a go at a few conversions to add character to the unit:

This one had its ankles snapped and repositioned (there are pins through each leg - deffo not worth the effort!) to look more leapy...

And this one had a horrific amount of chopping and repositioning for a kneeling stance.

The unit has now been undercoated with Tamiya Olive Drab spray. It's a bit shiney for my tastes but there you go:



Finishing up a test model and will post shortly.

Cheers x

Lovely updates! Whenever I see an uodate on your blog I just have to look at it again from page one. I'm really digging this blog!

 Flapjack wrote:
Lovely updates! Whenever I see an uodate on your blog I just have to look at it again from page one. I'm really digging this blog!

Oh you! That's really kind though Flapjack thanks. I have such a great time looking through peoples' work here on Dakka and Instagram too. It's nice to know I am contributing to that.

Here is my test model for the Krooties...



Pretty simple process and colour range. I used GW green ink wash (something camo-shade) but I think the base green is too dark to create enough contrast. They are the lightest of light infantry in game so I don't want to spend too long on them (there are always Blood Angels to be painted).

I'm going to paint the remaining nine in blocks of three so that I don't get overwhelmed and can maybe add a bit of variation to skin tone and materials.

Any feedback about how I can paint more good is appreciated.

My Son, who is 4, was also keen to paint his own 'peck beak' but given his choice of colour palette maybe Space Marines might be more his thing!

That's awesome. I really like the Green bird-men, great conversions too. I want to see Peck Beak finished, you should use him and he can have titanic battles with ORK HANDS!

Don’t kroot adapt to what they eat? He’s obviously been at some VERY bright snacks.

Nice looking green guy.

 Nevelon wrote:
Don’t kroot adapt to what they eat? He’s obviously been at some VERY bright snacks.

The Shaper Commands... go and eat Wotsits and Lucozade!

I was hoping to get the next three Kroot done before the weekend as I'm going to be away, but unfortunately I just didn't make it. Anyway here is the progress...

These three are an attempt at lighter skin by way of Death World Forest > Elysian Green rather than the Castellan Green of that test model I did.


The lighter skin tone is hard work for me and the blending is hit and miss.


I'll do the next three in a slightly darker tone and use a different brown for the leathery bits.


Despite being unfamiliar with doing skin and organic bits and bobs, I'm really enjoying a break from T'au armour.

Glad I've only got ten of the spikey little bastards to paint though.

Cheers x

The Kroot look great. Especially what looks like highlighting on the face, very well done.

I get your point about T’au armour. Even Space Marines are technical, difficult, and varied, in comparison.. I found painting 5 fire warriors very easy last night.

Keep up the great work!

Those guys look fantastic. Really good. The unit will look great all together, so dark green, light green and what other colour? Bright pink for the last 3?

Have you made any inroads on the Predator?

Perhaps Peck Beak ate a parror and absorbed its DNA?

416_SpaceWolves wrote:The Kroot look great. Especially what looks like highlighting on the face, very well done...

I'm going to take credit for whatever you are looking at and say yes, it is highlighting. Thanks

 RandyMcStab wrote:
Those guys look fantastic. Really good. The unit will look great all together, so dark green, light green and what other colour? Bright pink for the last 3?

Have you made any inroads on the Predator?

Thanks, I had no idea how they would look so I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Funnily enough I've just borrowed this off you...

... so that will do as a base for three of them.

I've prepped and primed Mephistoned' Baal so will jump straight on that once these Kroot are sorted.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Those three Carnivores are finished now...

Here's a group shot which shows the contrast with the test model's darker skin tone. It also shows the kneeling Kroot's wonky pose (from that angle at least).


Automatically Appended Next Post:
...and some individual pics:




Thanks for looking. I'll bear down and get the other six done as quickly as I can as after that there's only one more unit to paint (and two to tidy up) for the 60pl crusade force. Ooohhh.

Really well done on those Kroot!

Yes they look bonzer. Hope the Middlestone works out for you. I look forward to seeing the Krooties IRL.

Really love the subtle weathering on your tau armour mate, looks gritty and brilliant. Marksman conversion is aces and I am all over the kroot like white on rice. The blue tinge to their hair spines is lovely. Bring on the next update!

tzurk wrote:Really love the subtle weathering on your tau armour mate, looks gritty and brilliant. Marksman conversion is aces and I am all over the kroot like white on rice. The blue tinge to their hair spines is lovely. Bring on the next update!

Thanks user tzurk, I'm so relieved that the marksman conversion worked out as it was one of many overambitious conversion projects that I've immediately regretted starting (she was just components on a blob of blu tac for at least a year).

RandyMcStab wrote:Yes they look bonzer. Hope the Middlestone works out for you. I look forward to seeing the Krooties IRL.

Cheers Randy, and thanks for the lend. Valejo Model Middlestone + Kroot =...



Launchy - this was the one I had to drop a typewriter on to change his pose. I've spent a LOT less time on the skin on these three as I'm officially bored of painting Kroot.


Prowly - From this close up the jagged strokes I made to highlight the flesh are painfully obvious but I don't mind the overall effect.


Walk forwardy - I didn't actually use more than Middlestone for the flesh (not even a 'add some white' highlight). It is just Middlestone, Camoshade, Middlestone. I know I should have but I didn't.

Here's a shot of all three skin tones used so far. I have three models left to will do two more in Death World Forest (centre), and the last in Castellan Green (left).

Gonna crack on with those now...

Thanks for looking x

Those are really nice Kroot, I wish I had shortened the rifles for my army.

 Oaka wrote:
Those are really nice Kroot, I wish I had shortened the rifles for my army.

Thanks Oaka, that's kind, especially coming from Dakka's resident Master Shaper. My T'au Cadre is pretty low key so the smaller profile fits. I also don't intend to paint any more kroot so I didn't mind the extra effort too much.

We are now done with the Kroot:

The gang all together. There are three different skin tones and two tones of leather (Zandri Dust and XV88) to make them less uniform.


A bit more close up. I added a simple geometric unit insignia to their 'Tau' shoulder armour and a bit of conservative weathering to the pads and rifle muzzles.

So glad these are done. It's been over a decade since I've painted more than 10 of the same thing and I was getting pretty bored. Quite a fun project though I suppose; I enjoyed scouring my own and friends' bits boxes for knives and pouches etc. and after doing all the faces I feel more confident to do some bare T'au heads which I've been putting off.

These are the final(ish) part of my Crusade starter and I'm excited to have something a bit exotic (albeit terrible) to deploy alongside my little blue Shas.

Now the Space Marine Codex is out we might start to get some games in.

Now, where did I leave that huge vat of Mephiston Red...

These guys look really great. Lovely spread of skintones (very modern of you). I really like the modified guns and tiny shoulder pads too, adds a touch of originality.

Look forward to seeing the Bangle stuff next. Any T'pau plans after that? Where are you with the Crusade force?

Thanks Randy, my wokeness knows no bounds.

Crusade-wise all my 60PL starter needs now is the painting of two marker drones, and weathering and insignia on a Fireblade and ten Firewarriors.

Technically I'm painting a new Battlesuit Commander but I'll probably just use that beefy Broadside-based Shas'O who is already painted.

Once these are done I'll do a little showcase (as should you/Mephistoned/The-other-person).

Right now I'm doing the Baal Pred:

Note to people who's friends paint your models with only minimal consent - keep things blu-tacked together instead of glueing please

I'm also doing this for the battlefield:


This will be heavily weathered, military gray, but I intend to put some horrific, unidentifiable GORE scattered out the back hatch.

Railgun kill maybe?

Great work on the Kroot. Lovely blend of skintones though i'm sad to see peck beak didn't make an appearance!

Really lovely thing you're doing for your friend here. I hated painting my own tanks so good on you for taking that off someone else's hands!

Interested to see where you go with the facemelted chimera crew.

That Shas'o is awesome too. I dunno if it was just my browser but the pics are massive and the weather is really convincing. Great work!

Chimeras are just Kroot lunchboxes, no?