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Well, now that we've all had a good look at some of the rules for 5th I have a question that concerns my Tau.

In the rule book it says that skimmers, when destroyed should be taken off their flying bases, but the owner can choose not to take them off in the case of like Land speeders witch can't land. My question is would I be forced to place all my skimmers (Tau Devilfish and Hammerheads) onto flying bases even if I have them modeled to be on their landing gear?

After playing for a few months I made the decision to glue on the landing gear on all my tanks do to me snapping the flying stands' tops off after a few games, witch then got it stuck in the hole of the tank and are almost impossible to get out. With my landing gear the skimmers are about 1/8th of an inch shorter then if I were to put them on a small flying base.

At the local Games Workshop store I was told by both of the people I played with there that I needed to have my tanks on a flying base and not the landing gear like I had. So I had to borrow some flying bases from the store witch put my tanks about a good inch higher then they were before, allowing my firewarriors to clearly shoot under it, giving no cover saves. This made me think of would I be allowed to switch what height flying bases I would use between games at a tournament or dare I say it, during a game depending on what army I am currently faceing? (have it high up against Orks to deny cover and low against marines witch the cover doesn't matter.)

I don't know if you have to but its rather wierd to not have skimmers on flying bases. It can have a psycological impact on percieved lines of fire.

The rules state you have to use the bases that the models are supplied with. Sort of easy to understand, isnt it?

Flying bases come with 4 different "sticks". Which one you choose to use is up to you, and only you.

Switching between games? Why not.
Switching during games (which you did not suggest, I know)? Big nono.

I think skimmers block LOS in 5th again, so it might be sort of a moot point. Unless folks decide that since you can see under them you can shoot the fire warriors on the other side or something. Still, I would wait until you have the book in your hands before modeling anything differently.

Steelmage99 wrote:The rules state you have to use the bases that the models are supplied with. Sort of easy to understand, isnt it?

The trouble with GW is that they write rules with no concept of its ramifications on the existing state of the hobby. It is foolhardy to insist on such a ruling considering that GW did not see fit to properly standardize base sizes by providing each figures' expected base size in the first place and GW's "included" base sizes have varied through out the ages!

Metal terminators shipped with 25mm bases, new terminators 40mm bases.
Daemons shipped for the longest time with only 20mm and 25mm square bases.
2nd edition Wraithlords/Warwalkers/Greater Daemons/Tyranid Monstrous Creatures shipped with 40mm square bases, 3rd edition repacks shipped with 40mm rounds. Current edition versions mounts to a 60mm round.
IG heavy weapons teams range greatly, as older range models such as steel legion are on 25mm and Cav bases, as opposed to 60mm rounds.
Eldar support weapon platforms originally shipped with no base.
Jetbikes/Deff Koptas shipped with 60mm flying bases or 25mm flying bases.
Up until recently, (4th edition), most dreadnought models (Ork and Chaos) often did not ship with bases.
Up until the last revision, Juggernaut models had no base.
Bikes may or may not ship without bases, but attack bikes don't have bases.
I am not certain if the monolith ships with a flying base, but I have NEVER seen anyone use it as the stand is clearly not designed to support a model of that size.

I'm sure this one will either turn to official ruling at events, and likely turn to a D6 for it, or opponents will not care.

True, Keezus.
The question posted by the OP was; "Do I have to use bases? I use the landing gear.".
And the answer to him (here in the YMDC forum) is; "Yes, you do."

I agree with you that GW haven't been consistent with what, if any, bases they supply their models with. This will lead to a lot of confusion. And I believe you are right that most people won't care (within reason).

The answer given here and in my above post still stands though. According to the rules......No, you cannot choose not to use a base. Use the one the model is supplied with.

I think most people at the gaming table are going to be fine if you play with your Tau vehicles on their landing gear. You just play as WYSIWYG.

The fact is, for the most part in the new rules you're putting yourself at a disadvantage as a Tau player by not having your vehicles on their flying base you will be unable to draw LOS under the vehicle.

And since most vehicles will have disruption pods anyway, for the most part you prefer to have the extra height for drawing LOS from your burst cannon as opposed to trying to hide behind hills with your vehicle.

All my Tau vehicles are on their landing gear currently and I am in the process of changing that pronto.

Modeling a tau skimmer to have landing gear is fine. But if the tau model isn't on a flying base then it is either immobilized or Landed (as per the Tau Codex rule). If the player wants to represent that the tank is *not* sitting on the gound on its landing gear (and therefore not a skimmer) then the Tank had best be on its flying base.

I'd love to see telescoping flight stands, with the rule being you can only change height during the vehicle's movement.

Aduro wrote:I'd love to see telescoping flight stands, with the rule being you can only change height during the vehicle's movement.

So, you basically want the removable/alterable flight posts and rules from AT-43's Karmans?

Platuan4th wrote:

Aduro wrote:I'd love to see telescoping flight stands, with the rule being you can only change height during the vehicle's movement.

So, you basically want the removable/alterable flight posts and rules from AT-43's Karmans?

Er... I dunno... If they're what I described as wanting, then yes.

I play Tau and this is kinda pissing me off. I cannot count how many bases i have broken with my tau in these last 2 weeks using that new rule. Since if you don't glue the the 2 parts of the base together it falls apart every time you touch it. And when you do it breaks at the bottom, anyone have any ideas as per a solution for this? because I'm almost out =/

Why dont you make a house rule?

Red_Lives wrote:I play Tau and this is kinda pissing me off. I cannot count how many bases i have broken with my tau in these last 2 weeks using that new rule. Since if you don't glue the the 2 parts of the base together it falls apart every time you touch it. And when you do it breaks at the bottom, anyone have any ideas as per a solution for this? because I'm almost out =/

Yes.

Cut off the little knub at the top of the flying base and then drill the hole out in your vehicle a little bit to accommodate the slightly larger size.

The base then wedges in much more firmly without glue than the standard flying base and it is much, much more durable.

This is what I did for my old Battlefleet Gothic ships and I think the same would work here. I hunted around and found flat wooden circles the same as a flying base (any craft store will have great ones). Then I drilled a hole in the center and fitted some hollow tube (I used small copper pipe, but anything sturdy will work) into the center. Then glued the Stick on to the bottom of the ship and just dropped the stick into the tube- viola.

Now with the heavier 40K models, you might consider getting a cap of some sort that will fit over whatever tube you use and secure that to the bottom of the model. That way you wont worry about breaking the flying stick every time you pack up.

I would get some brass rod or tube and either a wooden or plastic disk to attach it to. In fact I probably will do this when I manage to break the bases on my land speeders. So long as it is generally the same size as those provided no one will complain.

yakface wrote:

Red_Lives wrote:I play Tau and this is kinda pissing me off. I cannot count how many bases i have broken with my tau in these last 2 weeks using that new rule. Since if you don't glue the the 2 parts of the base together it falls apart every time you touch it. And when you do it breaks at the bottom, anyone have any ideas as per a solution for this? because I'm almost out =/

Yes.

Cut off the little knub at the top of the flying base and then drill the hole out in your vehicle a little bit to accommodate the slightly larger size.

The base then wedges in much more firmly without glue than the standard flying base and it is much, much more durable.

I fail to see how that solves my problem, i am not having a problem with the bases breaking in the model i am having a problem with the bases breaking at the point where the long section attaches to the wide flat part.

Red_Lives wrote:

I fail to see how that solves my problem, i am not having a problem with the bases breaking in the model i am having a problem with the bases breaking at the point where the long section attaches to the wide flat part.

I'm not sure what to tell you. I've been playing with GW's flying bases since they were introduced and I can count the number of times on one hand that the *bottom* connection between the flying base and the clear rod has broken on me.

If you're having that problem, I'd suggest 'pinning' the base together like you'd do with any other fragile plastic connection. You may need to paint the base and rod black to hide the pin, but it should work.

Also, if you're looking to buy the small flying bases or the large ones (who would want them though?) you can order them from ccgarmory.com

A brass rod wouldn't snap at the base in either case. A cylinder is a very strong shape, and metal is much more durable than the plastic they use for those flying bases which, while hard, is some of the most brittle stuff I've ever seen.

You might also make some sort of "stand" that your skimmer rests on, with two points wedged somewhere under the fuselage, more like a display. Make sure to measure it right so your firewarriors can see beneath it clearly [if that's what you want] and make them all the same height. It might muddle up true LOS, but if it's more of a wire thing it shouldn't impact it too much. And you can wrap felt or whatever around the top parts so you don't scratch up your model. That way you don't need to drill holes through the bottom.

This was being discussed in another thread.

If I can make the same suggestion here as I made there....?

Rare earth magnets !!

Chop off the small nub at the top of the flying stand.
Glue a rare earth magnet onto the end.
Then glue the corresponding magnet INSIDE the hull of the vehicle.
This last bit works better if you haven't glued shut all the doors

I have been running my tau with this arrangement for 2/3 years....no problems.

Monolith benefits from same treatment. Threw away the stand that came with it though because it wasn't up to the task.
Bought a plastic wine glass, chopped off the stem to the length required. Got an old CD. Glued the stem to the CD. Rare Earth Magnet on top of the stem. Instant floating monolith!


*Correct me if I'm wrong BUT isn't landing gear a 3rd edition rule? ie.Tau codex NOT Tau Empires codex?

Yeah, this new rule kinda sucks. The GW flying bases are just to fragile. Whats worse is for Necron players. The monolith comes with a flying base. The model CANT balance on it. Its just too big. Or worse in my case where the base is actually the battery pack for the lights. My monlith doesn't even have a bottom anymore.

Hm. If I were a Necron player, I think I'd keep the flying base in the center and maybe add some "auxiliary" flying bases on the corners.

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