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I paint my friend's Tau army for him (he pays me with bitz, and supplies the paint, so it's a good trade-off), and we had an argument regarding vehicle damage. He's quite a perfectionist with his models, and wants them to look clean and untouched, but I told him it would look both more interesting and intimidating to see vehicles with some mud and dirt on them. They're his figures, so I just painted them like he wanted, but I'm curious to know what people think of painting on vehicle damage.

You should do what he says because afterall he IS a Tau player. He also sounds really cool and awesome. (Im the perfectionist).

Tau, as a rule, are supposed to be as clean-looking as possible, as are Eldar. Orks are the exact opposite, and everything else falls somewhere in-between; my Guard tanks only get VERY minimal weathering.

I like worn vehicles. Even with a couple mins on the ground you start to get dirty and nicked. No paint job survives long on the ground.

Nick wrote:You should do what he says because afterall he IS a Tau player. He also sounds really cool and awesome. (Im the perfectionist).

You're the guy who won't paint his own models...

It's an understandable trait in a perfectionist not to paint his own models, particularly if he is not a very good painter....like me....

Everyone has their own opinion on this one, I suspect. And it likely varies wildly depending on the vehicle and army in question.

Paint it clean, then take a pic of his dead pile everytime you play him. Then post those pics here!