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Hey all here is my tau army I am currently working on. I decided to theme the army after Zeon and a few other nations from mobile suit gundam. Currently the idea is to paint my crisis suits after zaku II from the series. The crisis suit team leaders will be based off of unique characters and their mobile suits, with my current hq pictured below based off of Char Aznable's zaku II.

The army does not stop with being colored after zeon however. I have also prepared a fluffy background for each character than I am currently working on as well and will update as I update the pictures. One thing to keep in mind when looking at the models is that these are my first so the quality of the pictures and painting of the models is not going to be to amazing. The second thing to keep in mind is that I am really just doing this for the fun of it and I am sure some of my fluff will go against cannon here and there, so my apologies for that.

The background of my Cadre (un-named so far ):
In the wake of the failed crusade to wipe out the Tau Empire, Imperial Space on the Easter Fringe lie vulnerable, at the mercy of the blue skinned heretics. Imperial planets are left with little more than their PDF forces to defend their planets against the encroaching Tau Empire who have now turned on the offensive, capture planet after planet as the disorganized Imperial forces scramble to try and tackle the onslaught of reports coming in for assistance, due largely in part to the Tau high commands decision to split their forces. (Tau codex for reference).
A planetary governor, his name eradicated from Imperial records and lost forever to history, took it upon himself to try and defend his planet against the impending doom that was sure to inevitably reach his planets door step. Erdos was your typical Imperial Hive world, high maintenance, orderly, and hard working. The governor knew that the chances of the Tau conquering "his" world and stripping him of his power were much more likely than Imperial forces coming to his aide when the need would arise. So the governor decided to risk playing God, and committed an unspeakable heresy. Beneath the ground of one of Erdos premier habs, the governor began to experiment with DNA modification in order to try and achieve his own elite troops, troops he hoped would defend the planet and keep him in power for the next 40k years. () It would be wrong to refer to these experiments as anything even close to Space Marines or Astares, especially the early subjects. Eventually, however, the governor and his top researchers were able to manipulate their subjects gene's in the right way and create an elite body guard loyal to no one but the governor. The governor hoped to then plant this new seed in order to breed a whole new race of super soldiers, capable of defending the planet in the event of a Tau invasion. Although secrecy was the governors top priority, word was bound to eventually slip out. Try as the governor might, no matter how many researchers and families he slaughtered to keep his work hidden, the Imperium received and confirmed information on the governors work. The experiments could only be seen as rebellion against the Imperium, clearly the governor wished to secede from the Imperium or even worse join the Tau Empire. Imperium officials could bare to think what would happen if the Tau got a hold of these "super soldiers" and tried to spread their seed into other Imperial planets in order to convert them to their chaotic empire. The choice was simple, Erdos had to be cleansed.
Meanwhile, the Tau also managed to receive word of the governor's work, in fact they had been monitoring it very closely. Now that the heat was on the governor as the rage of the Imperium sped towards Erdos the Tau hoped the governor would be a little more willing to negotiate some sort of deal. In the end arrangements were made, the governor would still hold power of Erdos, but the planet and its people would now serve the Greater Good, including the new super soldiers. The Tau sent a small cadre ahead of their main forces to occupy the planet, headed by Ethreal Aun' Kai. The small cadre managed to land and occupy Erdos with no problems and catch a glimpse of the new children the governor was breeding. Most were still very young, and looked just like ordinary humans. But they had spend all of their short lives under a strict and rigorous military upbringing, had the benefit of an extended life, and could think and react much faster than their normal human counter parts. As it turns out the Imperium was quite desperate to make sure that Erdos destruction happened as soon as possible, and only hours after the Tau arrived Imperial forces began bombarding the planet from orbit. Over the next few hours Imperial forces landed and began to cleanse the planet that had broke away from the watch of their God Emperor and began to destroy the populace of the planets main hab. The small tau cadre was unable to offer much resistance, their specialty was in stealth and behind enemy lines operations, so they were ill suited to hold onto their new prize. Eventually it was decided that the planet had to be abandoned before the Imperial fleet managed to blockade them in. An effort was made to try and protect the governor and his research, but in the end many fire caste gave their lives in order to only hold on to a small piece of the decades long work. A few of the soldiers, practically children, were rescued and brought aboard the fleeing Tau vessels who just barley managed to escape the catastrophe on Erdos. The human super soldiers would be put into the ranks of the Tau cadre that sacrificed many of its fighting force to rescue them and serve as an experiment special ops task force. Whether or not the Tau gamble had paid off for the Greater Good, and for Ethreal Aun' Rai would have to wait...

So with out further delay here is the first wip model, Char Aznable in his custom experimental crisis suit:






A little background on Char in my fluff:
Char Aznable is currently a crisis suit pilot for the Tau fire cast, holding the rank of Shas' el. Char, along with a few other humans, was "rescued" by the tau from the planet of Erdos during the Imperium's destruction of the planet. His family and year of birth is unknown, and char can remember little of his upbringing. Char was raised at an institution of Erdos where human genes were altered in order to make a more suitable fighting warrior, just like the space marines. However the two are drastically different, as Char does not even closely resemble the hulking behemoths made by the Imperium. Char exceeds normal humans with his lighting quick reflexes and seems to have been granted eternal life just like the Asartes.
Char was rescued from the planet on the orders of Ethereal Aun' Kai. Ever since then Char and his fellow humans have been piloting experimental crisis suits under the Tau banner for Aun' Kai's grand schemes, fighting a secret war that threatens to start a civil war in the Tau Empire. However Char is no ones lap dog, and as the grand Tau empire sinks deeper in chaos Char has plots of his own so that he can finally achieve justice for the peaceful normal life he was denied.

So I still have a lot to do on the model and decided to go with a more pinker color for the armor. But I have at least got all the colors I want to use for the model. Any advice or tips are more than welcome, b/c at the moment my technique is really lacking.lol An I feel there is more detail I could add, perhaps using some kind of wash or weathering after I have finished painting it?
I know none of char's mobile suits had green on them, but I wanted to add a cool lighting effect.
His suit is currently equip with a plasma rifle, missile pod, and muilti tracker.
I plan on getting some green stuff or forging some sprue bits into the little spikes that go on the shoulder of a zaku. Then I still have to equip him with a shield and axe.

Here is what the basic fire warrior scheme is going to be, its loosely based of of zaku colors and will resemble what my standard normal crisis suits are going to look like:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/293728-Zeon%20Fire%20Warrior.html
Once again there is not a whole lot of detail on the model, but I am proud of the fact that I managed to not paint over his armor straps And any advice to add detail is welcome here to


Alright that's all I have got for tonight, should be plenty of steady updates to follow as I paint my custom Goufs. If anyone has seen the 08th MS team then they should be pleased to see the bright blue Gouf I am working on that is supposed to represent that totally boss who took down all the Earth Forces guntanks in the second to last episode of the series. Hope you guys enjoy!

I like it! You got the color scheme for Char's Zaku right on. For the color scheme of Char's Crisis Suit I'd try and highlight the edges with some brighter colors. The basic color scheme is fine as is though. If you can make the Crisis do the signature Char kick!

Keep up the good work! Idk how well the fluff fits into the Tau codex since I don't know much, but hey I guess its possible!

Posting pictures in here isn't so tough, but it's confusing if you've never done it.

Copy the code in the "Forums" line of the "Share this image" menu at the bottom right of the picture in your Dakka gallery. Then paste it into your post.

Good luck!
Rawson

Red Comet- Thanks! I was afraid the pink was a little to bright at first, and I would highlight the model if I thought I could without just totally messing up the model. I've got a big update that im gonna be posting tonight though. I havn't done much to chars suit other than touch up all the areas I missed and such. But I have another suit thats a blue Gouf custom il be posting.
And as far as it fitting with the tau fluff, it prob does not fit all that well. The tau do use human auxiliaries from time to time, but I doubt they would ever give them real power or let them use crisis suits. Il give a better explanation of my army in the post tonight.

Rawson: Thanks il try that when I post tonight

Edited as of 11/16, finally got the photos onto the forum page!lol here are the updated units

So I did a little work on char's suit but there is still a lot of touching up to do. I would add in some highlights but I do not really know how to yet and do not want to ruin the model. So I will just keep it as is for now and move on to the other models.

Here is a member of my pathfinder team. Although some of the characters in my army are human they are mainly tau in my army. Il give a better detailed explanation of my army in the next update. Here's the pathfinder:





So the armor is a slightly lighter green than the fire warriors, and the eye piece is blue. This is how 2 of my pathfinder's look, the other 3 I got in a sweet deal but were pre painted. I havnt stripped them yet.

This unit is based off of Norris Packard's Gouf Custom from the 08th MS team. Norris is going to be one of the character's to, another human from the genetic research center on Erdos. Here is the model:





An the last unit I have for tonight is just my kroot. I have not really fit them into my armies background to well yet but I am working on it. Kroot are essential in most tau lists, and I got these models on another sweet deal so I am not gonna not use them lol Here are three of them






There you have it my second update for the army. Stay tuned for when I finally figure out how to properly highlight a model and work on figuring out what I am going to paint my vehicles after!

Ugh, not another "Gundam" Tau army...

Kepora wrote:Ugh, not another "Gundam" Tau army...

False, its zeon. But I take it you do not like that sort of theme, how come? If anything they could just be considered a pink suit and blue suit.

BTW I saw your painting pm blog and the army looks great! Most of my army is actually just going to be a standard green and black. Did you use a black wash on your model that is painted green? b/c I was considering using that on mine but I was not sure how it would turn out.

Was expecting some conversions, though this isn't so bad either.

The better question would be why bother posting your disgust?

gotta admit...while there is a clear japanese heritage in the Tau, i find simply painting them like gundams to be redundant (there are a plethora of "gundam" theme painted armies, especially on dakka...)
that said, your painting skills are quite good, I especially like the powder blue suit, the pose is very dynamic as well, almost like he's in a street fighter stance. That said, I think you should add some bits to make them a bit more "gundam" like. It'd make your army quite unique, and gives you a chance to really show your creativity without being limited by the models of GW So far tho your painting skills are very good and you're off to a good start so congratulations

Yeah i have no idea what a "Zeon" is and don't care enough to find out what it is, but i rather like the blue crisis suit.
I don't care for the pink ones pose or color scheme, but thats your bag i guess...

Just because it has been said, i HATE anything that makes tau more we-aboo.
It took me a long time to get past the anime space aliens aspect of tau and now i'm able to see them as something more; a neat utillitarian/ communistic race.

Honestly to make anime tau is like making your eldar more like elves or having mary sue space marines; you may love it, some people make like it, but alot of people are going to moan and groan.

My biggest problem with it is that its not taking 40k "seriously". I'm not saying that its not a game to be enjoyed, but if your bring out your clown themed imperial guard and i'm not going to be happy that my Blood Ravens stumbled into the zany-verse.

That being said, i have no idea what Zeon is/ are so to me its just tau with an interesting color scheme so i say well done!

darkcloud92 wrote:

Kepora wrote:Ugh, not another "Gundam" Tau army...

False, its zeon. But I take it you do not like that sort of theme, how come? If anything they could just be considered a pink suit and blue suit.

BTW I saw your painting pm blog and the army looks great! Most of my army is actually just going to be a standard green and black. Did you use a black wash on your model that is painted green? b/c I was considering using that on mine but I was not sure how it would turn out.

Yes, I did, but I need to find something to add to it (maybe my flow improver here) to keep it form pooling up so much on the flat surfaces...I think Devlan Mud will be a better choice for the green areas. The shade of green I used os Knarloc Green, btw.

My suggestion to you (and to ALL new Tau players!) is to try and think of Crisis suits as less "gundams" (we don't fly around and crash into things head-first like Blood Angels or Hive Tyrants!) and more "Mobile gun platforms". The Tau army operates much like the real-world modern US army, the Seals even. Try more natural, subdued colors; I found that the Foundation line of paints suits the Tau very nicely. Once you settle one a scheme (You should think of a Primary for all the "armor" parts, tertiary for things like the "mechanical" parts of the skimmers and battlesuits, as well as the butt of Firewarriors' rifles and maybe their fatigues too) and an accent color for sept/squad markings. With the exception of the "accent", try and pick colors that harmonize well. Tau want to try and blend in and hide, be harder to spot; they aren't Marines, they don't WANT to be seen. To be seen is to die for a non-marine.

Let me give you a few examples of what I'm talkign about-starting with a shameless plug! XD




(I personally love these guys!)




What I hope that these examples also show is that you don't need to really "bling" out a Crisis Suit the same way you do Marines and Orks (glue moar bitz on!) to make them looks awesome; look at your bitz box and ask yourself a few questions: "Does this LOOK like a Tau part?" "What part of a Crisis Suit could this be that the standard one lacks?" "Will this be an improvement to the suit or a detriment?"

I hope that my rambling has made some sense, and I do wish you luck in your battles for the Greater Good!

Alright let me try to respond to theses all in one post

Thanks for enjoying the color schemes whether you are a fan of the zeon theme or not! As far as conversions go I am in the process of making some pieces out of bits to make my crisis suits more unique, my local gaming store is just out of green stuff at the moment.

Now regarding them being an anime army in the 40k universe is kinda generalizing it a little bit, but I do not really want to get into that argument to much on my painting blog.lol Let me just say that the color schemes are "inspired" by Zeon from mobile suit gundam, which is an anime. However, the army fluff is not based on that so much, and I do not want my tau to seem like an anime themed army. The background for my army is more so that they are a lot like the farsigt enclave, but instead of actually being completely cut off from the tau empire they are a rising faction within it led by a charismatic and corrupt ethreal. The faction is made up of mostly 3rd sphere and brand new tau colonies that disagree with the way the oldr generation is managing the tau empire and are seeking to take over it and send it in a new direction. One of the things that this faction does is use humans in subordinate and non-subordinate fighting roles. I just happen to be a fan of some of the characters from Zeon, so I decided to use them as some of the human characters in my army. I hope that clears things up a bit.

And thanks Kepora for the painting advice, most of my army is not going to be brightly colored like these suits. Just my HQ and team leader are going to be brightly painted, while the rest of the suits are a more army colored green and black. I really do like tau with griddy machine like colors as in the photos you posted, I just happen to not have enough skill to paint and then highlight them that well yet. In my next update I'l try and have my conversions and Zaku green suits done, until then!

Keep up the good work darkcloud. I love the army so far and what you've done. You shouldn't have to sit there and explain anything about your army being anime like. So what if its been done before? Its a really cool idea no matter what. If someone is so upset at your color scheme how are you supposed to change it? Its your army. You paint it how you like. Its not like you threw on some SD Gundam heads onto the Crisis Suits or something like that. Heck if I saw a Necron army that was colored to make it look like pastries I'd laugh.

Red Comet wrote:Keep up the good work darkcloud. I love the army so far and what you've done. You shouldn't have to sit there and explain anything about your army being anime like. So what if its been done before? Its a really cool idea no matter what. If someone is so upset at your color scheme how are you supposed to change it? Its your army. You paint it how you like. Its not like you threw on some SD Gundam heads onto the Crisis Suits or something like that. Heck if I saw a Necron army that was colored to make it look like pastries I'd laugh.

lol thanks comet! ya I just wanted to clarify that I am not trying to dishonor or disgrace the 40k universe or change it up, just make my army fit inside it. An your right, haters gonna hate either way.

Dang I like it! I really don't know why all the hate, cause honestly If you didn't say they were from the Gundam series or they were Zaft/Zeon then they would have no clue. They would just look like a colorful Tau army. Though I think the cool part is for that small minority who knows what Gundam and Zaft are and watched it cause they know what the mobile suit looks like! I honestly love them, and am ashamed to say that it is WAY better that my Zaft army! Loving it and keep up the good work darkcloud!

Red Comet wrote:Heck if I saw a Necron army that was colored to make it look like pastries I'd laugh.

HA! You wouldn't be the only one.

On topic, I be a fan of your Kroot. They're really cool.

darkcloud92,

The suits look fantastic! I think that Char's suit came out awesome, and Norris' is my favorite character. The pathfinders looking good. (regular 'line' Zaku paint scheme?) and liking the accent colors on your Kroot.
Can't wait to see how the rest start looking!

Keep it up!

7yler wrote:darkcloud92,

The suits look fantastic! I think that Char's suit came out awesome, and Norris' is my favorite character. The pathfinders looking good. (regular 'line' Zaku paint scheme?) and liking the accent colors on your Kroot.
Can't wait to see how the rest start looking!

Keep it up!

Thanks 7yler! The episode where Norris battles Shiro and takes out those gun tanks is one of my favorite battles out of any of the series ever lol An ya basically the whole army is green and black/dark green, based off of the zaku color. Just the team leaders are going to be brightly colored and I have yet to come up with a color for the devil fish. I always thought it would be cool to paint white base or the archangel, but there kinda the wrong side. So I was thinking the minerva perhaps or a musai, haven't decided though.

On another note sorry it has been so long since an update guys, I have finals coming up so I have been busy with school, but also busy painting to! I have been painting fire warriors and testing out weathing techniques. But most important I have finished painting one of the zaku themed suits and it has a much more darker earth tone than the rest of the army thanks to some washes I picked up. I will have the pics up tomorrow , so fans get pumped and hatter's start fanning your flames!

Here are the pics, sorry the quality of the pictures is not that great. I will see about fixing that for next time.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been doing a lot of work! Just do not have a camera at the moment, and havn't been able to prime. I get off of winter break at the end of the week, so I should have pics up by then! I have been working on some broadside conversions and another crisis suit! As well as finishing up my drones and other suits, all in the dark green and black color of the suit pictured just above. See ya'll then!

Looking good buddy! I envy how nice your suits are coming out! I also envy how you stick with stuff and aren't project ADHD like I am! Hope to see more very soon!

Ben

Thanks! The suits are my favorite part, so I spend a couple of hours fiddling with the parts and glue to try and get the poses right. But ya its easy to stay focused when your model on a budget lol But your stuff is coming out great to, both the tau and the marines. That kroot with the lightening to took a lot of focus and dedication!

Thanks! I just end up with tons of goofy bits in trades that I feel like I need to work with. I know exactly what you mean by a budget! I paint my stuff as it comes and only the Tau are mine the rest are commissions or my friends' minis. The key is not wanting the army too badly and being able to pick and choose your deals. Can't wait to see more from you! Us Zeon Tau guys gotta stick together

Exactly! The fedy conspiracy is out to try and stop us, Zeek Zeon!

LOL.. you guys crack me up

@7yler- Why thank you! But you yourself know that anything "too out of the ordinary" for Tau is quickly frowned upon by the gaming community, even if it is superbly done! Nice thing is guys at my LGS aren't down on me about it at all

They're just jealous of the suits and the fact that dreads would make poor Zakus.

Also OP are you going to use the Zeon emblem for the sept? Could probably get transfers from models then just put it on the vehicles and suits or something.

@n0t_u - You have a good point lol! Very bad Zakus indeed! I was actually thinking of doing the Zeon marking for the sept as well That and honestly I remember there being some toys that were released that had little tiny suits (like maybe an inch tall?) but they also had some of the ships and landers that would probably be about the right size for Tau tanks or skimmers

n0t_u wrote:They're just jealous of the suits and the fact that dreads would make poor Zakus.

Also OP are you going to use the Zeon emblem for the sept? Could probably get transfers from models then just put it on the vehicles and suits or something.

Idk dreadnaughts might make good gun tanks, heavy fire power but slow moving. Sitting ducks for the suits lol But ya I have bee practicing trying to paint the symbol myself, until I find some Zeon transfer sheets.

Might help some: http://www.gundamplanet.com/gundam.html?cus_grade=125 after seeing that I started digging. Also if you wanna find the sets I was talking about look up Gundam playsets