Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey dakka, with the upcoming 8th edition I thought it would be a great time to deactivate lurking status and emerge from the shadows and come forth to serve the empire! Having forayed into different mini projects in my teenage years, I have experience working with the materials and paints required to hopefully result in a well painted force to serve the greater good.

I started getting back into the hobby around 6 months ago purchasing the Start Collecting box for the Tau and alongside an older style firewarrior and devilfish kit and I had lying around I started to work on a small force, with news of the 8th edition and the leaks/content releases it gave me more of a reason to crack on with the models I had at my disposal to get something together for when the rules release so I can play at the local GW and get involved.

I have been collecting some shots of the earlier style firewarriors that I painted a couple of months ago, note I will be retouching them once my current project is complete (squad of 5 breachers) as I am looking to add some minor battle damage, sept markings and adding red to the laser area on the pulse rifles.



Here are some alternative shots focusing on half squad sizes




Here is the next squad that was painted, this was the first experiement with battle damage using a combination of the sponge technique and brushstrokes to give the models more character, weapons have been magnetised as who knows what the optimal loadouts are going to be in a month or so



And a close up of both suits...




From here we come to a more recently update as both of these sets of models where completed in the last couple of weeks, with the devilfish completed last friday



I am happy with the breachers as I feel I managed to get the appropriate amound of battle damage onto them (subtle, yet a little more character in each model) and also get into the sept markings, which I feel is nice being hand painted as each soldier retains a little more identity as you are very unlikely to get exactly the same stroke weight and spacing on each helmet when painting the mark. Below is their ride...



This tank is fully magnetised, both side hatches pull down, the back hatch comes down and the burst cannon at the front is also removeable (which futureproofs the model incase I pick up a hammerhead/skyray turret at some stage). That is also why I left the top hatch open to slot in a drone or said turret at a later stage.

Here is a shot of the breachers with their dedicated transport



Thoughts on whether to include sept markings on the tank? I have a few ideas in mind but I'm slightly conscious that it might make it a bit too busy, although it could also add extra character and identity.

That brings us up to speed with what I have currently painted, I'm sorry it's a little bit backwards and progress of those models probably would have made for a more interesting beginning to the project log, but hopefully I can still contribute some actual WIP footage, such as the other 5 breachers!



I am excited to get to work with the Shas'ui of the squad, he is the guy standing on the pile of skulls, the inspiration behind the model was based off the old firewarrior game cover, as I think it will be a nice touch to add a bit more of a dynamic to the leader of the squad. Let me know if you have any questions on my process, want to see extra/additonal shots of sides/backs of figures but I must apologize in advance that my go-to camera is my trusty iPod touch (all shots uploaded so far are from the iPod), so I'm unsure whether crisp details will be picked out. C&C and feedback is appreciated and hopefully I will be providing some updates in the nearby future.

Cheers, JB

Hi there,
Your pictures aren't appearing in the post, the ones in your gallery look great though.
Good to see some Tau for a change
Keep it up!

Great looking minis! Can't wait to see more.

Also, you appear to have posted this thread five times. If you go onto each one and click the little triangle next to your post, a mod will get rid of them for you.

Classic Tau. They look really good. The bases are awesome as well. Good job.

Am not generally a fan of the old Tau colours but these look nicely painted. I'd definitely recommend doing something to the vehicle though, as right now it does lack the character of the individual soldiers.

Thanks for the kind words so far everyone, looks like we managed to solve the duplicate post problem, first time for everything right? So I finally got around to finishing the other 5 members of the breacher squad, completing the close quarter infantry for now, I guess you may have also realised I'm a pretty slow painter and I apologize for that, but with me always focusing on fine details and making as good a job as I can on the models, there will always be a bit of a trade off between time and quality. Exciting times await us in the 8th with all the info coming out yesterday about the release date and whatnot, I can see myself picking up the xenos 2 book and the main rulebook for the advanced rules, scenarios and the like. I'm also interested to see what happened to the 4th sphere expansion that is most likely stuck in the rift fighting for their survival. My next model will be the ethereal from the start collecting box I'm looking to switch out a few parts to it, as I don't really like the posture or the bare bones nature of the sculpt, not to get anyone too excited as my modelling ability it's the best, but I will see what spare bits I have and see where it takes me, I am looking to replace both arms with something from the fire warrior sprue, maybe giving him some blades/knifes as I know theres a few of them lying around somewhere. Anyhow onto some pictures!





And the band together



Overall I'm happy with the outcome of the squad, I'm guessing it took me about 40-50 hours to complete it which hopefully reflects in the pieces themselves, having access to better lighting and a camera would be nice, as I think you would see the models a bit more clearly, ie not as dark and gritty, but for now we can make do with what I have as the main focus is getting the models ready for next month. As always feedback is appreciated and if anyone has any ideas for the ethereal conversion feel free to chip in! Thanks for looking.

Cheers, JB