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So with the new rules for allies I figured I'd pull a squad of Tac Marines into my army of Tau and figured I'd toy with the conversion a bit. They are still a work in progress, so bear with me, more photos will come as they are taken along their various steps.

Here's the results so far (they are missing a lot of bits, Scout Marine visor heads and Stealthsuit Shoulder Bits are still needed primarily).

The full squad


The first "finished" marine




The "tech marine" of the bunch basically, gave him the bottom of a Combat Drone for his over-the-head carbines (He's still a heavy work in progress)




They were pretty simple to convert, Tactical Marine hands actually hold "handles" and then you glue the weapon to it, so what I did was take Crisis Suit and Stealthsuit weapons, glue the weapon to the bottom of the hand, and tossed Stealth Suit shoulders onto the unit. I slapped some special bits (an upside down Gun Drone for example for one) and a Tau Devilfish Hatch on one as a shield. The Helmets are filed down Firewarrior helmets missing the front, and with two antennae (usually) they were an odd fit at first and they actually sit a little higher than the bottom of the chest, but once glued there aren't any issues.

Subscribed 1000 times over, loving this idea and the so far "finished" models. However a move to P&M Blogs would be appropriate.

 servania wrote:
Subscribed 1000 times over, loving this idea and the so far "finished" models. However a move to P&M Blogs would be appropriate.

Haha thanks, its only my second conversion but I'm really happy with the results. I figure if Space Marines have free will, I don't see why survivors of the Crusades might not get nursed back to health and possibly conscripted into the Greater Good, especially if Tau have the control technology that GW has been hinting at lately to make them more "evil" (such as the Vespid Helmets and such).

I like your thinking. Nice work on the kitbashing. The Allies rules are really bringing converters out of the woodwork to get a reasonable fluff based reason for the allied contingents to exist

i like the stealth suit shoulder bits
those are a nice idea for scifi samurai

That actually looks kind of cool. I like the helmets, be kind of plain on Tau even changed like that, but somehow refreshing on marines. May have to remember it for later.

 n0t_u wrote:
That actually looks kind of cool. I like the helmets, be kind of plain on Tau even changed like that, but somehow refreshing on marines. May have to remember it for later.

The funny thing is it was a lot easier to file the fronts off than I thought, I just used my snips I use for getting things off the sprue to remove most of it, scalpaled a little, then nail file for a few seconds.

I picked up one of each Scout Marine, Scout Marine Sniper, and Scout Marine Biker head they had with the Visers, going to see how some of those look today, still trying to find a nice online place to get 18 more Stealthsuit Shoulder A's.

I love the conversions, you make them fit well in how it would "really" happen were SM's to join the Tau.

Rules wise, can allies use the weapons of the main force? I didn't think they could. Or is this just "this would be awesome to make" which is the best reason anyway imo ; )

Yonan wrote:
I love the conversions, you make them fit well in how it would "really" happen were SM's to join the Tau.

Rules wise, can allies use the weapons of the main force? I didn't think they could. Or is this just "this would be awesome to make" which is the best reason anyway imo ; )

Its a design choice not rules one.

I tend to "blanket rule" though, and just roll with "They all have Bolters no matter what they're carrying" to keep stuff simple. My Tau Firewarrior Shas'ui in one squad for example has a converted Plasma Rifle and missle pod on his back, I just say his has his Carbine and roll with it. Most of my weapon choices were reliant on what was in the bits bin lol

So example custom rules: (this is what I'll do for future ones probably)
-They cost 2 more per model than normal Space Marines
-They can come with a Pulse Rifle (They may replace it with a Pulse Carbine for no additional cost)
-For every 5 in the squad, you can take a Burst Cannon, Plasma Rifle, or Flamer for Free

very nice kitbashing, I love the idea! Subscribed!

 MrMerlin wrote:
very nice kitbashing, I love the idea! Subscribed!

Thank ya!

I just learned a word today, I've never heard the term kitbashing before lol

Nice ideas there!

 progreen10 wrote:
Nice ideas there!

Thank ya =P

New pics!

Nice so far.
I think either a Black (For a slightly darker, burnished gold and red) or Purple ( For a richer gold and red ) wash will make these guys really stand out.

 Ovion wrote:
Nice so far.
I think either a Black (For a slightly darker, burnished gold and red) or Purple ( For a richer gold and red ) wash will make these guys really stand out.

I've never used a wash before honestly, no idea what it even is.

Ah - PAINTING TIPS GO:

A wash is a thin, watery pigment that sites in recesses and across flat surfaces, prvoiding depth and shadows.

If you simply brush across with the wash on most / all surfaces, it will automatically shade, linework and add depth to the whole model.

Follow it up with a drybrush a shade lighter than the original colour, and you now have a nicely finished model.

 Ovion wrote:
Ah - PAINTING TIPS GO:

A wash is a thin, watery pigment that sites in recesses and across flat surfaces, prvoiding depth and shadows.

If you simply brush across with the wash on most / all surfaces, it will automatically shade, linework and add depth to the whole model.

Follow it up with a drybrush a shade lighter than the original colour, and you now have a nicely finished model.

Is it weird the idea of that TERRIFIES me? I feel like I could easily mess it up lol

Those really look pretty damn cool!

Don't be worried, it is crazy easy and gets such nice results.

Try it on a Fire Warrior first - I'll take some pictures of my Firewarrior Coommander to show the results, and when I'm painting something next, I'll take photos from under, to base coat, to block colour, to wash, to drybrush, then minor detailing and done.

 Ovion wrote:
Don't be worried, it is crazy easy and gets such nice results.

Try it on a Fire Warrior first - I'll take some pictures of my Firewarrior Coommander to show the results, and when I'm painting something next, I'll take photos from under, to base coat, to block colour, to wash, to drybrush, then minor detailing and done.

Thank you! That's helpful, its just one of those "I finally learned to base coat without ruining it" kinda things xD

More pics!








Custom Shield Drones

Cool! My only question is why do some of them have their eyepeices removed? It looks hella cool, but it's also pretty creepy.

 Deunstephe wrote:
Cool! My only question is why do some of them have their eyepeices removed? It looks hella cool, but it's also pretty creepy.

I like to thing they have their own visors inside the helmets being fed battlefield information, keeps them pointed in the right direction, I also like the look of the blank helmets, makes them more intimidating.

 Shadowclaimer wrote:

 Deunstephe wrote:
Cool! My only question is why do some of them have their eyepeices removed? It looks hella cool, but it's also pretty creepy.

I like to thing they have their own visors inside the helmets being fed battlefield information, keeps them pointed in the right direction, I also like the look of the blank helmets, makes them more intimidating.

It does make them intimidating. I wouldn't fight 7-foot tall faceless guys.

 Deunstephe wrote:

 Shadowclaimer wrote:

 Deunstephe wrote:
Cool! My only question is why do some of them have their eyepeices removed? It looks hella cool, but it's also pretty creepy.

I like to thing they have their own visors inside the helmets being fed battlefield information, keeps them pointed in the right direction, I also like the look of the blank helmets, makes them more intimidating.

It does make them intimidating. I wouldn't fight 7-foot tall faceless guys.

Also it helps differentiate them from run of the mill Tau soldiers, without that goggle set they look a lot different.

I have some stuff coming to build hoverbikes soon >=D

I could almost like these. Except for whats that word I'm looking for again. Wait! I got it. HERESY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are some great conversions man! Exalted!

 Kiryu Mk 3 wrote:
I could almost like these. Except for whats that word I'm looking for again. Wait! I got it. HERESY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heresy and Xenos, its what makes the universe go round.

ha ha. Hes watching you. No one suspects the Imperial Inquistion. Ordo Xenos!!!!