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The most known manufacturer is LITKO. I ordered my bases from them, online. The biggest bases (120x92mm OVAL) are custom made by them as well. They have a really good costumer support, so feel free to shoot them a question or two.

Clear bases are working really good for me. It is a army that wants you to keep it on a table!

The one thing you need to pay attention is which glue you are using for your acrylic bases. Try to find a NON FOGGING glue, or the one that dries CLEAR.

LIFEhack
P.S. Pretty much anybody who is working with acrylic sheets should be able to make you an acrylic base for your minis. If you really want to cheat, you can use regular CDs, just cut them to size.


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Teaser for new Tau Commander "Seeker"



Infinite movement range, as long as he is guided by MarkerLight. 100% accuracy, 100% damage!

So,



I stand before you, 4 weeks until I have to pack everything into my suitcases and go home and kick some asses in the Name of Greater Good.



Still a few more things to be done, but I thing I stand good chances. I also need to get down on the Codex, as I haven't played in 6 months / never played Tau before. I did play Marines, but that doesn't exactly count when it comes to Tau.

To bring myself up to speed, I got some things. Like E6000....


And a Scene-A-Rama Ready Grass vinyl mat, for some other project back home, and now for some showoff...

Hey guys,

I'm just about to hit workshop, with hopes to finish another DevilFish. Meanwhile, I made my first army list. For me (inexperienced as I am) TAU are all about boosting each others abilities and making the game plan on army level, not unit or detachment level, while other units just chill around. So I formed this list. While I await for comments from fellow DakkaNauts, off to workshop. I have few more weeks left to go.

I rolled up my gaming field and continued working on my army. To pass my time until GW puts out new models.





The HammerHead on the right needs pain job, but besides that, my tank group is ready for deployment.

Today I managed to do so much more than I originally planed!

I primed 24 FireWarriors.


I magnetised two burst cannons for DevilFish'es.


I gave my XV-8 commander a second chance. I felt kind a bad. I had the miniature, but it was in poor shape.
Broken fingers on one arm, bad balance on the base, poorly glued parts etc.

So, I replaced an arm that had broken fingers, magnetised his weapon suspention points, so he can serve the Greater Good once more. Also, Comm.Farsight that I had became a commissioned work. Friend of mine asked me to sell it to her, as she was looking for a present for her husband. With him gone, my magnetised commander will become my FarSight replacement. I need to find a good shield and I might go for Halberd (something like Necrons have). And to give him full name. So far, he is known as StarDrop.


Also,
I glued 6 out of 10 fingers.
I drilled thru index finger.
I ran out of primer.


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While I was preparing my XV-104 for new base coat, color scheme, my RipTide came apart. Apparently, he wants new oil. Or glue?





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I have to say I'm happy I stripped the paint of that XV-104. The model came apart almost completely.



Well, I cleaned all the parts, probably gonna replace the head, add some more gadgets on the arms and paint the model to the best of my abilities.
This could be the centerpiece of my army, along with my Comm. StarDrop

Until tomorrow...

When I first joined this community, first thread I made was 40K - Forgeworld shipping to USA. I wanted to order stuff, but I wasn't sure how it will work with customs and company mail address etc. But people assured me it will be fine, I placed my order and...



It came in today! I'm so happy right now. Guess who is gonna be busy in the workshop

Commanders have been assigned duties. LongStrike got his ride, and StarDrop is awaiting for finishing touches and nice see-thru base.




More updates coming after I have my 8 hours of rest. To prepare my 1st level painting spells!

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, ah well. I guess they are right.


Small steps, touch ups here and there, working on my riptide and finishing tanks.

TIDE-ing the RIP.





Tanks are 'seeker missiles' away from being done. Tomorrow I'll probably go into assembling the new models.

Few shots of fully loaded and battle ready HammerHead.





The Tank Crew guy will be my proxy for Eternal, as I didn't get one just yet. On the other hand, I have a good fluff story for my army and him being the way he is will fit just right.




RipTide is also done. Right now I'm enjoying my after-dinner break and thinking what to do next? I have 24 FireWarriors that might be a COMPULSORY step to completion of my army.
Thanks for stopping by.



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RipTide is here. I like that fact that it pretty much dissasembled itself while I was striping paint. It gave me more control over what and how I want to paint, and less mess to clean up, as I could work on part itself.




It is a magnificent piece. Can't wait for GW to release fresh stuff.

My Remora Squad is up and running. 4 pieces. Death from the skies!





Group shots coming shortly.

Remoras have been completed last night, but today I gave them storage slots in my Cadre Suitcase Transport StarShip.






And pushed my Tetras into painting process, after assembly, mold line removal and wash.

Here they are. Tetras are up and running.

But first, the making of:






And now the MarkerLight on top!






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I have realized that I've been dropping pictures without any comments.

I spend around 4-6 hours a day in workshop, racing to finish painting of SkyLight Patrol. I'm doing pretty good. 6x XV8, 4x XV9, about 24 gun drones to go. Today I also managed to power up my workbench. The batteries in the drive for height adjustment were dead. So, got fresh ones, charged them and the green light came on. I also cleaned the stuff, as resin dust started to pile up in the corners.

Besides that, I was thinking about doing another article. Magnetizing Tau. What to magnetize and how to do it. Different weapon options, WYSIWYG with seeker missiles, ways for safer storage etc. MOst of the models I currently own are magnetised, and with the new releases I think this article just might do.

Lastly, I'm gathering stuff to write a full story about the SkyLight Patrol Cadre, including important characters, moments from the past, reasoning behind certain models, supplemented by the battle log (and battle reps). Ten more days until I hit the tabletop once again.


Thanks for following.

Hey StarDrop, long time no see. Wondered if you're going to get the storm surge?

 Da Stormlord wrote:
Hey StarDrop, long time no see. Wondered if you're going to get the storm surge?

Hey, hey. Long time no see indeed. I'm spending way to many hours in workshop these days, racing to finish everything and prepare for my transfer to Ke'lshan. I keep writing bits and pieces for next chapter for your army story, but also keep falling a sleep before I can put it together.

Yes, I'll get myself KV-128. I've put some money aside, in order to get all of the new Tau toys. Hopefully, Santa Claus will bring me a KX-139 Ta'unar (if I win enough battles. xD) Which means more BattleFoam and probably another SKB case.


Meanwhile..
"Assebmle the Troops!"

TX-42's are on the way.
Fully painted and almost fully assembled as well.

Here is the propper way to assemble a TX-42.









Right now, I'm working on my XV-9's, and weapons arsenal for XV-8 suits. It's gonna be a long night!



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I couldn't resist to assemble my TX-es.




And now, may I present to you SkyLight Patrol Cadre Fast Attack Support Group.

Ok, thanks man. I only asked to see if I was the only one wanting to buy one. I want something bigger than a riptide that can counter ny friends space wolf themed knight

You still continue to astound me with your painting

TBH, I wanted to get myself a decent army, with nice choice of models. I didn't limit myself with points value or particular style/competitive/resale whatever value. And yes, I like the StormSurge.
As it stands right now, I have about 4000pts. worth of models. I expected that to grow up in the upcoming weeks.


I just realised that I have few hours to spare before my flight home. I might jump to newly open GW store in Orlando to pickup some new stuff if they have it in stock.



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 Da Stormlord wrote:
You still continue to astound me with your painting

Thanks. Although, I have more to learn. Washing, dry brushing, to actually use more proper colors (not glitter paint and then just do the details.) In time my friend I will be good. For now, WIP pictures of my XV-9's. Those are some pretty bad ass suits!

My replacement (technician who is taking over the venue from me) is here for few days now, which resulted in me having less time to paint and complete my cadre.

However, I did complete some aerial work. Checking my PA, replacing two broken drivers, cleaning the dust off. Casual morning.


And some work on my XV-8's. Also, I will be converting some leftover drones into Heavy Gun drones, just for fun of trying to include them with some units. Hopefully, that was one of the changes they brought in new codex. (Ability to take any (extended choise) of drones with your squad.) Why FireWarriors, or Breachers could not use Heavy Gun drones, instead of regular gun drones?


I present you the GHOST suit...

Frenzy is about to kick in. I have a bunch of small, random things to accomplish before I set off back to Serbia. I have to pack as well. And do a photoshoot with my Cadre.
I was hoping my SKB suitcase is big enough to put a BattleFoam 720 bag inside... "Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment." And so it was. Not that I could not put it in at all, but in all those attempts I knocked off my trackpad and cracked the corner. I put a bit of e-6000, hoping to seal everything and even up the surface. So far, it looks like it is gonna hold.




So close to finish, yet so far away.

Speed, give me what I need....


And in all that mayhem, I decided to make some 'fridge magnets' for my roommate. So I've wrote down some of our quotes, internal jokes etc., and all of a sudden came idea to assemble one more XV-8, or at least the front half of it and attach it to the magnet.





So far, I have laid down the primer, glitter is next, and then the individual body parts. I also got a better (proper) camera, and did some random shoots with it. Later on I'll bring two MAC250 washes into the workshop, to see how will they light the room. Tomorrow morning I'll do the shooting and final packaging.





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Present for my roommate is complete. Better to say, all nine of them, spearheaded by commander DartMouth.

Boys and girls, gamers and hobbyist from around the globe...

I have reached my goal. Ke'lshan's 6th SkyLight Patrol Cadre is now fully operational. In 85 days, working on a remote location (cruise ship), I have assembled, magnetized and painted this 4500 points Tau detachment that will make a statement on a tabletop. I'm embarking on an epic journey!

I'm signing off the ship today and going home for a well deserved vacation. But, I did not forget about my promise to

Da Stormlord

and

bossfrealess

, I got myself some lights, some bad ass Nicon 5D with variety of lenses and put my whole army for some proper photo shoot.


This is just a teaser. More (should I say all) pictures will pe posted in a day or two. Until than, enjoy the sampler...


And do not worry. I have set aside some money, to get myself new Tau models when the time comes. And the time is now!
^_^

Finally,



I'm home, my stuff is unpacked and my colors sorted. The trip went fine, and majority of my Patrol Cadre came in one piece. I sad majority.




Few other models got some minor damage and that was fixed right away. My greatest concern right now is how to make better support for these guys. The broadside (since it is an old model) will get a flying stick up the ass. The R'Varna is a bit tougher fix. I'm thinking about drilling two holes in it's legs and making support braces going thru ankles . Also, I'll probably add two exterior support points. Hopefully that does the trick.

One last thing is this.
Dark Elf Chariot. Friend of mine got this as a birthday present ages ago... And he gave it to me last year to kinda work on it (since I got back into the hobby). So I decided to assemble it, turn it into a diorama and ship it back to him.

Right now, I'm about to get some Cold One Nights, to finish the chariot and to mount all of that on a scenic piece. We'll see how it goes.

Ever since I went for vacation, I did minor things around my army. Until today. I rolled out to the battlefield and did two 1850 points battles. One loss and one draw. Tomorrow (or should I say today) I will do the same again.

With better score, I hope.

But, I did minor work on my army as well.

My XV8 commander received a gift. It is a alien made halberd, intended to allow him to transform into a FarSight model on demand.



My Sniper drones, after realising that models are pretty funky to assemble/hold on flying stand got a little bit of magnets. Now their setup is so much easier and fun.


I did get some Cold Ones for my Dark Elf diorama, but new models... I'm gonna try to find some old ones. If not, the new ones will have to do.


Cheers,

Good work, I really liked your colour scheme, I've never seen anything like it before. I dont really do much painting and stuff, in 85 days id maybe do my broadsides XD

 Da Stormlord wrote:
Good work, I really liked your colour scheme, I've never seen anything like it before. I dont really do much painting and stuff, in 85 days id maybe do my broadsides XD

Thanks Da Stormlord. I'll continue with the paint scheme with the new models. They were due next week, but there was a shipping delay, so... Two weeks from now. Including the TideWall Rampart.
To cut my time short, I went back to the desk, and continued working and improving my Patrol Cadre.

Commander StarDrop was removed from his generic base and put on a flying base, same as all other XV-8 suits. The posture is better. Also, his halberd got primed, so I expect to finish it in a next few days.


The few drones that didn't get the paint in that 85 days period got it today. Made an assembly line while waiting for tables to be available. There was a WarMachine tournament. If they continue like that, I think all models I currently own will be completely done by the time tables get cleared.


Lastly, I added a new member to my paint range. Say hello to FLASH GITZ YELLOW. A really nice yellow, that complements my neons.



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So, after todays kickstart at FLGS, I got urge to try and complete that Dark Elf Chariot.




I really wanted it to become a proper diorama, but could not find suitable models. I was looking for Cold One riders, but the old models, with the fat Cold One. However, few players in Serbia have them, and even less actually want to sell them. So, I made my mind and continued with my work.

I did visual inspection of the chariot itself, and started adding drybrush details that I didn't do 8 months ago.



I also put a lot of work into the Cold Ones. And got them to a point were I was comfortable looking at them. (tired looking at them ) And moved to the last section. The base.


I used a regular 120*90mm GW base that I stripped from my Tau army. Got a nice amount of glue, with a good spread and landed the flock. Layer one, at least. My next thing was to position the Cold Ones and flock a second layer, to make sure they 'stick' into the ground.


Once they were dry, I put the glue onto the chariot wheels and put that on the base as well. Now it started resembling a nice tabletop model. BUt the flock work was not done.


The last thing was decoration. I cut pieces of old paintbrush and started sticking them into the flock, to make some bushy steppe feel about it. I landed one just under the wheel. One mas made spread, like somebody just stepped into it. Few other spread around the base. One glued into DarkStrider base, that became a lonely piece of rock few feet away from the chariot. Lastly, behind the wheels, I dragged a line, to mark where the wheels passed and sprayed some medium sized sand to 'reveal' a land under the steppe grass.


And then left the thing to dry.
It's gonna be awesome!

Harbinger of Ghornd ride again!



Minor touch-ups today completed my mini display.

You can see the whole thing here.

All right... It is time to gear up with all new Tau models.




I may not be up with the speed of getting these (since there is no GW dedicated store in Serbia) but I'll get them onto the battlefield.


I felt kinda bad for not writing here every day, but then I realised. I'm no longer on the ship. I have other things to do, places to be and time to lose while commuting around. On the ship, everything was close and kinda boring.
I'm hoping I'll get a fresh batch of paints, so I can start working on these models. And maybe some fresh oval acrylic bases for StormSurge and GhostKeel.

The TideWall Rampart kit is pretty easy and fun to assemble. Big pieces, nicely designed model. But be advised!!!
There are extra parts, so don't go around and assemble at random. Check the number of pieces you need and assemble them carefully.


A particular case is that 'gunport' control dashboard is located on gunport sprue, but the dashboard bottom is generic and located on shieldline sprue.

Here are few WIP pictures. DronePort and GunPort need painting and final assembly. ShieldLine is pretty much done.

Like that Tidewall stuff! Can't wait 'til its finished, awesome work! I'll enjoy watching your progress on your other new Tau models too, as I am getting a Ghostkeel and possibly a Stormsurge in the near future. It might be helpful to watch someone else do theirs before I tackle mine!