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RandyMcStab wrote:I like the Castellan as it looks more varied than the other green which you might find too similar to the base army colour (though you might want that).

Yeah I get you but I didn't want the green to be too much of a contrast.

Kanluwen wrote:It's horrifying to see those poor XV15s mistreated like that!
The conversions look good though.

Regarding the green, have you considered using Death Guard Green? Or maybe looking at some other colors?

Stormvermin Fur, for example, when painted over black looks closer to an olive grey than it does black/brown.


Also, the whole army looks great. Gonna be watching this thread...

Thanks Kanluwen. I actually took your advice (when you gave it over three months ago) and crept into my local GW for a fumble around in the paints. I was pounced on by a genuinely friendly and helpful employee who did me an impromptu painting demo.

We established that Death Guard Green was too pastel for my tastes and after testing some others settled back with Death World Forest. I did pick up some more suitable choices for edge highlighting though.

So here we are after an xcom2 induced bout of painter's block and I've finally managed to get the stealth team base coated. Black areas have already been shaded...




So just a small update there and next will be shading and highlighting the armour. At the moment I don't think a cammo pattern is going to happen but I'm certainly open to ideas, encouragement and threats. Ta

Looking good, I do still like the idea of a dazzle style jagged block camo on them, would set them (further) apart and reinforce the primary idea of the unit (stealth {and cheating}). But that's just my opinion.

 RandyMcStab wrote:
Looking good, I do still like the idea of a dazzle style jagged block camo on them, would set them (further) apart and reinforce the primary idea of the unit (stealth {and cheating}). But that's just my opinion.

I agree. I think a more modern/tech looking pattern looks better on the T’a’u’. But stealth suits should have something going on besides a normal paint scheme.

Lovely Tau! Nice and simple and straight to the point!

 Cosmic wrote:
Lovely Tau! Nice and simple and straight to the point!

Thanks Cosmic. That's what I'm going for; I'm a slow painter and get bored quickly. Hopefully this approach will get me 1k points fully painted to get on the table this year.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

RandyMcStab wrote:Looking good, I do still like the idea of a dazzle style jagged block camo on them, would set them (further) apart and reinforce the primary idea of the unit (stealth {and cheating}). But that's just my opinion.

Nevelon wrote:I agree. I think a more modern/tech looking pattern looks better on the T’a’u’. But stealth suits should have something going on besides a normal paint scheme.

Ok then you ball bags if you insist. Here is my first attempt at the camo that was in my head. I suppose it's more of a splinter than a dazzle. I'm not as disappointed by it than I thought I would be so I guess it's going on the rest...



This guy has had a bit of an agrax shade for some definition but needs a tidy. The triangles are just abadon black. When I do the highlights I'll just touch the edges and high points with mech gray or something lighter. Once the weathering is applied some of the dodgy edges should be hidden.

Some glamour shots...


[url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/925910-.html]

I've used Agrax for a shade instead of Nuln (which is what the Firewarriors are done with) because there's a lot of nuln on the burst cannon and I wanted the materials to look different. I'm not convinced though. Does the armour plating look too gunky? Who knows. Here's a size/colour comparison next to one of the regs...
[/url]

So there we have it. Randy and Nev I really appreciate the feedback and encouragement. Also I'm not sure why the text has gone all yellow but hey ho.

Loving the T'au man!

Also the stealth suits contrasting colors look great next to the rest of the army! The camo pattern is very unique as well.

Keep up the good work!

I really like it and don't find the armour too gunky. Now all you need to do is a smaller set of triangles in a nice Scorched Brown or so slightly over the original set. It's what I did on my Ratlings and I think it looks good.

LtChrispy wrote:Loving the T'au man!

Also the stealth suits contrasting colors look great next to the rest of the army! The camo pattern is very unique as well.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks LT. I was really unsure how to do these XV15 justice as there are a tonne of amazing examples of active stealth and traditional camo out there that I just can't replicate. I think these guys will do fine though. I've got 15 of them in total. And a Ghost keel that I imagine will have the same or similar scheme. It's probably best not to think about all those little triangles though.

RandyMcStab wrote:I really like it and don't find the armour too gunky. Now all you need to do is a smaller set of triangles in a nice Scorched Brown or so slightly over the original set. It's what I did on my Ratlings and I think it looks good.

I knew you'd say that. And just... no. As much as you are right another level of splinter would be great, I just don't have the patience.

Anyway sorry for Stalloning you. Here's a palate (or should I say *palette* ho ho) cleanser:

So that;s a no then.

Hello, I'm ashamed to show my face in here without any painting updates but I thought a little interval battle report might be fun...

It was late, on a school night, and having cycled to Randy McStab's house with a case of models balanced precariously on my bike I was able to pressure him into a quick 1k game against his Ultras using the Open War cards. We took some photos as it was also a good opportunity to show of the lovely table and terrain made by Alex Kolodotschko.

We chucked some terrain on the table and drew a 'Hammer & Anvil' style deployment which had us deploy up to 15" towards the table centre. Our mission was 'Glory (Hole) Seeker' which is basically power level-kill points or double for a Character, Vehicle or Monster.

The forces:

Randy’s Ultramarines (Patrol 1000ish pts):

[Warlord – Not sure ] Librarian (Storm Bolter, Force Axe and a relic).
8 Sternguard with default guns.
10 Tacticals with a heavy bolter and melta gun.
5 Scouts with a power axe.
5 Scouts with a heavy bolter.
Razorback twin Lascannon.
Storm Talon with twin assault canon and skyhammer rockets.



Mid-Life’s T’au (Battalion 999pts):

[Warlord – Inspiring Leader] Fireblade (PEN chip).
Commander (2 Fusions and 2 CIBs).
5 XV15 (1 Fusion).
9 Pulse Rifle Fire Warriors.
9 Pulse Rifle Fire Warriors.
9 Breachers.
Devilfish (stock).
9 Pathfinders (2 shield drones, pulse accelerator, grav inhibitor).
Hammerhead (Railgun and SMS).

The table had a medium-sized rock spire in its centre, surrounded by trees and a crashed lander. Larger spires and the odd elevation were spread around the edges of the table.

Deployment:

Randy deployed his transports (including Tac squad) ready to advance but with his command Rhino (Sternguard and Libby) hidden to avoid a pesky turn 1 Railgun round. His Lasback menaced the Tau right and a unit of scouts were placed to protect his rear from a Manta Striking Commander. The second unit of scouts were deployed behind the centre rock spire ready to charge. The Talon was deployed out of LOS with Randy’s Command Rhino.




I deployed my Fireblade, Strike Teams and Pathfinder Drones as a gunline out on the open and vanguarded the Pathfinders toward the treeline for cover. My Railhead hovered nearby the Fireblade and his PENchip and I hid the Devilfish and Breachers behind the spire on my right. My Stealth Team infiltrated to my left-centre to threaten Randy’s Scouts and the Commander stayed in the Manta for later…




Randy won and accepted the first turn. I failed to steal it back.

Turn1 Ultras…

The central Scout squad moved into charge range of the Stealth Team, both Rhinos head off towards the central spire and the Talon headed down Randy’s right to get good LOS on the majority of the T’au force.

The Lasback manages to hit and wound the Railhead but it passes the first of many 6+ saves.

The combined fire of the Scouts and Rhino Storm Bolter wound one XV15 and the Talon whiffs with it’s Skyhammers versus the Railhead but manages to assault cannonise the Pathfinders leaving just three in the fight.

The Scouts successfully charge the Stealth Team (losing a Marine to overwatch) and kill off the wounded battlesuit and taking no damage in return. I forgot to measure the Grav Drone range at this point but in retrospect it was probably a few mm out anyway.

Two Pathfinders break and run, leaving only to Shas’Ui on the board.

Turn 1 T’au…

Both Strike Teams move up a little and reposition for range and LOS while the Breacherfish emerges from behind a spire and enters the treeline. The Fireblade stays put in an attempt to keep the force in leadership range.


The Stealth Team disengages from combat and falls back just a little.

The Fireblade opens up the shooting phase by marking the Talon, and the remaining Pathfinder does the same to the Scouts.

The Stealth Team and one of the Strike Teams reduce the Scouts to one Marine. The Railhead then puts five wounds on the Talon (without needing command points or PEN!) and finishes the scouts with its smart missiles.

The remaining Strike Team manage to put one more wound on the Talon and bracket it.

End of round score = whatever the power rating of that Scout Squad was.

Ultras Turn 2…

The Librarian disembarks and the Rhinos move into the cover of the central spire.

The Talon moves forward into the T’au deployment zone and the remaining Scouts continue to guard the Lasback.

The Libby Smites a wound of the Stealth Team but fails to cast a second spell.

Once again the Talon’s Skyhammer Rockets can’t hurt the Railhead but chews up the Fire Warriors on the T’au left with its AssCans leaving two alive.

The Lasback continues to unsuccessfully target the Railhead.

Thanks to the Fireblade’s warlord trait, the Firewarriors hold their ground.

T’au Turn 2…

The Breacherfish flat outs into the treeline and the Strike teams and Drones head to the cover of the treeline leaving the Fireblade behind.

The Stealth Team move up through the crashed lander into range of the Talon and lead Rhino.

The Commander drops into the treeline next to the Breacherfish.

The Fireblade puts a Markerlight on the Talon and helps the Railhead damage it for another three wounds (2 left!).

Both Strike teams make good use of the RR1s and put another wound on the Talon.

The Stealth Team splits its fire and fails to bring down the Talon but does five wounds to the Tac’s Rhino.

The Commander overkills the damaged Rhino but there are no casualties to the Tacs or nearby units who disembark in the shadow of the central rock spire.



End of round scores: Ultras () and T’au (+Rhino

Ultras Turn 3…

Finally in a position to fully engage, the Scouts move downrange to find targets, the Libby moves up for better smiting and the Tacticals reposition to slaughter as many filthy Xenos as they can.

The Talon closes in on the exposed Fireblade.

The Librarian’s Smite and his other similar power (Randy?) puts an end to the Stealth Team.

The Talon continues to phone its Rockets in but still manages to wound the Fireblade 7 times. The nearby Drone unit eats four of these, leaving the T’au Warlord on one wound.

The Tacs and Rhino choose their targets with care and finish off the Drone unit and the damaged Strike Team. The Tac’s melta gun misses the Breacherfish.

Unsurprisingly the Lasback fails to damage the Railhead however the Scout’s heavy bolter puts a wound on the Breacherfish.

The Tacs fail a charge (there was less than an inch in it) and lose a Marine to overwatch/FTGG.

T’au Turn 3…

Breachers and gundrones disembark in pain range of the Tacs while the remaining Strike Team and Commander reposition to maximise overwatch the following turn.

The Devilfish flanks right so it can charge any remaining units while the Fireblade dives into his minions/honoured comrades for safety.

The Fireblade gets a marker on the Tacs and the infantry opens up with pulse blasters and volley fire. The Tacs are destroyed.

The Commander kills the Talon with his CIBs (which doesn’t explode over my gunline) and then uses his meltas to pop the Command Rhino (rolled a 5 and a 6). The Sternguard disembark with no casualties.

At this point the Ultras give the signal to fall back.

The End.

We did work out the scores eventually but it was moot as Randy conceded after my 3rd shooting phase was more effective than I ever could have predicted. I had an unusually large amount of good rolls in this game and Randy didn’t really get into his stride of rolling terrifying strings of power armour saves.

It was nice to use my breachers to good effect and get a Fireblade Volley Fire in as the last few games I’ve had against guard had left me feeling a bit limp. Still, this was a tiny, very random game so it mostly came down to the dice rolls.

Anyway I hope you liked this quickie and sorry for the crappy photos – We were both very tired and I was just pointing my phone in the general direction of the table in between turns.

Randy – feel free to add your thoughts and correct my mistakes; and don’t forget to put a link in your plog too!

The spell was called Psychic Scourge and it's basically another smite. The Sternguard lost 4 in the explosion hence conceding there. The game was actually marginally close until I failed the charge with the Tacks (even with a reroll) and then the commander killed all but one of my vehicles in 2 turns (for double victory points each time). I think this game illustrates how bad a place SM are now. Elite points cost but without the elite hitting power or survivability, SM need to come down a lot in points. Makes me feel that SM will end up being shelved till 9th ed, which is a real pity as I was trying really hard to enjoy them but games like this make me wonder why I would ever play anything but IG. Tau commanders are broken as feth too. I did cheer myself up by writing a 2k IG list.

There's a link to my blog in my sig. Sorry for the but I think most SM players feel this way.

 RandyMcStab wrote:
lĺlSorry for the but I think most SM players feel this way.

Don't worry I'm used to it. Marines do feel as though they have had their teeth pulled in 8th but I've seen you make the infantry shine with auras and the twin linked strat etc. I worry that the lists you like to use are (while being true to the background and exactly the kinds of lists I like to play against) are inefficient by (the writers') design because the missing punch is to be found in nasties like special characters, Primaris and those new fangled Centurions they have now. Just a thought really; I'm not very sensitive to balance issues and got used to losing against your Marines and Guard way more often than winning years ago!

I'm fine with playing against guard next time and won't need to change my list but I reckons you should stick at it with the blue gakkers for a bit.

And for the record I'm not a 4 weapon commander kind of player but I wanted to taste the forbidden fruit before the codex pops and I've got something more interesting to shove in my hardpoints (hopefully).

Hello,

My last update was late Feb but I promise I’ve not been completely idle. My cases have been at a friend’s house for a few months now so I wasn’t able to continue to work on those XV15s further up the page. Instead, I found myself staring at a Battlesuit Commander that I had kitbashed some months ago out of a Broadside kit and some other scavenged bits. I was never happy with the pose so gambled (and won) on some precision snapping and reposed his arm and base position. Here we have a piccy of the reposed Commander (apols for the lack of building images – I just can’t find them):

As well as Broadside, he has XV8 and XV85 bits in him too. As this is a bad photo I’ll elaborate as I post clearer photos.

This Commander was built for 7th Edition (as was most of this plog) to rep a Commander with Iridium Sig System, and was to be my only large ‘suit acting as more of a Dreadnought type role. Getting a lick of the old Zandri Dust here:

...and after 3-4 Zandri coats and some panel shading with Agrax:


I won’t go into colour choice and process again (pretty much everything in the plog is painted in the same way) but I used Administratum Grey as a base for the shoulder pad and head:

A few more WIP shots of the post-shading tidy up:



More to come soon...

He's looking boss, nice and imposing. He's so powerful he needs a big stompy model. Be interested in seeing the CIBs mounted as I've not seen them on yet.

RandyMcStab wrote:He's looking boss, nice and imposing. He's so powerful he needs a big stompy model. Be interested in seeing the CIBs mounted as I've not seen them on yet.

Well thank you. It's been strange using the small (but perfectly formed) Forgeworld XV89s to rep a 5/6 wound armed-to-the-teeth behemoth so I'm looking forward to getting this chub on the table!

Now I know I said...

Mid-life Crisis Suit wrote:And for the record I'm not a 4 weapon commander kind of player but I wanted to taste the forbidden fruit before the codex pops and I've got something more interesting to shove in my hardpoints (hopefully).

...but I've sold out to 8th (and most of the cool support/sig systems became strats anyway):


Here are two CIBs I made out of Commander kit Plasma Rifles and Pathfinder Ion Rifles. The Ion Rifle is asymmetrical so I had to chop off the little underslung bit and its ends and swap them round. Very tense but it worked out. These will go on the side-arm points.



A bit of highlighting. The jets here are from the XV8 kit. I drilled holes into the Broadside 'shoulder' mounts and the existing pins on the jets slot in nice and snug!



Some more post-highlights, pre-tidy shots.


A better shot of the CIBs.





Some markings and whites - I used a 70/30 Admin Grey/Valleyo White mix to build up the shoulder pad and head. Not too pleased with it but it'll be my first white painting in yonks.

Thanks for looking then. Will hopefully get a chance to post finished article very soon x

Love your take on the Tau - all clean and just what they should look like

 IGtR= wrote:
Love your take on the Tau - all clean and just what they should look like

Thank you please!

Unfortunately though the next stages include weathering so not so clean I'm afraid. Here are hptos and some comments from the final stages of my Cadre's Commander...



Waaaargh!




And there you have it. I'm really glad he's done (esp. as he was 4-5 units down the list so it feels like a bit of a bonus) and I'll be happy to put him on the table for a scrap.

Some elements I would have like to have had another stab at are the whites (needs a lighter base), the main lense (I was having a shakey hand day and it just doesn't pop), and the base (there's actually a little ginnel runnng through the centre with a weathered Boltgun part submerged in what was meant to be some kind of... fluid). I started layering watered down PVA in there for a cheap water effect but got bored of waiting.

For reference here a few build/design notes:
- Body legs and right shoulder from Broadside kit.
- Arms and left shoulder from Commander kit.
- Shield generater stuck to back to cover the missing Broadside Generator.
- Jet packs from XV8 Crisis kit.
- Base made from layered cork tiles.
- Broadside lower-leg stabilisers removed and filed down.
- CIBs from Commander (or possibly Broadside) Plasma Rifles and Pathfinder Ion Rifles.

Hope you like and thanks for looking. Gentle constructive feedback is always welcome and occasionally heeded x

Hopefully I'll get back to that Stealth Team next...

He looks really great. Nice to see all the bits on him for once too. I don't think anything needs re doing, other than it obviously needz moar skullz. And purity seals. And a nerf.

[Grrr – I actually did this update last night on my phone but Dakka crashed as I tried to submit. I’m now sciving off work in order to try again…]

Hello, two months on and after what seems like an age of sweltering heat I’ve finally completed another stage of those green XV15s. In the meantime I managed to play a few games of 40k (a draw of sorts against Randy McStab’s overpowered guard and a complete ochre-wash against Mephistoned’s Blood Angels although it was his first game with his Codex and I really should have toned my list down – sorry). I’ve also been working on conversions for Firesight Marksmen and DS8 turrets but more on that later.

The Stealth Team are just base coated, shaded and tidied but painting all the tiny black triangles has really tested my patience!

Here is (what will become) the Fusion Blaster-armed Shas’Vre. Despite the razor saw mutilation and shoddy green stuff I think it still works, and because of the labour involved in tearing the weapon out of a single-piece metal model he is a relatively unusual thing to see out and about.

A Burst Cannon chap – here you can see the extra kit and optic I have added to the team – made from T’au antennae and pulse weapon scopes respectively.



The other three Burst Cannon-armed Shas – Once these are done I’m looking forward to getting back to the mould-line free and clear detail of modern plastic kits. T’au collectors are spoiled these days .

Group shot – Like many early 2000s GW minis XV15s were static, squishy and had few variations. I’ve tried to add some personality and energy to the team by carefully bending a leg here and there and playing with the height of their bases (which are 32mm BTW).

Thanks for looking – hopefully I can keep up the momentum and get stuck into edge highlighting this week x

They're looking great already and really nice pics too, look forward to seeing them done.

I much prefer the look of the old stealth suits to the new ones. Nice job on that camo.

RandyMcStab wrote:They're looking great already and really nice pics too, look forward to seeing them done.

Thanks for the photo feedback Randy - a good picture makes a big difference. These look quite scrappy IRL!

Nevelon wrote:I much prefer the look of the old stealth suits to the new ones. Nice job on that camo.

Thanks Nevelon. Painting angular camo terrifies me as I get too intimate with each shape and even though I know painting perfect 10+ perfect triangles is not a healthy expectation (unless you're this guy), failing to do so still saps my mojo. Still we all know that a scrappy painted unit on the table is better than a half finished model on the shelf!

I loved the plastic xv25s when they came out and had a dozen back in the day. These days the mature, refined Mid-life prefers the understated design of the originals (and it fits my 'no battlesuits' theme a bit better).

Anyway I've not been idle and there are four or five projects on my desk at once that I'll eventually blog - but for now because there was a risk I'd want to use one or two of them in a Killteam game, I based and snapped a couple of XV15s that'd had their edge highlights done...


So this is a Deathworld Forest base with a main edge of Elysian green and then a final highlight with Krieg Khaki (I think) which is one of those fancy new Citadel 'edging' paints.

Plenty more to do on these but next episode on the T'Plog will deffo be KILL TEAM BATTLE REPORTS!

Lovely paint jobs, and best username haha

 JohnnyHell wrote:
Lovely paint jobs, and best username haha

Thanks JohnnyHell. My username is some of my best work!

We done played a Killteam…

Eager to play and actually finish a game with our 40k toys, Randy McStab and I managed to play two fun games of Killteam last week.

As I’m writing this I’ve realised that, thinking I had uploaded both games’ photos to Dakka the other day, I deleted all the pics off my phone so unfortunately I’ll only be able to show images of the first (and crappier lit) of the two games we had. Balls.

Our terrain was limited as Randy’s existing ruins are still out for repairs and the lovely Killteam starter stuff is yet to be built and painted.

Before the game was released we had shared our concerns about the limited size of the default play area, and having accepted that the board size was obviously related only to the starter set box size, both agreed that a 3’ by 3’ space would be more… tactical? Or something.

We used the same teams for both games (no wider roster to choose from) that were mostly chosen from models we had painted for our 40k armies… mostly.

We also decided to let the survivors level up between and after the games and incorporate them into the inevitable future campaign…

The Teams:


Randy’s Ultramarines Scout Killteam - left to right in the first image we have Solidus Anguis (BP CCW), another BP CCW Scout (Marius Chronus) and two Boltgun Scouts (Cassius Dysorius and Ollonius Cassus). Next is a Agies Polorus, a HEAVY Gunner armed with a Heavy Bolter who obtained special dispensation to wear a Camo Cloak despite the fact the default, unconverted HB scout model DOES NOT COME WITH THAT PART!!), Scout Sarg Titus Varenus (LEADER with Shotgun and CCW), an actual SCOUT (Marcus Cassus armed with a shotty), and SNIPER Cato Cassus (armed with a Sniper Rifle and cloak). There’s another non-specialist with a Sniper Rifle (Ollonius Tarentos) tacked on the end who is actually part of the Fireteam. And for the T’au...


...we have La’Rua N’Lan Gal’Leath, who are a team of tech-minded stealth experts on a mission to seize vital intel (according to my 10-sided die). The team consists of Shas’Las Lorma, Kasashi, K’yen, Murakan and Loressa who are a fire team armed with Pulse Rifles; a Recon, Pulse and Grav drone; and are lead by Pathfinder Shas’Ui Watana. The team specialists are Shas’La Pashera (a SNIPER armed with a Pulse Rifle and humping a Missile Pod DS8 system), Shas’Ui Sel’tas (a SCOUT armed with a Pulse Blaster), and Shas’Ui Midaro – a VETERAN armed with not only a Pulse Rifle but also this nostalgic beauty:


Battle One – Covert War…

For our first game we used the ‘introductory’ open play mission and rolled up/placed a single objective on symmetrical flanks (T’au right, Astartes left) within our deployment zones.

The Ultras attempted to take forward positions in the scouting phase, and although I had elected to ‘eliminate sentries’, the two Scouts who moved up did so out of sight of my guns :(.

Stupidly I forgot to do an ‘overhead’ of the terrain and deployment to put everything into context. Here’s what I did snap though:

Sniper (with his DS8) and Leader camp the objective on my right flank. There’s a Recon Drone a few inches away behind the rock.

In the centre of my deployment zone, and obscured by two ruined buildings, my Fireteam and Veteran are placed for good fields of fire. To their right my Breacher Scout lies in wait.

I think (the camo is just too effective) Randy has his Fireteam (sans one Boltgun) deployed here on his right in cover plus his Scout, who may or may not be the guy who has advanced into the open.

Sniper specialist sets up in the trees in Randy’s centre-left, supported by the remaining Fireteam member. He has eyes on the objective in the T’au deployment zone.

On Randy’s extreme left is his Heavy Specialist guarding the Ultra’s home objective. Somewhere in those trees lurks the Scout Sarg (Randy – these reports would be a lot easier if you painted everything bright red).

So, on to the turns themselves. I’m not going to break the game down into turns and phases because I didn’t take any notes or enough photos. This is basically how it played out…


The Fireteam Scouts and their Scout Scout specialist Scout, Scout up the T’au left in order to get the drop on the central blob of Firewarriors.

They put one unlucky Shas out of action but lose a man in return despite being almost completely obscured through the ruins.

Because of cover, range and Camo Cloaks the T’au are universally rolling sixes to hit. This combined with my ability to pass unfeasible numbers of 4+ saves means very little damage is traded beyond a flesh wound dealt to my Sniper and another Fireteam member taken out. However, the advancing scouts manage to engage my Veteran Shas’Ui and the drones in combat. The Pulse Drone is sacrificed to ensure my Vet survives after my Breacher Scout blasts one of the following-up Scouts to the ground using the ‘Decisive Shot’ tactic.

Over on the Ultra’s left flank, the Sniper and Heavy specialists ready-up and do good work suppressing my guns as the Scout Sarg thinks about giving me the good news.

During turn 2 or 3 my Pathfinder Leader finally manages to hit the Heavy Bolter Scout with his Marker light (base 4+, -1 long range, -1 obscured, -1 Camo Cloak) and gleefully spaffs a command point on ‘Uplinked Markerlight’ to unlock all the bonuses…

...and of course not only does a full house of markerlights fail to improve my hit chances beyond a 6+, but Randy proceeds to tactic away that single, potentially game-changing failed saving throw!

Scout Sel’tas puts another scout out of action which neutralises the Astartes’ flank assault.

However in the Morale Phase Shas’Ui Watana loses his grip on the exhausted and shaken T’au and the team begins to crumble.

The T’au give the signal to fall back as Sgt. Varenus and a member of the Fireteam stalk through the ruins ready to dispatch the shaken Xenos…

So there you are – I hope that was at least mildly entertaining. We enjoyed the games and in retrospect made surprisingly few rules errors (although KT is very simple). I’d say the main thoughts I brought from the games were:

- Remember to take nerve tests, and remember which models have a nearby or table-wide impact on nerve and break tests. This is important for managing your own team’s morale but will also inform your enemy target priority.

- Similarly, because of how morale works (and how shooting doesn’t) it can be more effective to target a lower-threat model that you actually have a chance of hitting than to pour fire into a high priority target that you’ll forever need sixes to hit – maybe he’ll just panic later on.

- Playing on a 3’x3’ table seems to work. I can see how potentially having to cover a few extra inches might worry a Tyranid etc. team, but the step up in lethality for ubiquitous rapid fire weapons at <12-15” means few teams can afford to sit and snipe from the edge of the board. I also enjoyed having increased scope for tactical movement.

- Close combat and turn initiative. You really are buggered if you get an isolated model into ongoing combat and then win initiative the following turn – especially if there is an angry Breacher nearby.

- Take notes AND photos. Even though there is more going on, photographing the phase-ends of a moderately sized 40k game seems to provide sufficient retrospective info for a battle report. In KT, because there is arguably less going on and many of the units are almost identical, it’s really hard to remember who did what each turn although it’s safe to assume most models fired and missed!

- Take close up (and in-focus) photos. In KT the struggle between an Space Marine and an Firewarrior is as epic and meaningful as two Eldrads beating off a whole company of Conscripts in 40k; but it’s a lot harder to get a camera phone to focus on.

Thanks for looking – I’m off to actually paint something now...

Well done for doing this I know how long it takes. I loved the bionic card too, classic stuff right there.

It is harder to do a report in KT I think, we may have to do notes which I normally can't be bothered with.

Morale is cruel, once I'd shot up enough guys and you did the decent thing and failed your bottle test there was little chance of anyone passing a nerve test and all but a few members would be paralyzed effectively ending the game.

Still I enjoyed those games and will play more, now Conquest is happening I will get a Primaris KT for free and I've those Deathwatch to make too (for added variety and when shooting at another Camo cloaked Scout would make you scream).

*** Puts 50 pence in the meter and cranks the little dial thing...***

Hi there, it's been almost three months since my last emission. The Dragon Quest 11 honeymoon period is over and that poor XV15 team has finally had some attention. So here we go...


The whole team - 'Vre has a fusion blaster made from a crisis suit one. Earlier on the blog you can see how I hacked out the metal burstcannon from this mini. Bonus points for guessing what the little ammo tank thing on the back is from.



The 'Vre in close up. You can see here where his/her legs have been bent and raised in order to vary the pose a little.






Three burstcannon 'Uis. I tried to do the little wrist computer things to look like they actually have a display like you see other painters do. It didn't really work but it's a new new technique for me and hopefully I'll improve.


And the final burstcannon guy with the cool pose. I've added little details like the ammo pouch thing that you can just about see on the left of his chest armour.

So not much more to say about these guys. I'm glad they are done and think the splinter cammo works as does the little conversions like the helmet targeter they all have. These can be stored away in their case now never to be seen again!

Thanks for looking. Hopefully if you've followed the blog a bit you'll be as relieved as I am to see them finished

Some Pathfinders next I think... or maybe even some filthy Imperial Xenos!!!

These look really ace. Very nice subtle stippling and the neatness of the edge highlighting is excellent. I like the little screens and think they work. I look forward to swearing at them across the table.

 RandyMcStab wrote:
These look really ace. Very nice subtle stippling and the neatness of the edge highlighting is excellent. I like the little screens and think they work. I look forward to swearing at them across the table.

Thank you. These were an interesting exercise as my style relies a lot on minis with good definition and inherent detail (like the latest T'au infantry) and those old stealth suits are the opposite. In fact LDP made a similar comment on their blog the other day.

Started selecting members for a Pathfinder team today so hopefully more photos soooooooon.

Quick update...

As usual I've quite a few projects going on in the background such as more complex conversions for the Cadre, a Scions kill team and a naively ambitious terrain plan... but I've decided to maintain my T'au focus at least up to 1,000 points (which I'm reasonably close to now!). To that end I have turned my attention to a Pathfinder Team.

So far we have the following gathered together...

40k-wise I've never fielded a team in this configuration but I expect all models to be useful for both 4ok and kill team so it seems sensible to get them done together. The recon, pulse, and grav drone have already been base coated for kill team as has the 'Ui (more on him below). I've also done a rail rifle and ion rifle as they are both pretty good in 8th (and I imagine quite a lot of fun in kill team if you can ever hit your target). Other than that there are just five standard marker-'Las.



The 'Uis arms are obviously from the venerable Tau tank sprue. I shaved off the little circular pouldron things and had a stab of making some angular ones to match the other 'finders out of green stuff. Shouldn't be noticeable in a crowd.



There are few deviations from the vanilla Pathfinder kit (no need it's ace) but I have attached some scopes to the special weapons (snipped from pulse weapons). Now I'm sure Pathfinders have all kinds of hi-tech synchronised targetting kit in their helmets but you should always have a back up right?

Just a few accessories to fit on the team and I can get the paints out!

Some nice looking tau there. Don’t think I’ve ever seen some of those guns before. Pathfinders come with something other then markerlights?

I’m sure once painted they will make some fine targets for the Ultramarines.