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Normally I don't do weblogs for my modeling projects, but for this one I thought it would be fun to try, so here's the first update for my new project: The Mira.

The Mira are an alien race that has joined The Tau Empire, not as mercenaries or vassal states, but as full-fledged members of the empire.

A quick little background:
The Mira's long tradition as a nomadic race came to an end when the shaman from all seventeen tribes were brought together by identical and power visions. In the first circle of equals held in centuries, it was unanimously decided that the will of the gods was clear, and for the first time, the Miran people all traveled as one, crossing the Damocles gulf, and declaring their wish to join the Tau Empire.

Rather than integrating small groups of Mirans into Hunter Cadres, Mira are organized into their own Cadres. This provided Tau Central command with something it had lacked in the past, which were detachments of hard-hitting assault troops, able and eager to engage enemy fortifications and enact boarding actions normally deemed too disadvantageous for hunter Cadres.

The Mira are a proud and honorable people, with a long and rich military tradition. Their weapons technology focuses on non-lethal devices, as they consider it highly dishonorable to take an enemy's life on the field of battle. They believe that an enemy's spirit must first be cleansed through years of physical labor before death, otherwise their souls will carry the stain with them when they are reincarnated, and pollute the next generation. They consider the Tau to be their spirit-brethren, and hope that long-term exposure to their own enlightened traditions will serve as an example that will eventually rid the Tau of their use of lethal weaponry.

Miran detachments and their unusual fighting dogma provide a steady stream of prisoners and slave-labor in Tau warzones where they operate. Ethereals frequently find it difficult to maintain a balance, attempting to neither offend their Miran allies by disuse of the prisoners, nor stray from the guidance of the Tau'N by excessive use of slave-labor and prison camps. Normally this balance is achieved by aggressive attempts to convert the prisoners to join the greater good, which allows Tau sensibilities and the media to look upon the act more as missionary recruitment rather than racial exploitation.


Okay, now onto the modeling, which is what I'm sure everyone wants to see.

I'll be using Dark Eldar rules to field this army, as I am not a fan of trying to convince other players that it's okay to use my house rules, and because I really like playing in tournaments.

So, the first thing we'll need is an equivalent to the Raider, built by The Earth Caste for Miran Kindreds, utilizing Miran weapons, which I call The Swordfish.

I started with a Pirana, since it is very similar stat-wise, and because The Earth Caste likes to use interchangeable components. I used legos to fill in the crew compartment (The Swordfish is Drone-piloted) and made the engine coming out the back to look more similar to the Raider and to give it a distinct profile so that people won't so easily assume that this is a normal Tau Army. I used Skyray parts to make the side planks where the squad stands, and the larger Devilfish chin-turret to house the Concussion Cannon, which is made from a gundam kit and counts as a Disintegrator. The small turret on top, made from the piranas normal chin turret, is a Concussion Grenade Launcher, which counts as a Horrorfex. At this point I'd say it's about 90% done.

Just click on a thumbnail to see a larger pic of The Swordfish:





More updates to come.

Interesting project, I look forward to seeing how it progresses.

I like the fluff. At first the idea of a Darkish Eldaresque race allying with the Tau sounds counter-intuitive, but you've got some great ideas that bring the two army and race concepts into believable alignment. Very imaginative fluff, in fact.

As with any custom army that swaps rules and technolgies, you will need to continue to pay attention to the challenge of building recognizable yet distinct units and vehicles (just to be fair to opponents) -- but here again you seem sensitive to the issue.

And I like the "raider sled."
One question: is the conversion's footprint similar in size to a raider's? It seems as though it might be a bit smaller, which might be an issue with some opponents (even if the vehicle in question is a skimmer).

At first the idea of a Darkish Eldaresque race allying with the Tau sounds counter-intuitive, but you've got some great ideas that bring the two army and race concepts into believable alignment.

Thanks. Much of the Dark Eldar weapons revolve around incapacitating the enemy without actually killing them, so I tried to build off of that, and come up with a religious reason for a taking lots of prisoners instead of with the intent to torture them. That way, upgrades like slave snares still make sense without gobs of explanation (although I'll be doing a more high-tech version of slave snares).

tinfoil wrote:
As with any custom army that swaps rules and technolgies, you will need to continue to pay attention to the challenge of building recognizable yet distinct units and vehicles (just to be fair to opponents) -- but here again you seem sensitive to the issue.

Yes, that is going to be one of my primary objectives in building this army.

One question: is the conversion's footprint similar in size to a raider's? It seems as though it might be a bit smaller, which might be an issue with some opponents (even if the vehicle in question is a skimmer).

A very good point. I actually kept a built raider handy when I built the Swordfish so that their footprint's would be nearly identical, for the reasons you mentioned. The swordfish has almost the exact same footprint as a raider. It is slightly wider in the center, but is the same length as a raider. (That was another reason to put the engines in the rear, to make them the same length.)

Plausible fluff, interesting idea, workable conversion. I'm eager to see more (especially what you're going to do for the Mira themselves).

looks cool. I like it better than the outdated Dark Eldar stuff.

Okay, I've got a new update for 'yall today. Next up we need a gunboat version of The Swordfish to count as a Ravager. I present to you, The Barracuda.

The Barracuda features extremely heavy firepower for its size in the form of three Concussion Cannons and a Concussion Grenade Launcher. A Concussion Cannon is a high-calibur six barreled gatling gun that fire caseless liquid-core ammunition. Upon detonation, the ammunition creates a psychic/quantum shock wave that reacts catastrophically with the central nervous system of living creatures, causing a complete and instant collapse of all higher brain functions. Reactions vary from race to race, but this normally results in a coma lasting from 33-45 hours. Humans of the Adeptus Astartes have proven particularly susceptible to the weapons effects, as the psychic pulse has been found to trigger the Sus-An Membrane implant in their skulls, forcing them into a state of suspended animation.
Concussion Cannons normally have two settings, a higher rate of fire to saturate a target area, and a slower rate of fire for more controlled shorter bursts.

The liquid core of the ammunition is called Sheika by the Miran people, which translates as "cleansing soulfire." It is refined from a waste substance that Mirans secrete naturally through their skin, and according to Miran tradition the first hunter kindreds used bows tipped with Sheika to disable the large beasts they hunted on their long-forgotten homeworld. It is quite likely that the use of Sheika weaponry created the foundation for much of their religious beliefs.
The Mira believe that the time of Darikama has come, that they are charged by the gods to purify the Kamatani, or "allsoul," the collective soul of the living universe, and they believe that the gods lead them to the Tau Empire to begin the cleansing.






More updates to come.

I guess I'm repeating myself here, but I do love the fluff for this project!

Very nice. Concussion Cannons are, of course, Disintegrators... What do you plan on doing for Dark Lances/Blasters...?

tinfoil wrote:I guess I'm repeating myself here, but I do love the fluff for this project!

Please, say it all you want. Encouragement always helps with these kind of projects.

What do you plan on doing for Dark Lances/Blasters...?

What, and ruin the surprise? You'll just have to wait and see.

I'm just kidding. Actually, I haven't figured that out yet.

I dunno if your still working on this, just thought I'd say great work! Love the idea myself, just wish we saw more... ^^

*chokes on cobwebs*

I know you're new, but in future, try to PM people with stuf like this rather than dragging up old threads, have a look at the forum rules. I'm willing to let this one slide...

Interesting idea. Will you be using the Dark Eldar stats for them or trying your hand at writing your own?