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Okay, so I've been thinking for a while that I would like to field the Tau Firebase Support Cadre to buff my Imperial Guard army. Rather than show them as allied Tau, I'd like to do them as captured suits, even though it technically isn't possible (apparently the cockpits cook humans.)
Some ideas I've had for the suits are:
Aquillas (a given)
Replace the leg of one Broadside with a Sentinel leg, as if it was knocked off and rebuilt
Guardmen taking cover behind a suit
One Guardsman poking his torso out of the Broadside's head hole, aiming a lasgun (why use your epic battlesuit when you have a lasgun?)
Ruined Chimera Bits on the Riptide base

Has anyone done similar conversions? I've looked around and not found much, so I'm hoping people here have a better idea where to find some. What I'm also looking for is ideas for what to do for the other three of four Broadsides. Any general tips would be great too. Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks

rather than captured ones, why not convert them so they look like imperial battlesuits (so they look like they could have feasibly been produced by guard but not so much you cant tell its a riptide/broadside etc) give them cool names and play it as a sort of counts as

I did think about that, but I do love the idea of Guard nabbing a few Tau suits. Most of the guys at my flgs have Tau, and I'd like to say they were stolen rather than built by guard


Automatically Appended Next Post:
How would you recommend converting them to look as though Guard have made them though?

If most people in your group play Tau, why should't the rest also play the very same 3 Riptide list:
Looted Riptides, stolen Riptides, corrupted Riptides.
Oh, and the Tyranid player

Tyranid Riptides
Just seems like a fun side project is all, plus I've been really impressed with how the Tau codex plays, and would like to run the formation alongside my army

diepotato47 wrote:
How would you recommend converting them to look as though Guard have made them though?

You could do as you say and replace some legs with sentinel legs, instant guard aesthetic. lots of rivets to make it look bolted together, using plasticard strips to make everything look a little more square than the slightly rounded look of tau. I guess it would kind of look like the guardsmen had looted them really.

I just cant help thinking that if guardsmen started using tau stuff it wouldnt take the inquisition long to show up lol but they're your toys and I'd be happy to play against them either way

The human cooking facility was mentioned in one of the Last Chancers books, and was a security system installed into battlesuits sitting about in the depot to prevent casual theft. If the suits have been captured and repurposed, this could easily be removed by the AdMech (assuming they consent to the use of debased and inhuman technology in the first place).

Some thoughts that might help. TheTau battlesuits are pretty iconic at this point, however they are made up of an armoured pilot compartment, humanoid appearance and big jetpack thrusters. The Guard equivalent is the Sentine, so you could try to reduce the size of one of them a bit and add thrusters. It would look a bit battlemech like, but it woud do the job.

Another alternative might be to do something with the new centurion suits? Strip off some of the armour plating and re-size for Guardsmen. Add suitably sized thrusters (or a hoverboard or big springy legs or something) and there you go. Hmm.. Kangaroo Pattern Centurion suits for Guardsmen

If you want something a bit more labour intensive, try using plastic tubing or plasticard to create larger custom exoskeletons. I did this for my Rough Riders, and I've seen terminator counts-as using a similar system and the results are very satisfying.

I appreciate this is a dreadknight repurposed but you get the idea.

although extending flinty's idea you could take a sentinel, attach the legs to a sort of hip system, should be easy enough to kitbash/make, have the sentinel cockpit as the main body and either make/use another set of sentinel legs cut up to make arms with weapons attached, missile rack on top, cut up a space marine jump pack or something on the back (i imagine the saguinary one s would look cool on a rip tide and then normal ones with the central back pack bit removed for broadsides) plasticard some armoured panels over the leg and arm areas and 'rivet' them together that would look pretty badass


http://08ak1.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/sentinel-conversion-project-iv.html This is almost exactly what I'm thinking

Thanks everyone, these are some great ideas Sentinel bits and rivets are excellent ideas, and making them less rounded sounds great.
I hadn't thought of centurions, and taking a look at the models, I could see a great lot of potential there for bits.
I'm also thinking I'll strap on a few vehicle bits from the Imperial Guard tanks.
Thanks for the advice

Instead of converting the real Tau models you could build IG proxys of them as well. Using IG, Space Marine and Grey Knight boxes and bits.

Example:
XV88 Missileside -> Take a sentinel, put it on a 50mm base (don't know which they have usually), add a typhoon rocket launcher and/or other rockets.
Maybe use bits and plasticard to make the legs a little sturdier.

If you didn't have Imperial Guard army already it would be easier: Use the basic Tau units for the Firebase Support Cadre and convert the IG to look like Tau auxilaries.