The First Stealth Suit

So here is the first of soon to be five XV25 stealth suits. 

This guy was done with the same idea as the model below but with the "active camo" being the same colours as the base. I also wanted to avoid really light, contrasting highlights. This defies the whole point of the "stealth" if the highlights really stand out!

Stealth Suits and Reposing

These guys have been built for a while but I only got around to taking photos today. 

This is the Shas'vre (team leader for those yet to see sense and join the Greater Good). He's armed with a fusion blaster and has a target lock as a support system. This lets him blow stuff up, without stopping the unit hailing nearby squads with anti infantry firepower. He is however magnetised so he can swap out his fusion blaster for a burst cannon, like the rest of the squad.

Tau Army List 2.0

I have been incapacitated of late: I got a splinter in my thumb which got infected and swelled. It needed a cream that required a bandage around it. This made it impossible to hold a miniature steady, so I haven't been able to paint. Instead I got around to a few things I had been meaning to do for a while. One of those things was re-writing my army list.

I always write an army list before collecting any minis. It may change but it gives me a goal of what I'm going to collect and paint. I've already written one which is here but I decided to change it for a variety of reasons. Most of it is for models and units that I like. For example, I'm not sold on the XV8 Crisis suits so I dropped three of them. I love the XV25 Stealth suits models but had none of them in the list. I also love the idea of the Skyray and drones  but had none of them either. Unfortunately, to fit all of that in, I had to drop the Riptide but it will feature when the list expands to 1750 or 1850 points. So on with the list:

Commander Cyclone

Here it is, this is how my Tau commander got his name. (note I still have to get the model, but still...)

"Shas'O Sio'era'sha'is, known to the Imperium as Commander Cyclone, earned his name much as Commander Shadswosun did: through a single decisive victory. In the opening moves of the Ziest Campaign, a planet that was known in the Imperium as Angritus was re-invaded after the Tau conquered it. The Tau had an established colony there and needed plenty of time to evacuate. One by one though the cities fell to the brutal onslaught of Imperial Guardsmen and Space Marines. Only the capital remained in Tau hands, as well as pockets of the countryside. The Coalition Command on the planet faced seemingly only one option: abandon the planet and retreat. Much would be left behind and it would be a bitter blow, but the attack had been too swift and too vicious to repel. As they prepared the final evacuation, the recently promoted commander offered to buy them more time to retreat properly. He believed he could stall the Imperial forces long enough to evacuate all Tau personnel, loyal humans (Gue'vesa) and technology. Though sceptical, the command trusted their military leader and began a thorough and proper evacuation.

Tau Fluff

One of the things that will probably come across as I continue to post on this blog is that I love fluff. The stories and background of a race are, for me, as (if not more) important as the miniatures. The minis are the representation of that race on the table-top but the fluff is what brings those pieces of resin, metal and plastic to life. I'll post more on this in the future, this post though is about my own Tau army. I have named every unit after it's leader (the Shas'ui in a fire warrior squad or Shas'vre in a suit unit). This post is about my commander, Commander Cyclone of the Au'taal sept. I will post more on him soon, specifically how he got his name, as well as posting about the other units!

Swamp Bases: How To

I'll begin with a disclaimer: the paint scheme is my own work that I tested on several spare bases, the flock though was applied using the techniques explained in this video by "misterjustin". So, on with the tutorial.

First up, I cleaned up the bases, removing the small amount of flash from the edges, then washed them in cool soapy water. This is standard for resin. then, to be sure, I sprayed them with a light dusting of purity seal  from GW. This prevents any remaining release agent from damaging the paintjob.

Fire Warrior Test Model

I just finished this guy a while ago. He is the test model for my tau army and I personally think he went well.

Secret Weapon Miniatures review.

I got these ages ago but have been really busy so I havn't had time to post this. These bases are from the blasted wetlands range from secret weapon miniatures. In short, they are amazing. they really are beyond belief!

Water Effects Bases

I was flicking through old White Dwarf editions the other day and I came across the Urdek Refinery board in the October 2012 edition (the Chaos Marines release). This board features murky water, a crashed Aquila Lander, a wrecked bridge and an impressive building in the background. But these awesome features weren't what caught my attention. Rather, it was a pretty small feature of the 6ft x 4ft board that made me stop and think.

Image from White Dwarf October 2012

Tau Empire: The Plan Part 2

THE ARMY LIST

Image from Gamesworkshop

I'm not going to claim that this is a very competitive army list. I don't play competitively so the list is just mostly what I fancy. There are however some musts for a Tau gaming army and they are in this list. I obviously have fire warriors as a strong core and the "non-essential essential" units of pathfinders. Other than that, the models are all models that appeal to me as minis or because of their background. So, on with the list:

Tau Empire: The Plan, Part 1

My Tau Empire army as mentioned in my opening post is not yet started but I have EVERYTHING planned out. I have planned the army composition and army list, the colour scheme, the basing and, the most ambitious aspect aspect of the force: magnetising it!