Orpheus Hangar:
I agree that the changes to the Shadowsun head need to be simple. Too much change will make it look a bit odd. But I have some ideas that look nice. Right now I have to focus on getting my Stealth Suits knocked out. I actually decided against Chardon Granite since it is so tough to highlight. I will be using black and red to make them stand out while simultaneously blend in. Maybe not 100% stealthy, but I need a change from my normal color scheme.

As for the Star Wars movies, Theambit sums it up well, however I would like to expound my reasons a bit. See below to find out!


Null:
No worries, the Ork idea was just a passing thought. I will be going along with the pod racer idea, but I don't think I will use Kroot. I see Kroot as the noble savages and any conversion that I have for them always has them using an interesting combination of primitive technology and advanced Tau gifted tech. So I think I want these to be one of the many mercenary groups the Blood Quills have relations with. They are one of four planned merc units I will add to the cadre.

Any ideas on what to use for count as gun drones? I will be making modifications to the kopters to make them look less Orky and the drones are gonna be a hurtle. Any ideas are welcome!

Exokan:
Glad you like the XV9! They are really nice models. As for any additional suits, I have plenty coming down the pipe. There will be 6 XV9's (including this one) that you folks will see and they will have a special Shas'Vre who comes from our very own Null's cadre. Look forward to that soon! Also, I plan on making another Broadside and hopefully a special suit that will also be built from spare parts. That one should be interesting. But one step at a time...

Hey
Ahh, yes. good 'ole Gerorge Lucas ... The chaos god of dis-continuity

I'm a little confused about your Gun Drone count as models, do you want something techy (like a robot), or are you looking for a different species to use to represent them?

- null

That's just it, I'm not sure what I want this to become. My basic idea is this:

These guys are a group mercenary xeno's. They are rough, biker gang kind of guys who have respect for the Blood Quills since they once went toe to toe and the Blood Quills came out the victors. Lar'shi actually personally got involved in the scuffle, so the biker guys especially like him. I haven't decided on a name for the aliens yet, so we'll see where that goes. But that is the basic concept.

I mean, I guess I could have some kind of robot things, but they can't look like Tau drones. So I have to convert them from something. Also, not sure where I would want to mount them on the vehicle. Any thoughts or ideas guys?

Ok *rubs hands together enthusiastically*

Questions, questions, questions.......

So this piranha idea will be one of the four mercenary units ..... or will it be used for all four of the mercenary units?
Do you want diversity or uniformity amongst the mercs?
How big are the mercenary companies gonna be?
Do you want to use up the bits you have?
How much work are you willing to put into it?

So now that I've poked your poor brain too death, I'll leave you in peace .....

- null

Oh don't worry Null, I love to brainstorm so ask away!


No, the Piranha idea is one of the mercenary groups. The three others will each be a seperate FOC entry. 

 
As I said above, all will be the same.


These specific mercs will only be a group of three, no more. Don't worry about the others for now.

 
I would like too. I don't want to keep getting other models, so I would like to make good use of what I have. However, I am okay with buying new bitz, as long as they have a purpose.

 
As much as it takes!

I am working out some fluff ideas as I go. So any ideas you guys have for background are welcomed!

Search-foo is working tonight, so here's a link for ya'.
For the gun drone count-as; check out the Abhumans halfway down page 1, also the Space Rats a little farther down. Also the Grymm cavalry on page 3 are cool (piranha count as?).

- null

Ooh, now there is some great stuff in that thread! Thanks for the link!

But I have decided that I need to focus a bit and will wait to tackle this project once I finish some Stealth Suits and a few XV9's. Speaking of Stealth Suits...




So after several failed painting attempts I decided to go with my classic scheme. I actually quite like how this turned out, even though it is NOT fully done.




And with Gun:


I still have stuff to touch up and fix. As for the Stealth Transition effect, it is really simple. I just painted some jagged lines of Ice Blue on the border of my paint scheme and the base color. Then I paint some Skull White squiggles to represent the energy arcs. I made the effect a bit bigger on this model, but I'm not sure if it looks good like that. I don't know, maybe it's okay. What do you guys think?

One other question concerning the Stealth Suits shoulder pads. I currently have them off and honestly, I quite like the look. If I add them, it would look like this:



Not terrible, but just kind of...goofy? Thoughts? (Again, WIP paint job there!)

Normally I like the stealth suit pads... but they do look kind of goofy here. I think it's the angle of the arms. Can we get an above sot? Like what you would see on the tabletop?

I like the painting, but two things: the highlighting looks a little strong. That's what you were going to touch-up? (shame on you, look at your goals!)
But the orange color also looks a little... off... to me. That's it right there: I called it orange, not red. What's up with that?

I like the exaggerated stealth effect.

You are an insanely fast painter. I hate you.

Always enjoy your input Jester.

I think I'm actually going to leave the shoulder pads off this guy. I will attach them to another Stealth Suit, since I want each XV25 to look different. The arm angles do make it a bit difficult to put the shoulder pads on, but I think it makes it look more dynamic.

As for the extreme highlights, that it entirely a photo issue. I accidentally left the battery out of my camera for too long and the settings got reset and I can't remember what I had them a before. Also, I uploaded them to Dakka and ha them adjust the photo which made the highlights stand out more.

So in real life it isn't that bright.

OK sweet.
I do like the arm angle, as well as making the stealthsuits different. Very Samurai. That's the main factor in my judgments of Tau units.
Perhaps you could even custom-sculpt/plasticard (pasticard-up? plasticard-create?) a few custom shoulder pads for some of your guys...

EDIT: I forgot - yes, I like the exaggerated stealth effect.

The stealth effect looks good. I used a similar technique but think yours looks a bit better. So I wouldn't make it bigger.

About the pads:
You've seen my XV25's. So you know I think they look cooler without the pads. IMHO they get too bulky with the pads. Like pondering hulks.

Question: where exactly did you place that antenna? I am still strugling to find a good location.

I like the stealth effect but I'm currious why everyone goes from the floor up when painting them.

What would it look like to have the stealth effect radiate outwards from the centre torso where the generator would likely be mounted? If it is perhaps in-built into the metal of the suit then maybe it would be cool to have it slowly morphing the arms as well.

Typically it looks like the painter drew a line at random across the model and decided top half paint - bottom stealth. I'd like to see it look more structured and if 20% of the leg has turned, 20% of each arm should be stealthed too.

Either that or centre-out for something unique.

Your transition band looks great.

Militant.Jester:
Glad you approve!

Patchoro:
I placed the antenna on the bottom right of the jetpack. That keeps it pointed up, but out of the way of anything.

I think it looks good in a compact spot.

Theambit:
Glad you like the Stealth effect, I was nervous to try it out. As for why folks do stealth from ground up can vary, but it always seemed logical since the base of the model (usually the color it's stealthing too) is at the bottom, so it draws the eye to the base which shows how to suit is blending in to its environment.

Your suggestions for stealthing the extremities first is a good idea! I may try that on this guy! I think I just was excited to try out the stealth effect! For my next suit I will make the effect start center and go out; that will look sick! Thanks!

Regarding the shadowsun helmet topic, I think carving out the helmets left side to make it symmetrical is the first thing that should be done. If you're going to be modifying the helmet, it'll be easier to make it look 'right' if its balanced.

The additions that follow afterwards can come in a variety of flavors. Adding short modified antennas to the sides would be a nice choice. The sharp angles of some tau antennas do need to be avoided or somewhat removed, and they cant look like awkward rabbit ears... so i recommend either heavy modification to crisis ones, or looking into drone antennas. pointing fully backwards, or even downwards, for a streamlined look.

another alternative would be to create 'pods' over the ears (like earphones or earmuffs) using other parts available to you. any small round marine bits are valid for consideration... like half of the knobs on the marine backpacks. also worth taking a look at are the little mounting bits for the gun drone. you know... that little piece that connects the body to the carbines and the stand at the very bottom of this picture here.



slice that up and see how that looks as a side attachment to the helmet.

tehlegend:
Your suggestions are good, but the drone body thing is way to bit for the head. I have bitz similar to that though, so in my next update you should see more. Thank you for your suggestions! They are all noted.

Okay, so a little update here. I finished my first Stealth Suit! (I actually had it done for a few days, but haven't been able to post it up)

---

And here are some XV15’s to show that I am working! Now that I know my color scheme, I can knock it out a bit faster.

---

Okay, so a flurry of activity on the modelling front! I have been looking at Stealth Suits and I’ve felt that they are really lacking in innovation. So here are two of my fervered attempts!



So this guy was fun to make. I copied the pose used by Graham Gilchrist for his Tau (do a search for his army; it’s awesome!). Yes, he is on a bigger base now, but it looks so cool! Of course, lots of green stuff is gonna be need for the arm there, but this is the basic look. Painting wise I want to try my hand at a little graffiti on the cement wall. It should be interesting!

And here is my other Shas’Vre



And I think he can really take advantage of the shoulder pads. They are stuck on my sticky tac so this don’t go down as nicely as they can.


Obviously I found a use for Shadowsun’s helmet. I plan on adding a magnetized weapon on his right arm and sculpt some fingers on his left hand. I want him pointing forward and leading the charge. His ankles have been cut and will need to green stuffed. The chest is nowhere near finished. It was actually something I green stuffed years ago and never did anything with. Now’s the time to do so I guess! In regard to the weapon, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try and use the regular Burst Cannon or go for some count as weapon that can represent either the Fusion Blaster or the Burst Cannon. Any ideas on what I could make?

Now for a little bitty Shadowsun update:



As you can see, I followed O’Shatta’s arm design pretty closely and will definitely be working on the arm pose as I go. The head is smoothed and bulked out, but will require a little more greenstuff to be completely even. I have also cut off a jetpack from another Stealth Suit and will be using that for this suit. I’m excited to try some things with the helmets optics!

---

--Stealth Team Da’ka--
>Shas’Vre Sa’cea Mesa’ko<

Background:
Hailing from Sa’cea Prime, Mesa’ko was one of the first Stealth Suit pilots to join the ARC-16’s after they were formed following the events Ge’nesha. During the fighting, every Stealth suit pilot was tasked with going deep into an underground Y’he hive to eliminate a key synapse creature. While they ultimately succeeded in their mission, none of the pilots made it out alive. Because of their predecessors noble sacrifice, the new Stealth pilots had a lot to live up to.

During Saal training, Mesa’ko excelled in close range firefights, executing perfectly timied Mont’ka’s which left his opponents dazed and vulnerable to other cadre elements. Once he was promoted to ‘La he pursued the ways of the Pathfinder, eventually gaining command of his squad. From there he found himself offered the chance to pilot a Stealth Suit, one of his people’s specialties. Having served in that role for eight tau’cyr, Mesa’ko has earned much distinction as an experienced and highly skilled Shas’Vre.

One would expect someone of his status to maintain a level of measured dignity and poise. But Mesa’ko is anything but poised. Being a practical joker and incurable optimist, Mesa’ko enjoys spending time making friends than he does fighting. Yet this does not mean that his laid back attitude makes him an ineffective leader. On the contrary, his positive words have been able to inspire those following him through some of the darkest times in battle. And his expert targeting skills have earned him the respect of his peers and fear from his enemies.

Despite some initial distrust from Lar’shi, Mesa’ko has become part of the Shas’El’s inner circle; being briefed regularly on the progress of the Blood Quills in recovering more of the Projector technology. While he at first had reservations on the whole idea of working behind the back of the Empire, he now agrees fully with Lar’shi that the Y’he need to be stopped now, lest the whole Empire drown in a wave of teeth and claws.

---

In other fluff news, I am currently working on two stories. One is entitled “Loose Ends” and features Shas’Vre Kais’Lar, the Shadowsun count as. The other story is actually a detailing of ARC structure and how they operate on the battlefield. Should be interesting! Oh and I am slowly pecking away at the Ge’nesha article. Telling the origin story of your cadre has to be done right!

The updated stealth effect transitioning on all of the limbs simultaneously looks ace; it really adds a more fluidic feel to the stealth field opposed to the standard linear line washing across the figure.

Now fix those XV15's to match!

EDIT: Just noticed the six barrel burst cannon; cool stuff.

Hey Wolfs16

Wow, I really like the stealth effect now! Glad you took Theambit's advice!
I really like the XV-25 that is sneaking around that rubble . It makes it seem so much more real to have it interacting with it's environment!

Well you seem to have making count as weapons down to a science, I'd opt for that......

Come on KEEP GOING!

- null

Oh look a painting upd - THAT IS A WICKED AWESOME STEALTHSUIT!
...what can I say, I prefer modeling to painting. Seriously, I really love the pose; those pics got saved to my 'Inspiration' folder straightaway.

I'm actually not sure I like the extended stealth field area. It looks kinda weird; I think that's mostly because the entire torso is untouched. Maybe there could be a tiny flicker on the very top?

The Shadowsun-helmeted 'Vre is really sweet; glad to see the helm was used after all. You do realize that the shoulder pads are upside down right? It can work either way but just checking.

As for a counts-as weapon... not to toot my own horn but.. here's a quick mock-up of a conversion I made a while back:



Bit larger than I expected. Ironically enough, it was for a Shadowsun conversion.
Basically, it fires a focused plasma pulse; perhaps you could explain it being a burst cannon/fusion blaster as the technicians calibrating it before hand as a wide-angle, short-ranged beam vs. lighter, tight-beam pulses?
*Physics Fail*
Focused vs. Pulsed? If you're interested tell me, and I could snap some shots for you/improve the drawing (or both).

'Shadowsun' is looking pretty sweet; may I suggest, for the final model, tilting the head off to one side? That would look cool IMHO..

Fluff
Jeez, talk about a downer start. Sounds like it would make a cool story though.
Good writing overall - no advice.

Theambit:
Glad you like it! I really do appreciate your advice and I think it helps to make my suits a bit more unique. As for the XV15's, I still want to do one with the lower half stealthed, simply because I like the look. But everyone will get some stealth effect! Oh and the six barreled Burst Cannon is a koto bit. I think it looks pretty neat!

Null:
Yeah, I want to make a custom weapon, but I need a little inspiration....

Militant.Jester:
Oh would you look at that, inspiration! I'm glad you like the pose of the Stealth suit. I think it turned out pretty good! I wanted him to look energetic to match his background. The extended stealth field may be a matter of personal taste, but I like to think that he is actually de-cloaking. So the center of his suit (the place where the stealth generator is located) would begin to become visible and then extend outward.

Shadowsun is still heavily WIP. I just plink away at her design whenever the inspiration hits. But I do agree with your head posing idea; thanks!

The upside down shoulder pads were intentional. I'm just trying to mix things up a bit. I will probably change it back though.

Now that count as weapon is VERY interesting! I would love to see more pictures of it! Now if only I was an expert with plasticard (my arch nemesis). As for the physics of it, I'm sure your explanation would make scientists like SpartanTau cry, it works pretty good for me. (All you have to say is a Fio Wizard did it and that explains everything ) Jester, any other pictures that you have on it would be a big help.

As for my background, was it clear that on Ge'nesha, all the Stealth pilots died? I wasn't sure if that was clear. Their epic battle will be told in the Ge'nesha article.

Hey Wolfs16;

I've been looking over your pic's again........ and I change my opinion....... Now this might just be me but you may want to stick with a 'stock' weapon for your second Shas'Vre.
Reason - Your first Stealth 'Vre is not as heavily modified, so he may get jealous that the other 'Vre gets an awesome prototype suit and an different weapon . In all seriousness though, it may make the two seem unbalanced (for lack of a better word). Just my two cents !

- null