So, after much lurking, writing and re-writing potential army lists, and staring at a column of unpainted space marines next to my lone squad of painted and shiny Grey Knights, I decided recently to finally go out and purchase my first few units of Tau Firewarriors, and a Crisis suit. I have lots of experience painting the nids, and some painting space marines, but I was not expecting the Tau.

Holy smokes they are tiny ^_^

So, I assembled my crisis suit while I was at work. Saturday's are slow. And I am kinda looking forward to getting more of them. They look cool, and are not too bad to assemble [Other than putting the flamethrower on upside down, which I did not realize till someone point out the same mistake on someone elses post. >.< ]

Two days later, I decided to hunker down and try my hand at the Firewarriors. Again, migh I add that these guys are tiny. Thier chest pieces are as big as SM shoulder pads.
Anyways, so I set out to assemble 3 of them. My original goal was to paint 3 in different color schemes, and post them here for your perusal and opinions; however, after finishing the first suit [Which took FAR longer than I thought it was going to. Any ideas on streamlining the paint process?], I decided that I liked the colors.



And, the back...



So, in all honesty, my paint job didnt turn out as well as I was hoping, but this is the first firewarrior I have ever painted, so I expect it will get better the more that I paint. I welcome any criticism and ideas on my brush work thus far.

Also, as this is a WIP thread, I must admit it might be a little bit before my next post, as it took me forever to paint that first one. Though, down the road, and once I finish with these, I plan on getting the Tau battleforce to really get me started.

Cheers!

Edit: Pictures retaken and changed as requested.


Works in Progress

1 X Crisis Suit - Assembled / Not painted [Added 9/1/09]
12 x Firewarriors - Painting [Added 9/05/09]

Next in Line - Tau Battleforce.

I think it looks alright i mean i can paint worse so you're doing good, but can you brighten the pics so we can get a clear view of the colors?

It looks like your pictures require flash in order to allow the true colour to be seen. Either that or photograph the miniatures in daylight.

As for doing a Fire Warrior quickly: choose your colour, use a broad brush and paint the whole model with this colour. Then use the Citadel washes to alter that base colour. Here's an example of a trial model I did using that technique on the armour and fatigues:



The armour had a single watered-down wash of Gryphonne Sepia, while the fatigues had a wash of undiluted Devlan Mud. The green areas were first painted in Chaos Black and then coloured with Scaly Green. The model was painted in about an hour; it wouldn't win any painting competitions, but only would require a bit of tidying up here and there to make it table-top presentable.

E.

I have updated the pictures as asked. My digital camera is tiny and about 5 years old, so my color options are limited. I hope the new ones are better.

Eiglepulper - I don't have any of the new citadel paints, though I am considering getting a set of them when I have the extra cash. Though, I am starting the next few firewarriors and am using a process similar to what I used when I painted the entirety of someone elses tyranid army, back in the day when swarm army nid lists were the thing. ^_^

Ill post pictures of the next set, or maybe when I complete the squad. I might possbily take pictures along the way just so I can show what my paint process is. Everyone seems to have a slighly different way of doing it.

Edit: So, a question for everyone: For aesthetic purposes, would it be better to keep the pulse rifle the color that it is, or would it be better to match the armor color? Perhaps painting a predominant part of it the sept color would be better? I am just curious what everyone else thinks. Thanks

In my first Tau army (red armour, black fatigues) I left the rifle/carbine black. However, in later units I decided to paint them red, same as the armour. These looked far better and IMO rounded off the model properly.

As for Citadel Washes: you can create your own washes by using a considerable amount of water with your standard paint. Although perhaps not quite as good as the specific washes, they do give more or less the same effects.

E.

That is a really nice way to make easy TT quality Tau Crunch_Monk, the washes take a long time to dry

For the most part, that is pretty much what I have been doing with my paints anyways, working on thin watered down coats to get the nice smooth even coat. Though, I still use the inks for the crevices and shadowing the recesses.

I might get a couple of the washes and play with them on a separate model to see how they behave. I used to work in an aicrcraft paint shop, and one thing we hated was switching paints, because it always changed how you had to go about painting the airplane. Likewise, I am not too keen on jumping into another line of paints when I have so much money and practice put into the older paints. Anyone have any problems with the new washes and foundations behaving too differently than the other paints? I hear they are not water based.

Well, I am thankful for slow Saturdays at work, and having a desk job. The combination of these two things allows me to be able to work on putting firewarriors and other items together in between tickets. Yay.



Now that I have then all assembled, next step is to get them painted. As you can see, I have already started playing with a few models. I plan to photo record my paint process and post it here when I get done. I am hoping to have some [or all of them?] painted sometime this week if I have the time. I was not expecting to get them assembled so soon, but here they are.

Now, I just need to get my brushes out ^_^

(You may notice my un attended nids lurking on the shelf below. Perhaps I may one day paint them as well.... we shall see)

Nice basing. Do you have to base before you finish painting the models? I'm stuck on whether or not to finish basing the model and then paint. or paint it all and then base.

And working on Tau at work? is it for the greater good? I'm online at work now too While I could be doing other things improving my Tau Army Tactics and becoming more informed by the community I believe serves the greater good.

I plan on doing a desert theme as well. Only with the original T'au sept color scheme. I like the natural look of the tan and brown you used here. A very good example of Tau "Colored Camouflage" to blend into their arid environment vs. the patterned look that often distracts from the overall aesthetic coherency.

Hey Crunchy, I really love your paint scheme. It's very simple and still spot on with the climate, but it's not too much tan either. Though I'm still the #1 T'au scheme fan , yours looks very good as well. Now the thing I can suggest for your painting, is to maybe get a smaller brush for fine line and very small detail painting. The task is very difficult (especially on Tau) and it takes a lot of patience and many tedious hours to achieve mastery at your scheme. Just like with everything else in life, practice makes perfect and like you said yourself...you'll get better at it with time. Believe me, I know how much of a pain Tau can be to paint (8 hours per model and 30 hours per tank). Just keep doing your best and take the time and effort to get your best results and your army will look great.

Don't forget to check the dates on the latest post before you do so, folks. Both Bonsai and Blueshock have posted something more than just "wow, i like ur skeem it roxxors," but this thread also hasn't been updated in several months.

I'm not going to lock the thread down for now, but unless Crunchy decides to swing by again, I'd suggest leaving the thread alone.

Sa'cea Mont'yr

Update:

So, it has been a veritable eternity since I last posted, and for that I apologize. A lot has happened IRL....

Shortly after my post where I mentioned I was working on a lot of this stuff at work, I got promoted. [Go figure, right?]. I went from having lots of free time, to NO free time, and then no life. Now, I was making a lot of money with this new promotion, and could have bought all the warhammer stuff I wanted. But.... I was not happy.

So, now I am a monk. [No, that is not a joke]

After an adjustment period, I have an ok to do my warhammer stuff on my "off" days [which are basically just recreational days]. Luckily, I traded for a battleforce before I moved, so I have PLENTY of stuff to work on for now, which will be slow going with one day a week.

In the mean time, I am reviving my work in progress thread, and I hope the Mods don't shoot me in the head on suspicion of me being a zombie.

Bonsai - To answer your question, I base the model after it is painted. I paint the base, then elmers glue over the top, and then dip it in my bag of sand. I let it sit for a day and put another coat of sand on the sides. I will put a light dry brush over the sand to give it depth or texture. Simple, but effective.

So, I have started to assemble my first Tau vehicle, a Devilfish. It is in doing so that I have realized... I have never assembled a 40k vehicle before. I suppose it makes sense when I consider that my first army was a Tyranid army. Well, the first army I painted was a Tyranid army [and subsequently played for awhile as well]. So, I have the thing removed from the sprue, and mostly ready for assembly. I am really glad there is a guide to putting this thing together on the internet. Not that I have any doubts of my ability, but I am almost certain, being the first time around, that I would put something in the wrong place somewhere, or in the wrong order.

So, as an aside, and a general question to others, do you paint the inside of the back of your Devilfish? I was thinking perhaps making the inside of the transport it's own piece, in a sense, with seated firewarriors and such. What do most of you usually do? I have not seen any pictures [yet, still searching] showing the inside of the transport once it is finished.

Hey Crunchy_Monk

Here's a couple of links for you:
Official - Detailing a Devilfish PDF (Its near the bottom of the linked page).
A pretty recent but pretty decent (ha ha that rhymes) one: Patchoro's Devilfish

Hope this helps!

- null

Awesomeness. I totally missed that [Detailing the Devilfish]. Though, I suppose a slightly different search string would have been better.

I had no idea those were gun racks on the inside. Good to know.

I am cross posting this from the Cadre Census thread. Just providing a little fluff on my Cadre. I don't actually have all of the units listed here just yet, but this is the list that I am working off of. Also, I did the best I could with the Tau wording on some things, given with what I could find in the lexicon. If anyone has any suggestions of changes that need to be made there, I am open to suggestions.

Thanks.

[Also, Mold lines are the bane of my existence right now. Lol]


DESIGNATION: Shas'KaK, 33rd Vior'La Mechanized Infantry - "Dune Raiders"
LOCATION: Sept Bork'an
FOUNDING: First Sphere

COMMANDING OFFICER: Shas'O Vior'La KaK'Vishai "Commander Sandstorm"
OFFICERS: Master Shaper Hu'ruk Taan
PERSONNEL:
--XV-8: 4
--XV-15: 2
--FW: 24
--XV-88: 2
HELPERS: None. Imperial guard defectors are currently in 'process.'
AUXILIARY: 12 Kroot, 5 Kroot Hounds.
VEHICLES : 1x Hammerhead, 3x Devilfish Transports
CURRENT STATUS: Engaged
CURRENT LOCATION: Heldaan

MISSION STATUS: Currently holding Heldaan from imperial control.

Battle for Heldaan

The Tau had discovered an imperial garrison and listening post on the galactic southern edge of the Domacles Gulf, on the small and harsh desert world of Heldaan, located between the Farsight enclave and the sept world of Vior'La itself. The 33rd Mechanized Infantry was tasked with removing the imperial presence from the planet. Though the Cadre itself is small in size, they were one of the best suited units for the task at hand, with much experience in desert warfare. Also, it was determined that the garrison on Heldaan was relatively small in size, and did not pose that great of a threat.

Upon arrival to Heldaan, the Tau fleet hiding behind the smallest of the twin moons, initial planetary scans revealed that not only was the Imperial Garrison not as small as initially reported, but was dug in and well defended. The force comprised of nothing but imperial guard, it was deemed that though out numbered, victory was possible.

Heldaan was a violent desert world, and using this to their advantage, landed the Cadre amidst one of the many raging sandstorms closest to the IG defensive positions. The Cadre remained there for some time, moving with the storm, mobility their advantage, and waited to see if their arrival had caught any attention. With no reaction from the IG forces on the planet, they proceeded to move circumspectly towards the IG forces, using the sandstorms as cover. After about 3 days of patient maneuvering, they positioned themselves within a violent and fast moving sandstorm that would drive them right into the heart of the IG garrison.

The Cadre's pair of XV-15's moved just ahead of the storm, providing important intel to the Cadre lurking behind them amidst the veil of sand and fury. When the signal was given, the XV-15s with their marker light drones painted the IG armor, the Broadsides and Hammerhead punching holes through imperial armor just as the wall of sand reached the front lines.

In the confusion of transports and tanks exploding around them, and the roaring wind of the oncoming sand storm, it was not immediately apparent what was going on. Yet, by the time they realized they were being attacked, the Kroot and Kroot hounds were upon them, leaping from the veil of the sandstorm like Lictors and Deathleapers. Panic became Pandemic, and even the Commissars executing soldier after fleeing soldier, had no affect on the overall morale.

Fear of the unknown is one of the greatest fears of all, and the Shas'O wielded it as a weapon against his foes.

By the time the storm had passed, all the imperial armor had been damanged or destroyed. Many IG who had taken shelter in transports from the oncoming storm, died as a result of exposure, forced from their transports upon destruction. Many died at the hands of some very hungry kroot hounds, and their handlers. Well placed pulse rifle shots marked the bodies of the rest.

The dead IG never knew their enemy.

Those IG who survived the attack, surrendered to the Tau, and are currently undergoing indoctrination to join, and fight for the Tau in the defense of Heldaan within the ranks of the 33rd. The Gue'la who survived were fond of calling the Shas'O of the 33rd Commander Sandstorm, for they believed that his prowess was such, that he even commanded the sands of Heldaan. The name has stuck, and even his own troops fondly refer to him as Shas'O KaK'Vishai, which is roughly translated as the same.

Currently, the 33rd is waiting for a larger Cadre to arrive to either relieve, or reinforce them. In the mean time they lie in wait for any Imperial reinforcements that may arrive, so denying them such a foot hold at the front door of their sept home world.

Well, I finally have the transport assembled into the individual parts I am going to prime and paint separately. The engine nacelles did not quite line up properly upon assembly, so I had a lot of extra lines to clean up, so that was a pain.

This will be a rather slow project for me, since I am not able to work on it every day, but I will post as I make progress.

So what do a lot of you guys usually do... assemble everything first and then paint? Or, do you assemble and paint them one at a time from start to finish?

So, as I had recently moved to where I am at now [Mountain Home, Arkansas], I only recently found the local game store where the 40k and the MtG players congregated. It is a really neat place. So, I spent the afternoon there on Monday, where I only managed to get 3 XV-25s assembled [but I did manage to trade an old MtG deck for a crisis suit ]. In the process of doing so, this conversation took place:

Dude: So, you play Tau?
Me: I plan to. I have only played them a little, but I have studied them pretty extensively.
Dude: Oh, good. We need a good Tau player.

At this point, the guy from across the table from me, who is working on an XV-8 mind you, just kind of glares. My first day there, and people are already expecting a lot out of me for when I finally [if ever?] get my 1500 pt army finished.

In the mean time, they are gonna have a kill team game in September. I don't have enough Tau for a decent showing there, so I may just throw my few Grey Knights into the fray.

I just started assembling some Kroot, and holy cow their off hand gun arm is a pain in the butt, and it doesn't quite seem to line up with the torso quite right. I guess Ill just use the shoulder leather to cover that up.

I hope to get something painted soon so I actually have a picture(s) to post, instead of me just rambling all the time.

Yeah I put together 10 Kroots the other night and had some of the same problems, attaching the shoulder pads to cover up the gaps. I really had fun attaching all those chunks of meat to their belts. Laughing as I did the whole time. Pretending that the bits of meat were actually the arms and legs of the space marines or imperials that I had battled against.