In anticipation of the Battle Missions book- and inspired a bit by Dawn of War's construction drones, I decided to put together a few of these large Engineering Drones. In a strict environment, these could just be used as objective markers- however I've also been toying around with them in a more useful role. In either event, I took some WIP pics to demonstrate the construction process- in case anyone is interested in throwing a few of their own together. While this is not a comprehensive walk-through, it should hopefully give enough of the details to allow you to make similar drones:

Components:
With a few exceptions, most of the components to make 2 of these drones come in a single XV8 battlesuit. Most of them are probably floating around the dedicated Tau Engineer's bitz-box.

You will need...
2 XV8 Flamers
2 XV8 Fusion Blasters
2 XV8 Arms (either side)
2 XV8 Legs (either side)
4 Gun Drone Pulse Carbines
2 Small Flying Stand Bases
2 Tau Vehicle Antennas

(the more esoteric bits)
1 Chaos Defiler Hips (in two halves)
2 Privateer Press Rounded Edge 40mm Bases

Stage 1- The body:

Glue the flying base into the top of the rounded base- like so:

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Then glue one half of the Defiler Hips into the front of the base underside:



Stage 2- Fusion Cutter:

The fusion cutter is just a cut-down version of the Fusion Blaster. However, try to keep the central column of the blaster, as we will use it later.

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The arm for the Fusion Cutter is cut from two of the Gun Drone Pulse Carbines, then rounding the edges of the cuts:

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You can see above, I've shaved off a carbine disc and attached it to the hole, to make it look like a joint. Once that's done, simply attach the two with an arm-like bend:



Then, you can attach the fusion blaster to the arm at the still-open socket.

Stage 3- (Binary) Load Lifter:

You'll need to cut the XV8 Suit Leg as below:



This, and the Fusion Blaster column, will be combined for the Load Lifter arm:

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Noticed the beveled edges of the pincers, just cut with an exacto knife to be more grabber-like.

This assembly is attached to the elbow-joint of the XV8 and then to the bottom of the Drone body.

Stage 4- Particle Manipulator:

The Particle manipulator will use the Flamer bit, XV8 Arm shoulder, and the Thigh section of the XV8 Leg from earlier. The flamer is attached via the ammo section to the XV8 Shoulder component. The Thigh is attached at the ball joint to the nozzle. A few 'gubbins' attached to the front turn it into a fancy Particle Manipulator:



Once it's all assembled, some green stuff in the slot underneath and in the hole on the top, along with the judicious application of a flying stand to hold it in a hovering position and the vehicle antenna should give you something like this:



And here's the pair together:


That about wraps it up, I've been testing some experimental rules- but even as 'moving objectives' these should fit the bill.
Happy building!

-PGR

Nice little tutorial and a very creative use of parts. I especially like the use of the Pulse Carbines. Maybe you should add some lenses to create a face?
You are right that it will be a great objective marker.
If you play some Apocalypse games, where the rules are not as strict as in normal games, it even can act as a kind of repairdrone, like the Techmarine of the SpaceMarines.

Thanks for sharing!
-Shavaun

I really like that drone. Was expecting a typical bits box tragedy, but that's a really good use of materials. And thank you for the break down on how you made it. Grats to you.

Cool gonna try that with arms i got left from the broadsides!

In your last photo, the load lifter arm on the right-hand drone looks different than the one you demonstrated with. It looks like you're still using the XV8 leg - is it just oriented differently?

These are really nice - like the others have said, very creative use of bits. I especially like the way you used the Defiler parts - they fit perfectly. I agree with Shas'vre Shavaun that adding some lenses to the flat section on the Defiler hip would really finish the model nicely. I can't think of anything else I would change, this is really great work.

Thanks very much for sharing.

J.J.- You're very welcome, and yes- the other arm is just oriented slightly differently. I wanted to add a bit of variation between the two models.

-PGR

Great work and tutorial on your approach, now officially part of the Model Guides and Modelling Tutorials resource.

- Tael.

I really like these drones and I'm going to have to bits order some of the defiler parts. Very creative use of parts and looks great, can't wait to make some of these for myself.

GAWP

YOINK

RUNS.....

Seriously great work here!!

WARHOUND

Thanks all- glad you all like them. And, a privilege to have an article in the tutorials section.

As far as the forward sensors are concerned, I had intended to paint the large dome as a cluster of sensors, with a glass-cover over the whole thing (Kind of like a giant gem-effect). However, feel free to add any extra bits to give it the look you might feel appropriate.

For Apocalypse style games, or perhaps games with a more lenient approach to the rules, or special scenarios (An Attack on an Engineering Center, for example) I've written up some experimental rules for a special engineering squad. Keep in mind, these are all just for fun- there may be balance issues if some of these abilities are combined with certain units ect.

Feel free to give them a try.

-PGR



Tau Fio Work Team

While the Tau Empire tries to avoid subjecting non-combat personnel to the rigors of war, the Greater Good occassionaly demands the services of skilled engineers and work teams too near the front lines to gaurantee their safty. To alleviate putting entire Fio work teams in danger, a single Fio equiped with training and armor for battle, can be deployed to an active combat zone to oversee the work of Fio'Vessa Engineering Drones.

Armed with a variety of cutting impliments, heavy lifters, and particle manipulators the Engineering Drones can offer front line units the benefits of an entire engineering team without endangering the lives of dozens of Tau.

A Fio Work Team may be taken as an Elites choice in a Tau Empire army.



Cost: 45pts

Unit Size:
1 Engineering Drone
1 Fio'la Combat Engineer

Unit Type: Jump Infantry (Jet Pack)

War Gear:
Engineering Drones - Fusion Cutter, Load Lifter, Particle Manipulator, Target Lock
Combat Engineer - Pulse Pistol, Engineering Harness, Drone Controller

Special Rules: Relentless

Options:
Add up to 2 Engineering Drones for 30pts each

The Fio'la may be upgraded to a Fio'ui for 10pts.

The Combat Engineer may purchase up to two drones from the following list at the point cost indicated in the Tau Empire Codex Infantry Wargear.
Gun Drone
Shield Drone
Marker Drone

Engineering Harness- This construction rig incorporates a Tau jet pack unit, support systems and the control interface for the DX-53F Engineering drones. It grants the Combat Engineer the Jump Infantry(Jet Pack) unit type, Relentless, and allows him to control up to 3 Engineering Drones as well as any drones he purchases for use with a standard drone controller. If the model with the Engineering Harness is lost, the entire unit counts as destroyed and must be removed.

Fusion Cutter - Used for breeching doors and slicing through damaged components, the fusion cutter is a very short ranged, high-intesity fusion torch which allows the drones to quickly carve a path through any obstacle. As long as the unit contains any DX-53F Engineering Drones, the unit gains the 'Move Through Cover' universal special rule.

Load Lifter - These powerful arms are used to position and adjust large sheets of armor, or simply carry munitions. In a desperate situation however, the mighty power of this lifting arm can crush armor and flesh with ease. The Load Lifter counts as a Power Fist in all respects.

Particle Manipulator - Using a series of emmitters, the Particle Manipulator can quickly alter targets on a molecular level, repairing damage to vital vehicle systems, temporarily boosting weapon power outputs, or even errecting crude barricades of soil and rock. It is fired in the shooting phase using the profile provided below. In your shooting phase, nominate a friendly unit or model as the target of the Particle Manipulator and roll to hit exactly as you would a shooting attack against an enemy target. If the shot hits, place a Manipulator Token next to the target. These tokens remain on the target(s) until the end of your opponents turn, or until removed to gain a benefit on the chart below.

Particle Manipulator
S AP Range Type
- - 18" Heavy 1

Manipulator Tokens can be used to convey one benefit on a target per token. The token is removed once the benefit is declared, and can only be used in the phase and turn indicated next to each benefit.

In the enemy shooting phase, when the enemy declares it is shooting at a target with a Manipulator token, but before they measure the distance; the affected unit Adds +1 to its cover save to a maximum of 2+. If in no cover, it gains a 6+ cover save.

In your shooting phase, immediately after rolling to hit with all Particle Manipulators in a squad; Roll a dice, on a 4+ remove the effects of one Weapon Destroyed, or Vehicle Immobilised result on a vehicle. You may use additional Manipulator Hits to decrease the roll required by 1 to a minimum of 2+.

In your shooting phase, immediately before rolling to hit with shots from a unit with a Manipulator token; the unit adds +1 to the strength of its weapon to a maximum of 10 for this shooting phase only. Only 2 Manipulator Tokens may be used in this way per shooting unit.