It's been a long time, but I'm back.

I have decided to repaint a few of my Tau bits and bobs, and over time to collect more and piece together an army.

There are a number of specific techniques and styles that I have developed in the last few years/months that I am going to bring together for this project:

• Painting Yellow.
• (Extreme) Weathering.
• Scenic Bases.

Also, this will be a collection of my personal favourite models of the range so far, so in time it will likely not resemble an average or indeed competative force (no xv8s ).

So far I have begun work on a Skyray and two Remora Stealth Drones















I also have some stealth suits and a Piranha to dirty up...





Looking forward to being more involved here. I'd forgotten how high the standards of paining and modelling were!

Nice to have you back! I always enjoyed your models in the past.

I too have taken a stab at painting yellow and I really like the look of an army with such a bright color. I must say that I love the weathering you've done; very realistic. Any chance you can give us a little tutorial? I'm also excited to see your bases!

Lovely stuff. The painting is going to be very interesting to watch being developed. Quite a fan of your Stealth Shas'Ui, subtly executed conversion.

Any particularly brand of weathering kit you follow or a random collection of materials?

- Tael.

Three things jump out at me here-
1. That stealth Shas'ui...I never would have thought of that conversion, but it's too cool.
2. Painting yellow?! AND a good disruption pattern?! Both very, very difficult and executed well here.
3. That weathering is just...wow. Too cool. Looking forward to more.

It's very simple - the chipping is Charadon Granite sponged on, concentrating on the area that would naturally be more exposed to wear and tear. I then Carefully paint Mithril silver where larger patches of Charadon Granite have formed.

I wouldn't say that 'less is more' always rings true, but you do need to know when to stop.

The dirt/dust is again simply drybrushing, first Graveyard Earth, then, extending further out, Kommando Khaki.

I'll explain the other techniques as and when I use them.



It is a more random collection of bits rather than bought products - primarily because (other than the sparse GWs) there are virtually no hobby stores in East Sussex. For example I used crushed up chalk pastels rather than bought weathering powders.

Anyway, the Piranha and Stealth suits have had the chipping applied:

Wow, I am very impressed with the realism of your weathering.
For my cadre I chose a more stylized approach, but this looks awesome!!
How do you achieve your effect? The randomness suggests a splatter-like technique. I just have to know!
In my enthusiasm I didn't read the entire post. About your sponge technique: what kind of sponge do you use?

I am looking forward to your finished units, when you've got all the details filled in.
Keep it up!

I use blister pack sponge torn into odd chunks. Switching between different irregular sponges is key to avoiding any discernible pattern.

Just got my hands on O'Ralai, so will be going full throttle with him over the next week or so

Time to share what I've been doing

My current WIP Tau are a much brighter shade of yellow compared to hose already done, which is mildly irritating, but I actually kind of like (it gives an aged look to the darker ones). I've used Bad Moon Yellow, or rather the vallejo equivalent, and damn is bright!

In progress are to XV9s (one TW BC, the other PIGs), an Ionhead, and a bunch of XV15s. Soon to join them (needing u/c) is a bunch of reclaimed Firewarriors, a Devilfish with scanner suite, another Red Piranha and a XV22 Shadowsun that might get converted to use as a Shas'O counts-as.





On to Ralai...

After much swearing and pinning and tea drinking I built a baywatch running pose, then spent ages applying thin coats of yellow to get a more or less consistent opaque finish.

Then the weathering began. Sponged Charadon Granite, with mithril silver picking out concentrated areas of damage.

Last night I started playing with some FW weathering powders. I lightly brushed Fresh Mud onto he feet, legs and elsewhere, then glooped the model with neat acrylic flow improver, which had the effect of dissolving/dissipating the powder to create an effect like a wash. I then flicked more powder on to we areas achieving a nice wet splatter look














Still a lot to do, but I am very happy with he (quickly achieved) results.

Nicely done on the Shas'O Hass'El'Hoff. I like the look of the mud and the base is just beautiful. Your bright yellow must be a real pain to apply, but definitely worth the effort.

Love the beat up yellow look. Always cool. Such great contrast. It must be insanely hard.

Some more WIP stuff

XV15s...





XV22 commander





XV9 with dual twin burst cannons









XV9 with phased ion guns