# Here come the Tau - my project



## Shas (May 6, 2012)

So, it was time to make some headway into painting my Tau 750pt army. I decided to do my HQ crisis suit, 2 Firewarriors and the Devilfish to ensure I was happy with the colours - which I am. 

I wanted to be more muted than is sometimes seen on Tau, more militaristic, so lots of green. 

The devilfish has a fantastic stencilled-on strip camo pattern which you absolutely can't see! I used two seemingly very different sprays and when it dried... they just weren't that different. You can see it... at about 2cm away.

Anyway, comments welcome but please note, it's army painting, not competition painting!

Next up, a Kroot.


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## Nordic Echt Blut (May 19, 2012)

Very nice! loving the green you use.


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## HOGGLORD (Jan 25, 2012)

I like it, not overly complex like some of the designs, the fish looks a tad plain, maybe a dash of yellow here and there. But well painted! (better than I could ever do) and nice colours.


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## kuriojichan (Apr 19, 2012)

Camouflage so effective that you can't see it! Win!

I like the style your colour scheme brings to these models. Reminds me of late 70s early 80s comic book sci-fi - 2000AD or some such (and no it's not the blue skin making me think of rogue trooper, although...)


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Yeah Rogue trooper! ha, great. Actually, if I had an influence it's more Vietnam War...


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## nevynxxx (Dec 27, 2011)

These are cool. I love the way they look so simple, but when you look closely, there's some really subtle weathering.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

nevynxxx said:


> These are cool. I love the way they look so simple, but when you look closely, there's some really subtle weathering.


Thanks, sometimes my photos don't work as well as I'd like - there's actually (for the green) base, wash, layer and dry on each piece.

BTW, yes, the FW's Tau symbol is inverted. No, it wasn't on purpose!


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## Marius_Ruberu (Feb 15, 2012)

Ha!!!, Are they inverted, oops, so are mine then. Competitive painting or not they look really good. Love the OD style green and the simplicity of the painting. Its going to look great as an army. I like the shading on the clothing too.

+1 Nice pics. Looking forward to seeing more.


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

Very impressive work, mate. Smooth painting, detailing, and weathering, especially on the suit.


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## Rameses (Aug 21, 2011)

+Rep I really like the feel of the army so fa. It's like the Tau are trying to adapt to new enviroments


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Very nice looking Tau mate! I love the green scheme with the tan and orange accent colors. Well done. I shall be following along.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Thanks all for the comments. Started a stealth suit tonight to try out that aspect (black and green) of the army, hope to post soon!


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## HorusReborn (Nov 19, 2008)

vietnam era Tau... hahah sweet! I'm not a fan of the OD Tau, but It's not horrible! I think adding some kind of pattern would spice up the DRAB LOL nice work though man!


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

HorusReborn said:


> ... of the OD Tau


OD?


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## Iron Angel (Aug 2, 2009)

Your weathering is astounding. It doesn't look clean like most Tau models do- They look like they have actually been in the field. Very nice, its the first time I've ever looked at a Tau army and thought of them as actual warriors and not just tech nerds.

EDIT: OD= Olive Drab. Don't listen to him. I like it.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Iron Angel said:


> EDIT: OD= Olive Drab. Don't listen to him. I like it.


Ah! I was wondering how my Tau were overdosing.  But of course, yes, it would be Olive Drab if it were real world hehe.


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

I was looking at real life tanks and they are/were pretty drab tbh. . . . they're just green. . . . so my Imperial Guard are going to have very plain colours, however the weathering will make them stand out and yours does


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Hellados said:


> I was looking at real life tanks and they are/were pretty drab tbh. . . . they're just green. . . . so my Imperial Guard are going to have very plain colours, however the weathering will make them stand out and yours does


Now, strangely, this is where I came from in a way. I had some SW Scouts which are very IG-like so I tried painting them in the way that developed into my Tau scheme - olive armour, tan cloth, WWII / VN era colouring, not so much of the urban / selective camo we see on forces these days.

And, personally, I just couldn't do a "bright" army, it doesn't feel right


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## Keen4e (Apr 19, 2010)

I like your color scheme. I think the military camouflage really fits the cowardly tau race.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Ok so I thought it was time to try another unit type and approach something I don't like doing much - using a black for a base colour. But it's a stealth suit and hey, dark = better. I'm happy with how he turned out, still a coherent part of the army scheme but darker. Again, trying not to use a silver metal component.

Did a couple of drones as well, in between drying. These are what I use for Marker drones.

Next up... dunno. Maybe a broadside. I'd like do some Gue'vesa as it'd be fun to paint humans to fit but as they aren't currently usable, I don't know...


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## Marius_Ruberu (Feb 15, 2012)

I just can not say in words how much I love that green with the high lighting. What colors are you using for that? Once again the painting it beautiful, keep it up, I will be following this link. If its ok with you I might add a couple pics of my Tau when I get them done. Dont worry I'm not stealing your colors as much as I love them. Thats if I can figure out how to post pics


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Thanks  For the green it's: Castellan Green then wash with Drakenhoff Nigthshade, layer with Deathworld Forest then layer with Elysian Green and if I really want to highlight something, fine touch with Nurgling Green!


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

are you using the new names for the colours?

i cant do bright armies either 

even my BA are pretty dark now


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Yes, the new names  Or rather, the names on the pots which are new  I know what you mean about armies, looking at all those new SM releases this month I thought "Fantastic models, looks like a clown convention...". Yes yes I know, SM aren't scared or cowardly, but marching into battle coloured like a lemon?


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

well i do know of one army on here that is meant to be double hard but love to clown around


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

So my weekend plans have been thwarted by GW not selling the Broadside in stores anymore... I'm at the mercy of the postman. So, perhaps time to do the 3 Crisis Suits I have lined up...


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Had hoped to do more painting this weekend, but between WoW, D3, Ghost Recon, buying a new bathroom, taking delivery of a new washing machine,avoiding the sun, avoiding being taken out in the sun, the eurovison, rum, planning my o/h birthday and generally being old and grumpy... it didn't happen. I did get some time to play with a crisis suit though and instead of "another" pic of one (because let's face it, it looks like the HQ more or less), I took a few snaps while painting!










So, left to right, blurry but this is the Castellan Green base all washed with a Drakenhoff Nigthshade. Next up is putting the base back on to get some strong green. Next up, layer 1 with Deathworld Forest. Final pic is line highlighting with Elysian Green and I've also added in all the metal bits (not shaded) and blacked out some bits and also the white undercoat for the Sept markings. You can see prior to adding the metal, I was shading the whole gun - mainly because I hadn't decided what would be metal or armour colour.

I've changed my metal work from my HQ as I loved how the warplock bronze worked on my stealth suit. Perhaps at the end I will update my HQ.

Obviously, it's not quite finished, but you can all guess how it'll look  I have two more of these in identical configuration to do still.

Sorry for quality, hope you like the update.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

I've been struggling / fighting / swearing at the Broadside model for 4 days now. I have to say, it's one of the worst models I've ever built. Metal bits at misshapen and heavy, some bits just don't fit (the grills for the back) and the whole thing looks a little more comical than threatening. 










As you can see, much milliput later, it was stable but I wasn't happy. I then sprayed it my base green and I really wasn't happy. It looked crap. Just a bad model. 

So it's been stripped and spare parted and I've done what I should've done all along: 

Bought the excellent FW one.










Can't wait to get my hands on this. Yes, it's expensive but it's so ooooo oooo nice.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Finally, an update! I changed a few things around - have disassembled my Crisis Suits and HQ, and ordered a FW Hq instead. But this weekend I decided to do all my Drones and my Stealth team. Obviously a photo of 10 drones is boring, so instead here's the stealth team and their markerlight drones:










I wanted the drones to have something a little extra, just to say "we belong to stealth squad" so they have recieved a wash of nuln black and the same antenna marking as the Tau.

It wasn't till I took this photo I noticed that the suits have two different "head" types.

Next up, a little preview. By far my favorite FW model and some metal (and incredibly posed) Tau pathfinders who I don't actually have in my real army list, but I kinda liked the models, so... well, as I had my ligths and camera setup, thought I may as well snap them as well


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## kuriojichan (Apr 19, 2012)

Looking good! The stealth suits and pathfinders are by far my favourite Tau models. Your green scheme is nice and subtle but the real stand out feature for me are the red visor lights/eyes... they really shine.


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## Veteran Sergeant (May 17, 2012)

Shas said:


> Yes, the new names  Or rather, the names on the pots which are new  I know what you mean about armies, looking at all those new SM releases this month I thought "Fantastic models, looks like a clown convention...". Yes yes I know, SM aren't scared or cowardly, but marching into battle coloured like a lemon?


Well, to be fair, there's very little stealthy about Space Marines. And there's a lot to be said for high visibility when you are seven and a half foot tall trans-human super-warriors who serve principally as shock troops and perform mostly surgical strikes and rapid assaults. I do agree that I've always found it absurd that the Scouts are brightly colored too. They should be painted in full camo with subdued Chapter symbols.

Great paint scheme for your Tau though. Most certainly, the average Guardsman and Firewarrior would prefer to maybe _not_ be noticed though.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Veteran Sergeant said:


> Most certainly, the average Guardsman and Firewarrior would prefer to maybe _not_ be noticed though.


Absolutely... as was said to me earlier... "Tinned Tau... keeps for years and provides everything a growing Tyranid needs to maintain strong teeth and a shiny carapace."

Except, as I said: 

"If you can find us. Hiding."

:gamer1:


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## TehJimbo (May 15, 2012)

These Tau are incredible! I love the green you've used, really brings them to a light i've not seen anyone do before. Really nice.


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## jaysen (Jul 7, 2011)

Here's hoping that 6th edition Tau are awesome, to match your wonderful models.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

jaysen said:


> Here's hoping that 6th edition Tau are awesome, to match your wonderful models.


You mean as opposed to "completely ignored again"? :russianroulette:thanks for the comment tho!


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

So, my week didn't go exactly as planned, mostly due to Wayland Games not updating their website and generally being inept. No Crysis Suits to play with so I pressed on with my 12 Firewarriors. 

And here they are. Not much left to do except a bit of matt varnish and I might stick some foliage to the bases, just for a change. 

Standard team of 12 with a Shas'Ui with BK. You may notice a lack of Sept markings - I dislike the line format so have done for solid orange on the upper left shoulder. Thing is, you can't see any upper lefts. Oh well. Shas'Ui has an extra identifier on his gun.

Photo didn't come out too well but the green is the same shading as on the Stealth Suits. I may take some close ups later on to show.

As always, C&C welcome!


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

they look very very cool, i'm happy you're not painting them the same way that all the rest of the Tau are painted. Have you ever done a guard army?


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Hellados said:


> they look very very cool, i'm happy you're not painting them the same way that all the rest of the Tau are painted. Have you ever done a guard army?


I haven't, these are my first minis / first army after a 20 year break. 

That said, I do like the guard and a lot of this colour scheme was me messing around with some space marine scouts a couple of months ago when I returned to the hobby (light armour and cloth) and painting them in 20th Century colour schemes.

I'd love to see Gue'Vesa supported for the Tau, so I could paint some up


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## nevynxxx (Dec 27, 2011)

Wel from the leaked White Dwarf pics it looks like Allies are in, so putting some guard in a Tau army should be easy.

Which makes me happy, as I have some metal Catachan and a chimera from *years* ago...


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

nevynxxx said:


> Wel from the leaked White Dwarf pics it looks like Allies are in, so putting some guard in a Tau army should be easy.
> 
> Which makes me happy, as I have some metal Catachan and a chimera from *years* ago...


Sounds good... I don't know why I like the idea so much as the non-Tau races in the TE don't interest me at all... But I like the idea of humans who prefer the Greater Good to the Emperor...


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

So, my weekend (+longer) plans, a little to-do post. Basically, it's suit time!

Clockwise there's the Broadside then the Shas'El. On the lower pic we have 3 Crisis Battlesuits with the upgraded suit in the centre. I wanted the Suits to have a certain dynamism and not to have big guns on their hands - so all missiles go on hands with the flamer over the shoulder (let's hope it doesn't drip onto the arm after firing...).

My suits are all as close to WYSIWYG and, yes, I like missiles. Lots of them.

So, from here, base them all then undercoat them all in green, then wash them all then individual painting!

Should keep me busy for a while.


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## Ordog (Mar 28, 2007)

Nice paintjob 

I really like the pattern


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Had a quiet weekend, so a real painting update finally. And one I looked forward to - when it comes to understanding why Big Suits Are Cool, Forgeworld understand a LOT better than their neighbours, Gamesworkshop.

First up, my HQ. Shas'El with TLMP, Flamer and a couple of drones - shield and markerlight:










Next up, the fantastic Broadside. What can be said? Big Guns:










I spent a little time thinking about how my Tau fit in with The Empire and I reckon they are similar to Star Wars' Mandalorians - armour is about functionality, not keeping it sparkly and bright. It's there for a job and it doesn't matter if it's a bit messy.

Ok just to end the post a couple of fun shots, the boys together and the photostudio!





















All I have left now is 3 Crisis Suits and that's my 750 for-fun Tau Army done.


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## kuriojichan (Apr 19, 2012)

nice distressed metal effect on the broadside's big guns... although I'm sure they can afford more brasso


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

kuriojichan said:


> nice distressed metal effect on the broadside's big guns... although I'm sure they can afford more brasso


Some tyrannid got too close and he used the guns to squash it.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Lovely looking battlesuits mate. Well done.


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

how different do these guys look to the op? i only ask because they look a bit different in the pics 

i love the effects you're getting though


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

You mean my original posting? Yes they are different  I just don't like the GW suits really, at least not for a HQ and Broadside, so I bought new ones for those and have 3 GW suits for my "standard" Crisis Suits. 

The original Firewarriors are the same, just with the sept markings changed.


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

nah i meant the paint jobs


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Nope, paint job is identical. I just spent more time getting the photos and light right, later on


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

cooooooooool i was going to say that i prefer the second one but as they're the same then it's all good


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Finally got my VX8 team painted up this weekend, so thought I'd post a little update. It feels a little weird right knowing I've painted (nearly) this army based on 5th, as wysiwyg, and wondering if it's still valid!










So... anyway, elite is centre with extra markings, flanked by two standard suits.

And just for the hell of it, here's the entire suit contingent.


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## scscofield (May 23, 2011)

They look amazing dude, everything is very clean and well done on them in terms of highlights and whatnot.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

I really like the green mate, these look superb.


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## Shady ed (Sep 9, 2010)

Full army shot?


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Shady ed said:


> Full army shot?


Absolutely... when it's all done 

To go: 

Pathfinders
Firewarriors

So, hopefully, soon!


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## elmir (Apr 14, 2011)

Love them! 

The orange as a spotcolour works incredibly well. Technically sound painting technique as well, this is going to be a fully painted army to be proud off soon...


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## .Bragg. (Mar 7, 2012)

Sorry if it's all ready been asked Shas but where do you get your "bush" basing from used on your battlesuits?


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Awfun said:


> Sorry if it's all ready been asked Shas but where do you get your "bush" basing from used on your battlesuits?


Hey, it's this:

http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/gale-...mmer-3-color-clump-foliage-mix/prod_4723.html

Although I got it in my local games store - its really tightly packed, will last forever. Hope that helps


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## .Bragg. (Mar 7, 2012)

That's excellent, thank you.

Your miniatures are coming a long exceptionally well! Great solid colour scheme through out!


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

Those suits are very nicely done Shas. Very understated yet effective colour scheme. I like it quite a bit actually.


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## Chaosftw (Oct 20, 2008)

Shas, 

First +rep your paint scheme is actually somewhat unique and at first glance managed to get my complete attention.

Second in my opinion I always view the tau as a camo-esque army, I always see them as bright and vibrant with crap camo patterns. HOWEVER your subtle camp green is quite impressive. I also really like how consistent the colour is through all the models you have posted thus far.

Keep it up man! can't wait to see your next post!


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## .Bragg. (Mar 7, 2012)

Oh! Gamesworkshop on Flickr Pool have given you a bit of attention! +rep my friend!


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Awfun said:


> Oh! Gamesworkshop on Flickr Pool have given you a bit of attention! +rep my friend!


Thanks  Yeah they did last week as well with my Tau Firewarriors. It's quite amusing to log into Facebook at work and find your photo right there for all of GW's 80000 followers to see!


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## Grins1878 (May 10, 2010)

Your Tau are looking superb man! Really liking the colours. Going to put my nephew onto this one for inspiration 

+Repatitis


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

Great work, love the paint job, real proper military feel to it compared to regular tau yellow+ rep, if I ever go xeno I'm gonna go tau


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

I've always read/read into the Tau as being technically more advanced/less caught up in superstition then the Imperium so I've always thought that bright colours was a bit wrong.

+ rep again if I can


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Hey all, well finally I forced myself to sit down and finish these damn Tau! So, last two units were 6 pathfinders and 12 firewarriors, first up, the pathfinders.










Didn't much enjoy painting these in all honesty, the metal didn't feel as well defined as the plastic. Of course, right after I started FW announced the plastic ones. Typical.

The 12 FW, well, don't really need a pic - they look like the other 12 more or less. Instead, I managed a whole army pic!










It's a 750pt army, in fact I just updated it for 6th and have a thread here if anyone's interested. I actually have to remove the Stealth Suits for 750.

So, what next? Well, a break maybe. It was also suggested in my other thread that I dump the pathfinders and get three more crisis suits which does appeal...

I think eventually I'll push to 1000pts and maybe in the meantime I'll try some kroot and vespids. 

So you'll probably see an update here sometime!

Thanks all for the comments and support, for now!


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## Orochi (Jan 28, 2009)

What a neat little army sir!!


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

still love it my dear fellow


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## kuriojichan (Apr 19, 2012)

Yeah. You did a top job with these, nice to see the final army shot.


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## Chaosftw (Oct 20, 2008)

Looks great my friend! Each squad looked great on its own but the army looks even better all together. That clean paint job makes the whole army look fantastic!
Buuuuuut I think you need more rail guns lol


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

You can never have enough railguns.


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## Chaosftw (Oct 20, 2008)

Shas said:


> You can never have enough railguns.


Lol thats the word on the street


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

Still not enough to take out a mech heavy IG list, 9 lemons, some chimeras and valkeries ftw!!

But don't worry, even I have got bored of that list now, also your new dex must be out soon and you should get some epic fliers


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## Taggerung (Jun 5, 2008)

Looking good! As others have said, I also enjoy the color scheme, something different than the tan color of Tau.


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