# [Commission] Tau Kill Team and army



## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

Hey peeps, I'm currently working on a few Tau models. It's a Kill Team with a little army attached lateron. 

First the test mini for the Kill Team's colour scheme:




























It's a team of six Stealth Suits. Those are supposed to look proper "behind enemy lines" so there's some wear and tear going on and some dirt and soot. The old "getting in/out of stealth mode" effect was considered but dropped. The model is still WIP as I'm still figuring out what colours are to go where. I probably will add some orange marking as well. Hope you like the guy so far.


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## Shas'Ui (Feb 28, 2013)

Possible tutorial maybe?


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## zxyogi (Dec 7, 2009)

Liking that very much!
Got a couple of boxes of unbuilt Tau that my Son bought and left, lost interest.
Thinking of building them myself. 

Once again VERY NICE work!


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

Wow... if only I could do camo like that!!! :so_happy:


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## CubanNecktie (Nov 2, 2012)

that is some perfectly balanced camo on what I usually find as a very boring looking model. have some +rep this morning


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## Ddraig Cymry (Dec 30, 2012)

God damn that's nice! :good: Really want to know how you did that!


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@Shas'Ui, Ddraig Cymry: Thanks for the comments, guys!  And for the gif.  As for tutorial: I don't know, I'm sure it's rather obvious. First splats in a light beige, then splats in a red brown, then splats in a darker brown, black spots, add white spots into the larger black spots and that's it. I used some real world camo scheme as a template of course and if you look at those via google image search it's usually rather clear which splats go first. I really don't want to come across as rude but personally I'm not a huge fan of tutorials, especially when it comes to something which is really just a fair amount of work with no tricks behind it or anything. In my opinion nothing ever beats sitting down and trying out things. 
@Wookiepelt: Thanks very much!
@CubanNecktie: Cheers. I kinda like the new Stealth Suits. The 'eavy metal paintjob is very, very plain though. Oh, and thanks for the rep of course. 


Alrighty, here are three more guys who aren't finished at all:










The guy in the left I converted a little to have him flying around, guy in the far right is the comms guy of the kill team, thus he's got a large antenna on his backpack.

See you tomorrow, I suppose!


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

I despise you :cray:.


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## CubanNecktie (Nov 2, 2012)

I'd love to see them against similar toned terrain. would look awesome "in the field"


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@locustgate:  It's okay, most of the time I despise myself as well.
@CubanNecktie: I hope so. Once they're more "done" I'll put them on my little sandy presentation thing.


New update!










really not so much new, but that's the full team now (sans gun drones of course).

Fly guy in the left was converted, second from the left is Comms guy, next to him is leader guy (with some additional thingies added to his jetpack and the encouraging fistpump/pointing fist, then we got assaulty guy and "other fusion gun guy" and "other burst cannon guy". All still very WIP of course. Bases I might have to redo a little.


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## zxyogi (Dec 7, 2009)

LOve em!!!
LOVE em!!!
LOVE EM!!!
LOVE EM!!!


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Not sure how I missed seing these. They look Great. Remind Me alot of the 1980's persian gulf war style camo. Very good work (as usual)


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## CubanNecktie (Nov 2, 2012)

zxyogi said:


> LOve em!!!
> LOVE em!!!
> LOVE EM!!!
> LOVE EM!!!


let me get this straight. so you love them?


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## Shas'Ui (Feb 28, 2013)

SwedeMarine said:


> Not sure how I missed seing these.



It's the camo


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

Shas'Ui said:


> It's the camo


Badumptish....I keep getting an urge to burn my crappy stealth suits.


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@zxyogi:  Glad you like them!
@SwedeMarine: Thanks very much! Yup, it's based on some modern real world-y camouflage pattern. Goes very well with Tau I think. Actually, I think that most colour schemes go well with Tau. Flat colours, primary, pastels, metallics, chrome, camouflage, ...
@Shas'Ui: Oh, you scoundrel. 
@locustgate: Now that would be a bit harsh. I'll take it as a compliment (because most of times I try to. Unless people say "I want to claw my eyes out"  ).


Okay you lovely people. Not much painting was done over the weekend (at least not on the Tau but I got another Red Army rifle section almost finished). Today was filled with the joys of a dentist's appointment and some other things, so no painting so far. However, I redid my photo setup a little and took the opportunity to take a new WIP shot:










Hope you like it. 

Also got a big box full of Tau and a smaller box full of Tau from Forgeworld so stay tuned if you enjoy the kill team so far!


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## zxyogi (Dec 7, 2009)

CubanNecktie said:


> let me get this straight. so you love them?


Lol do I have to explain it?
Lol


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

Sigur said:


> @locustgate: Now that would be a bit harsh. I'll take it as a compliment (because most of times I try to. Unless people say "I want to claw my eyes out"  ).



That could be a good or bad thing I want to claw my eyes out (because its so horrible I never want to see again/ because its so good I never want to see another miniature again.)


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@locustgate:  Good point! I'll put that on the "compliments" list then too (_+1 criticism resilience get!_)


Over the past two days there wasn't much to report really. All I did was cleaning parts followed by gluing said parts together. Here's a sneak peek:


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

I don't know why... but I can't see them.


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@JAMOB: Very interesting. Do you access the site from work or something? The WIP pictures I do are hosted on Photobucket. The account on which I uploaded the WIPs of the Kill Team to is currently out of bandwidth due to a LOT of people taking a look at those pictures. Those should pop up again around early next month. Can you see the latest picture (Riptide sneak peek)?


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

Weirdly enough I can see the ones on page 2 (the stealth suits and the grey riptide) but not the ones on page 1... Nice job on those stealth suits!


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@JAMOB: Oh yes, that's normal. As I said, photobucket monthly bandwidth for the month is exhausted.  The older pictures (just earlier WIPs of the stealth suits) will pop up again in a few days. And thanks for the compliment!

Here's the finished Kill Team now:




















...and another unpainted one - it's the Commander:










Hope you like the fellas.  The Kill Team would have been finished sooner but I had to wait for the rest of the models to show up for the gun drones.


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

Pathfinder test mini:


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

Heyhey, here's another WIP shot of the full Pathfinder team. They look a bit crap at the moment but I'll do my dearest to rectify that in the very near future!


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

They look fine mate, I really love the paint scheme


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## zxyogi (Dec 7, 2009)

Awesomely wicked!
Gonna give Tau another bash......where did my Son stash his unfinished army?......?......


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@JAMOB: Thanks very much! 
@zxyogi: Cheers, I haven't painted Tau in a long time myself and those new kits are rather cool to work with.

Here are the finished Pathfinders. No drones for now but they will follow soon!




























As you can see, I did some additional OSL on the special weapons. The glow is a lot dimmer on the one Rail Rifle as it's just getting reloaded. Hope that you like the fellas!


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

Two teams of Crisis suits. The guys with the missle launchers are one team, the three fellas with burst cannons are the others. 

These have no camo. The whole concept (and I hope I get it right here) is that the Pathfinders and Stealth Suits are scouting ahead and once the situation is clear the big guys (heavier combat suits and such) are brought in for the proper attack.


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## Jolnir (Feb 11, 2014)

Oh. My. Goodness. Those are so WICKED. Powder or pastel blue works with tans and browns so well. Adore the camo on some of them. They all are an inspiration.


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## zxyogi (Dec 7, 2009)

Ooh ya fooker! 
Nice...very nice...extremely nice...fook....just plain ol awesome!


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@Jolnir: Thanks very much. 
@zxyogi: Cheers, you fooker. 


Heya, time for a little update. Here's a first WIP of the Remoras:








Hope you like them so far. They'll get some more colour on them soon.


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

Here we go, finished Remora Drones:





































I think that the lights and such add enough colour to the models to give it an interesting look without looking too fancy. Hope that you like them.


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## Jolnir (Feb 11, 2014)

Very nice. Love your wear and tear that was added. The fact that they are technically camo'd from above and below is pretty neat.


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## zxyogi (Dec 7, 2009)

.....What was it I said last time?.........Foo.......k.....er!
Wicked stuff!


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## Corporal Chaos (Nov 27, 2007)

Outstanding paint job! I love it.


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## cole.mvb (Jul 6, 2011)

Simply amazing.... I think the remoras with the dual camo is my favorite. Real pro look


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@Jolnir: Thanks muchly. At first I considered doing a red underbelly , indicating that the sky on that planet is red as well but then I decided to go with the regular old eggshell blue.
@zxyogi:  Thanks.
@Corporal Chaos: Cheers, much appreciated!
@cole.mvb: Thank you. I tried to keep the colour scheme very simple, as on modern aircraft, just with the blue downside added for colour and the usual lights and lenses.




Commander WIP:










I decided to add a bit of colour to the base and help connecting it to the look of the models by having bits that were hit by tau weapons badly have a bit of a blueish afterglow. Helps making the guys and their weapons look a bit more dramatic and alien.


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## Jolnir (Feb 11, 2014)

You are the master of all things. That base is so sweet. The whole scene is so dynamic.


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

Hear hear, very well painted. I think your transition between colours is very well chosen and the distinction between the advance scouts and the heavy infantry is well thought out and will look good. You've also done a good job of breaking up the models' camo without making them indistinct, despite the camo's purpose of disrupting the visual silhouette.


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@Jolnir:  Thanks very much for the compliment!
@Iraqiel: Thanks muchly. 28mm scale camo is rather tricky. I really enjoy using these modern desert camos. Very pleasant to work with.


Riptide WIP:









The legs are a bit more further in than the upper body, especially in terms of weathering and such.

Shadowstalker WIP:









It's a bit of a clichée at this point but: "He's prettier in real life" 


Hope you like them so far!


For a little off-topic thing..


Had another test game of "X-Wing adapted for WW2 pacific" last night. Time's getting tight for Austrian Salute where it's going to be showcased but the whole thing looks like it's working rather well. Last night we added changing of altitudes, changed a few things about heavy AA gun fire and japanese aircraft properties.




























Should look very interesting at the show once the Japanese carrier is added and such.


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

Well, let's turn on the disco lights...














































I hope he works for the army's big eye-catchy thing. Full well knowing that this is going to be his job (that and shooting things with ions) I ramped up the pizzazz, or panache if you will, a little bit.  

Over the past months i noticed this trend of people using black background for their miniatures. It certainly looks very moody and makes certain colours come out much better. It also hides little mistakes, crappy painting and so on which for some people surely is a nice thing. Today on Facebook, which in some cases may be the biggest collection of bad miniatures photos in the world, I saw a picture that kind of took the cake. It was a black and boltgun metal painted mini with a little bit of OSL strewn in. That was visible but the rest of the model - nope, nothing. It wasn't badly painted (I think) and the photography wasn't bad either but it just baffled me how somebody chooses a matte black background for taking pictures of a black and dark metallic model. 

It goes without saying that tomorrow I'll go out and pick up some black cloth. Because despite the fact that there are a ton of things I despise about trends in miniatures painting (or rather presentation thereof) nowadays I gotta "stay in touch" with that. Usually, when I start doing it it's often rather fun but many things I just don't get. 

Anyway, the ramblings of some person who spent more than 20 minutes on 40k-related Facebook groups today. Five minutes really is the threshold before some of the things that go on over there get my blood boiling. But hey, if I still can get mad about the annoying people means I'm still alive, right? 

Well, that turned dark and rambly quickly. It's good to be able to rant every now and then. What I MEANT to say is this: The Riptide's finished, I hope that you like it. Tomorrow I'll pick up a new background material which should lead to some really pretty photos as well.


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## Jolnir (Feb 11, 2014)

I love the lighting you painted for the symbols and such. Definitely an eye-catcher, although any of your others look great too. I'd just love to see this force on a table with some sick terrain and scenery. It would look so epic.


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## troybuckle (Nov 24, 2010)

Everyone of these models are a work of art, I'm very impressed and would like to know how you accomplish some of these weathering and battle damage techniques you have on the go... Awesome work man!,


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## LTP (Apr 15, 2009)

These are lovely. I'm not usually a fan of camo but you have done it very well and it pops so much. would love to see an army group shot of what you have so far


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@Jolnir: Thanks very much!
@troybuckle: Thank you. At this point in time I actually use different weathering techniques on each new project just to stay more flexible.
@LTP: Cheers. I'll see that I can get some army shots done once everything's finished.





Alrighty, new WIP! This time it's Tetras:










I really like these little things. Along with the Remora drones these must be my favourite FW kits for Tau. They look just fun and unarmed and sleek and not too complicated. They're basically city cars for two.  Really fun models.


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

These are fantastic! I love colours and the weathering - bookmarked for inspiration if i ever get round to a Tau Army.


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

@Varakir: Thanks for the comment, much appreciated!


Tetras!




























Hope that you like them! Weird mood tonight so the less I write the better!


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

I can't believe it's been over 10 days since the last update. Well, I've been to Austrian Salute of course, got through the aftermath of that, reworked some of the Crisis suits, finished the commander and here are some drones now:










It's all the drones for the Pathfinders. They're all magnetized so all the options are available to them. Camoflage scheme'd drones are of course for the Pathfinders, the missile&shield drones will go with the Riptide (those are not magnetized), the regular (non-camo) drone discs on top are just placeholder on lower parts which are meant to go with the pathfinders drones. These regular drones (and some more) will go with the Crisis suits and are in part magnetized. Hope you like them!

Oh, by the way. That big drone is HUGE. I wasn't aware of the size of that thing when I got the Pathfinders.


And just in case you missed it, here's my report on the 4th Austrian Salute 2014. Not quite up to the scale of the original. Yet!












*http://www.battlebrushstudios.com/2014/03/austrian-salute-2014.html*


Hope you like it!


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## Sigur (Dec 9, 2010)

Tau Empire is a Go!


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## Br00tal Mclovin (Jun 27, 2014)

WOW! Those tau are absolutely amazing! They put mine to shame :grin: May i ask what your beige paint is? It looks perfect for what i have in mind for my warzone resurrection mishima, i'd appreciate it!


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