SHOWCASE: Tau fire warrior

Warhammer 40,000: Tau fire warrior

There have been a lot of new releases for the Tau in the last month or so. It's an army I like the look of but have never actively collected. I do, however, have a small number of models from their range. The model pictured above is a fire warrior; the Tau equivalent of a tactical squad. They make up the bulk of the Tau army and specialise, like most of the Tau race, in ranged warfare. My objective with this guy was to come up with a quick paint scheme that I could apply to the rest of the models (twelve in total) from the box he came in. It didn't need to be pretty; just easy to replicate.

WIP: Tau Piranha TX-42 (edge highlighting and decals)

Starting to take shape

I've done a little more on the piranha since my last update. The most time-consuming part was going around all of the armour panels and edge-highlighting them (twice in some cases). I had to keep the paint really thin and almost glaze them on in places as the blends with the camo stripes needed to be a different colour. I used Elysian Green followed by Nurgling Green for the main colour and Kabalite Green for the stripes. In terms of painting, the only other thing I've done is pick out everything (except the inside of the cockpit) that isn't 'armour' in black, although I'm looking to do something more with that panel that crosses the top of the hull, just in front of the driver. I'm currently experimenting with a slightly different edge colour, but I think I need to make more of it.

WIP: Tau Piranha TX-42 (airbrush test)

My first documented attempt at airbrushing...

I'm pleased to say I had some painting time this weekend. I'm not going to pretend I did a lot because, really, I didn't. I did, however, manage to get the airbrush out and have another look at this Tau skimmer. Since getting the airbrush, I've done a couple of tests with it to get used to how it works, but this will be my first actual project. I picked this particular vehicle for a couple of reasons. The first, I admit, is that I'd had it for a long time. The second is that Tau vehicles really suit smooth paint schemes and I really liked the idea of using an airbrush to achieve that.

WIP: Tau Piranha TX-42

Warhammer 40,000: Tau piranha TX-42 (just assembled)

I confess I've been a bit lame on the hobby front of late. I've done bits and pieces here and there but very little worth reporting. Despite the four day weekend just gone, I've had very little time to work on anything. I'm hoping to spend some time in the next few weeks to get a few projects finished and clear the decks for some new ones... Something I have made time to do is assemble this Tau piranha. I've had this kit for several years and (surprise, surprise) done nothing with it. The recent arrival of my airbrush has positioned it within my sights once more.