This site contains affiliate links you can use to support Tale of Painters. As Amazon Associates, eBay partners, and partners of our partner shops we earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks :)

Hello everyone, it’s Trip from the Hammer of Wrath blog with our final look at my Tau Sept, Arashikage. Today we’ll examine the Heavy slots, as well as My HQ.

Every army needs some punch. My heavy slots consist of the two mainstays of the Tau – the Skyray Gunship, and the Hammerhead.

The Skyray was the first full size Tau vehicle I painted. I had tested my scheme against the Piranha, and was encouraged by the result. I airbrush all my vehicles. This allows a smooth, even coat – essential when using a color like white.

Once I have applied my base colors, I coat the model in a satin varnish. This protects the paint, but also helps the oil wash, applied on top, to quickly and cleanly run through the panel details and recesses. Once the oil wash has been applied, I then weather the model using powders and add “chipping” along the impact edges.

My Hammerhead was completed in a similar manner, and is painted as a companion piece to the Skyray. I chose the Missile pods over the burst cannons and glued them in permanently, but magnetized the main mount to allow switching between the railgun and the ion cannon.

The tank is piloted by Longstrike. While the pose is fun, the model is finecast, and the level of surface texture is distracting. I’ve never liked resin – and given the choice, I’d probably just run the pilot included in the kit as a “counts as”.

Leading my entire Sept is Commander Hayato, in an advanced XV8 Crisis suit, flanked by his personal honor guard, Second Shadow.

It’s amazing how much of a difference the new VX8 design makes. Seeing it side by side with the old models used for the bodyguards really drives the point home. It is finecast, however, so a lot of the surfaces are rough and uneven. It is a real shame they didn’t make this kit in plastic.

 

I’ve greatly revised the pose, as I thought the original was ridiculous. No matter how it is positioned, the model looks to be flinching away in fear – NOT the quality you want in a commander.

I cut away at the hips, knees and ankles, pinning the joints to reinforce them in the new, more heroic posture. I also used a spare head from the broadside kit, as I thought the included one wasn’t unique enough.

To create Akate’s bodyguards, I used the XV8 suits included in the new Battleforce, and cut the legs and arms to modify the poses. Even with extensive joint manipulation, there isn’t a lot you can do with the model. Truly a terrible kit. I cut the neck posts off the bottom of the heads, and mounted them directly to the shoulders, and created custom gorgets around the face to lower their profile and give them a more hardened appearance.

I also added additional armor to the shoulders, and magnetized the weapon hardpoints, with the exception of the shield generators.

That wraps up my multi-part post featuring Sept, Arashikage! I hope you enjoyed looking at the models, and that they can serve as inspiration for your own force. Once again, thanks to Stahly, Garfy and the rest of the ToP crew for the opportunity to share my work.

Cheers,

– trip

0
1
0
0
0
0