Mecha go go

Its been a while since I've had time to get to do any hobby stuff. The end of last year and beginning of this one have been hard and its only now that I've really had the drive to do anything other than lose myself in a pixelated world of escapism while vegetated on the sofa. Then GW started talking about the new T'au codex and that little tabletop hobby goblin in the back of my brain started to prick up its ears and get a gleam in its eyes. "Mechs you say!? Hmm..."

Since the Tau came out all those years ago I've been itching to start an army, but Marines and Guard have always been my main stay when it comes to 40K. I did start a small Skitarii force, but it never really got finished let alone on to the tabletop. However, Mechs and space communists!? As a huge fan of the Appleseed, Patlabor and Ghost in the Shell Anime of my youth I thought it was about time to get a 500pts Patrol together so I could make the decision to make a further investment or not. 

What I Already Had

I had started a T'au Kill Team before the second edition came out so I already had a Path Finders and Stealth Suit box set hanging around with some models already put together. I also had some other bits and pieces including two third party models from Grim Skull that I had bought years ago with an intent to paint up for display. However, One of them would become my Cadre Fireblade and after a little modification to the equipment it fit the role really well.

I removed the carbine the model had in its hands and replaced it with the Rifle that was originally on the back of the model to represent their Fireblade Pulse Rifle.

From these two box sets I ended up not using the Pathfinders for the 500pts Patrol, but the Stealth Suits were a must. This wasn't going to be enough though, so with my Codex in hand I set about deciding what else to use in my force. 

More Mecha

I didn't want to go online and search for the "best list" to use as I wanted to just get something I would enjoy painting as well as being a unit I wanted to try. The XV8 Battlesuit is a must in any T'au army so they were the next to be added to the list.

I found a reasonably priced unit on Ebay that had all the bits including weapons so that I didn't have to worry about it. Unfortunately, when they arrived the seller had sent one different model than what I had bought without any weapons and (I say this trying to be polite even though I was quite annoyed) in a less than pristine condition. The head was broken off and there was no antennae to the right side of it. The model was also completely broken off at the ankle. I have since contacted the seller, but there's been no response as of yet. I've ordered some replacement bits and will print out a replacement Antennae for the head.

Troops

As I mentioned, I decided not to use the Pathfinders (a fast attack choice) at all in the Patrol force. I had thought about getting some Kroot (the original box set I bought years ago already gone into the aether) for my troops, but thought I had to go with some fire warriors to start with. Again, using Ebay as my marketplace of choice, I found a cheap strike force that I managed to win on auction. This was great as most of my force was done and one or two more units would fill up the Patrol.

The Fire Warriors were in a decent state, though a couple of bits needed to be fixed. All in all it was nice and quick to have some already made Tau troops that just needed undercoating.

Fast Attack

I didn't take on the Pathfinders, but I wanted to have at least one fast attack option for my Patrol. I had already got my hands on 4 Vespid Stingwings (one missing a head), but I would need to find a fifth model as it was a necessity. I could have used a proxy, but would rather do the unit all in one go so had to find another option. At this point I only had around 90pts left. I could get some Kroot hounds, a Tetra or even a Pathfinder squad. In the end though I decided  to go for Piranha and Tactical Drone units. I managed to cobble the drones together from some models I had left over from before, but I would need to find a Piranha for the force. I was able to find one on the usual marketplace and I'm waiting for it to arrive. 

The Gun Drones are mostly intact, but I will have to print out an antennae for one of them.

Painting

The Strike Squad is already undercoated and waiting to go. I'm hoping to have everything else ready to be primed by the end of the weekend. I need to strip the XV8 Battlesuits (as well as printing out a couple of  Cyclic Ion Blasters for one of the models) before I prime them. This will also bring any other issues there may be with the models to the forefront too, so they'll be going in the Isopropyl Alcohol tonight. Once the Piranha arrives I will strip that too as the paint on it seems to be quite thick so its got to come off first.

Once that's all done and they're all primed I'll make sure I'm doing the whole force in one hit. This gives me time to decide which Sept I'm going to do as I'm still not sure. I would like to get this done by the end of the month, but I don't know how realistic that would be.

Anyway, once I've got them all cleaned and primed I'll create another post including the army roster. So for now I'll just say catch you in the next update.