Manwithbrush

The Great Tau Re-Paint

  I originally started my Tau army in late 2011. My goal was to create a 1250 point army that I could play at my local gaming store. My Tau army has since grown to around 2500 points. My local store at the time was Strategies Games and Hobbies (Strats) on Main street. The Owner Darren generally promotes 1250 point fully painted games. I started painting my Tau army in the most basic way possible to get them playable. Looking back now I realised how much I regret speed painting everything. 

Original Paint Scheme

My basic paint scheme was:

• Prime the models with black paint
• Paint a layer of Ulthuan Grey
• Use Kantor Blue as a secondary colour on smaller details
• Wash everything with Drakenhof Nightshade
• Then paint one accent colour to meet the 3 colour minimum of my Local Gaming Store (LGS)

Airbrush and Compressor

   Around August of last year I decided to invest in an airbrush and compressor. After 2 weeks of learning to use it I realised that my first major project should be to re-paint my Tau. As a test model I bought a second Tau Riptide. Something nice and big that would allow me to go nuts with the Neo by Iwata airbrush I bought. I also figured this would be a good project to enter into the annual Strategies painting competition. But after 2 weeks of trying to get a decent basic layer down I realised how much of a novice I really was with the airbrush. With the deadline for the painting competition around 5 weeks away I finally had a break through. I started to thin my paints down more and use lower pressure settings on the compressor to get better looking layers.

Basic Blue Scheme

I finally got the basic blue scheme to where 

I wanted it to be. I then started trying Object 

source lighting with the airbrush. 

Basic Object Source Lighting

I was happy with the result as it looked great on the 
table top but a little over the top when looked at 
up close. After around 25 hours of work over 
the course of a month I was happy with the result. 

First Riptide Front View

First Riptide Rear View

I knew it wasn't going to be a winner at the painting 

competition but I was happy that this project had made 

me try my hand at techniques like:

•          Airbrush gradients
•          Object Source Lighting (OSL)
•          Non Metallic Metals (NMM)
•          Highlighting

Perhaps my favourite thing about this project was making a more cinematic base. Having traditionally stuck with basic bases made with sand or grit. This project offered something larger in scope. I decided with a model of this size I could use the base to create a story. I had the idea of trench bases in my head for a while. I sketched out a design in MS Paint, sophisticated I know.

Base Plan

I then started layering cheap cork lining together 

to create a frame. I used a few straws to look like sewer pipes. 

Base Frame

After I was happy with the size, I used spackle of all things to mimic rough stone. I then used Starbucks coffee stirrers to build the trench. I added a few more details from my bits box to make it look like it belonged in the Warhammer 40k Universe. 

Unpainted Base

Painted Base

After the painting competition was over I decided to extend this basing style throughout my entire Tau army. I was very happy with how the base turned out. I have received more compliments about the base than the actual model itself. In the last month I have finished my other Riptide and new Tau Commander Model.

Second Riptide Completed

Tau Commander Completed

 In the coming months I will be starting to paint my Night Lords army. One of the biggest things I have learned from these airbrushing projects is to take notes on colour use for the sake of continuity. Repeating the same look over an entire army can be a challenging task.