Slipspace rupture detected!

I had planned on working on some Tau but there was/is a small complication with that plan so I worked on Halo instead.  Regarding the Tau, I picked a model on ebay and didn't notice that the seller had given himself a very generous two week handling time (in addition to shipping).  I haven't seen something like that on ebay for an "in stock" since the days before paypal when you'd send postal money orders in the mail and cross your fingers but it's my fault for not noticing that buried in the description.  

In the meantime, it's been a blessing in disguise as I've been able to work on my Halo Fleet Battles starter UNSC fleet instead.  There is nothing too fancy here but here is about a starter set's worth of ships (one big ship added, 15 of the tiny frigates not done).   The paint scheme is a simple two tone grey followed by a wash, drybrush, detailing, and edging. I unfortunately dont have an airbrush so no fancy engine or weapon lighting effects in this fleet. The scheme needed a little something more to accentuate the colors so I dug through my pile of decals and came up with the closest things to the UNSC eagle and title I could find.  I planned on working on another nine frigates this weekend but ironically my carrying case is completely full with this fleet so I'll probably hold off until I can find a regular opponent.

This fleet comes out to 1000-1250pts depending on how I configure the models in squadrons and how many fleet options that don't require physical models (like Spartans) I use.  I haven't played a game yet but from watching various youtube battle reports it should be on the low end of average for game size.

The (Tau) Empire Strikes Back!

While I've still been slowly working on my Halo models, I've always had my future Tau models on my hobby desk staring back at me.  It's been a few months since my last tau update but I decided to put the project on hold for a bit as the Tau codex rumors started to gain steam this summer.  The new codex came out and I've been trying to see how both my main Tau army and the small Farsight force I've chronicled here fit into the "new" book.  My main army is large enough to give me a few options but the Farsight force needs more tweaking.

I initially planned to next add two Forgeworld remora drones next to the force but since FW has yet to update their rules but admittedly only been a few weeks.  While the option to use a small Farsight ally force of my existing models still works for now, there are two problems.  The first is that there are now rumors of a Farsight campaign book in a few weeks and also a redone enclaves subcodex in a few months.  With GW now officially embracing the "decurion" onion layeres formation style of army building, the rules that make my small force legal are likely to go away.  The second is that the new style of army building gives just too many freebie rules to ignore especially as any likely opponent will be using something similar for free as well.

The easiest way currently of achieving the same effect (a small semi independent crisis suit force) is to turn them into a retribution force from the hunter contingent.  In order to use that though, I need to acquire a broadside model.  I have a forgeworld xv-88-2 but it just doesn't have the bulk necessary to accompany my enforcer suits so it'll have to be the current plastic.  The best loadout currently is the missiletide suit but I neither like the look of that version nor does it fit into my theme of a small anti-elite armor force.  Instead, I'll be using the currently unfashionable post-nerf railgun plasma rifle version.  I'm also not a fan of that look but it has good conversion potential.

Because of the way the current plastic kit is laid out, the middle model is out as an inspiration.  A popular and useful conversion now is to do something similar to the right and magnetize the railgun tip so that you can swap on the missiles for the other loadout.

http://thehammerofwrath.blogspot.com

I like the options this affords and for a while (long before this codex came out) this was my top choice...until I found this!

XV-88-4 by Kael'yn of the ATT forum

As you can see, it's similar in style to my previous squad entry on the left.  I plan to make a few changes to both weapons and other parts (like adding hands!) but the overall bazooka look is what I'll go for.  I've got some ideas about switching the railgun bazooka over to the other shoulder and having the second hand come over to stabilize it but I'll have to wait until I get a model to see if the idea is truly viable.  Luckily, I have some extra broadside railgun bits including arms that I picked up for my riptide (namely the shoulder pad) that may expand the options.