I got these several months ago and just looked at them for the longest time because I was never really sure how I wanted to paint them.

Thankfully, that creative impasse is behind me. I really liked working with the Manta model and it's a much simpler build now that the hull is all one piece. I look forward to it making a big impression around here before too much longer...




AX-1-0 Alpha

_________________
Honda

"Remember Taros? We do"

- 23rd Elysian Drop Regiment

Ok, here's part two...

AX-1-0 Beta


Tigersharks (standard)


Cheers,

_________________
Honda

"Remember Taros? We do"

- 23rd Elysian Drop Regiment

The single piece Manta has been released already?

Aye months ago.



Lovely paint scheme.

_________________
Currently doing a plastic scenery kickstarter

Lovely, stealthy paint Honda.

Good stuff  

_________________
Just call me Steve.

NetEA Rules Chair
NetEA FAQ

Want to play Iron Warriors in Epic Armageddon? Click HERE
Some of my Armies.
My Hobby site.

Great colour scheme and great painting

_________________
AFK with real life, still checking PMs

Sorry to hijack, but E%C, would you mind clearing your inbox?^^

_________________
"Revenge is a dish best served with Sauerkraut."
- German Proverb

Love your Tau Army and your coloursheme        
can you post a painting guide?
this is your 2nd colour sheme at your Tau army right?

_________________
I am not available for that cognition on my part

Very straightforward actually:

1. Base coat is Grey primer. The brand I used was Krylon. This grey fairly closely matches GWs Codex Grey.

2. Mask off areas that you want to remain grey.

3. Spray model Flat Black.

At this point you could jump to highlighting, but the contrasts are fairly stark and I prefer softer contrasts. So...

4. So, I mixed up a batch of 3:1 Black to Codex Grey and painted the  panels that have pure black on them. This mixture was layered on 2-3 times. I then added a couple of layers of what I'll just say is 2.5:1 Codex Grey to Black.

5. Highlight leading edges with thinned Codex Grey + Chaos Black. It's hard to say exactly what this mix is, I just know that it's lighter than the overall mix.

6. I continued adding some Scorched Brown to the CG+BLK mix to simulate re-entry burns as I wanted the Manta to look like it had recently undergone Planetfall.

7. The light grey panels are done in GW Foundation Astronomicon Grey.

8. Ink recessed panel lines with Badab Black + Black Ink.

9. The bottom of the models has been drybrushed with Codex Grey to highlight things that protrude during re-entry.

10. I'm still thinking about this part, but I want to do some sort of "glowey" blue/white fusion engine kind of thing on the exhausts so that they look like they are under power vs. a flat spin.

I really do like how the Manta turned out and have to think about adding another one some time in the future.



I decided to run with another scheme for Air Caste units. One of the things that I liked about the Tau in IA3, from a visual perspective, is the multitude of schemes they used for camouflage. Since my vehicles use a grey/black scheme, I wanted to come up with something distinctive, but not totally off the wall so that it would still tie in with my other vehicles.

This grey/black splinter effect seemed like it might work.

I have stripped my Morays and will repaint them in this scheme and am contemplating doing the same thing with my Barracudas.

I have another Skysweep Group to paint up (3 x Skyrays) and another Crisis cadre (4 x stands) in the works. I'll post them when they are done.

Thanx for the C&C!

Cheers,

_________________
Honda

"Remember Taros? We do"

- 23rd Elysian Drop Regiment