Painting Tau

Well here goes. I had painted up some five fire warriors and a couple of gun drones using my normal method. Generally this works out as the base being PVA, apply sand before the first undercoat in black. Next is 2-3 layers from dark to light, followed by a wash, another highlight and finally some detail. I find it works for me and gets me to a playable quality.

However the world has moved on, as I discovered on a recent visit to the Games Workshop.

Colour chart

I had good fun with the woman in charge as she explained how it all worked. Before I knew it I was a fair few quid lighter and marching back to the car to try out some of the ideas. I even downloaded the Citadel Painting App.

To start textured bases - this was completely new to me. I found myself wondering what quantity to use. I had even bought a plastic applicator. This is what I went with in the end. I tried a few models including the base for the Recon Drone.

New basing

And I waited for it to dry wondering if I had made a mess of it...

Interesting outcome

This wasn't quite what I was expecting but hi ho. We soldier on.

I undercoated and waited for everything to dry.

In the mean time I tried the new colours on one of my older models.

Base layer

I have purchased a base layer, wash and two highlights for the tan colour scheme and the blues for the face. I first applied the base colours and then followed up with the wash.

The wash

It all looked a bit dark but I could see how things were working. After some time I went on to the first high light. I then picked out a few details here and there and it was coming along quite nicely.

Old and new together

Coming along

I am pleased with the progress and the desert type feel to the bases. I might try and add the odd tuft of brown grass or something. Overall though, I am quite enjoying the new painting methodology. I think they will look good on the board.

It feels good to be working on a completely new army using unfamiliar colours and methods.