Before I get into the meat of of this post, I wanted to say a huge thank you to Char, as she has completely overhauled the site. You can check out her portfolio here!
As I am sure many of you know by now, a new Tau Codex went up for pre-order about a week ago, and I thought I would share my thoughts on the new miniatures as I usually do. Sadly I don’t have any new content to show of my own, but I am working quite hard on not one, but multiple tutorials!
Let’s start off with the new Codex. I really like the art, and I am pleased that Games Workshop is keeping to the same artist for each new 40k Codex cover art. It really helps unify the line. The next two images are of the new miniature of the XV8 Battlesuit Commander. I have some mixed feelings on this one. I like the suit itself, and the details are very nice, but the pose just isn’t working for me. I think it was an attempt at a landing pose, but to me it feels like the suit is about to fall over. Maybe with some tweaking you could fix the angle he is coming in at, and therefore fix the problem I have.
Next up are the three character miniatures from the new wave. Two new heroes, and an re-vamped Commander Farsight. Personally, I love the new Farsight miniature. I like the dynamic feel he has, charging into battle with his shield raised. I also really like the left shoulder pad, as it has a samurai feel to it, and I think that works really well with the Tau. Next up is Darkstrider, a character new to the Codex. I’m not that fond of the pose, but I think that adding a wall for him to lean against would fix that for me. The last of the new named characters is Longstride, a Tank Commander. I like the miniature, as it feels like Sergeant Chronus, but I am unsure who he is yelling at, and why he isn’t looking to what he is pointing at. A minor thing, but a simple head turn would make the mini a lot better.
The fist image here is a new HQ unit, the Cadre Fireblade. This guy is a seasoned Fire Warrior vet, and leads from the front. I I like this idea, and I really like the armor and equipment, but I really don’t like the pose. For one, what is a Fire Warrior doing with a sword in his hand? We all know these guys would have trouble beating up an untrained person, much less the trained humans, Space Marines, and other Xenos that are going to be fighting. I would have much preferred him looking down the scope of his rifle. I should add that he is a plastic character, so converting some plastic rifle arms onto him might not be that big of a deal. The next two images are both of the new XV8 Crisis suit kit, although I am don’t think there is anything new about it. To me, it just seems like the old XV8 kit, but with three in a box, instead of one.
Up next, we have the new XV88 Broadside Battlesuit. Whilst I like the size of the new Broadsides, I don’t like the suit itself. Both versions are very busy, and I much prefer the Railguns being on the shoulders/arms like the old kit. It seems like adding a lot of work to make the Railgun an actual rifle instead of an attachment to the suit. If I were going to collect a Tau army, I would use the Forge World XV88-2 Battlesuit, as I like it a lot more than the GW model.
What would a new release be without a new plastic infantry kit? This is the new Pathfinder team, and I love this kit. Most of the team are moving or aiming, giving the squad a pretty dynamic feel. They also come with some brand new Drones, and I am looking forward to seeing what the can do on the field.
Of course, GW has been giving every army a new flyer unit, and the Tau are no different. This kit, as you might suspect, makes a Razorshark Strike Fighter and a Sun Shark Bomber. I really like the shape and design of the aircraft, and it really fits well with the rest of the Tau vehicles. The vehicles shape reminds me of the Piranha skimmer the Tau have, another vehicle I love the look of. Overall, and very cool aircraft.
The last of the new Tau kits (My there are a lot of them) is the XV104 Riptide Battlesuit. This thing is a beast, and I really want to see just how other units and vehicles measure up to it. As you can see from the first and second image, the kit seems to have a fair amount of variety in the poses. I am not big on the legs, as I feel they get pretty thing towards the ankles. I also feel that the back (I assume it’s a jump pack of some sort) is to big and a little unbalanced. Personally I would prefer the new Broadside legs, as I think they are chunky and sturdy.
Overall, a pretty cool release. You can check out the pre-order page here. If you are a hardcore Tau player, pick up the new Limited Edition Codex before its gone!
Cheers!
-Tarvick