Tag: tau

KX139 Ta’unar Supremacy Armour

T’au Supremacy armour is larger than any other current class of battlesuit. It is intended to meet a threat that the T’au Empire has not yet prepared for; the defence of worlds within their growing domain from the counter-expansion forces of other races.

KX139 Ta’unar Supremacy Armour

Lacking the manoeuvrability of other battlesuits, the KX139 Ta’unar Supremacy Armour was designed for static defence, carrying massively destructive, long range weapons.

The T’au Heavy Rail Cannon Array is the most powerful armament yet developed to be mounted on the KX139 Ta’unar Supremacy Armour without structural damage being incurred from its use. It was created to eliminate the toughest enemy targets at extreme range.

T’au KV128 Stormsurge

This T’au KV128 Stormsurge was on display at Warhammer World.

T'au KV128 Stormsurge
T’au KV128 Stormsurge

An absolute colossus of a machine, piloted by graduates of the Ves’oni’Vash, the KV128 Stormsurge is designed as an extreme heavy-weapons platform. Not as manoeuvrable as a Riptide, instead relying on thick armour and devastating loadouts, these hulking, squat ballistic suits are capable of changing the course of a battle in seconds with a decisive volley of astonishing firepower. Fitted with thrusters to counter recoil, bristling with pulse weaponry and missile pods, the Stormsurge is the T’au Empire’s Titan-killer.


Tau Devilfish Troop Carrier

Tau Devilfish Troop Carrier

The Devilfish armoured troop carrier is the primary anti-gravitic skimmer transport utilised by Tau ground forces and can carry twelve Fire Warriors or Pathfinders into combat in relative safety, and then provide mobile fire support once they disembark. A resilient and versatile transport, it is the TY7 Devilfish that allows Fire Caste ground forces to successfully execute many of their strategies, whether by rapidly relocating Fire Warriors to new coordinates as part of grand strategic manoeuvers, or punching through enemy lines, guns blazing, to extract Pathfinder teams before they can be overwhelmed. These ubiquitous transports are exceptionally popular with the Fire Caste, and their courageous pilots are offered great respect.

Devilfish APC

Tau Devilfish Troop Carrier Gallery.

I always thought this model would make a good basis for a 6mm SF dropship. Replace the 28mm weapons with 6mm variants.

Tau Piranha Skimmer

A TX4 Piranha is a type of lightly armoured combat scout skimmer used by the Tau Fire Caste – a mobile weapons platform that is capable of great speed and manoeuvrability. Using its jet-thrusters and anti-gravitic engine, a Piranha is a fast moving craft that is extremely hard for a foe to hit, its twin crew well able to hug the terrain and make the best use of any cover. Furthermore, a Piranha’s weaponry allows it to punch well above its own weight, either using its Burst Cannon to slaughter enemy infantry, or using a Fusion Blaster to blow apart battle tanks many times its own size. Along with a nose-mounted main armament, a Piranha carries two Gun Drones — either retained on the vehicle to add firepower, or detached into AI (Artificial Intelligence) mode to perform some other mission. When operating as lone hunters, Piranhas are dangerous enough, but it is when they are fielded in teams that they become truly lethal.

Piranha Skimmer Gallery

The Battle of Vesh’yo

This is The Battle of Vesh’yo diorama.

The legions of the Cult Mechanicus launch an assault on the resource-rich Tau colony world of Vesh’yo, intent on plundering it to feed the insatiable appetites of their Forge Worlds. The mighty Titans of Legio Atarus walk alongside the Knights of House Col Khak, bound to the Lords of Mars by oaths of fealty even older than the Imperium. But will this be enough to defeat the cutting-edge technology of the upstart xenos? Can even a Titan prevail against Tau Supremacy Armour?

There was a huge display of Tau forces defending themselves against an attacking force of Imperial Knights and Titans.

At the heart of the display is the huge Tau Manta.

The Manta, more formally known as the Manta Missile Destroyer, is a super-heavy Tau spacecraft that is also the Tau Empire’s closest equivalent to the Imperium of Man’s Titans and Ork Gargants. It is well-armoured for use in frontline combat and can deliver massive amounts of firepower to the battlefield to help support Tau ground forces during a frontal assault against entrenched enemy positions.

As for the model, it measures 630mm/25 inches long and has a wingspan of 860mm/34 inches! Weighing in at 12.5 kilos/28 pounds, it weighs six times as much as a Thunderhawk Gunship.

We never saw a version for Aeronautica Imperialis before the game was retired. As there are no xenon forces in Legions Imperialis, we won’t see one there either. Do think it is a pity that GW aren’t going to produce xenon forces for Legions Imperialis as it is a Horus Heresy based game. I do wonder if at some point in the future we might?

Across the battlefield were many different types of Tau forces.

Attacking were the Mechanicum with Knights and Titans.

More photographs of The Battle of Vesh’yo.

Aeronautical Imperialis at Warhammer World

With the release of Legion Imperialis, we saw the retirement of Aeronautical Imperialis. Well a Horus Heresy version of the game was retained.

In the display cabinets at Warhammer World there were a few Ork Aeronautical Imperialis models on display.

In the Ork Air Waaagh! on display, was the huge Forge World Mega Bommer, some Dakkajets, and a Grot Bommer.

There was also a Grot Bommer.

Alongside the Orks were some of the Tau models.

I really like the Aeronautical Imperialis models and have a fair few Ork models on my workbench. It’s a pity it has been retired and we’re not going to see any new Xenos models for a while.

See the Aeronautical Imperialis Miniatures Gallery.

So now what’s next for Aeronautica Imperialis?

Back in July 2020 I wrote a speculative piece about future releases for Aeronautica Imperialis and some personal preferences for models. I had written the post after finishing painting my Valkyrie Assault Carriers which had been released alongside there Skies of Fire boxed set which contained miniatures for the Tau and the Astra Militarum.

I started to think about which models I would get next, and that got me thinking what we have seen that still needs to be released and also what could be released in the future and what I would like to see in the future as well.

Since that article was published we have had some new releases for Aeronautica Imperialis from GW and resin models from Forge World.

Forge World released the Vulture Gunship and the Arvus Lighter in August 2020.

Continue reading “So now what’s next for Aeronautica Imperialis?”

T’au at Warhammer World

There were lots of T’au models on display at Warhammer World, including a massive diorama featuring the T’au fighting Titans and Knights.

In the display cabinets were various models. including this Battlesuit Commander Shas’o R’alai with Drones.

The Shas’vre assigned to pilot the XV-9 Battlesuit armour are combat veterans, each a survivor of the deadliest battles against the Greater Good’s most savage foes. The Fire Caste of Ke’lshan has mastered the use of the XV-9, and within this cadre of solemn and determined warriors Shas’o R’alai is a paragon amongst veterans; his skills have been rewarded with the most advanced weapons and equipment produced by the Earth Caste.

XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit and behind it a KV128 Stormsurge.

A huge, deadly and nigh-undetectable weapon of impressive killing capacity, the XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit is a formidable display of T’au war technology. Piloted by a single, hand-picked T’au warrior, a lone Ghostkeel is capable of appearing from seemingly nowhere, unleashing a storm of incredible firepower with its fusion collider and disappearing into the mayhem and confusion of battle. This battlesuit bristles with a vast array of advanced countermeasures, making it invisible to enemy sensors – weapons simply refuse to lock-on and the few that manage to loose off a shot are baffled by a spectacular display of flares and electronic countermeasures.

As seen already on the blog there was also a Devilfish Troop Carrier.

More photographs of the T’au.

T’au Devilfish Troop Carrier

This T’au Devilfish Troop Carrier was on display at Warhammer World.

A TY7 Devilfish armoured troop carrier is the primary anti-gravitic skimmer transport utilised by Tau ground forces and can carry twelve Fire Warriors or Pathfinders into combat in relative safety, and then provide mobile fire support once they disembark. A resilient and versatile transport, it is the TY7 Devilfish that allows Fire Caste ground forces to successfully execute many of their strategies, whether by rapidly relocating Fire Warriors to new coordinates as part of grand strategic manoeuvers, or punching through enemy lines, guns blazing, to extract Pathfinder teams before they can be overwhelmed. These ubiquitous transports are exceptionally popular with the Fire Caste, and their courageous pilots are offered great respect.