Tau Stealth Suit

[gauntinator]

Hey Hive,

These are some pictures of the stealth suit I painted a few days ago. This is my first actual attempt at painting 40k models and it is the color scheme I think I want to go for with my tau army. I wanted something pretty basic and not too flashy, something that would actually be considered camouflage. I used desert brown and graveyard earth, then a few coats of devlan mud wash to highlight and darken some areas. It's really simple so I'm not sure how a whole army would look painted this way. Painting is probably my least favorite part of the hobby. So please give me honest criticism.

PS: The eyes and base aren't completely done yet so suggestions on them would be appreciated. s1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb403/trojanrabbit2/40k%20Pics/?action=view¤t=P1000423.jpg

[Hive Carnithrope]

Oh wow. That's pretty good.

My advise: Use a couple of spot colours. That means breaking up blocks of colour with small bright colours that draw your eye to them. Use a bright red for the eye lenses and such.

[gauntinator]

Thanks Carnithrope. I'm not sure I get what you mean by spot colors though. What colors would you think would look good with brown?

[necrocannibal]

To be honest I think it looks a bit boring...a few more contrasting colors or more variations of brown would look a bit nicer. It's a nice start though, but I would take a bit more time to clean the model of mold lines. There's a big one one the gun, which is a shame because it draws a lot of attention.

[Hive Carnithrope]

Jul 13, 2011 23:39:40 GMT gauntinator said:

Thanks Carnithrope. I'm not sure I get what you mean by spot colors though. What colors would you think would look good with brown?

Right. Well, like I said before, they are small blocks of colour used to break up the boring, one colour surface.

Use a bright red for the eye sensors, some silver of metallic colours for the gun and possibly paint a squad marking. This doesn't need to be complicated, just two simple lines will do great. Take a look inside the Tau Dex. Look at a Firewarrior's gun. It has brown stripes on it. The same with the helmet.

Do something like that and it'll look great!

Post pics when you have done something!

[andy089]

I think I get your idea. I would try to keep other colours than shades of brown to a minimum. For anyone calling it boring: It is a STEALTH suit which blends into the environment, which is brown.
I just think tiny bits of other colours such as red/blue for the "eyes" and maybe something metallic here or there will do a good job.
I am also a huge fan of black washes. extensive, multiple black washes. Don't know if that will do it for you and I am not recommending to try it, but I am just saying... ^^

[gauntinator]

Ya I kinda forgot to get rid of the mold lines before priming all of them. I guess I'll have to repaint it after shaving it down.

I tried to make the desert yellow and graveyard earth contrast as much as possible by washing the graveyard with lots of devlan mud wash. I might have to get a darker or lighter brown to add some variety but I'm not sure. Like Andy said, it is supposed to be camo so not so colorful. I will definitely put the squad markings on it. Hopefully that will add some flash without making it too conspicuous. Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll try and finnish it soon and post some pics.

[andy089]

One thing you could do is to paint parts that are not actually on the base in their non-camo-colours (so if you look at the model from above you see that only the parts that are on the base are blended into the base).
...if you know what I mean...

[necrocannibal]

Maybe boring wasn't the right word and I also didn't mean that you should add bright colors because that would completely go against the nature of a stealth suit. But, a bit more variation in browns (and thus a bit more detail) would make the model look a lot more interesting to look at, especially if you're going to have more of these. Even if painting isn't you most favorite part of the hobby, and I can relate to that, but it would take that much time to put a little more work into the details. Apart from all this, it's still a nice start.

[gauntinator]

Jul 15, 2011 14:37:06 GMT necrocannibal said:

Maybe boring wasn't the right word and I also didn't mean that you should add bright colors because that would completely go against the nature of a stealth suit. But, a bit more variation in browns (and thus a bit more detail) would make the model look a lot more interesting to look at, especially if you're going to have more of these. Even if painting isn't you most favorite part of the hobby, and I can relate to that, but it would take that much time to put a little more work into the details. Apart from all this, it's still a nice start.

So do you think just random placements of other browns would do it or do you have any specific areas of the model in mind?

[orkblasta]

I actually like it,

I think this color scheme grasps the whole idea behind a stealth army, If you painted up an entire force to look like this I think it would look quite good. But that said the bases for this army will have to draw attention away from the model a bit. Because the model is supposed to blend in then it would be good to make a base that helps with that final effect.

I do agree with what people have been saying about adding in some color but not to the extent of what they're saying. I would leave out the metallic bits but I would add the red coloring for eyes/sensors and the like. This will help to add more depth and realism to the model.

Overall I think it's an excellent model and would love to see an entire army painted up to this scheme especially some tanks.

cheers.

[necrocannibal]

Well I would paint all the little square bits and the end of the shoulder guard a darker brown, a bit like the gun barrel, and make the eyes either red or yellow. Maybe the curved part just above the eyes (top of the head) a darker brown or maybe even a lighter brown. I agree on not using metallics, that wouldn't fit with this color scheme. With these variations of brown, the model would, in my eyes, be more interesting to look at without overdoing it. By the way, I like the base very much.

[gauntinator]

Jul 15, 2011 20:31:17 GMT necrocannibal said:

Well I would paint all the little square bits and the end of the shoulder guard a darker brown, a bit like the gun barrel, and make the eyes either red or yellow. Maybe the curved part just above the eyes (top of the head) a darker brown or maybe even a lighter brown. I agree on not using metallics, that wouldn't fit with this color scheme. With these variations of brown, the model would, in my eyes, be more interesting to look at without overdoing it. By the way, I like the base very much.

I like the shoulder guard idea. I tried making the square bits as dark as i could but I guess I could always make them darker Do you know of a Citidel paint that would go good with the desert yellow and graveyard earth I used?

[gauntinator]

Ok so I took some of your guys' suggestions. I added some green to a few parts of the suit, painted one of the bands on the shoulder pad darker brown, added some tau markings and re-did the base. I think it looks better but please give me more suggestions if you think they are necessary.

ps: i have yet to do the eyes because my red paint dried out.

s1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb40....nt=P1000454.jpg

[gauntinator]

Sorry about that last link.

s1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb403/trojanrabbit2/40k%20Pics/?action=view¤t=P1000453.jpg