The new Tau Empire codex and models are going to be released on saturday, so I thought I'd post some of my thoughts about the new models.
Disclaimer: This is just, like, my opinion man...
If you don't agree, feel free to let me know in the comments!
Note: I don't have any of the new models in my possession. I will merely give my opinion based on the information and pictures found on the internet.
Pathfinders
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| 10 Tau Pathfinders, a Pulse Accelerator Drone, a Grav-inhibitor Drone and a Recon Drone. |
The first thing you notice is that they are plastic. Hurray for posability!
This is a nice model. The entire kit is plastic, so you won't have any problems with the model tipping over. The model is designed so it is easy and quick to fit together, but if you want to create a unique pose, this is entirely possible as well. The size is not really visible from the picture, but it's supposed to be the size and bulk of a Space Marine Dreadnought... does this mean it's on a 60mm base? If anyone can confirm this in the comments, I'd much appreciate it.
Included in the box are kneeling, crouching and standing legs, options for pulse carbines, ion rifles and rail rifle (only one rail rifle apparently). Also included are three new drone types.
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| Old pathfinders with rail rifles |
New vs old, the models look almost the same at first glance. (I don't own any pathfinders, plastic or otherwise) This means they will fit together well.
The price is 25€, which is a good price to pay for an entire squad, especially if you get all options you could want. (I don't know if that's the case, but if it is... WIN!)
XV88 Broadside Battlesuit
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| One broadside, a Shield Drone and Missile Drone. |
Weapon options include the standard twin-linked Rail-rifle and twin-linked plasma rifles. These can be swapped out for high-yield missile pods and/or twin-linked smart missile system for extra missile-y goodness.
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| Old XV88 Broadside |
Compared to the old XV88, which was much more like the XV8 Crisis battlesuits, the new one is an absolute beast. Using a new one in a squad of old ones... might be a bit derpy.
The price for the new Broadside-in-a-box is 40€. This is a bit more than the aforementioned Dreadnought at 36€, but it has 2 drones extra... if the model is not unlike a Dreadnought in size, the price looks about fair.
XV8 Battlesuit Commander
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| A Battlesuit Commander |
The new XV8 Battlesuit Commander is a Finecast model. So I guess they will all look the same, except maybe for the options you get in the kit. There's a cyclic ion blaster and plasma rifle, among others, according to the GW website. Also, have fun with that liquid green stuff!
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| Old XV8 Commander |
The old kit combined the plastic frame of a XV8 Crisis Suit with some metal (or finecast?) options like alternative heads and special issue wargear like the airbursting fragmentation projector and cyclic ion blaster.
The new commander looks a lot more dynamic and sets the model further apart from the regular XV8s. It looks good, but it would've been a lot more impressive if it was plastic.
33€ for one model looks a bit steep to me, but we all know Finecast is expensive...
That's it for now, stay tuned for further thoughts on the new Tau models!
The broadside definitely seems to be on a 60mm base when I look at the pictures in the White Dwarf (it's quite obvious in the pre-battle report pic). It's massive, much bigger than the old broadsides. I quite like the rail rifle, always thought the "over the shoulder" look was a little weird.
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