Appleseed XV8 Battle Suit Final Design...hopefully.

This is the design I can never seem to leave alone. Last time around I showed you a prototype of the suit and things were looking good. All I had to do was make a mold for the back and I was done. Well I got the mold done and started casting parts and it just didn't feel right. So out came the knives, saws and greenstuff. Here are the results. I lengthened the torso and used an XV9 pelvis since it was faster then reworking my scratch built one. The missile stalk was added because it fit better there than on the arms. I am going to stick with them only being on one side though. It looked too much like the Broadside with it on both. The one in the picture is glued on but the final will be magnetized. I have a 3rd one that I am working on cleaning up fully to make new molds for I can get the 18 suits I need finished with minimal cleanup needed on each one. The current molds I have been using have been pretty rough and the venting on them isn't the best so I get allot of bubbles. I may use that time to make some additional changes to the lower leg and foot. The XV9 ones look really good and I do still have a few of those laying around.

Trying the Unconventional - Mobility and Shadow Games

I have never been one to play any game without following my own path. In this case it come with trying to find new uses for units that normally don't see allot of use. This time drone squads caught my eye. They aren't the most accurate shooters but they also can't be ignored totally. JSJ give them a level of mobility and when combined with deep strike they can really pop up anywhere. It is kind of nice being able to place a speed bump in the path of an attacker and still allow enough distance for your other troopers to shoot effectively. Need to protect those fast moving suits while pushing forward on an attack, no problem.

Here is what I have come up with.

1500 Pts - Tau Empire Roster - ESWAT - Strike Team Gamma

HQ: Commander Shas'el (240 pts)
   1 Commander Shas'el (Twin Linked Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Bodyguard (Twin Linked Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Bodyguard (Twin Linked Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array)

Troops: Fire Warrior (90 pts)
   7 Fire Warrior
      1 Shas'ui

Troops: Fire Warrior (90 pts)
   7 Fire Warrior
      1 Shas'ui

Troops: Fire Warrior (180 pts)
   6 Fire Warrior
      1 Devilfish (Burst Cannon; Disruption Pod; Multi-Tracker; Targeting Array; Smart Missile System)

Heavy Support: Broadside Battlesuit (180 pts)
   1 Broadside Battlesuit (Targeting Array)
      1 Broadside Battlesuit (Drone Controller)
         2 Shield Drone

Heavy Support: Broadside Battlesuit (180 pts)
   1 Broadside Battlesuit (Targeting Array)
      1 Broadside Battlesuit (Drone Controller)
         2 Shield Drone

Elite: Crisis Battlesuit (159 pts)
   1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)

Elite: Crisis Battlesuit (159 pts)
   1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array))

Fast Attack: Piranha Light Skimmer (65 pts)
   1 Piranha Light Skimmer (Burst Cannon; Targeting Array x1)
      2 Gun Drones

Fast Attack: Gun Drone Squadron (48 pts)
   6 Gun Drone Squadron

Fast Attack: Gun Drone Squadron (48 pts)
   7 Gun Drone Squadron


Total Roster Cost: 1499

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Purity Seal for the Emperor

For the Emperor

Every once and awhile I branch out into projects because they interest me and I have always wondered about the purity seals on Space Marine armor. Since I kicked off a side project to build a full sized bolter and plasma pistol I figured it was time to model up some seals to go with. These are resin instead of wax and the first batch of them will be going out to a new friend from the 40K Radio Freebootaz forum.

The build of these pushed me into trying a few new things. First I did a little sculpting to get the skull and scroll banner but was stuck when it came to coming up with a convincing wax pool. First I tried using sulfur free clay. It too about 20 tries to get a good looking sample and even then it still looked wrong to me. Then I got an idea, why simulate wax when you can use real wax. A Zippo and a candle later and it was done in 5 minutes. I used a plastic bottle cap to create the impression for the skull and scroll.

It took about a month to actually make the mold. I really wish life would slow down a little so I can get out and get supplies more often. Anyway here are the picts.