Taurox Prime - Why I chose it and tips on building it

A Change In Army

A new year and a switch back to 'The Emperor's Feth' my first and favourite army in 40k! After a couple of years getting a Blood Angels army in tabletop condition a change was well needed and I am now ready to return back to my Astra Militarum army which needs a serious update as I haven't played it since 5th Edition!!

Some of The Emperor's Feth

I began my Warhammer 40k experience by total fluke in the week that 5th edition was released and played competitively all through that edition. You can check out the story of how I started in 40k and chose my army here.

Since 5th I played a little in 6th, less in 7th and then have played a lot more since 8th was released. However I have only played with Blood Angels so far in 8th edition and am in need of a change, so back to 'The Feth' I go.

The Emperor's Feth

My army actually still stacks up to some extent from 5th edition, but to compete and achieve a brigade detachment for some juicy command points it definitely needs a couple of additions. If you want to see my current Astra Militarum army and units there are some pics in the Gallery.

To get to a brigade i'm going to need some more elites but mainly troops as I only have 3 troop squads at the moment. I do want a couple of extra standard troop squads but I don't want to start back painting with something so dull. The alternative is to paint some Tempestus Scions which I have always loved the look of but back in the day they were not worth the points. Now however they are resurgent and powerful too for their points cost. With Deep Strike, orders and the ability to take 4 plasmaguns in a squad for 100 - 150 points is fantastic!


Militarum Tempestus and The Taurox Prime

As it happens back in the day I procured about 20 of the metal Kasrkin models that have been locked away and never painted. However, I still have no impulse to paint troopers just yet and so I looked at getting them a ride and after some research found that the Taurox Prime not only looks very cool but also plays very well with fast movement and the ability to take some cracking firepower! It is fairly weak in toughness and wounds but doesn't cost a great deal points wise so is a great balance. Lets face it if one of these is tearing around the battlefield taking fire then my Punisher tanks and Manticores are free to smash the enemy!!

Taurox Prime

Looking at the options for kitting it out it seems a no brainer to arm it with the gatling cannon for 20 strength 4 shots at 24" range and 2 autocannons for 4 longer 48" higher strength shots. These weapons make it quite a threat to any infantry or vehicle and mean that it can't be ignored on the battlefield. My thoughts at the moment are to have my heavy stuff and troops sitting back, have my Scions deep striking in somewhere and then have the Taurox motoring across the battlefield to support. Hopefully these 2 units mean that I can fight on 2 fronts and provide some distraction from the big hitting tanks in the army.

The Build - Tips

With these thoughts in mind, out I went and bought a Taurox Prime. The model is fairly easy to put together although in places the instructions definitely aren't too clear! Below are a couple of points that you may want to consider when putting the model together:

1. There are a lot of small pieces and details, particularly on the track sections which are very fiddly, and so it is worth dry-fitting and constantly checking which bits you need before moving on to each stage.

2. I made sure that I didn't glue certain parts of the model together so that it would be much easier to paint. You will see this in the pics below.

3. Painting the insides? - I don't think so!! I did that once with my first vendetta - it looks amazing but only to me as only I ever see it!! If you are not painting the insides then you can also save yourself some time not cutting off the sprue and glueing the driver, gunner, steering wheel etc. as you really can't see them if you are glueing the top on the model.

Vendetta Interior

4. It is a model that can be converted quite easily and I think needs to be. The back space, if you don't take a missile launcher, is very bland and flat and the hull mounted guns (autocannons or hot-shot volley guns) sit a bit weirdly on the back side of the hull which look a bit weird. I think that I will model this Taurox Prime as the instructions say but I will get another and have a go at improving the look next time when I know the model better.

The Build For Real

1. Getting the tracks and suspension stuck together. I didn't have to worry about mould lines on these sections and they seemed to fit together really nicely although some of the track sections are incredibly small! Also just be careful of getting the suspension pistons the right way around otherwise it won't fit together later!

Tracks & suspension

2. Building the hull and turret. This was much easier and all of the pieces fit together well. Be sure to get the hull wall sections lined up correctly so that the roof fits later on. Also be very carefull with the steps on each side of the hull as they are fiddly and the foot plate snapped off completely with very little pressure On my model. I managed to get it back together again but it took a good DIY job to do it!

Hull and crew compartment

3. The third step was to get the weapons and turret weapons stuck together. I opted for the gatling cannon and 2 autocannons. These were fairly simple but because of the instructions I found it unclear as to where to put the cannon. After looking at pics online I realised that it glues to the side of the turret and not to the hull. I think I was just being stupid to be honest as it is a turret weapon but it is definitely unclear. The autocannons glue to the sides of the hull at the back but I think this looks a bit weird as they are hidden away and fire across the door hatches which seems a bit odd to me.

As I said earlier I think that I will definitely put these weapons elsewhere on the model at some point when I have more time to consider options.
Also I think that magnetising the weapons would be fairly easy allowing you to switch out whenever you wished. All the surfaces that the weapons attach to are fairly flat so it shouldn't be a problem and is something I think that I will do when I get my second Taurox Prime.

4. The last step are the extra bits - the bull bars and decorational plates that fit on the front and sides of the vehicle. Also there is a hammer to fit to the back. All of these including the turret, weapons and tracks I have not glued onto the hull as it will be much easier to paint these pieces seperately and attach them later.

All the bits to paint separately

The final model

I also think that once painted I may add some extra details to the flat back of the Taurox to give it a bit more character. Maybe some backpacks, sandbags, spare tracks, fuel canisters or even a gun nest? I could even put a heavy weapon autocannons team up there as my 2 autocannons? Hmmm I'll have to think about this....

Hope you enjoyed this post and it has helped you. If you have any more tips or suggestions for my Taurox, or you want to show off yours either comment below or get in touch on Twitter via @4dadsapocalypse

All the best
James




fourdadsoftheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk – A blog about Warhammer 40k and the Horus Heresy by four Dads