Hello everyone,
Today, we’re going to introduce the new Tau XV26 armor kit, which was available in the Kill Team: Dead Silence box and will also be released as a separate kit in a few weeks or months. It’s nice to see the XV25 armor kit, which had become a bit outdated, finally getting a redesign with current sculpting standards.
The unit now goes from 3 to 5 miniatures and will most likely be updated in the V11 codex. It remains to be seen whether it will still be possible to play a three-figure unit, or if we’ll have to retire our old XV25s… unless we manage to complete the unit through the second-hand market.
In any case, it’s really interesting to see that GW is evolving its battlesuits in line with the logical progression of the Tau Empire, while also offering a very dense sprue, which you can check out below.
The kit itself hasn’t really changed in terms of weapon options, since the XV26 are still equipped with either the Burst cannon or the fusion blaster. So we have here a Kill Team that could be somewhat controversial: apart from a few minor elements on the sprue, there isn’t a true individual identity for each squad member, making it a kit that sits a bit “between” Kill Team and Warhammer 40,000. Here is the kit’s instruction manual.
On the other hand, it’s very pleasing to see that the drone attachment system has improved, as it is now possible to separate the drones from their bases, which makes transportation much easier.
In comparison, the XV26 is noticeably slimmer and more streamlined than the XV25. They have a lighter, almost frailer silhouette, and the XV25’s Burst cannon actually looks significantly bulkier than the XV26’s. Despite these differences, both kits follow the same artistic direction and work very well together, making this a subtle refresh, but one that is certainly welcome.
We’ll let you make up your own mind with the comparative photo below.
The painting of these units is, of course, planned… eventually. But they will first join the “treasure pile,” with higher-priority projects taking precedence. What we can already tell you is that we will paint the XV25s in the colors of the Farsight Enclave, considering that the renegade commander would likely rely more on older technology. As for the XV26s, they will be painted according to the scheme of another Tau sept, probably connected to the Taros campaign.
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