Hidden in plain sight or not quite? GW loves their reveals, but is this a legitimate lead for a Tau Flyer model or just another wild grot chase? Check this out!
Over the past few years, we’ve seen 40k ramp-up to blistering speeds in terms of releases. Now there’s something odd spotted in some artwork for the Tau. Could it be a new model or just a neat concept from an artist? It might surprise you, but we’ve seen trails go cold in the past when it comes to GW’s artwork.
Recent Artwork We’ve Seen Turned Into Models
Going back to a perfect example of artwork turning into an actual model, here’s the cover to Vigilus Ablaze. You might remember all the Chaos support a while back when the faction had a whole slew of new models injected into the army. The funny thing is that a bunch of models were hidden right on the front of the book!
Standing just beneath Abaddon, there’s a Dark Apostle and a Lord Executioner with his big ol’ axe. And in the background, you can even see a Lord Discordant cow-tipping a Land Raider.
Not to mention the sighting of the Venomcrawler, and the Vanguard Marines from the Urban Conquest artwork (above) as well.
Artwork Where the Trail Went Cold
In a For the Sisters preview, while the faction was still getting new models revealed, there was this mysterious piece of art showing some kind of Flyer. This Flyer has all kinds of Sister’s iconography from Fleur de lise to angels wings all over the hull. Just going on this artwork alone, it looks like it could be some kind of recruitment vessel or just a huge transport.
But at the end of the day, and despite early rumors, it looks like this isn’t actually going to be a model at all…
It turns out that pointless artwork actually happens more often than we might think. Looking back at yet another massive battle between Chaos and the Imperium, we can see these giant spiked crab shell-looking things flying in with Heldrakes.
We initially thought that there was a new flying Daemon Engine on the way (and let’s be honest… it is about time). However, we never saw GW mention anything about it and we’ve not seen anything similar to it appear in recent artwork either.
Hidden in Plain Sight? New Tau Flyer Model Appears
Looking at the latest piece of artwork on page 5 of the Greater Good, there’s been a mysterious flyer spotted. It’s got the classic Tau paint job and we can even see a Fire Warrior at the bottom of the frame. But we don’t have anything like that actual ship on the tabletop.
MUST SEE Moon Base Tau – 40k Studio Battle Board
So could it actually be an early look at a Tau model or is it just some dope creativity from the artist to add more depth to the faction? Well, both are potential answers as we’ve seen this all happen in the past.
At the end of the day, we still have to wait for official previews to roll around before we can say for sure that GW is bringing a new kit to the table. And on that note, all of the artwork that “went cold” could easily be on the table for GW’s design studio, but they might just want to focus their efforts on other things first!
With the new Tau mystery Flyer spotted in Psychic Awakening artwork, do you think it could be a new unit on the way? Is it just some cool artwork that’ll eventually never be seen again?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
