Games Workshop Warhammer 40,000 Sun Shark Bomber

Product Information

Enhance the depth of the model by shading the XV-88 basecoat with Nuln Oil. Apply the shade to recessed areas to create shadows and give the bomber a more realistic appearance.

To further ensure the Sun Shark survives long enough to deliver its bombing run, the vehicle is equipped with a pair of wing-mounted Interceptor Drones. Each armed with powerful twin-linked Ion Rifles, Interceptor Drones can either stay attached to the Sun Shark, where they act in a similar way to conventional turret-mounted weapons, or they can detach from the flyer and serve as an escort. Advanced Targeting System - An Advanced Targeting System assists the vehicle's gunner by identifying targets of particular value or danger, and plotting fire plans to counter them. A Sun Shark's primary armament is its Pulse Bomb Generator, which is mounted underneath the rear portion of its airframe. Mounted on the front of the central body is a nose-mounted Networked Marker Light. Many a desperate Pathfinder or Fire Warrior Team owe their continued existence to Sun Shark shoals, most notably due to the Seeker Missiles they carry, which they call in using Marker Lights. Their ability to strike enemy vehicles or make short work of armoured infantry with the help of nearby air support greatly increases their chances for survival. Build on the visual depth by using Tau Light Ochre and Balor Brown to apply additional layers of highlights to specific edges and surfaces. This layering technique gradually intensifies the colors and brings out the intricate details of the bomber.The Sun Shark is a close relative of the Razorshark, unsurprisingly, having almost exactly the same overall statline. 20″-25″ movement is fairly standard between many flyers, of course, and toughness six with twelve wounds gives it the same defensive profile as its brother, right down to the 4+ armor save. Ballistic skill 4+ gives it a middling offensive profile, although thankfully its main weapon does not need to roll to hit. At 155pts base, the Sun Shark is a bit too expensive for what it does, but is not completely abysmal. Special Rules and Wargear Barracuda • Manta • Orca • Razorshark • DX-6 Remora Drone Stealth Fighter • Sun Shark • Tiger Shark • Tiger Shark AX-1-0 XV02 Pilot Battlesuit • XV8 Crisis Battlesuit ( XV8-02 Crisis Iridium Battlesuit • XV81 Crisis Battlesuit • XV84 Crisis Battlesuit • XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit • XV86 Coldstar Battlesuit • XV89 Crisis Battlesuit • XV88 Broadside Battlesuit) • Stealthsuits ( XV15 Stealthsuit • XV22 Stealthsuit • XV25 Stealthsuit • XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit) • XV46 Vanguard Void Battlesuit • XV9 Hazard Battlesuit • Class 10 Battlesuits ( XV104 Riptide Battlesuit • XV107 R'varna Battlesuit • XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuit) • KV128 Stormsurge • KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armour Air Caste Support Cadre - Diving down upon a battlefield, the pilots of an Air Caste Support Cadre often brave a foe's onslaughts to aid their Fire Caste comrades. The pilots' commitment to the Greater Good keeps them firing to full effect even with severe damage to their craft, their guns trained on priority ground targets and all power diverted to their weapon systems. The Tau do not believe in senseless sacrifice however, and so aircraft of an Air Caste Support Cadre are fitted with advanced repair systems to ensure casualties are kept to a minimum, no matter how dangerous the Cadre's mission proves to be. An Air Caste Support Cadre typically consists of a Sun Shark bomber accompanied by two Razorshark fighters. Of course, the Sun Shark is not without weaknesses. As far as fliers go, it is quite fragile; with a front armour of eleven, and ten for the rear and side values, the Sun Shark is very susceptible to the majority of anti-flyer weapons, and unlike most, even fears the touch of a flying monstrous creatures’ vector strike. Massed fire from high-rate-of-fire heavy weapons or regular Infantry weaponry, such as bolters, can bring the three hull point-Sun Shark down with alarming ease compared to other fliers, and it is in this way that its impressive firepower is balanced out. The Sun Shark will likely crumble to Interceptor fire from a very popular Aegis Defence Line with the quad gun, and though it will likely be able to drop its first bomb off before it is destroyed, the Sun Shark is unlikely to prove its worth in one round of ‘shooting’. Thankfully, the Sun Shark has access to some very useful upgrades that help to mitigate such issues; an incredibly cheap option are the Decoy Launchers, providing a +4 invulnerable save against shots inflicted by a weapon with the Interceptor rule. This is handy not only against Aegis Defence Lines, but also against Tau sporting very common Skyfire-enabled Battlesuits, and the cost is so minimal that adding them in is near mandatory. Disruption Pods are handy, but given that zooming Flyers only benefit from the Jink rule when they evade, the Sun Shark’s firepower is mostly being sacrificed if the Disruption Pods are ever actually used, and they aren’t cheap either. Of course, the main reason to take the Sun Shark is the bomb, and given that it isn’t affected by Evade, you can continue to drop them and stay alive that much longer.

The Sun Shark ends up being essentially an up-gunned version of the Razorshark, as it can spit out a surprising number of S7/8 multidamage shots when it fires its full payload into a target. The twelve shots it gets may not be as accurate as one might like thanks to its middling ballistic skill, but by sheer volume alone they can do some damage and with assistance from Markerlights they can do some real work- and since the bomber has one Markerlight itself, this isn’t as hard as you might think. Razorshark Strike Fighter – As the kit sibling to the Sun Shark Bomber, the Razorshark is another new flyer introduced to the Tau Empire, serving not as a bomber but instead as a dedicated anti flyer – and by extension, anti-vehicle – unit that is oddly only marginally more effective in an aerial duel than the Sun Shark. When talking specifically about firepower, the Sun Shark averages a similar number of hits to the Razorshark in terms of Strength seven AP four shooting – the trade-off here is that the Razorshark’s main gun can be fired in any direction, meaning it can fly past other fliers, deny them any return shots, whilst continuing to pepper them with ion-tinged death on their rear or side armour – invaluable against Heldrakes and the like. The T'au doctrine of war places great importance upon dominating the airways above any battlefield they deploy to. It is their commonly-held belief that controlling the skies is the first step in winning the engagement, and T'au aircraft such as the Razorshark and Barracuda enable this. By making the elimination of enemy flyers a priority, ground troops are allowed to concentrate on their targets without having to concern themselves with any threat from above. x51 plastic components with which to make either a Sun Shark Bomber or a Razorshark Strike. Fighter. Due to their unique fighting tendencies and their highly mobile nature, Hunter Cadres do not use artillery in the conventional sense that most armies do. Instead, in association with the Air Caste, they have developed the Sun Shark bomber -- a sleek atmospheric aircraft that is capable of sweeping down from the skies and blasting ground targets with its potent payload. A shoal of Sun Shark bombers flying in tight formation can blast apart even the most surging of Ork WAAAGH!s with a single flyover; for their Pulse Bombs are devastating anti-horde weapons.Seeker Missiles mounted on Sun Sharks are especially deadly, as the aircraft's ability to rapidly position itself on the flanks of a battlefield allows the missiles to strike at more vulnerable side or rear armour of enemy vehicles. For further support, a Sun Shark also carries two Seeker Missiles in two cunningly hidden recesses in the aircraft's airframe. These missiles can be auto-fired by the Sun Shark's Air Caste pilot himself, but are more effective when launched by a ground unit that has painted the target with a Marker Light. Additional thruster rods connected to the wings allow the aircraft to turn better than it would otherwise be able too, whilst its large wings grant it better stability in the air. The natural skills of the pilots allow the aircraft to manoeuvre with a skill, precision and extremity that only members of the Air Caste can tolerate.

Automated Repair System - Automated Repair Systems consist of dispensers which release tiny maintenance Drones which swarm over damaged weapon and drive systems, repairing them in the midst of battle. Create a modern camouflage pattern by layering Tau Light Ochre and Ungor Flesh over the shaded areas. Apply these colors in irregular shapes to mimic the look of a camouflage design. This technique adds complexity and visual appeal to the model’s surface. While a VEHICLE or DRONE unit is performing the Fire Markerlights action, that unit can move without that action failing. If it does, until the end of the turn, models in that unit without the VEHICLE or DRONE keyword that are equipped with any markerlights are treated as not being equipped with any markerlights for the purpose of the Fire Markerlights action.Disruption Pod - Disruption Pods display distorting holographic images in the visual and electromagnetic spectra to make the vehicle harder to target. Sensor Spines - Sensor Spines feed data to an advanced ground-following flight control system. This allows the vehicle to avoid hazardous terrain that could otherwise damage the vehicle's drive systems.

Still, the Sun Shark likely won’t survive if faced by a flyer such as a Heldrake, Vendetta or Night Scythe; given how common these are in the current meta-game, this means the Sun Shark is a risky choice no matter what route you go. However, given that it can drop a Strength five large blast on one Infantry unit, fire up to six Strength seven and two Strength eight shots at an enemy flyer or vehicle, its versatility is superb. As far as pricing goes, I feel that when compared to the Dark Angels’ Nephilim and Dark Talon, it is favourably priced, but as always, it pales considerably when compared to flyers such as the Stormtalon, Stormraven, Night Scythe or the infamous Heldrake. A useful unit, but seeing as Tau already bring devastation to both fliers and Infantry elsewhere far more efficiently and with greater durability, the Sun Shark – and indeed the Razorshark – likely won’t see too much use competitively. A note here that the Sun Shark Bomber cannot hover, and though this shouldn’t be too much of an issue, an intelligent opponent will exploit your limited direction, minimal arc of fire and enforced speed to their advantage and effectively avoid most of the damage a Sun Shark can deal. Fire Warrior ( Fire Warrior Strike Team • Fire Warrior Breacher Team) • Pathfinder • Drone Squadron Sleek, elegant and highly modular, the Sunshark Bomber can be equipped to handle any combat theatre. From smart missile systems, rapid fire burst cannons or heavy ion rifles, in addition to paired interceptor drones and a pulse bomb generator.

Uses

The Sun Shark, overall, wants to be a bit of a generalist solution- it brings some unique mortal wounds, a bunch of generally-useful firepower, and a touch of movement utility for scoring engage/etc thanks to being able to detach its drones when needed. And it does a fine job of these things, but is not particularly exceptional at them- nor is it particularly cheap in doing so, especially when other units that can do much of the same for a far lower price exist. Add in the weaknesses of flyers to alpha strikes and the general weakness of the Tau codex in general and you have a unit that is not particularly likely to be taken by anyone, even if it does have a little bit to offer. If it had seen a drastic price reduction (120pts or less, perhaps) there might be some consideration for the unit, but as is there is just not much of an argument for taking the Sun Shark over many of Tau’s more efficient shooting and scoring units unless you are in love with its aesthetic. Final Thoughts The Pulse Bomb Generator is a Tau weapons system commonly mounted on the Sun Shark Bomber. The system itself is capable of producing and launching Pulse Bombs, giving the Sun Shark a potent level of firepower capable of blasting ground targets. [1] The pulse bomb generator works by rapidly spinning, which builds up pulse energy until a ball of plasma is unleashed in enemies below. [2] All that leave of the targets of the impact - glowing crater and drfting ash. [3] A Sun Shark is powered by complex dual anti-gravitic and jet-propulsion motive system so that the aircraft can swiftly fly over a planet's surface. Its armoured bulk is primarily driven forwards by its two powerful jet engines mounted on the sides of the main airframe.