Post by Ah crap it's him on Jan 20, 2014 13:39:49 GMT -6
So, This project began as a desire to actually WANT to play 40k again, and it has succeeded. Tyranids have proven to be a fun painting and modeling project helping me to feel the love of 40k once more. Now this project is being designed as a temporary fix (awaiting the re-release of guard) so I am not concentrating on competitive so much as fun to build and paint. To that end I figured i'd catalog my progress here for everyone. Ideas are critiques on basing, colors, conversions etc are all welcome.
First, where it began was with the Raveners, and ironically i don't have a picture of just them uploaded. So lets start with what I do have. The beauties that are the Venomthrope and the Lictor.![]()
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And their trench warfare style bases. These were constructed with some packing cables green stuff and Popsicle sticks.
finished product
The barbed wire is simple curled wire inked twice, once brown, and once orange. The green goop is the way watcher shade mixed with water effect.
with the models attached.
Next basing project underway currently. Most of the bases are now painted, waiting for their final dry brush with mossy green and splash of green goop.
Thank you to English Chris for some of the debris that I used to scatter around the place.
The next project embarked upon was the Hive Tyrant. After all, every army could use one right?
This posed a few problems, I wanted one with wings (yay) but i hate the winged feet, plus, there is the need to equip guns, and gun feet just are kind of annoying looking.
Step #1, which legs to use. I decided upon the good old standing hooves.
Step #2, make life more difficult, I didn't like static pose, I had some glorious envisioned idea of the creature striding triumphantly over an embattled trench.
This pose required the right leg to be broken in two places, pinned to extend the leg joints and then green stuffed to look less... broken. Additionally the left hip had to be pinned at an outward rotation and then likewise green-stuffed in.
Attached the waist.
Now that the waist is attached, the next problem to face was the limited arm joints. I had hoped to equip a lash whip and bone sword, plus a set of devourers in addition to wings.
with 4 arm holes and 6 arms to place. it meant my options were to cut new arm holes, or put one set of weapons in a holster. Since tyranid weapons are fused to their bodies, this made very little sense. I considered building a chest mounted weapon system, however i didn't want to reduce my possibilities of taking thorax weapon systems. So really this only left me with the option of cutting arm holes.
versus
The end decision was to risk the model and dremmel away at the back, removing two sets of smoke stacks and cutting a new socket. Green stuff and wire was used to fix the wing in place.
Lash whip and bone sword arms in place here as well.
As you can see the bottom set of arms were chosen, I needed devourers, of which the kit comes with none. So first I chose arms which looked like the best "gun pose" arms, which were incidentally two of the sythed talon arms. And removed the talon. Looking through the pile of bits I had, I had two of these guns. I am not sure which gun it is actually supposed to be, but it looked cool, and I attached them to the arms.
The plan now, to greenstuff these up a bit to look more like devourers. I loved the shot gun like appearance of them.
After all the green stuff was adequately applied, the model was spray painted brown.
The initial coats get applied in an attempt to mask my bad greenstuffing.
Finished product
I am not sold on the orange for the lash whip, and am currently trying to decide if I should repaint the whip to the flesh tone color when I go back to finish the base.
Additionally I have not messed with the devourers much as I am unsure of if they need any color, and what coloring to paint them if I do...
Here is the final product, with Completed zoanthropes and some genestealers too. You can see the raveners in the back ground.
The next step: Complete all the bases, I have some touch ups and final layers to accomplish, plus the details and guard for on the tyrants base.
Broodlords. My current army plan has at least 2 brood lords in the design. I am trying to work out a way to adequately build by own home made brood lords. I am open to suggestions. Paying $25 a piece doesn't sound like a great plan to me.
Shrikes: My love of the ravener has lead me to decide to not only use raveners, but to also use the ravener model to build shrikes. I am planning to purchase some of the forgeworld shrike wings and convert some up. This works great as the ravener actually has 6 arm sockets, compared to the warriors 2. So replacing the top arms with wings does not make the kit any harder to still equip as normal!
Thoughts? ideas? questions? suggestions?
First, where it began was with the Raveners, and ironically i don't have a picture of just them uploaded. So lets start with what I do have. The beauties that are the Venomthrope and the Lictor.
And their trench warfare style bases. These were constructed with some packing cables green stuff and Popsicle sticks.
finished product
The barbed wire is simple curled wire inked twice, once brown, and once orange. The green goop is the way watcher shade mixed with water effect.
with the models attached.
Next basing project underway currently. Most of the bases are now painted, waiting for their final dry brush with mossy green and splash of green goop.
Thank you to English Chris for some of the debris that I used to scatter around the place.
The next project embarked upon was the Hive Tyrant. After all, every army could use one right?
This posed a few problems, I wanted one with wings (yay) but i hate the winged feet, plus, there is the need to equip guns, and gun feet just are kind of annoying looking.
Step #1, which legs to use. I decided upon the good old standing hooves.
Step #2, make life more difficult, I didn't like static pose, I had some glorious envisioned idea of the creature striding triumphantly over an embattled trench.
This pose required the right leg to be broken in two places, pinned to extend the leg joints and then green stuffed to look less... broken. Additionally the left hip had to be pinned at an outward rotation and then likewise green-stuffed in.
Attached the waist.
Now that the waist is attached, the next problem to face was the limited arm joints. I had hoped to equip a lash whip and bone sword, plus a set of devourers in addition to wings.
with 4 arm holes and 6 arms to place. it meant my options were to cut new arm holes, or put one set of weapons in a holster. Since tyranid weapons are fused to their bodies, this made very little sense. I considered building a chest mounted weapon system, however i didn't want to reduce my possibilities of taking thorax weapon systems. So really this only left me with the option of cutting arm holes.
versusThe end decision was to risk the model and dremmel away at the back, removing two sets of smoke stacks and cutting a new socket. Green stuff and wire was used to fix the wing in place.
Lash whip and bone sword arms in place here as well.
As you can see the bottom set of arms were chosen, I needed devourers, of which the kit comes with none. So first I chose arms which looked like the best "gun pose" arms, which were incidentally two of the sythed talon arms. And removed the talon. Looking through the pile of bits I had, I had two of these guns. I am not sure which gun it is actually supposed to be, but it looked cool, and I attached them to the arms.
The plan now, to greenstuff these up a bit to look more like devourers. I loved the shot gun like appearance of them.
After all the green stuff was adequately applied, the model was spray painted brown.
The initial coats get applied in an attempt to mask my bad greenstuffing.
Finished product
I am not sold on the orange for the lash whip, and am currently trying to decide if I should repaint the whip to the flesh tone color when I go back to finish the base.
Additionally I have not messed with the devourers much as I am unsure of if they need any color, and what coloring to paint them if I do...
Here is the final product, with Completed zoanthropes and some genestealers too. You can see the raveners in the back ground.
The next step: Complete all the bases, I have some touch ups and final layers to accomplish, plus the details and guard for on the tyrants base.
Broodlords. My current army plan has at least 2 brood lords in the design. I am trying to work out a way to adequately build by own home made brood lords. I am open to suggestions. Paying $25 a piece doesn't sound like a great plan to me.
Shrikes: My love of the ravener has lead me to decide to not only use raveners, but to also use the ravener model to build shrikes. I am planning to purchase some of the forgeworld shrike wings and convert some up. This works great as the ravener actually has 6 arm sockets, compared to the warriors 2. So replacing the top arms with wings does not make the kit any harder to still equip as normal!
Thoughts? ideas? questions? suggestions?
