Tyranids
Hive Fleet Valken

These are Tyranid models that I'm building for some friendly gaming with the usual gang. Since we're aiming for a small army size (500-1000 points), I can afford to convert many of the models.

I'm adding new stuff at the bottom; scroll down to see it. I'll eventually reformat this page into something a little more user friendly. For the time being, hit the "Back" button on your browser after looking at a picture.

Gargoyle

I don't like the metal Gargoyle that GW sells, so I'm making my own from the body of a plastic Termagant. The head has being extended to look more aerodynamic. I've also put a bio-plasma discharger within the mouth (the official metal one looks like it has a blowgun between its teeth, ugh).

I don't much like the standard Fleshborer that comes with the Termagant. It's held like a human gun, and it looks like one to boot. For the gargoyle, I've reworked it to a more center-line position, using heavy weapon arms for the ammo feed. No banana clip for me.

I tried making new wings as well, based on drawings of a bat's arm structure. The arms were scything talons from the Genestealer sprue, suitably extended. But even with a skin of epoxy putty (Green Stuff), the proportion didn't look right, so I started a new set of wings from plastic card. Much better!

This is the body of the creature. Some serious surgery was required to remove the original legs and prepare the proper sockets for the wings. Not done yet -- still missing the scythe on the tip of the tail, and I need to move the rear socket forward to get the proper wing position.

Lictor

Lictors are supposed to be based on the Warrior genus. Guess it's true, when coupled with a few other Tyranid spare parts and some epoxy putty. It's going to be a lot cheaper than buying a metal Lictor, that's for sure...

As you can see from the above picture, the Carnifex talon arms are a little too large to really fit the creature. With a lot of careful motor tool use, and some work with sandpaper and file, I've scaled them down to something more fitting:

More pictures of the work-in-progress: the legs needed additional claws around the hooves, while the head is still missing four of the five armor plates. These images show the legs, still missing some armor and putty, but at least they're starting to look like Lictor appendages. Now, with the added spikes and the full plates, they are Lictor legs!

The tail needs only a bit more armor. I curved it over heat and made sure there were no holes or deformations. As for the head, it's pretty much complete -- I even managed to work a rough texture into the armor plates (five of them, like all Tyranids).

Warriors

Basically, I'm reworking the proportions a bit to make them look meaner. And removing that damned tongue -- what are they supposed to be, dogs? This is the first of a set of two heads. The other one will have Enhanced Senses, with extra eyes to match the Carnifex's design.

Biovore and Spore Mines

I've started on a Biovore, again using a plastic Warrior as a base. The launcher is a plastic tube and some plastic BBs, which will be covered with sculpted details. I also started packing the bloated stomach with leftover putty, prior to adding a sculpted skin to it. The job is a lot more involved than the Lictor, but I'm getting better with the green stuff, so time will tell.

Here's the body, a little further along. The space between the middle arms and the spheres will have more details, this is just the groundwork.

My original plan for the head was to use the skull-like Genestealer one, with an added jaw made from sprue and some green stuff for the tongue and teeth. It proved to be too small for the body, so I started a new one from scratch.

I took the lead a while back and started preparing a few spore mines with leftover sculpting putty. Not even close to being done, but it's getting there, especially for the Bio-Acid mine. I started the Frag mine over, my previous attempt was too clumsy-looking.

Carnifex

Since the Carnifex is going to be built as a Gunfex (Venom Cannon, Barbled Strangler), I want a head with Enhanced Senses. However, I don't see why it has to be naked, so I'm putting armor back on it. Also, no snarling 'Fex for me -- I want it purposeful, with gritted teeth. This Photoshop mock-up is what I'm aiming for.

I had to switch the Barbed Strangler to the left side to get a balanced design, so while I was at it, I added a couple of details to hide the modifications. I'm especially happy with the eye in the Venom Cannon's targeter (Enhanced Senses biomorph, again).

For such a huge beast, the new Carnifex has tiny legs. I'm building them up a bit, to make them stronger-looking. If I do it right, it'll be similar to the old "Screamer-Killer" Carnifex look. It will represent the "Reinforced Chitin" biomorph (+1 Wound) and Extended Carapace.

And speaking of Extended Carapace, here's the forward dorsal armor plates, seen from the back. I glued two of the provided top plates together, so that the dorsal armor covers the neck area completely now.

Zoanthrope

I'm pretty sure I could have built a Zoanthrope out of a plastic Warrior, but I didn't want to push the gimmick too far. Besides, I like the design of the metal model. I just added a sharper crest with green stuff, and two little extensions on each side that will be entry points for bio-cabling.

I'm also adding bio-cabling to the funnels. The green stuff job isn't complete, I still have to finish the forward sections.

Color Tests

After reading many articles on The Dip, I figured that I would only need to invest time on assembly and customizing, and let the polyurethane stain take care of the rest.

So here's my first test. The colors (tan body, reddish chitin) match the previous edition's Tyranids, and a lot of people are tired of red bugs, but I like them. Green is too "orkish," blue reminds me too much of space marines, white doesn't respond well to the dip, purple is too "old school" (first edition)...

The colors came out beautifully but I'd like to add some sort of "markings" to the carapace to make the creatures stand out more on the tabletop. Something similar to what exotic insects have. I'm not 100% happy with the following -- if anyone has something better to suggest, please drop me a line.

UPDATE: I checked a few other fleets with patterns and it does seem to work. Now to get the courage to do it on all Gaunts... This Gaunt is just a test shot to check out how the colors come out with the Dip. Things to do:

- Get a darker red as a base color. The tomato red I'm using right now will be good to make some proper carapace streaks.
- Add streaks to the carapace edges. Tests on sprues tell me that they will show through the Dip.
- Add dark brown dots to the flesh near the joints and carapace.
- Add a little pinkinsh tone to the tan in a few spots such as the mouth and ammo sacks. Again, tests tell me this will show through.

Here's a quick Photoshop to get an idea of what it will look like:

More later...