I'm always painting Tyranids. This post contains a selection of models completed prior to the release of the Leviathan box set for 10th edition. I'll do a separate post for the Leviathan models because they make a nice little set by themselves. First up is a plastic Trygon.
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| I love this kit |
I got given this model along with some others in a bundle of tyranids which I suspect were third or fourth hand. It had at least two layers of claggy paint on it and had suffered some unfortunate battle damage. After stripping it with Biostrip-20 (which was a bit of a chore because of all the small spikes and limbs) I rebuilt it with a few spares from the bitz box.
The Trygon is my all time favourite Tyranid model (actually the Forgeworld Trygon, although the plastic kit is very nice too) and I'm very happy with the way this one turned out in the end.
Next up we've got a unit of Tyranid Warriors. I'm pretty sure these were second hand as well. They were stuck together with polystyrene cement, so I didn't have the opportunity to change the loadout. I do really like the bonesword and lashwhip combo but might have added a gun if I'd built them from scratch.
Sadly, 10th edition has amalgamated all of the weapon options into one hideous 'melee bio-weapons' profile which I hate. In addition, warriors seem to be a bit rubbish on the tabletop. I haven't found anything they could do that couldn't be done better by genestealers. So my warriors haven't seen much play recently; which is a shame because they look brilliant.
Then there's a barbed Hierodule which I converted some time ago and hadn't got around to painting. This was made from the scythed Hierodule kit with the addition of a couple of rupture cannons and a torso plate from the Tyrannofex kit. I rather like the giant guns, although I will admit that's a matter of personal taste.
I can't remember what madness inspired me to make a barbed Hierodule out of the scythed kit. I can only imagine it was the desire to have one of each in the collection.
I finally got around to painting my Sporocyst which is just a bizarre model. I had this kit from new and decided on the Sporocyst purely because it was much easier to store than the giant gangly Tyrannocyte.
Then there's this group of old style termagants with devourers. I've pretty much always used fleshborers in games because those were the models I had painted. It's nice to add some devourers to the army as an interesting option. Although I gather they're strictly sub-optimal in 10th edition.
Apparently I need more monsters as well. Here's a metal Hive Tyrant which I've had for years and used in many games in it's unpainted state (the horror!) I'm glad to have finally painted it up and I've fielded it a few times since.
I got this kit in a rescue bundle from Ebay. If you look closely you can see that I've replaced the tail and filled in the ankle claws that the kit usually comes with. I also added the head from the Swarmlord just because I had it spare.
Then there's a couple of Carnifexes. The first of these was built from a new plastic kit back when twin-linked devourers were all the rage.
I didn't paint it at the time and it never got used. Now devourers are less fashionable I've painted it up and it's been surprisingly decent on the table. The devourers were made from the back half of a venom cannon with three devourer barrels added to each to make a kind of gatling configuration. Even though I made it years ago I'm still very pleased with the conversion.
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| Giant electric snakes are the best |
Next up we've got a unit of Tyranid Warriors. I'm pretty sure these were second hand as well. They were stuck together with polystyrene cement, so I didn't have the opportunity to change the loadout. I do really like the bonesword and lashwhip combo but might have added a gun if I'd built them from scratch.
 |
| Gotta love warriors |
Sadly, 10th edition has amalgamated all of the weapon options into one hideous 'melee bio-weapons' profile which I hate. In addition, warriors seem to be a bit rubbish on the tabletop. I haven't found anything they could do that couldn't be done better by genestealers. So my warriors haven't seen much play recently; which is a shame because they look brilliant.
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| Relegated to the cabinet for now |
Then there's a barbed Hierodule which I converted some time ago and hadn't got around to painting. This was made from the scythed Hierodule kit with the addition of a couple of rupture cannons and a torso plate from the Tyrannofex kit. I rather like the giant guns, although I will admit that's a matter of personal taste.
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| Go big or go home |
I can't remember what madness inspired me to make a barbed Hierodule out of the scythed kit. I can only imagine it was the desire to have one of each in the collection.
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| I think this is now 'legends' only |
I finally got around to painting my Sporocyst which is just a bizarre model. I had this kit from new and decided on the Sporocyst purely because it was much easier to store than the giant gangly Tyrannocyte.
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| Just plain weird |
Then there's this group of old style termagants with devourers. I've pretty much always used fleshborers in games because those were the models I had painted. It's nice to add some devourers to the army as an interesting option. Although I gather they're strictly sub-optimal in 10th edition.
 |
| Always need more infantry |
Apparently I need more monsters as well. Here's a metal Hive Tyrant which I've had for years and used in many games in it's unpainted state (the horror!) I'm glad to have finally painted it up and I've fielded it a few times since.
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| Venom cannon is always good |
I got this kit in a rescue bundle from Ebay. If you look closely you can see that I've replaced the tail and filled in the ankle claws that the kit usually comes with. I also added the head from the Swarmlord just because I had it spare.
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| Rather pleased with the tail |
Then there's a couple of Carnifexes. The first of these was built from a new plastic kit back when twin-linked devourers were all the rage.
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| Dakka dakka dakka |
I didn't paint it at the time and it never got used. Now devourers are less fashionable I've painted it up and it's been surprisingly decent on the table. The devourers were made from the back half of a venom cannon with three devourer barrels added to each to make a kind of gatling configuration. Even though I made it years ago I'm still very pleased with the conversion.
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| Also including the old 'enhanced senses' head |
The second of these came from the same bundle as the trygon featured earlier in this post. It was in a similar woeful condition and needed much repair to make it into a useable model.
I think the loadout on this one largely came down to the available spares. I do recall that the head, arms and tail scythe were all replaced from the bits box as well as a new base added. It really must have been in bad shape!
Finally we've got a brood of 3 Venomthropes. It's funny for me to see them mixed in with this lot, because they've seen a great deal of tabletop play in the last year or so. I always enjoy getting the benefit of cover and imposing hit modifiers on my opponent. I had this kit from new, so there's no story to tell about their construction. It was a nice kit to build and I'm pleased with the models.
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| Love the bio-plasma head option |
I think the loadout on this one largely came down to the available spares. I do recall that the head, arms and tail scythe were all replaced from the bits box as well as a new base added. It really must have been in bad shape!
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| Pretty pleased with the rebuild |
Finally we've got a brood of 3 Venomthropes. It's funny for me to see them mixed in with this lot, because they've seen a great deal of tabletop play in the last year or so. I always enjoy getting the benefit of cover and imposing hit modifiers on my opponent. I had this kit from new, so there's no story to tell about their construction. It was a nice kit to build and I'm pleased with the models.
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