I want a new bug...

Apologies to Huey Lewis for the title of this post...

So the poll is closed and Hive Fleet Scylla is the winner. This scourge is growing and will soon be unleashed upon the galaxy (or at least my gaming group).

So I have been working away on some conversions for the army as of late. As soon as I saw the new codex I knew I had to work at building a Harpy, Tervigon, Tyrannofex, and more! I started with a Harpy. I thought a lot about how I was going to make this and settled on using a neglected Forge World Winged Hive Tyrant a friend had given me. He had kept the wings for a conversion of his own, which I was fine with. I was more interested in the body and head! I hacked off the legs (yes I know it is a $90 model) and filled in that area with some putty and armor plates. I then added High Elf Dragon wings and created the twin-linked Stranglethorn Cannons for the model.

I know you can't see a lot of the detail yet since it is primed, but you can see the idea of the model. I patterned it as close as possible to the artwork in the codex (snakelike body, spikes, twin-linked guns). Overall I like it a great deal and I look forward to painting it up.

Next I started on my Tervigon conversion. I have seen a lot of hastily converted Tervigons on the web and I wanted to really make mine stand out. I wanted it to look as close to the drawing in the book as possible.
I started out taking a Trygon torso and widening it with plasticard. Once it was widened, I then started cutting and piecing together the back armor and front plates for the top of the torso. After that framework was all in place, I began sculpting in the details with Apoxie Sculpt. I really like working with it as it is thinned with water and easy to smooth out and shape.


You can see in the last picture the size difference in the Tervigon and the Carnifex torso. The Tervigon is much wider and appropriate to represent a Termagant spewing creature!

I still have a lot of work to do on the model. I have to finish the detail work around the back vents on the model (gap filling and smoothing) and then work on the underside more. I plan on having 2 separate orifices for Termagants to be expelled from - one closed and one open with an emerging Termagant. The back legs and tail will be from a Carnifex and the front 4 arms will be Scything Talons like the drawing in the codex.

I'll keep you all updated on the progress of this model as I go. I hope to finish it up this week! Let me know what you think of these conversions.

Hobby Seminars - Games and Stuff in Glen Burnie, MD

Just a quick note to anyone in the Baltimore-Washington area (and surroundings): I will be at the 10th anniversary celebration for Games and Stuff in Glen Burnie, MD this Saturday from 1-3 PM to do some hobby seminars. I will have loads of models on display to discuss painting and converting techniques and answer any questions people may have. So if you are in the area and want to come by, please do!

I hope to meet many of you this weekend who follow this blog if you live in the area!

Naming the Nids

Hi guys,

I should have lots of new stuff to show you this week from the growing Hive Fleet. Now that the codex and new models are out I am in full swing!

I am looking for suggestions on what to call my growing Hive Fleet. There is a poll to the side. If anyone has any additional suggestions, please leave them in the comments!

Know Your Foe: Tyranid Images

Here are some pics of the Tyranid army I am working on. Some of these models I painted a few years back when I first thought about doing Tyranids, while others are more recent. First up, the Carnifex (and the actual first model I did for the army when this kit came out).


I have always been a fan of the Tyranid Warrior models and this is the first unit of them I have completed. I plan on having quite a number of them in my force, including some winged versions!


From the horde of little guys I plan on including in the army here are the first of many Termagants. I have 20 done so far.

The Genestealers are currently on the painting table and should be done this weekend. Here are the test models I did to work out their color scheme.

In the past week, I painted up two Tyrant Guard to go with my WIP Hive Tyrant. The pics on these are a bit blurry for some reason, but you get the idea!

Finally, to lead the Genestealers I have have the mighty Broodlord waiting in the wings for some paint!

I am excited about the upcoming release of the new book and seeing all the final details of the army list. I have been keeping up on the rumors, but nothing compares to having that book in your hands. I am even more excited about getting my hands on all the new models (especially the Trygon) and converting up some of the new unit types that don't have models yet.

More updates will follow soon as I continue with the army!

New Year, New Army

So the new year is upon us. Just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a Happy New Year!

I am working away on the new army and now I need to get pictures taken of all the units I have painted up for it. Some I have had done for quite a while, while others I just finished. It's probably not a huge surprise, but I have decided to return to my Tyranids that I started a while back. The new models are fantastic and I am very excited to paint up a Trygon. I can finally finish all the various bugs I have had built and primed for ages now!

So far, I have the following done for the army:
20 Termagants
4 Warriors
2 Tyrant Guard
Carnifex with Barbed Strangler
4 Spore Mines

I am currently working on a unit of Genestealers which I should have done this weekend. I also have another unit of Warriors, a Lictor, and my Hive Tyrant ready to go (the Tyrant is next on the painting schedule). I hope to have pictures taken tomorrow and get some shots up this weekend.

One thing I have decided to add to the blog for 2010 is a running tally of what I paint this year. I thought it would be fun to see how many models I finish in one calendar year so as I complete something I will add it to the list on the right. I just finished 5 Termagants today so there are my first models of 2010!

I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday season and pics of the Tyranids are inbound! I look forward to having a fully fleshed out new army to play some games with early in the new year.