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Hey guys,

It's been a long time since I've put files to plastic but on January 6th, something wonderful happened.
A new rulebook came out for WH40k and I fell in love with a new slough of models.
Bought a Trigon on a whim. After much reading especially here on DakDak (Thank you Shep for all the testing) it turns I probably won't field him at all.
Instead I decided to convert him into a suitably monstrous Prime. Time's a wasting so here are the WIP pics.


First up on the chopping block were the top claws. If this Trigon is going to be a leader it needs a pair of talons that show a bit of age and brawn.
A set of crushing claw forearms make for a suitable "up armoured arm".



The kit comes with distended jaws but the "connective tissue" wasn't to my liking.
The first idea was to use the tongue from the acid maw Carnifex head...



...but with quick caliper testing I realised that the bio plasma mouth is a perfect fit.



After a quick clean-up the mouth is done, mostly.



Seeing as how I really don't care to use GS too much on my projects when just precisely melting the plastic with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement
will typically do just as well if not better, the interior space of the jaws was filled with a fragment from the space set of teeth that came with the kit.
I'll post some details of the technique in a further post.



Looking at the tail there was just no way I was going to give this gribbly a rattle.
The standard pincer tip also didnt look quite deadly enough either so out came the files again. Notice, still no GS



The completely kit.








In closing before anyone asks, I probably won't be painting this for a while as I have a)school b) a ton of gribbly projects to work on before a big game in 3 weeks. Besides, I've always preferred modelling to painting. Maybe it's the fact that a knife or a file always goes where you point it. Paint on the other hand seems to have an infernal twisted mind all it's own lol.

Next Entry: Heavy-Weapon Warriors

Dark_Gear a.k.a Marc


Automatically Appended Next Post:
After a year and a half of neglect, my warriors are getting some attention.
First up is a Venom cannon warrior. Due to the bulk of the gun it just seemed to awkward to be carried by hand so I figured the symbiote would be latched onto the back somehow.
The cannon was filed down to what I though it would look like without any hands wrapped around it.
Connecting it to the back is the original arm, filed round to fit into the gun's socket.
Extra protection was added to the side of the gun from a spare Trigon thorax armour plate.
A tiranid gun also isn't complete until some blood vessels keep it well nourished so I chopped up the fugly arm that normallly plugs into it.
A bit of GS was added to finish off some seams and add an extra plate on the gun.











Next up is a Barbed Strangler Warrior, based on the same priniciple of back-mounted weaponry.
This one was a bit trickier due to the fact that I wanted the ammunition sacks somewhere close to the actual gun. A lot of cutting would be involved...
Problem was solved when I realised that the forearm that carries the ammo feed is just the right size and length to replace the original gun arm.



With much filing the pieces made to match up nicely, meaning I still don't need any GS
The barrel was cut off and spun in order to be properly upright and a bayonet tip was added for good measure.
The old elbow joint was used to connect the finished gun to the back along with some organic cables from 2 other gun arms that I know I'll never use.











That's it for now, comments and critiques welcome as always.

Next update: Tyranid Prime

My first stab at a Tyranid Prime conversion was an attempt to get a quick build using mininal custom parts. One look at the flimsy arm and the chunky sword on a normal warrior body and I knew I had to start over. As luck would have it I stumbled upon an interesting post of DakDak. I was going to try my hand at an upsized model.



I've been fighting with a nasty cold for the past 3 days which means I've had a lot of modelling time and was able to make the time "lost" on the first concept.

First up is the chest piece. As I didn't want to mess with the proportions too much the thickness of the torso was thickened with a thinner plasticard than what was used for the width.



Incidentally, toe nail clippers, with their strong curved blade and sharp tip are much better at cutting clean edges than the GW sprue cutters. Plus they sell for about half the price.




The thighs get a similar treatment.




Completed thigh with the usual cement smoothing.


Going through the bitz bin, a carnifex headpiece catches my eye as a suitable enhancement for the tail. The tail is squared off to fit inside the drilled out part. Due to some precise filing and the ubiquitous Tamiya extra thin cement, still no GS required for a seamless assembly.


In light of model's bigger size I figure it can hold a deathspitter in one hand so the weapon gets filed down until the support hand is gone.


Finger holes are drilled out and smoothed with more Tamiya cement. The elbow gets drilled out to make the arm a bit longer and make it poseable.


Lash whip is next.
Here I figured that a Devourer would make a suitable starting point. The angle of the handle, it's size and the selection of small tubes connecting the weapon to the arm just worked. Underneath the GS is a brass armature. I don't know what that batch of GS but it just go where I wanted it to. There were numerous hard yellow fragments that just didn't mix in at all. The more I worked on it the more chunks would work their way to the surface. I did my best to smooth it out but in the end it seemed all I could do was sculpt the stubborn areas to make them look like the that fleshy muscle we have underneath our tongue.


I primed with a quick light coat of German Grey and I'm not too sold on the end result.


Leaving it aside for now until I either get a better idea or some feedback.

Remember that Bone Sword I built at the start? I've never really been a fan of the typical square top Nid swords as they just don't look enough like bone to me. I figure they should look like sharp edged antlers and have a bunch of nasty stabby/slashy tips and edges. This might have something to do with the fact that I use to sculpt antlers into punch daggers and letter openers about 10 years ago but that's a different story :lol:.

Seeing as how the bone sword is also a symbiote that constantly heals itself to keep the edge sharp I figure it would have a decent sized body at it's base. It turns out that Rippers are the perfect size compared to a rending claw. All it needs is a bit of filing and carving to make the hand (with finger tips removed) fit inside the chitinous basket guard.

As usual I just sketch to scale directly on styrene to explore some ideas. Two shapes are keepers.


To keep the round areas intact and to cut down on filing time later on, I drill out the detail areas.


The two shapes cut out. The idea with the one on the right was that it would extend past the fleshy and create a ridge that would later be GS'd. Turns out I prefer the left one.


Filing and shaping took just under an hour. Compared to the first design, I'd call it a sizable improvement. Still some GS work to do on it but I'm thinking it's a keeper.


Having now done a fit test with the nearly finished sword arm it becomes clear that the much-maligned first version of the lash whip has to go. More as the story unfolds.

Comments, critique and suggestions (has anyone coined CC&S yet ) welcome as always.

Marc.

Nice Trygon Prime!

Thanks.

With all the drilling ,cutting, filing, flash removal and customisation that build took about 12 hours. Hell, the mouth alone took 3 hours.
It takes a bit longer to assemble models without GS but then i find so much more satisfying when all the pieces just fit.

Cheers,

Dark_Gear

Looking good. I really like that sword hilt and may have to use that one myself as well.

That's awesome can't wait to see them all painted up

Sweet conversion work, now get 'em painted good an' proppa'.

Paintin'? Whozzat?

No but seriously, don't hold your collective breaths for some pigment on these gribblies. At least not until I'm caught up with the long list of conversions required for an upcoming battle.
Once this Prime gets sorted out the next items on the list are (in no particular order):

-16 ripper bases
-21 genestealers
-6+ sword warriors (all with custom swords thank you very much)
-12 Termagant
-4 carnifex (converted to 2 Tervigons and 2 Tiranofexes.

Once all this is done (if ever) I'll break out the airbrush and start base coating. On the positive it gives a lot of time to figure out the paint scheme.
My first and only primed Carnifex was originally painted with the idea of making it look like a giant blue beetle as illustrated below:



I even built a whole selection of magnetised heads and armour plates for that kit.



That build and monster Sniper-Fex were posted up on ATT about a year and half ago, before my extended break from the hobby, and can be found here:

http://www.advancedtautactica.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=9650&start=0

The incomplete Fex is counted as part of the kits in the above list of projects. Due to all the extra armour it's probably be turned into a T-Fex.

Cheers,

Dark_Gear

Why I do believe I notice a distinct lack of legs on that Carnifex. As it happens I've been trying to get my hands on extra sets of Carnifex legs. Any chance you've just got those sitting around and would be willing to trade em out for other bitz? I've got TONS, and not just `Nid stuff.

Aduro wrote:Why I do believe I notice a distinct lack of legs on that Carnifex. As it happens I've been trying to get my hands on extra sets of Carnifex legs. Any chance you've just got those sitting around and would be willing to trade em out for other bitz? I've got TONS, and not just `Nid stuff.

Aduro,
why don't you check out a UK company called Bits & Kits - I recently added a link to the resources page in the painting & modelling section

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/260250.page

I've used them half a dozen times & always found the service excellent

Dark_Gear,
Great stuff, really inspiring. I look forward to seeing your next projects

Oh I have, but they're sold out, and have been for awhile. Thanks though.

I love that beetle effect on the armor plates, how did you do it?

Just a quick update

Finished GS work on the Bone Sword. As I was working on it a little voice told me to extend the forearm downwards like a bone shield.
Gotta love it when inspiration whispers things that actually fit the goal.

Inside view


Outside view


Aduro: Why yes I do have some extra Carnie legs in the bitz bin. Need some extra for more Tervigons I presume?
Unlike you I can't really see myself using them as I loathe the hoof. Contact me by PM so we can arrange something.

Deathwolf: Simple answer - Airbrush with Tamyia Blue Candy coat over a German Grey pre-shade base and post shaded with very very light German Grey is certain areas. None of the white highlights were painted but rather come from light from my flash as it bounced off the ceiling as per the following pic. Pardon the crappy quality but the good camera was too busy posing this time.



Cheers,

Dark_Gear

Oh my god I love that colour! Plus everything else is here is just so great!

Oh, non GW colors, rats. I am trying to stay in GW's range because its really the only paint at my FLGS, and Its kindof just easier.

Nifty thats a great idea for the Bonesword!

I'm back in homework mode so progress is probably on hold until next weekend. In the meantime,

Munch: Thanks very much.

Deathwolf: If you go check out an art supply store (like Michael's or Opus) you can probably find metal flake paint. While I haven't tested this myself since I painted this with an airbrush, one paint recipe you could try is mixing Mithril Silver with a dark shade of blue such as Ultramarine Blue. Add a couple drops of Future Floor Wax acrylic (yes, the floor cleaning product) to make it a bit smoother. Apply it over a base coat of Regal Blue in thin coats. Then go over the model with some Asurmen Blue or Badab Black washes before going over some key ridges with very sparse drybrushing of your earlier candy coat mixture. I'm not making any guarantees since like I said, I used and airbrush and Tamiya paints but, were I to attempt to do a sparkly blue scarab shell with GW paints, that's how I'd do it. Lemme know how it turns if you try it.

Llamahead: Feel free to steal the design. Also, I've got 8 sword blanks waiting for carving. That little voice of inspiration told me to create a squad of 8 warriors to mess up Necrons and Marines Only problem is I can see myself running out rippers for the guards. Eh well, I guess I'll just have to improvise.

Cheers,

Dark_Gear




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Took a quick break from a research and stumbled upon a great source of inspiration.

Seems somebody managed to stockpile all the Cirilla 4th ed concept sketches for Nids and posted them up:

http://album.warpshadow.com/v/ShadowsInTheWarp/Tyranid-Archive/sketches/4ed/

For those of you who've never heard of Cirillo, he's the one we have to thank for such iconic designs as



Anyways, buried in that archive lay these interesting Bone Sword concept which never saw the light of day. hmmm...




Later,

Dark_Gear

Oooo , those are quite inspiring for bone sword ideas, I may use them myself. I do have to say I like where your design as a whole is going.

Thanks, if you're interested, a friend of mine is wanting to cast some copies in resin for his own purposes. I'll keep you informed.

Due to work there hasn't been any progress on the modelling front since Sunday. However, I did get 15 minutes to sketch out an idea for a more fearsome looking Tyrant bonesword. It would be detailed to be fully appreciated on a Warrior. I call it the Barnacle Blade. Basically, the Hive Mind assimilated some sea creature biomass and decided to put it to good use. When the barnacle symbiotes feel a target nearby they deploy acidic tendrils that latch on to the prey. Could be seen as a Tyranid chainsword if you will.



C&C appreciated as always,

Dark_Gear

Very nice concept work. I also think your conversions are very impressive

Love the sketches.
The trygon is fierce the added mouth gives it alot of character.

But the warriors, well the way you did the back cannons, thats just not my cup of tea. Maybe if quadrapds instead of bipedal but that just my thoughts

The ripper as the base of the sword?

Freakin great idea. Honestly a mindblowing concept their.

I have stolen your ripper sword base idea and have yet do the gs work.

Hey all,

Bloody research projects at school are really dragging the Nid Time down to a minimum.
Thankfully, there is the daily commute which gave me a chance to sketch out a few more conversion ideas.

Building on the idea of arm blades as found on the Cirillo sketches, here's my own spin.


Lash Whip tip concept exploration, possibly using a cut-off tubing from the Carnifex Venom Cannon.


Thanks for the interest in the bone sword. Don't they copying is the best form of flattery? As long as I get credit for the idea, copy away.

Plans for this weekend: Build another 12 Gaunts, Work on Prime's Head and Lash Whip.

later,

Dark_Gear

For starters, thanks to all for your interest. I've received almost 150 hits since my last post.

Let's get the simple things out of the way. In trying to get enough spare Termagants for 2 Tervigons, I've had to buy more of the little gribblies. The only way to power through them is to set up the production line.



Then I realised they were all too light so out came the air rifle pellets. Thankfully I bought a big tin because at 2 pellets per base it adds up pretty quick. It also requires a lot desk space.



I did some math from reading Battle Reports and it seems that on average, when running 2 Tervies, you can poop out about 44 Termagants before pregnancies get aborted by the dice gods. Therefore, counting the 20 that one needs to field the 2 Tervies as a troop choice, I need a minimum of 64 to make I don't run out. Maybe I could cut down on costs if I just converted some Hormogants? Mind you, if i do that then I'll never have enough to field the Apoc Without Number formation <le sigh> Still a long ways to go...



Speaking of swarms, I did some counting and realised I finally had enough rippers to start making bases. The production line was setup and ready to go.



I also found a use for those seemingly useless plastic sphincters GW includes on most Nid sprues. There are 2 designs, a 2 "cone" and a 3 "cone" base. Considering I had enough to create 2 squads of 8 bases, the squads will be differentiated by which "cone mound" it is glued to.



After the tedious bits were out of the way I finally could get back to the Tyranid Prime.
Try as I might the original deathspitter mod just wasn'nt working. It was too bulky and took away the focus from the bonesword. Furthermore, the empty lower arm was also in the way of the sword arm so I scrapped that one too. Instead, I opted for a Plain Jane deathspitter with standard feeder arm. This design changed opened up some much needed space on the model for a Lash whip more in keeping with the Sword, something that could make use of the sketch I posted at the start of the weekend.



Starting with a Ripper as a base I figured that since they are small and very simple creatures to breed, maybe they could be used as a base for more than boneswords. Who knows, maybe rippers evolved from some type of voracious sea-dwelling creature. Their biomass was taken in and their DNA was tweaked so that the flowing tentacles has fused into a long bony member or one single large powerful tentacle. If such is the case I figure that one Uber tentacle would still have elements of its previously divided self, hence it would have flesh hooks coming out of a split tip to properly snare meals, uh, I mean opponents. Which lead to this final design.



While that was curing I turned my attention to the torso. It just didn't seem like it had enough height and bulk, which meant it was time to add some extra armour.





Following this I realised the Warrior's head should also reflect its stature and status.
Here then is a close-up of the bulked up cranium and the beginnings of a bigger, more muscular throat and neck to connect the piece to the torso.



Once it cures I'll finish off the throat and bulk up the ribcage so that it all fits visually.

C&C welcome as always.

Cheers,

Dark_Gear

You actually put more pictures per post than I do, so you really need to get more replies to your stuff so I don't have to wait so long for the pages to load.

And I totally need to steal that Lashwhip idea, as I could not build one I liked myself.

Can't help it for the photos, I'm a photographer who also loves to see other people's process. You just need to get a faster connection to make it not seem so slow lol

I'm really stumped about the lack of replies, not just in my thread mind you just in general. Like I said in my last post, received about 150 since my Saturday post yet not one reply... Maybe people are just shy, who knows.

As for that Lash whip, if your bitz box is anything like what I have after buying 5 Carnifex kits, you should have more than enough premade bitz of tubing to choose from. Cut the ammunition cord from the barbed strangler as close to the hand as possible and you'll have a great starting point.

Gratz on making top-10 in the BoLS comp by the way. You're up against some pretty stiff competition so good luck you could really use another model to work on.

Cheers,

Dark_Gear

Yeah, I swore once I saw Simon's in it, even before I saw what the votes were at.

Fantastic stuff here, great work Dark_Gear.

QFT, really inspiring, especially the bone sword sketches. Thanks!!

This is all really awesome, inspiring stuff. I love your use of bitz and scratchbuilding to really give your models some individuality.
This is how a Hive Fleet should be built!