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That's quite a few raveners you have there, going to look great when they are painted up and ready to go.

Heh, I like how you and I have opposite gloss varnish setups, you do the carapace I do the skin, both look good and I think it highlights the versatility of the tyranids and what you can do with them,

I see we are both working on getting better photos too

Keep up the good work

I'm very excited to put a few broods of Raveners on the table, I need to get going and put some claws and paint on them! It will be a labour of love.

I like how the bugs can have such variety... and can be so shiny as well! But your photography seems to be outpacing mine. I will work on it, lol! Thanks for the comments!

This next month is going to be wild - moving, a newborn, university papers... gotta find time for miniatures!!

SBG wrote:
I've begun work on my list for an upcoming 1500 point tournament, and realized that many of the models I need are not quite finished. I'm also lacking several pairs of MC Devourers - so I decided to make my own! How about a quick rundown of how I did it, and if you want more details, feel free to ask. Sounds good? Great!

Acquire a Heavy Venom Cannon. You probably have 9 of them, waiting to see the light of day once again. You also have approximately 437 infantry Devourers: take out three two. That's it for bits... Cut the HVC thusly. 3 plate sections down is far enough.



As you see here, the devourers need to be shaved down and trimmed so they sit flush against one another and the body of the HVC. Don't cut the tips of your fingers off.



The angle has to be just right - we're keeping the armoured plating on the lower devourer, but not the top one. Note the slight trimming of the lower part of the HVC barrel on the lower (assembled) unit. The top is not yet trimmed here.



Two completed units! They still require a small mount of greenstuff, but are otherwise 'functional'.



And here's the crowd waiting for their arms.



I've got a little painting to do on them yet, but it's coming along... the Pyrovores are being used as Biovores, of course, and I'm procrastinating painting them. Questions, comments, just ask!

subbed on the strength of this post alone. Will have to try it

Glad to hear it! Hope I can continue to provide useful information, and feel free to ask if there's anything else that I can help with.

Today I actually got a few more critters finished!



I finished midterms and papers last week, sitting at A's and an A+ ...so figured I'd take an evening off.

The Hormagaunt needed scything talons rather than a gun so I changed them up, and the Raveners... There are so many. What was I thinking?

I also made 2 more TL-Devourers as well; nine might be just enough. Well, actually I should have eleven but when will I ever run 4 walkrants and 7-9 carnifexes? Actually... Hmmm...

Fit in a 1500pt game, here's the painted swarm heading to the buffet!



Moving this week; everything is packed. I expect to have the Carnifexes finished up in early December however!

Man, it never ends. You're making great progress though man, just keep it at.

The best reward is showing up the game store with a fully painted nid force, draws a lot of attention to the table.

That's the best part, absolutely. It's encouraging to hear - thank you! There were a few gamers at the shop who came by to check them out too, which is why I try to only field the painted stuff...

Packing was enlightening: I have about 9 cubic feet of paints and models. :0

After unpacking, I will have to prioritize what needs work. Thinking that I would like to do one of 2 things:

1. Run a DS list with the Subterranean Swarm, which means finishing the Raveners, fixing a broken Mawloc, and assembling/painting another one...

2. Finish painting the 10 Lictors so that I can do an invasion themed list.

The Lictors will be easier and faster, and Vanguard type lists are pretty fun. Of course, I recall the glory days of assault out of outflanking with Genestealers, things have changed. Looks like some success has been had with Lictors of late, so maybe I'll give them a go in my next (always fluffy) game.

Subscribed!

Did you magnetize your Tyrannofex to swap into a Tervigon, or just the arm options? Also, do you trawl eBay for these models on the cheap, or somewhere else?

I'd start with the lictors...

Not like the raveners and mawloc are going anywhere anytime soon, so start with lictors, and when you do get round to completing the mawloc and raveners you could use the assassin brood as homing beacons for your DS guys

Just my thoughts though, ultimately it's your army, so you can do what ever you want hehe

Any details on the 1500pt game? Who did you come up against and did you consume or die trying?

Sinful Hero wrote:Subscribed!

Did you magnetize your Tyrannofex to swap into a Tervigon, or just the arm options? Also, do you trawl eBay for these models on the cheap, or somewhere else?

I've acquired several of the big guys, and I have multiple setups. Three were purchased new, one from Discount Games Store (My favorite online seller), 2 from the local games shop, and I have one used one that is still waiting to be stripped. They are set up as follows:
1. Tervigon with magnetized scything talons and head, and acid spray,
2. Tyrannofex with permanently glued acid spray and head,
3. Tyrannofex with full magnetization for all weapons and both heads - but not the birthing chamber.
4. Tervigon (used) with glued scytals and head.

There is about a 30/70split in my army for new/used. New stuff generally is from the FLGS, but I've picked up a handful from DGS as well. My used models are carefully picked out, I have a shockingly low budget for wargaming - so I don't buy used unless it's about 20% of retail. Which means I miss out on a lot of auctions. However, the ones that I win are amazing, like the Raveners... I got 7 boxes of Raveners, plus several thousand Tyranid bits, for $50. My Lictors and Deathleaper were all used, all metal, and I don't think I paid more than $10 for each of them. And I've scored three phenomenal deals in person as well - thousands of points in models for less than a hundred dollars, a couple of times... But my collection has been growing for almost five years, it's just taken a LOT of patience and a LOT of waiting for the right deal to come along.

Mad.. wrote:I'd start with the lictors...

Not like the raveners and mawloc are going anywhere anytime soon, so start with lictors, and when you do get round to completing the mawloc and raveners you could use the assassin brood as homing beacons for your DS guys

Just my thoughts though, ultimately it's your army, so you can do what ever you want hehe

Any details on the 1500pt game? Who did you come up against and did you consume or die trying?

Thanks for your thoughts, and I may do just that! The lictors have been waiting far too long already, and are basecoated for the most part, so they'll be quick. And as you say, they have some great benefits for the DS broods later. Now I just need to go buy the Rising Leviathan V.1 - I only bought the second two for some reason

The game went well, I was facing the Dark Angels played by a like-minded friend of mine. We both brought fluffy lists, but the game had to end after turn two because of real life, parental duties. However, we had a blast and it was tied when we stopped.

I brought what was in the picture above:
A walking CC Tyrant (!)
2 Tyrannofexes
2 Venomthropes
2x 10 Gargoyle broods
4x 3 Warrior broods with Stranglers
2x Dakkafexes

My associate brought:
Named Character/Land Speeder with AV14 and a 4+ invuln
10 Marines
6 Bikers
Land Speeder with assault cannon
Venerable Dreadnought
Dreadnought
Scouts x5
Aegis Defence Line with Emplacement
5 Deathwing Terminators with Assault Cannon
Land Raider with Hellstorm Flamers (?) S6 AP3, anyhow.
...There were flamers and heavy flamers throughout the list.

I had first turn and the mission was The Relic...

Deployment was straightforward - Gargoyles screening, Big Bugs central and forward, and venomthropes providing cover for almost everything.
Dark Angels deployed the ADL in the rear, with the troops manning the gun. Dreads on the side, bikes and skimmer on my right flank ready for a rapid advance. DWT deepstruck turn 1.




I Onslaughted the Gargoyles to the Relic to screen it out, and shot down 3 Scouts who had infiltrated close by. Potshots were made by the Warriors, killing another Scout, but not much else happened.



DA replied by flaming a few Gargoyles, advancing aggressively, and dropping DWT into my face ... but they scattered back about 8". Shooting was eneventful with a few Warriors getting wounded.



Tyranid turn 2 was better - First Blood for me as the Gargoyles killed the last Scout in the open, and the other Gargoyles combined fire with 6 Warriors to kill 4 bikers including the Sergeant and Flamers (Lead from the front!). Warriors and Carnifexes kill a few Terminators, and the Tyrannofexes move to drop AV14-Skimmer-Captain, but though I roll a glance and a penetrating hit, he negates both with his invulnerable save!



The Marines are forced to make three Morale checks this past turn, and pass all of them. DA turn two - last turn - he turbo-boosts his remaining 2 bikes into my DZ for Linebreaker. Sad Tyranids! As you can see, he determines that smashing the Tyrannofexes with several types of powerfists is a great idea. I think so too - there's no better way to go about it, really.



The game ends after Tyrannofex #1 Smashes a Dread and detonates it, and is itself killed by Terminators. The second Dread and Tyrannofex slap each other about but fail to accomplish much. With the Tyranids holding First Blood and the DA possessing Linebreaker, it is a draw as my Gargoyles cannot pick up the Relic - though they have it swarmed with bodies!



A rematch will occur after the move, and it will be delicious.

Thanks for sharing the batrep... battle between those T-fexes and the dreadnoughts is amusing, one gets detonated, t-fex goes down... the other dreadnought and t-fex must of been distracted by the explosion and did nothing .

Rematch should be fun!

Yes, that was a weird combat... 2d3 auto-haywire hits do -nothing- to 2 dreads charging in, then one Smash hit explodes a dread while the second combat is a wimpy slap fight.

Very unexpected. I will screen them next time, I think - they are more useful in the shooting phase.

The rematch is likely to be Deathwing, so I will build the fluffiest list and it will be awesome. I fully expect to see more ridiculous and ineffective combats!

Update:

Moved to a house twice the size of the former. Now the hobby stuff doesn't need to be stored in the garage! I've now got a proper shelf inside with the ability to keep most foam and models out for quick access - totally excellent.

Still haven't stripped the Flyrant but I've repaired the tail and removed the Lash whip/Bone sword combo in preparation for magnetization. Sorry for the lack of updates lately... moving, new baby and a particularly busy semester (10 papers!!) were overwhelming.

More pics and progress to come, now that things have stabilized somewhat. Cheers!

Well, my wife made Christmas baking while I painted this evening! Everybody wins.

Started with three bare Warriors, finished with these:



They aren't yet done - still need clearcoat, a bit of wash, base trim - but I'm starting to make progress again!

Warriors are looking good.

Did you get to sample any of the baking?

Moving house, new baby, and 10 papers... sounds like a handful, no wonder things slowed down a bit

Thank you! I managed to scoop a few (of each!) treats and she's definitely a professional.

Finally got around to fixing and painting the Flyrant; was going to strip it first but I don't want to wait and the paint wasn't too thick...



I also 'armed' (heh) his little buddies there. I still have an overwhelming number of Raveners to build. :|

Small bites!

I really like the ravener models. Personally I like close combat looking nids with Thorax weapons, which is exactly what the raveners are.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the wings on your tyrant... I have one to make up and paint up in the near future. Have you magnetised the wings?

The Raveners are some of my favorites too, very menacing... I'll be sure to put up pics as they. come along! I find that they are, points-wise, very expensive with deathspitters but I'm contemplating running the Subterranean Swarm and pinpointing a whole bunch of them. Once they're built, that is...

I'm going to have to find about 9 sets of Warrior rending claws for the rest of them before I can build them - hoping to have about a 60/40 split between scything and rending in my CC-oriented broods.

The Tyrant is going to be an experiment for me - the gargoyles were easy but tiny, so I hope to get the same results with the Tyrant despite the huge surface area. I may have to water down the wash a bit, we will see. I'll try to remember to do a step-by-step as I paint it! Unfortunately the model came glued, and I did not want to risk destroying it so they have stayed on. I plan on getting 3-4 more sets of wings to magnetize for my other 4 tyrants, but given the price they will have to wait a bit.

Hissy approve SBG.

Good! Then she can feast her eyes on the newest, sneakiest project of mine... The long awaited Lictors! And a few Raveners... Had to break it up a bit.









Basecoats mostly finished... Assembly line work is at times so tedious. But at least I got to paint tonight - my wife beat me in Settlers of Catan quite rapidly, so that freed up an hour or two!

Those lictors are coming along well, are you planning on doing anything unique to them to represent the chameleonic skin? I've seen others paint lictors up in the middle of a skin colour change to match the base, and it looks good in most cases.

That Ravener on the left, looks a bit like he is bowing, before leaping at you and eating your face off!

Agreed that assembly line work can be tedious, but the end result is always worth it when you see that swarm grow.

I'm totally not doing the chameleonic effect, because my bases are BORING. otherwise I might do it. However, they are starting to fit in more! That Ravener just ... Is odd. Not sure why the sculpt is leaning so far but he does look hungry!





These sneaky sneakers are very, very pointy. I keep rubbing paint off the spikes, but that should slow after the gloss is applied. Painstakingly. To every single purple part and spike.

:| only 7 Lictors to go! and about 17 Raveners, for some reason.

Group shot, so far...





I am absolutely taking these in a game soon. After so much work, it must be done!

Well, no pictures but I based all 9 models last night after getting beat at Catan again. Perhaps this upcoming week I will get them completed! If so, pics will be forthcoming.

Also, might have a 1500-1850ish game coming up... list ideas? I'm willing to try pretty much anything, usually go MC heavy but would like to use the Lictors, if possible.

I have the rules for all Leviathan formations, so am considering DL assassin brood...

I'd give DL assassin brood a crack... and perhaps throw some mawlocs into the list so you can drop them in on the lictors that will be everywhere and watch your opponent try and work out what to shoot first when it starts raining nids.

You just want me to have to build that last Mawloc! Lol... Semester just started again so we'll see how progress goes. Slowly, I'm sure. The game that was planned never ended up happening, but perhaps in the near future!

If nothing else, I am planning on getting a group shot of all of the Raveners - that's kind of exciting! I haven't seen a collection with 28 raveners in it before... A good reason exists I am sure! Lol...

Wow! That semester was awful. Also, I started a business, and had to work the earth rather a lot (terrible lawn at the new house, fixed now). I painted the Flyrant a bit, and will try to get it done tonight... I need to figure out how to make more hobby time happen!

No university for me until at least 2017.

Welcome back!

Started a business while studying, with a new addition to the family? You are a tiger for punishment aren't you

Keen to see your flying hive tyrant

I like to be busy, apparently... It's been a wild ride. I did find some time to put a few more coats on this big guy, just a few more washes and a clear coat, and some magnets... Then I just need to find some table time and get in a game. Thanks for looking!

I will likely be posting better quality pictures now, as I have a Canon T5 now... Just have to figure out a light box and the macro setting

Still wanting to finish Lictors: all basecoated now, mostly washed as well.

***

Interesting fact of the day: One Imperial Guardsman, carefully rationed, can feed three Termagants for an entire week!

The tyrants wings look good with the light base coat and darker wash over the top, nice and easy, but looks really effective!

Heh, I recently discovered that my iPhone seems to be taking better photos than I am getting with my point and shoot... so thats what I'm rolling with for now

Looking forward to seeing the sneaky lictors.

Fact of the day.... guardsman will feed three termagants, except the pesky rippers get there first