MkII Introduction:
It's 2013 and I'm taking a new approach to this blog and the entire hobby in fact. I had turned all of my projects into chores by setting deadlines and forcing myself to work on things that I wan't inspired by at that moment. All this resulted in was less and less progress until it all came to a halt so no more. Now I'm going to work on whichever project I'm inspired by for as long as I'm inspired by it. My blogs might see periods of downtime but overall I'll make more progress and produce better quality work.

There is a checklist and an index at the bottom of this post, this allows you to jump to specific updates easily in what I plan on being a lengthy blog. I'm hoping to produce more fluff and more drawings detailing biology this time round but I'm not promising anything to myself or anyone reading. Well, apart from that I'm going to enjoy it, that I can promise, and I hope you do too.

Fluff:
My hobby projects always seem to play on the fringes of the canon, I guess I'm happiest breaking new ground. 40k lore is a great source of half whispered possibilities and questions raised but never answered. Ymgarl is one of these subjects that intrigues me and the one this blog is concerned with. I have no intention of contradicting current or guessing future canon and I would be upset to do so, rather, I would propose an event which could be nothing more than a confined incident. In this way I can freely create a very unique force without fear of retcon or new canon negating my work.

What I am creating, in short, is a small Hive Fleet which has accidentally absorbed Ymgarl biomass. This incident has caused the Hive Mind to reject them but they have adapted to their circumstances and after a period of dormancy are preying on a small Imperial solar system. The biological and tactical adaptations resemble and expand upon documentation of Genestealers, Lictors and Jormungandr, among others.

1st Wave Checklist:
I'll score things out as i complete them.
Flyrant (Greened|Painted)
Deathleaper (Greened|Painted)
Warriors x3 (Greened|Painted)
Warriors x3 (Greened|Painted)
Ymgarl x5 (Greened|Painted)
Ymgarl x5 (Greened|Painted)
Mycetic Spore (Greened|Painted)
Mycetic Spore (Greened|Painted)

Index:
03/Feb/2012: Hive Tyrant WIP
06/Feb/2012: Hive Tyrant WIP
10/Feb/2012: Hive Tyrant WIP
11/Feb/2012: Hive Tyrant WIP
13/Feb/2012: Hive Tyrant WIP
18/Feb/2012: Genestealers and Warriors WIP
18/Feb/2012: Space Hulk Genestealers Review
21/Feb/2012: Tyranid 2nd Wave Leaked!
03/Mar/2012: Genestealers WIP
20/Mar/2012: Warriors WIP
02/Apr/2012: Supply Drop!
03/Apr/2012: Supply Drop! and Hive Tyrant WIP
07/Feb/2013: Warriors WIP
08/Feb/2013: Warriors WIP
08/Feb/2013: Warriors WIP
09/Feb/2013: Warriors WIP
09/Feb/2013: Mycetic Spore Designs

Camera problems are never fun.

At least you have the Project List posted because, as they say, The journey of a steps, yadda yadda.

Sucks about the camera, but it happens. Looking forward to seeing your work and reading your fluff.

You'll be happy to know that I finally some new pics of my Hive Tyrant's neck as per your earlier request.

Hope it helps.

I will be watching with interest

Thanks guys, pictures will 100% be up later on. Thanks Dark_Gear i'll go check out that pic now.

Better late than never. All this 'free time' hasn't been all that free for the last two days, . That plus the battery issues has just been bad timing!
I'll apologise in advance for the picture quality. I'm trying but it's new to me and i don't have a proper area set up right now.
There is a metal Hive Tyrant under the green stuff which manages to poke through here and there. I managed to remove all of the carapace from the original model but i left everything exoskeletal or fleshy, much of what was left has been greened over to add bulk to the torso and alter the design. Disturbingly, the first section of back carapace is starting to look like the original one but the others will be different. The first one needs to be big enough to believably cover the wing socket muscles.

Here is an image which comes close to illustrating the final pose i want to achieve:


Well it's still in it's early stages but without further ado:
First up is the head, it still needs smoothing and there is more detail on the carapace than you can see in the picture.





Secondly, the torso. Again it needs smoothing, this is no where near done but the shape is coming together.



And pinned together for effect.



Hope you enjoyed, c&c is welcome as it always will be. I don't know how much there is to say at this stage though, it's only just taking shape.

Lastly, here is the list i built for the army, it's very fluffy.
HQ:
Tyrant (Wings/Lash Whip+Bonesword/Twin-Linked Devourers+Brainleech Worms/Implant Attack) - 260pts
Elites:
Deathleaper - 140pts
Ymgarls x5 - 115pts
Ymgarls x5 - 115pts
Troops:
Warriors x3 (Devourers/Lash Whips+Boneswords)
+ Mycetic Spore (Cluster Spines) - 185pts
Warriors x3 (Devourers/Lash Whips+Boneswords)
+ Mycetic Spore (Cluster Spines) - 185pts
Total: 1000pts

P.S. I've added a 'Tyrant's Log' to the OP and made a couple of other changes to make things a bit smoother.

Are you you haven't done this before?

If it's a first attempt I'd say you're off to a great start.

The venomthrope head fits nicely with the scale of the tyrant torso and the added tentacles match the movement and scale. The neck has just the right amount of Nid detail to work overall as well. Regarding the arm sockets, they seem to be flat as opposed to round socketed. Do you intend to magnetise the arms?

Regarding the carapace, I know you're still early in the build but to my eye the edges seem like they be a little crisper along the outside edges. Is that what you're going for or will you adding more detail later in the build?

Keep it up and keep us posted.

Dark_Gear wrote:Are you you haven't done this before?
If it's a first attempt I'd say you're off to a great start.

Why thank you! It depends on what you mean by never done this before to be honest. I've done conversions and filled gaps with GS but very badly. My old CSM army looks truly horrific apart from maybe one fluke of a model, my comment on tyranid jump packs springs to mind.

The venomthrope head fits nicely with the scale of the tyrant torso and the added tentacles match the movement and scale. The neck has just the right amount of Nid detail to work overall as well. Regarding the arm sockets, they seem to be flat as opposed to round socketed. Do you intend to magnetise the arms?

Actually that's the Tyrants original head, i went a bit crazy with a saw and green stuff. I do have a Venomthrope head on my WIP Deathleaper but thats for a later date. I'm glad the neck works, i really wasn't sure about it. The pictures don't show it but the normally soft, underside of the neck has a plate of exoskeletal ridges which is supposed to be something like a secondary spine. Also, the sides of the neck are slightly wider than the head, the look like inflamed glands. The flat appearance of the army sockets would be down to by terrible photography, no magnets for limbs on this project, i treat my models more like display figures than wargaming pieces. On saying that i am going to be using insaniaks wound counter idea on the bases so that i can keep tabs on wounds without disturbing the model to much.

Regarding the carapace, I know you're still early in the build but to my eye the edges seem like they be a little crisper along the outside edges. Is that what you're going for or will you adding more detail later in the build?

I've had a serious filing session to smooth everything out and sharpen details. Where the carapace ends isn't finished, i've filed a lot of it back and it's only the first pass. I definitely want there to be a cleaner difference between carapace and flesh but not as much as it appears right now. I'm learning that multiple passes are the way to go for me and my new needle files are great for finishing the green stuff to a standard i can't achieve with my colour shapers yet.

Keep it up and keep us posted.

Update incoming in the not to distant future. Working on the third carapace section now. Should i add a scale shot? If so what model would be best?


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Trying to come up with a suitable Twin-Liked Devourer conversion. Thoughts on a postcard?

If you don't have any yet, I strongly suggest metal shapers. The coulour shapers are great to work with when the GS in the first 30 minutes of the curing process but as you get into the 45-60+ minutes you need tools more rigid tools to shape and smooth.

If you review my Nid thread, especially in the later images, you'll see the shapes of the tools I'm talking about. A great source for these, other than online stores, would be flea markets and dental offices. should you happen to have a dentist in your family they might have doubles of certain that they'd be willing to give away or they could order them for you. Let me know if you need more dedicated pictures of the tools.

I have to admit, when I saw the pic of the bird and then the pic of head (which I couldn't really see as a head) I did wonder exactly where this was going. But then in the next pic of the head & torso it all became clear!

So your Hq is going to be a huge genestealer inspired Tyrant? . . . Now that's cool! Really looking forward to seeing more!

Dark_Gear wrote:If you don't have any yet, I strongly suggest metal shapers.

Ah yes, your dental tools, the ones that look like bent wire on a pin vice, yeh? I'll try and get myself some of these soon but cash is a bit tight, for now i'll work fast and file a lot.

Emperors_Champion wrote:I have to admit, when I saw the pic of the bird and then the pic of head (which I couldn't really see as a head) I did wonder exactly where this was going. But then in the next pic of the head & torso it all became clear!
So your Hq is going to be a huge genestealer inspired Tyrant? . . . Now that's cool! Really looking forward to seeing more!

Hey Emperors_Champion, yeh it's very hard to see unless the parts are assembled, my pictures will be more and more of the assembled models now i'm hitting my stride and have a bit more to show.
Yep, the whole army will be inspired by genestealers and lictors. I'm glad you like the idea, i just hope i can pull it off to a satisfactory level.


Well, i felt bad about replying without anything to update so i've waited until now so i have something new to show. I've got some very WIP top arms but my super glue dried up, i'll pick up something cheap but effective at the supermarket tonight. I've decided to pin every component on the model since it is going to be so elaborate and fragile. Yes, even the bonesword has a pin in it. Enjoy!
I've had another pass at the back carapace but it's still no where near finished:

I decided on the way many of the weapons will be mounted throughout the army:

And here are some partially assembled shots.



Quick question: Should i drop the spoiler tags or keep them? I'm not sure what works better.

Drop em.

Done so!

He's looking awesome! He's gonna be one hell of a sight running across the battlefield!

Good choice to drop the spoiler tags, it's not like we don't want to see pictures!

Emperors_Champion wrote:He's looking awesome! He's gonna be one hell of a sight running across the battlefield!
Good choice to drop the spoiler tags, it's not like we don't want to see pictures!

Thanks again! I just read your blog so i'm feeling very honoured by your praise! As for running; he'll be more along the lines of crouching, probably on a large pipe or two. I hope he looks just as scary watching over the battlefield menacingly.
I think the spoiler tags were spawned of a particularly bad day of ocd, possibly triggered by a frak load of coffee. Also the day i think i planted the idea to shave my head, haha!

I'll be throwing out a quick update later tonight or early tomorrow morning(GMT). You may or may not have seen that i have started a second blog. Don't worry though, this one gets as much of my attention as i can give it, maybe 85%/95% of my hobby time. If you follow the link i have explained the reason for starting a second blog over there.

Mexico + tequila + wifi= good times.

So about those updates Casey?

Haha, . Legend! Yeh, theres an interesting story behind my lack of updates:
I woke up yesterday with a slight headache, nothing wild about that, so i just left well alone and got on with my day. The headache got worse and worse as the day went on so i figured i'd tap a snout from someone as it might be a weird 2 month late withdrawal symptom. It wasn't. Come dinner time i had been reduced to a mewling, sprawling mess that would put any chaos spawn to shame. Yay, i had been treated to my very first migraine! And it was a doozy! I would not recommend one if you are considering something to fill the weekend.
To the chaos god(s) responsible: When i find out who the culprit is, i will have my vengeance!
Time, ibuprofen, dark rooms and bed-rest has reduced the internal supernova to a dull bludgeoning so i have decided to finish these confounded arms. I got up early and filed them back, glued them and now it's time to do the green stuff. Assuming i'm not struck down again by whatever force is determined to stop my hobbying then these shouldn't take long. I wonder if this Hive Tyrant is so dangerous they are trying to kill me so it can never come into being!

Migrane! :(

Heard about those! Never had one though!

Glad you feel better, now lets see some pics!

Emperors_Champion wrote:Migrane! :( Heard about those! Never had one though!

I hope it's the only one i ever have. It was a hundred times worse than i thought it could be, new found respect for people that get them often.

But yes, i've been working away with the green stuff today. You may be starting to see the pattern but i'm prone to green stuffing a bit, ripping it off, doing it again, ripping it off, and so on. Well i've done the arm joints an insane amount of times today but i'm just not happy with any of the attempts. I've put a bit of green stuff in to fill the gap for now but it needs textured. The areas where the weapons attach to the arms are done though and they worked first time for me. Yay! I'm very happy with them but i don't think the pictures show the amount of detail on them. I've attached the start of the tail section to the torso and greened in all the flesh under the join. I'm now starting to build over it and green in the transition. The head has been glued in place now as well. I've done some more work on the back carapace although you probably cant see it. It' really justs needs detailed now. Oh and i filed the bonesword sharp while subtly changing it's shape. I think that's everything for now. I feel like its coming together but i need to buy or find the right sized pipe for making the base. If i can't get the base done i won't be able to do a lot of the lower part of the model. Anyway, pictures:




Hopefully it wont take as long to get another update up.

A little update :
I've finished the arms. I may add more tubes to attach them to the body but that will come later.



Got a few things to do now, any feedback appreciated:
1. Devourer: Haven't come up with a design i like yet. I always read the description at this point, as you may know, the Devourer is a big lump of rotting flesh which doesn't exactly fit my fluff as a stealthy elite fleet of killers. Because of this i may have to make up my own weapon and use the stats provided, not a great option but needs must. As a side note, i'm pretty certain i'll be mounting the weapon on one arm.
2. I have considered having one arm on every model replaced by a sack of bio-fuel. I figured that the unstable Ymgarl genes alongside the need to lay in wait for long periods would require a portable fuel source. If i can tie this into the Devourer solution then great, if not i'll probably just drop it, i don't want to overdo things and have the model looking cluttered.
3. Wings: These are also giving me clutter problems. One option i have is having partially formed wings but i hate using fluff as an excuse for bad WYSIWYG. The original plan was to use moth style wings but i'm worried about the size, the wings will have to be big to support a Hive Tyrant. I'll probably get everything else attached before i worry about them.
4. Base: As i said previously i need to find an appropriate piece of pipe or tube and then grim dark it up so that i can get the model mounted up. Might have to go to the hardware store if i can't find anything around.

Enjoy!

Proper good sculpts and oldschool fluff - I like that. Hope it all comes together! Plus there are tentacles. I wonder if they drew inspiration from kuthulu when they came up with ymgarl genestealers?

weetyskemian44 wrote:Proper good sculpts and oldschool fluff - I like that. Hope it all comes together! Plus there are tentacles. I wonder if they drew inspiration from kuthulu when they came up with ymgarl genestealers?

Thank you very much! I'm almost certain that was their inspiration.
I've been away for the weekend but i managed to get the carapace finished, for now anyway. I'll post pictures tonight, hopefully i can get more done between now and then.

I really like your ideas and the Tyrant posed on a pipe ready to swoop down will look awesome. I was very close to starting a nid army before I chose chaos so Im always interested in Nid blogs. keep up the good work.

You apprear to be progressing nicely on the tyrant.

The sculpt not only seems both smooth and detailed, but the stance and the arm weapons are quite original. Your Tyrant should be a fearsome sight striding across the table.

Icarium wrote:I really like your ideas and the Tyrant posed on a pipe ready to swoop down will look awesome. I was very close to starting a nid army before I chose chaos so Im always interested in Nid blogs. keep up the good work.

Thanks, fingers crossed i can pull off the pose. Chaos is my true mistress but i'm trying to venture out right now and see what else there is, needless to say the projects that have started forming for next year are subtly turning me back to the warp. I'll be checking out your Marines for sure!

Dark_Gear wrote:You apprear to be progressing nicely on the tyrant.
The sculpt not only seems both smooth and detailed, but the stance and the arm weapons are quite original. Your Tyrant should be a fearsome sight striding across the table.

Thanks very much Dark_Gear! Not at your standard yet but i'm working on it! Hahaha! That reminds me though:

What do you all think about me taking a short break from the Tyrant? There are a few reasons this could happen:
I think it would benefit my momentum to get some finished models under my belt, a few 'stealers shouldn't take long and it might give me a boost.
I also don't want to rush this model and spoil it. I believe thinking is my strongest commodity in the hobby and it might be an idea to take a step back and gather myself before i start basing the brute.
Lastly i think it would be nice to have a change of scenery and thicken out the blog a bit.

So what do you guys think?


While you are mulling that over, here are a few shots of the progress i've made, it doesn't look like a lot but it's loads of work and time. I've left a couple of wee bits untidy because i want to buy some liquid green stuff rather than put the finished bits in danger of getting treatment from my file. Also, i like to leave bits unfinished so i can do the final detailing and tidying with fresh eyes.







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If i'm not mistaken this project has already taken the life of a brand new diamond needle file. I've tried cleaning it but i think i've actually used it to the point it's smooth. I'll try cleaning it again tomorrow.

Wow, great conversion so far!
Hah, makes my attemts at GS'ing looking worse by the minute!
Allthough, most of the Nid's that frequent my army are nothing but pulp underneath Battlesuit-feet.. (Basing that is )

Thanks, hemmis! Don't put yourself down though, it's all about practice and i've still got a long way to go. You should get your Tau up onto Dakka, i'd love to have a gander!

In fact i'm losing faith in some parts of my Tyrant so i made the executive decision to start work on some Genestealers. I just didn't feel like i was giving it 100% and i was possibly rushing bits, definitely time to get some air and then i'll come back at it with more force and a better idea of what i need to do.

Achtung! Continue reading at your peril. This is not a short update. This isn't even an update.

Oh no wait it is:
So, i have a small surprise and i'm not sure it's a good one. Some of you might like it, some of you might be angry, not unlike the consensus on Marmite... I'll cut to the chase, i bought some Space Hulk Genestealers just before Crimbo, well not some; i bought them all. And the Broodlord. Thank you very much BrotherTri!(He's a great trader if anyone is considering trading with him.) I know a few people think it's a bit of a travesty to convert these little gems but i'm doing it anyway. Balls deep or GTFO, that's what i say. I'm going to use six or seven of the fiends, the others will be planked for a rainy day.
Firstly, i fraken love these models, i love them so much i'm going to slate the hell out of them for a while. Yeh, i'm going to play devils advocate for now, we all know why these models are super-awesome-steak-sauce but if you're considering buying them, you deserve all the facts. I was provided with some lovely big pictures of the very models i was buying which was nice but many of you might buy them on ebay where you only get a stock image of the whole lot in a big tide of dark blue.
I probably should knock out some harsh, blanket criticisms before i look at them in batches, it's really not all that bad though...
Flash: Good actually, exactly like GW plastic kits and it's a pleasure to take some time with a beer or a cuppa and file it from these great models. This simple 'chore' was a genuine labour of love with these guys and i've never experienced that with a model.
Sculpts: Some are great, many are standard, most are duplicates. Individuality couldn't have been on the brief for these guys. Some poses could use a little work but there were some really difficult restrictions to work around. One thing i noticed a lot of were some strange defects(I assume this is due to the casting restrictions.), basically, in certain areas, details were stretched over areas which should have been gaps. Not easy to fix in most cases but also very hard to see as they blend in very well. It doesn't retract from the model i don't think.
Material: Pretty great, slightly more brittle maybe and it has one of those plastic smells you get when you file certain plastics. Files very easily, very easy to cut, glues wonderfully and it drills a treat too!
Time to throw down some pictures i think!


The two above are your standard Genestealers with a tiny base you don't get in the GW plastic kit. They are also duplicates, that's going to turn into a theme...


Once, twice, three times a stealer. The triplets here are very similar to the first two models shown but they have lots of jaggy bits which makes them a to pick up and just a bit overdone in my opinion(okay so they aren't that sharp but it's not a pleasant feeling). Nevertheless they would take a nice paint job very well and look beautiful on any table. Yeh, i lied a little bit, one of them has a big and beautiful base but otherwise he is identical, spiky, and rather boring. It really is top notch and it will be finding it's way onto a Warriors base in the near future because, as you can see, i've confiscated it from him for being a fraud.


This congo line on the other hand is a 100% genuine trio of pointy impersonators. More models for a rainy day but that's no bad thing.


These guys look pretty great, a little busy but very nicely posed when you manage to focus through the mass of arms. My pictures are horrific so if you can't see: They are mid-vault, the arms at there backs appear to have just let go of the metal girders(Is that a girder? What's a girder?!). Sadly the two arms hanging down on each model throw off the well sculpted arc and they end up looking a bit messy.
But anyway, as you can see, yet again, we have a pair of lazy copycats in our midst and no that's not a mirror it's a trick to convince you there is another original sculpt in the set. Well, there isn't.


Yeh, not really sure what this pose is achieving to be honest but it's probably just me. I'd guess that when you play Space Hulk they'd look very like they were scuttling alongside a wall or something. I might use one with a wall on it's base but i wouldn't place any bets on it yet. I can't really pass this image without mentioning the clear duplication. Again they are beautiful models and one day i'm probably gona paint they hell outa them but count with me here: One... two... three... four. Four Genestealers. Ah hah hah. Two similar models isn't going to cut the mustard on this project never mind four identical poses. Of course the bases are only duplicated, and the Terminator armour ones really rock, but i don't really like putting other armies on my bases without a reason(I think i'm going to give the 'man of the match' a trophy on their base to represent the enemy defeated if i ever get a game with them.). If i were to stick the Termy armour in as terrain i'd freak out over what colours to use and how old to weather it and why it's there and so on and so on.


A really wonderful pair of models here, and two beautiful bases to go with them. I'm actually very happy about this 'doubler,' because it's such a nice pose. The one little nit-pick i'd have is that the hanging arms and particularly the Terminator skulls are intruding again on the flow of the sculpt. It is understandably difficult to make the models in a way they can be 'sprued' in two pieces, it's just a shame they didn't make those arms separate pieces so you could fit them outwards, 'balancing.' I know why they didn't, i'm just saying.


This pose is, well, it speaks for itself. Wonderful. Although, it is technically inaccurate. (Man, i'm such a whiny .)Yeh, there is more than a little too much plate bent out from a very small area but i've already thought of two ways to fix that. Actually i might do both. What's that? Shocked gasps and cries of hypocrisy? Well you might be right but i love this model and i think i have discovered a way to use it twice and it being very hard to recognise. There is a large chance i am in denial so i'll do some dry fitting before i chop into the second one.


Double trouble here, great pose, very clear as to what they are up to and it's not something you can get from a GW plastic kit without a lot of work. Definitely using one of these slippery little fellows to keep things dynamic and interesting and it will add an important height change which really works for the squads when you group the models up.


Well, what's to say, easily the two sweetest models in the set of twenty-three. Maybe you disagree? Broodlord's a bit on the large size but i'll use him with the generic Genestealer rules despite him being the clear leader of the pack.
The 'Stealer sliding/scrambling down the wall is truly sublime. He's going to look great on display. I really don't think i need to say more about the fine, gentlemanly chaps...

So that's all the bad stuff i could think of, but i'd still suggest you buy them if you are considering it, hey, maybe those rainy day models will turn into a rainy day fund if you can keep a hold of them for long enough. It's a great set and a joy to prep, convert and paint too i'd bet.

Time to get a move on, already written a huge post but i have some quick updates. This is a project log after all!
More Genestealers! Sorry, you've already seen some pictures but here are just the ones i've started converting with a few notes. I'll give most of the info via the Broodlord's entry then buzz through the rest, i've kept you here far longer than you signed up for! Actually i think a well done and thank you are in order for reading this this far! Have a cookie on me!



The mighty Broodlord! Well, not so mighty, i'll be playing him as a standard Ymgarl Genestealer but fluff wise he'll be leader of the pack and will be awarded a suitably epic nickname. As you can see, i've taken up dentistry, i'm not very good yet so he is missing his lower jaw, tongue and, well, all of his teeth. Or 'oughha ouha udgh' as he would say. But there is heavily veiled method in my unbridled madness, the Ymgarl gene is extremely apposed to all of that clobber you see. It's very clear on the requirement of tentacley, brain sucking, writhing maws. I simply can't fight that sort of pre-determined fate.
The large area of filing over his humongous cranium isn't as brash as it appears in my photographs, the area between his eyes however, is. It would be clumsy to reiterate my last argument with a few alterations, but i'll do it anyway. My fleet don't have vision like we do, their carapace covers the area where there eyes would be and they use developed psychic abilities along with sonar and similar alien abilities to see. Who needs eyes when you spend most of your time in the dark? Not these guys, no siree, Bob.
As you can see i dabbled in a little hand surgery too(And not for the first time! ...but my scarred palm is another story.). The reasons for this are twofold, like a disappointing table napkin: Formerly, he was holding bits of Terminator and i simply was not having that sort of nonsense; Latterly, i've decided this genus of 'Stealer doesn't have any of the half developed rending claws/mutated human hands that are so common amongst their puny cousins. If you can mutate your own body why have some 'okay' defect human digits when you can have full throttle death talons at the end of every limb. I played with the idea of removing the four bones on the back of the imported claws and making it one per finger but i think four muscles would increase climbing dexterity, basically being able to angle the pressure applied.
Blah, anyway the other hand, or eh stump, i cut it above the wrist and filed the sharp edge, this will be green stuffed into a writhing tentacle. See: Tentacled Limbs, p61. That's going to be quite an regular occurrence due to it being such a potent rule for these guys, it'll nicely represent their ever changing nature, i'll continue that theme through the army.
Finally, the big guy had his base hastily removed from him because, you know what they say, too many skulls spoil the broth. Don't worry though his feet are well manicured and being prepped for something more cylindrical. More importantly, isn't that a large base for a Genestealer?! I'm going the whole hog on this army, i don't care if no one will play me, shame on them. The bases are going to be super-sized for display purposes and a little bit because some of the models are a bit larger than normal.



At first i said to myself, 'Don't do to much to this dude, he's awesome.' Then i lost the plot, well kind of. I really love the model, and i really enjoyed carefully removing the weak mutated hand from the terrain and putting on the big angry one but i really think i can accentuate the flow and movement with some big fluffy tentacles(No, not fluffy like a bunny.). With that in mind the other arm got trimmed above the wrist and the foot was caringly carved out. Is 'caringly' even a word? As before, his mouth is no longer with us and his skull has been severely dented.
Drilled some of the pipes on the base but i strongly doubt i'll do the smaller ones, maybe, probably not. The terrain took a lot of sawing and filing and came out a little lop sided because i made a bad cut. The gap will be covered by the rest of the base i'm going to do so no worries.



As always i tore lumps out of his face, no need for that where he's going. Not sold on my addition of the Rending Claw, it looks particularly large where it is and is killing the flow a bit. The other dissected arm is making way for a tentacle which will follow the curves already laid out by the sculptor. This base was easier but i cut my hand the day before and as a result i slipped with the knife a couple of times taking a small chunk out of the terrain each time, easy to fix though. I did manage to add another cut to my thumb with all the mistakes though, i took a break at this stage before things spiraled out of control and i lost a forearm.



Very simple model so far, all of the usual stuff and nothing new, his base will be getting a fair bit of work and as i said before i'm tempted to use the duplicate. This one will be bursting out the side of a horizontal pipe, no tentacles because he's got tearing to be getting on with. The extra surface material of the pipe will account for some of the material around him and he will be partially buried which should even it out to about the right quantity of debris. The more i think about using a second one, the more i talk myself out of it. That's probably a good thing.



Just starting this one, no filing and just a few preliminary snips, i haven't even removed all of the base. Pretty boring really. He'll be having himself quite a few tentacles if i have anything to do with it, and i do. The slithery little wont be getting any special terrain, partly because i want to break up the squads but mainly because he doesn't deserve it.



Another model that's only recently felt the sting of my blade. As i said before, the lower arms kill the movement so i'm going in with a bold move of two tentacles. Well maybe, i'm considering completely repositioning his left one so that it's pushing off of the plate of metal between his legs, big job but it might hammer in the movement thats going on. The back arm was perfect but it was a puny man hand so i'm going to put in a claw that does the same job.

And that's the six i've started work on! The others will be made up of heavily converted GW plastic kit models and maybe one more from Space Hulk, maybe. I bet your tired of all this nonsense now, well so am i but i'm committed and there isn't much further left to go("It's further than you think... and time is short." Shut up David Bowie, no one invited you!). I can see the light of my desk lamp at the end of the tunnel so lets push on finish this you maverick renegades!

I was distracted by the refreshingly large Warrior bases and blu-tacced together a quick mock up of what my Warriors might look like. The terrain piece i stole from an undeserving 'Stealer is destined for one of the Warriors so i snapped some better pictures of it as well. Thanks again to Dark_Gear for the sweet GW building terrain pieces, i'm going to go all out with them. As a side note, everyone is getting a steroid enhanced base. 60mm? You see what you get, Warriors?! You see what you get when you mess with the Orphans?! ...Can you dig it?







And there you have it, it's been a long journey, a wild ride some might say, i wouldn't. I feel we have bonded somewhat, maybe not. I may have lost my sanity along the way, or just misplaced it.
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Thank you, have a nice day.

I took a short break but i'm back on it now. Just a quick update to spread the good news...
(Drum roll please...)
Tyranids are getting a second wave! And here is the evidence:


Basically we are getting 2 much needed kits. Tyrranofex/Tervigon and Hive Tyrant/Flyrant/Swarmlord. The models fit the range perfectly, no surprises there, the prices are no surprise either. They look great and offer a huge range of conversion opportunities but they aren't exactly breathtaking. That's probably because, deep down, we all knew what they were going to look like.
On the other hand, as you can see from one particular image, Space Wolves are getting some beautiful, jaw dropping unit kits which they really needed. Fair play, we can't complain.
Personally, the tail from the Tyrranofex/Tervigon kit is a must buy for me, i'll be getting it from ebay as soon as it's available. Should make my flyrant's tail and easier job. The Tyrant wings might be worth considering too. Actually, if anyone has any ideas for wings i'd like to hear them, i'm having real trouble with that part of the model.

Over and out, i'll get a proper update online as soon as i can!

^ Finally.

Norn King wrote:^ Finally.

You know it! If they had pulled their finger out and got these done for the initial release they would have saved a lot of people a lot of heartache. And saved my eyes from a lot of dodgy conversions. I guess i would have a missed quite a few great conversions too though.

Ugh, i really need to get a proper update done, bit busy right now but i've done some work on the 'Stealers and on my other project. Looks like i need quite a few parts for basing which is holding me back. I'll be able to afford them soon but i don't want it to hold my schedule up too much....
In the infamous words of Baldrick: "I have a cunning plan!"
I'm going to do as much prep as possible until i get the bits, that way, when they arrive, i'll have done a lot of casting and green stuff work already. I'll be casting a few components, mainly for my other project, using Oyumaru. If i'm happy enough with the quality i'll make a master copy of a new Tyranid Warrior torso, left forearm and right forearm. I'll also have a go at doing some of the foundations of bases in advance. That should get me ready to pretty much glue the models and finish the bases. So, updates will be thin on the ground for a while and then i'll be throwing down a lot in one go.

In the mean time, if you have anything to share please do! Did anyone get anything out of the Genstealer review/rant?

I found it very interesting! Something to think about (that I hadn't considered) to when I finally get around to my Space Hulk minis (yeah, no time soon)

Actually, if anyone has any ideas for wings i'd like to hear them, i'm having real trouble with that part of the model

Wait for the new Tyrant parts to be on the bitz sites, order the wings and the tail. Not only will this save you money but it'll save you conversion time as well. Judging from the pictures, it seems like the fleshy areas of the Tyrant wings are about as thin as Gargoyle wings which means they will be much easier to customise than the Balrog wings. With a sharp blade, some precise cuts, some patience and a good deal of GS, it should be possible to repose them to fit your needs. Such an approach would also be a lot faster than scratch building your own wings.

Arakasi wrote:I found it very interesting! Something to think about (that I hadn't considered) to when I finally get around to my Space Hulk minis (yeah, no time soon)

Nice one, glad it helped! I thought it was nice to get a negative slanted view of them rather than the usual positive outlook. Really though it just proves how great those minis are.

Dark_Gear wrote:

Actually, if anyone has any ideas for wings i'd like to hear them, i'm having real trouble with that part of the model

Wait for the new Tyrant parts to be on the bitz sites, order the wings and the tail. Not only will this save you money but it'll save you conversion time as well. Judging from the pictures, it seems like the fleshy areas of the Tyrant wings are about as thin as Gargoyle wings which means they will be much easier to customise than the Balrog wings. With a sharp blade, some precise cuts, some patience and a good deal of GS, it should be possible to repose them to fit your needs. Such an approach would also be a lot faster than scratch building your own wings.

Yeh, i think you're right Dark_Gear. I hate holding a up a project without knowing how long for but i have other stuff to do in the meantime and it probably won't take long. Plus, i'll end up with a nicer model if i use stock components.
I'll be getting some Boneswords to make my life easier too! I'm not a fan of the Lash Whips though. They look very... limp.

Quick question, has anyone seen the Jormungandr colour scheme anywhere? White Dwarf maybe?

The Jormungandr colour scheme can be seen in the latest White Dwarf, the Apocaplypse book and also in one of the GW Website's articles if I recall.

The new sword and whip are both looking too rushed to be worthwhile. The design looks like it was sculpted back in 3rd Edition. Heck, they're not even posable! To make things even more ridiculous they are priced the same as a set of 3 Forgeworld Shrike Wings which are definitely much finer looking sculpts.

You make a very good point, perhaps i was being hasty. It would also be a bit of a travesty to pay £12 on them just to start hacking them up. I can probably make something more effective.
I'll get White Dwarf then and check out the scheme, i might hint at it in my own. I keep changing how it's going to look so anything is possible right now.

I'm actually a little surprised that you're using the space hulk models. The poses are a bit pants imho but I know you'll do all kinds of crazy awesomeness in reposing/resculpting them. But why not just get a box of standard stealers? That way all the bits are seperate for you to work your magic!

Just a thought!

But keep up the great posts, the Tyrant coming along great, have you seen the bonesabre/lashwhip kits GW have on preorder?

Haha, yeh some of the Space Hulk 'Stealers are less than exciting, there are a few though that, in my opinion, look pretty great. I'll be using standard GW Genestealers for about 4 of the 10 that i need, actually it's starting to look more like 5.
The bonesword kit is interesting but i'm in two minds about it, i could probably come up with a version of my own and cast it 6 times in green stuff.

Actually i've been doing some test with casting green stuff in Oyumaru again. What i've discovered so far:
Preparation is key. I set up a little tub with lengths of sprue glued in to guide the two haves of the mold together. I made sure there was a lot of pressure on the lid too which helped.
So far i've been overfilling the molds. Too much green stuff is losing me detail and causing masses of flash which doesn't clean up well.
Small parts don't cast as well as large ones. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a detail issue although it's detail that you lose on small components. Basically you need to spend a little extra time making sure the mold hugs the components you are casting. Small errors have a big effect and are impossible to clean up on things like helmets.
I'll be trying to fix these problems tonight and will report my findings! I should really promise some pictures, so i will. Tomorrow i'll have some nice shiny ones for you!

I can't believe it's the 3rd already, i didn't think my update was that late! I've been learning a lot about Oyumaru through trial and error but it's seriously stunting my hobby time so i've not got much green stuff work done. Nevertheless i snapped a couple of quick pictures:
You can't really see it but i added the carapace to the Broodlord's head.


Again, terrible picture but this one has had the same treatment, also pealed back the leg some more.


This picture isn't really worth showing, you can't see the head carapace at all. That'll teach me to rush pictures!


Repositioned the hand, added the tentacle, head carapace again and i decided to drill out all of the tiny little pipes.


This one has lots of tentacles!


Sorry about the picture quality, thanks for looking!

Your're really developing a knack for the fine tenctacles. The mouth on that last model is really well done.

Thanks man, i'm learning so much doing these guys, very taxing of my abilities. Think i've cracked the Oyumaru shenanigans... finally! Here's hoping.
Decided to have a go at some of the Warrior parts as well and they are coming together very nicely! It's been a good day for my sanity, i was worrying that this project was buckling under the strain but i hit a new wave of energy!

I'd put a realistic estimate of 2-3weeks before i can get the few bits and bobs that i need. That gives me ample time to get at least 5 'Stealers finished, cast some/all of the Warrior parts, maybe build my first Warrior, and make good headway on my other blog.

Edit: Apparently i have made 750 posts and that makes me a Indescriminate Explicator!

The Genestealer's haven't moved on much but the Warrior components are almost done. Just got to figure out a devourer but i think i have the idea down.

No pictures here just yet but the Necromunda blog has been winning a fair amount of my attention because this one has slowed down.

I'm sensing a squad of Warriors coming on if the torso casting goes well. I'd quite like to cast in plastic but that would mean waiting and i've got too many ideas for the Warriors. Plus i've got tonnes of green stuff already.

Pictures soon hopefully.

This one has slowed down due to no pictures here just yet!

Haha, very true, i don't have the cash for the basing bits though and i've been very lazy with the 'Stealers. I will try and remedy that!

Just a quick check in. Made a small amount of progress where i could but i don't have any batteries for my camera. I'll try and get some soon.

The camera mans nightmare.

Aha! Batteries.
Here is a small update on the components for the Warriors. I'll be ordering the materials i need tomorrow so things should pick up speed again.
Firstly, the torso(It mimics the torso of the Hive Tyrant.):


And the head(Again, mimicking the Hive Tyrant.):


The forearm/weapon mount(You guessed it...):

Lastly, we have the WIP prototype Devourer/shield(I will be making these individually and the Tyrant will get a beefy version.):



All comments are greatly appreciated and i especially welcome any c&c you may have to offer!

Good to see some progress pictures at last!

How can you tell if someone is serious about sculpting?

You look at their WIP shots and notice that their project pieces are on a pin vice.

The GS on the interior side of the carapace is looking quite polished. While I like the scratches you've carved into the top part of the carapace seems like they're a little too sharp and their's too many of them, for my personal tastes. Taste aside, it looks likes a good sculpt for up-detailing the warrior.

I also like the direction the arm is going in.

Keep the pictures coming; can't wait to see when everything comes together.

Thanks man! I think you gave me the pin vice idea. It's so much easier that way.

With the carapace scratches, do you mean the whitish strokes all over the surface? Or specifically the notches on the edges? The white stuff is texture-less damage from filing, it wont come through when i cast, the notches are fixable. Or alternatively the scratches on the Devourer carapace? Haha, whatever it is it's fixable, thanks for the heads up!

I've got an early Tyrant Devourer unceremoniously buried underneath bits, bobs and sculpts, i'll find it and get some pics later, there might be some other things i've forgotten, i'll organise everything so i can see better.
The Necromunda gang are pretty much out of the way until another model turns up so Tyranids are being restored to there rightful place on my schedule, i hope i have enough stuff to work on!

Looking good mate, for some reason I've never really liked any of the genestealer models, they have great fluff and are supposed to be a killing machine but the models have always left me thinking 'they dont look that hard!' Im not sure of the point of me telling you that but there you go! i never said my comment would be useful. You are making the most of a difficult job though and i cant wait to see the Tyrant worked on again.

Really impresive sculpting skills you have going on here, very cool. subscribed

Thanks for the messages guys! I know what you mean about 'Stealers i'm 50/50 on them but they are iconic, i'll do my best with them.

Things are epicly slow right now but i'm working out a deal with a bits company for a large order. If everything goes well then everything is going to speed up a lot. The Flyrant will be a priority.

LostSoulCasey'sLaw wrote:You make a very good point, perhaps i was being hasty. It would also be a bit of a travesty to pay £12 on them just to start hacking them up. I can probably make something more effective.

I like your blog, your work is very good. I like the tendrils you are adding to your bugs, it makes them very characterful. I've found making armies characterful is alot of fun.

I have an idea about boneswords I am going to use on a brood of Shrikes I'm working on. The Chaos Spawn kit comes with a bunch of long, curved spines. Those things can be used as boneswords for Tyranids. Here is a link to the spawn, the parts I'm talking about are sticking out of the back of the Spawn on the left.http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440167a&prodId=prod1090563&rootCatGameStyle=

You may want to hunt them down on bits sites instead of coughing up for a whole a set. They look quite organic. I'm still undecided about those new bonesword and lashwip sets. I think the boneswords are decent and can be heated up, bent into a new position and then dropped in ice water to fix them. The lashwhips are very limp as you said, they will need some work. The Spawn kit does come with tentacles too, though they are a bit short.

Still waiting for painted pictures!

Thanks for the replies!

@Leech - Those Spawn parts are a good idea, dude. I think i'm going to go with Styrene and green stuff for simplicity. Is there somewhere i can view your 'Nids?

@Johnny - Haha, i think i've got some solid ideas for colour now, i'll see if i have the right paints to do a test model!

I've been very lazy, time to roll on with the 'Stealers. I need some inspiration first so i'm off to peruse the web!

Inspiration comes from work, so stop browsing and get sculpting.

Do you get sick of being right all the time? Hahaha!

The 'Stealers you sent me have just seen light again. Did you ever get use out of those parts i mailed you?

I'm not always right, I just have a lot of experience spotting procrastination since I'm guilty of it most of the time too.

The Venomthrope is, ironincally, replacing the head on one of my Lictors and some of the Dark Elf bitz will end up on Grotesques once I get back to them, thanks.

Haha! Procrastination is a disease that i am struggling to self medicate.
Glad you getting use of some of the bits.

Wave one of my supply drop came this morning! So it's time to get back into the action, i'll be working on basing tomorrow, specifically for the Hive Tyrant.

Yay! I can't wait to see more, I love the conversions you've done so far.

The Space Hulk model review was good too, everyone bangs on about the termies but I was more interested in the stealers, shame they cheaped out with duplicates. I might try pick up a copy without models when I buy it, they're atleast half the price.

Thank you very much! I'm glad you like my little blog.

It's shame i'm such a slowpoke but i have lots of bits to play with now. The Nid's Year Resolution continues!

It's a real shame about the duplicates in Space Hulk but some of the models are very, very nice which tips the scales back slightly. It might be worth buying the set and trying to sell the duplicates on.

I received another Supply Drop today!



And i have begun work on the Hive Tyrant's Base. Stay tuned!



I've also figured out something i was doing wrong when taking pictures. If i was too close to the image then when i clicked to focus the icon would go red instead of yellow. Turns out it doesn't seem to matter. As long as i've got the conditions right then the picture will come out good and i wont end up with tiny miniatures in the middle of big white images. I even managed to get these pictures with one light!

Dude you're modeling is blowing my mind. Fantastic positioning. Exalted.

I am not worthy of your praise, zariart! Your airbrushing skills are godlike.

Thanks for the post and the exalt, it keeps me going!

I'm not really back, your imagining it. That is if there is anyone still watching.

So here is the thing, I did some thinking about the resolution and deadlines and such and I realised that rather than push me forward it was stunting my progress. I work much better and quicker when I work on the projects that take my inspiration at that moment. With that in mind I started to work on whatever project I wanted to at that moment and it was good. I mean, it's messy, but it's good. So I've notched up progress here, there and everywhere else.

But there and everywhere else can have there own blogs, let's talk about here! Well I've made some progress on mapping out biology on paper but I'm guessing that's of little interest, right? But I've also made a start on my Warriors and maybe a little work on the Tyrant which I'm hoping will draw you in whether you're finding this for the first time or you've been around since I started.

I've decided to drip feed my progress over a few days to give me time to get some other stuff done so without further ado, here is installment one.



I don't think I'll say any more for now I'd much rather wait and see if there are any questions I can answer. If there is even any interest!

Great posing and sculpting mate, and motivation can be an elusive mistress.
Do what you want to do, and you'll find you enjoy it more and hence do it more often. Its a feeder cycle

Thanks, chief!

Yeh I had managed to turn my hobby into a chore, I think this is the way forward now though.

Hmm, tempted to post another small update...

Playing the "If there is even any interest!" card huh? *So* beneath you with such a dynamic looking start. Looks ambitious - how far along do you think you are with the GS? (and is that why we don't have closer pics of it?)

Haha, oops! I may have laid that on a bit thick, I was being careful not to seem boastful but I rather went too far over the other side of the line. I will aim to be less self deprecating but I'm not very good at things like that.

Seriously, thanks for commenting, mate. As for the GS work, would it sound strange if I said I hadn't started? Allow me to explain; the GS you see in those slightly blurry pictures is the result of casting my master sculpts for the squad. So where I'm at is pretty much just pinned and glued components with lots of rough joins. That's quite sad to say becuase it took a lot more work than that but it'll be worth it in the end I hope.

A product of my current budget meant using Oyumaru casts and GS as my casting material and the product of that was very rough casts and messy cleanup. That's fine though because I expected it and made allowances. I'll need to do some finishing work with GS, liquid and solid, to get some of the surfaces up to scratch. That won't take long but I'll probably do it with the rest of the GS work nearer the end.

I did start by posting the least complete Warrior though so here is a slightly more complete one.




Thanks for watching folks!

And where are the rest?

The posing is looking very characterful and unique - if all of them are going to be like this, it is going to be an awesome looking unit in the end.

Thank you, since this force has so few models I figured I could give them each more attention than normal. These Warriors will be fielded in two groups of three so I went to town on the dynamic poses, also, because they will mainly be for display I decided that I could put quite extensive terrain on the base without worrying about it looking strange in a game.

I think it's about time to post another one! This was an idea I had batted around for a while and I think it actually works quite well, I think that 'floating terrain' is an idea I'll expand upon in future projects. I hope you enjoy!
Also, is this first image easier to grow than the others? It's really hard to tell on my phone but I think it might be Dakka's auto-adjust that is fuzzing up the details so badly. Or is my phone fuzzing the pictures up and all of the images actually look fine? They look okay before I upload them...




I'm worries this drip feed posting seems more like I'm doing it for posts than for my actual reasons. Thoughts? The idea was to buy me a little time to catch up with Dakka and do some more work on some project or other rather than dropping a big post and then moving on. I'm halfway through now so it'll all be up soon anyway but I might do this different in future...

Lastly, I gave the OP a makeover. It needed freshening up, I think it's clearer now and gives an idea of my new approach.

wow. Very original idea to the whole holding a pipe in space thing, very surgestive of a scene. Awesome

Thanks, bigfish! It's good to know that it's coming across as intended.

Here is Warrior 4. I'm sticking with Dakka's auto-adjust pictures until I hear different.




Next up will be the progress I made to the Hive Tyrant.

I have been watching your thread for a while and thought I should probably say something coz I know what It's like putting up pictures of your latest model and then getting plenty of views but little or no replies to let you know if others actually like what you're doing. So...

I like the posing of your models. you get a nice fluid motion look to them, much better than the static poses that all these figures are molded with. Clambering and climbing over the pipes is a cool idea and looks good (and will look even better once painted).

Out of interest, do you have a particular trick for bending the tails, or is it just careful brute force?

Thanks for taking the time to post, Dr H! It's always nice to hear from a lurker. Thank you for the compliment too, the static poses that these kits allow always felt wrong to me so I wanted to really go in a different direction. It's a lot of work to change them in some cases but i think the end result is more in keeping with Tyranid fluff which is my primary concern over gaming.

Honestly, when I started I was being mainly propelled by comments but I think my new way of working will keep me going no matter what. If I'm getting the ocassional comment, positive or otherwise at least I know I'm not talking to myself! Plus, I'm aware that the lack of paint on my blogs is a turn off for most people but I have some interesting plans for paint so thongs will hopefully pick up when I get my brush moving.

As for your question about the tails, it's a good one. I've tried out a few techniques at this point and so far applying pressure with my fingers seems to be best but it's still very limiting. I tried heating with a lighter but it's a really bad idea. If their is any detail on the piece it 'catches' and melts away before the piece is hot enough to bend.

Edit: Silly phone making me post before I was finished...

So anyway, I tried using a lighter to heat the tail and on a few other pieces and it's bad idea. If there are any details on the piece they 'catch' in the heat and melt away before the piece is hot enough to bend. Other issues include warping and, although it doesn't worry me, burning yourself. I've also found that at a certain heat the piece all of a sudden starts to droop and the structure becomes compromised to the point that it can shrink in places. All in all it's far too risky.

Back to the application of pressure. This has risks too, it requires considerable force to make the alterations you want and sharp edges can make it an uncomfortable process which might be an issue for less callused digits than my own. Also, the plastic will bounce back to an extent so you have to go further than you want to make allowances, that can stress the material to the point of breakage. Warrior 4's tail snapped because of this but Tamiya Extra Thin sorted that out quite quickly.

An other option I've heard of is the boiling water method. I'll be trying this next and I'll report back. The other options require a lot more work and weren't necessary on this project.


Tomorrow I'll be posting the Hive Tyrant, after that there might be a little break as I work on other projects but I'll be posting them elsewhere if anyone is interested. I might consider taking a picture of some notes I made and posting them tonight... Oh and I'll save your blog for my next round of blog visits Dr H, looking forward to it.

Yeah, I'm more of a modeller and painter than gamer at the mo, so it's nice to see interesting poses and re-builds / scratch-builds and not the same model painted a billion different ways.
And yeah, they do look more tyranid than stock tyranid models.

Everybody has different ways of motivating themselves, it just a matter of finding what works best for you.

I tried to make some whip aerials at one point from sprue and fire, but it appears that polystyrene does not react well to fire, so I've not been tempted to "melt" my actual models. Thanks for the good advice.

Indeed, I've tried bending an Eldar guardian's lower leg with hot water (not boiling as the bathroom's hot tap was nearer than the kettle) and I did manage to do what I wanted but I'm not sure if the water made any difference. Boiling water and longer soaking would probably work better, will be interesting to see what you find.

Oh and I'll save your blog for my next round of blog visits Dr H, looking forward to it.

Thanks, I hope you enjoy it, it's not your usual army and you may need to find a comfy seat if you intend on reading all the fluff. But feel free to just look at the pictures.

 Dr H wrote:
Yeah, I'm more of a modeller and painter than gamer at the mo, so it's nice to see interesting poses and re-builds / scratch-builds and not the same model painted a billion different ways.
And yeah, they do look more tyranid than stock tyranid models.

Thanks man, and that's cool that we are in the same boat, or similar boats at least. A good friend of mine, Dark_Gear, once pointed out to me that I'm in a very lonely part of the hobby and it's very true. We discussed that there were 3 cores to the hobby and that gaming is the most social, possibly the only truly social aspect. Most people lean heavily on two of the core aspects, often miniatures and gaming, sometimes fluff and gaming and rarely fluff and miniatures. The latter is my mistress and it doesn't really require anyone else, nor does it put me in positions where I require interaction to continue. But that's where Dakka and the wider internet becomes a lifeline to myself and others in this vessel. Without it I think a lot of us would drift off without any sustenance to survive on.
/ramble Haha, sorry I find the subject quite interesting, didn't mean to go on for that long about it.

 Dr H wrote:
I tried to make some whip aerials at one point from sprue and fire

That sounds like an epic event involving the deaths of thousands of orcs and a forge inside Mount Doom...

 Dr H wrote:
Thanks, I hope you enjoy it, it's not your usual army and you may need to find a comfy seat if you intend on reading all the fluff. But feel free to just look at the pictures.

I took down Gits' Mantis Warriors blog start to finish recently, this'll be like a vacation.

Okay I took a snap of my development work for my Mycetic Spores. Apologies about the shoddy drawings, I have very little natural talent with drawing but I used to be much better when I practised a lot. Also they are just sketches for reference, so I wasn't aiming high! I think this photo is better and I'm sorry to say it's because I cleaned the lense. I have a lot more to add but it's a start at getting it on paper.


As always questions, comments and criticisms are all welcome.

 Casey's Law wrote:

Thanks man, and that's cool that we are in the same boat, or similar boats at least. A good friend of mine, Dark_Gear, once pointed out to me that I'm in a very lonely part of the hobby and it's very true. We discussed that there were 3 cores to the hobby and that gaming is the most social, possibly the only truly social aspect. Most people lean heavily on two of the core aspects, often miniatures and gaming, sometimes fluff and gaming and rarely fluff and miniatures. The latter is my mistress and it doesn't really require anyone else, nor does it put me in positions where I require interaction to continue. But that's where Dakka and the wider internet becomes a lifeline to myself and others in this vessel. Without it I think a lot of us would drift off without any sustenance to survive on.
/ramble Haha, sorry I find the subject quite interesting, didn't mean to go on for that long about it.

No worries. That's why I came to Dakka, I don't know anyone that has any interest in modelling of any kind. So it's nice to share ideas etc... with people who don't look at me with a blank expression.

I took down Gits' Mantis Warriors blog start to finish recently, this'll be like a vacation.

Oh yeah, my baby of a blog is nothing like one of the Dakka monster threads (yet, I like to think) like Git's etc... I've been through some of those myself, but only looking at the pretty pictures until I caught up.

That's an interesting concept, and you're gonna model that. Will be cool if you can make it look as organic as it should be.
I just had a quick google for Mycetic Spores as I know very little about them. I shall follow your progress with interest. Good luck.

Yeh, I have a couple of friends who had models as kids like loads of people did, in that transition period from toys to beer , but they just aren't into it now. One of them reads stuff from the Black Library and another wavers on how interested he is but that's it. I convinced a couple of them to play a game for a laugh some time but I need to learn the rules first, I think if I had a table and new the rules they might get into it since we play a lot of board games anyway. I just received a load of Brushfire warbands which I'm hoping to draw them in with. Painting them might put this blog on hold occasionally but I'll get more done when I'm working on this because I want to.

All blogs have merit and the biggest aren't always the best. I skimmed the first few posts of yours and I'm really interested to see where it went after that.

I'm hoping I can pull it off, i'll be making two of them and they are going to be really quite large compared to most that I've seen. They'll be my first scratch builds but I've practiced a few of the things I need to do on my Tyrant already...

...who will arrive at some point tomorrow, possibly in the morning.

I had a go at posting those earlier but I was having technical issues. Anyway, second time lucky. #makingmyownluck
Ew, hashtag.

...Where was I?
Ah yes! The Hive Tyrant.
First push was about getting some shape down, a skeleton to work from. So the wings and legs were chopped up and pinned on.



Next time I came to work on the model I filled the gaps in the wings with plasticard to greenstuff over but I wasn't enjoying it so I disappeared off to play with my other toys.


Eventually I was drawn back in. I attached the statue piece to the base and mounted the model. Now at least I could stand it up and see what I was working with. A wire frame for the tail went on next and the similarities to the warriors jumped out at me which was nice to see. I attached the arms, of which I am far to proud, and put the model aside again. I must have seen something shinier.
But the model kept catching my eye, there was something wrong and I didn't know what. So I ripped it's face off for incurring my wrath.




Okay, okay, okay! That's not strictly true. I was looking the model over for the thousands time when I realised that the head, which I'd loved so much before, was looking distinctly below the quality of which I am now capable. In the past I would have settled for it but I want to improve so I'm going to have to think differently from now on!

Right, well I'll leave that with you, Dakka. I think my next update will be for another blog but I'll be back before long! ...probably.

Its looking really good mate. i like the whole scene anf what youve done with the carapace. I would like to see a closer shot of that face though

Thanks man, that means a lot. The newly cut back face without the tentacles? I'd be more than happy to do that. If you mean the face when it had the tentacles I might be able to do that too by editing one of the early full size photos.

Hive Tyrant is looking promising.

I will say one thing though, The fallen statue (I know it's early days yet and probably not set in stone, ); I may have missed the reasoning behind it (I remember seeing pictures of you cutting it), but when such a large lump of stone falls over it tends to leave a similarly large dent in the ground. Are you intending to have the lower side slightly burried in the ground? It doesn't have to be deep, just enough to show it has mass. Or will it be rocky ground? In which case, will there be cracks and broken rocks crushed beneath it?

cant wait to see mor estuff on this

Thanks both of you!

Yeh, all of the models are going to be on urban terrain, they are raised on plasticard to give me uniform heights for pavement and roads. All paving and tarmac is going to be distressed to some level and the Hive Tyrant's base is going to have taken a severe beating from the statue. Lots of cracked stones behind it and debris.

As a side note I'll also be adding some rusted out chains and graffiti to the broken statue. This is to tell the story of the riots, often led by Genestealer Cults, that happened before the attack. The main, possibly only, piece of graffiti is going to be a Genestealer Cult symbol on the shield.

What are you all most interested in seeing next? I'm considering a few options so now is the time to sway me. I'll get that picture for bigfish when I know what it is you want to see but I might also do some more work on the project. Maybe even write some new fluff or do some more sketches.

I've been following along on my phone, but wanted to wait until I could better inspect the images before commenting, and now I suspect it will be a monologue...

So, to begin with, I went back and checked out your first post updates. Deadlines work for some, though I find there is nothing more demoralising than missing them (or realising you can't meet them...). Basically, there is no right or wrong way to approach the hobby, only your way - so do what works for you!

Now, to what I've missed commenting on since last time...

"Floating terrain" warrior is again, very dynamic - I really feel you are catching the fluid, organic movements of the Aliens films, which (again) makes for a very novel and interesting force. It doesn't hurt that the implementation looks very promising too Are you going to put water (sludge?) on that base? It would seem to make more sense to me than solid ground... The Dakka auto-adjust is just a generic light level balancer I think - I don't tend to use it unless the difference is significant. I think the problem is that you are taking landscape photos when you should be doing portraits - there is a lot of wasted space to the left and right of the model, and the default display shrinks the pic to fit the display. The detail when zooming in in the Gallery appears fine - I just never go to the gallery on my phone, and rarely unless I'm particularly interested on my desktop. Also - nothing wrong in my mind with drip feeding blog content. The only issue to watch out for is when a comment comes in that you can't act on due to having progressed past the point that would make it relevant Otherwise, long post dumps are impressive, but then you only really get comments on the highlights of the dump...

Warrior 4 - nothing more to comment on at this point that I haven't said before

Re: bending plastic - I've heard use of a salt (I think...) bath - ie laying the piece to bend in heated salt. I haven't tried it (or anything else except hairdryers on resin), and I can't remember where I saw that technique now... maybe something else to look into?

Nice drawings of the Mycetic Spores. Where are the bio guns? I generally find drawings more interesting once I start seeing the implementation, so I wait with baited breath for those (let's see how dynamic you can make an alien egg! I guess the real challenge is to make it organic and fluid without being forced...)

I tell ya, if I ever did a Nid army (unlikely), I would certainly be back here for inspiration

Hive Tyrant - I think I totally underestimated how big that statue is! Dare I say it's almost too much distraction from the Tyrant? The Tyrant itself is looking suitably bad-ass - the pose is well chosen, and might only be improved by an open mouthed screaming head...

Anyway, progress is looking very promising. I look forward to seeing everything slowly progress towards completion!

Catchya!

Great looking Nids - I particularly like the warrior poses

Look forward to seeing more!

You've inspired me to get back into my Nids

Arakasi wrote:I've been following along on my phone, but wanted to wait until I could better inspect the images before commenting, and now I suspect it will be a monologue...

That's great, I like monologues! Partly because I enjoy the honest discussion about my work but mainly because it means a lot that you would take the time to write on the subject.

Arakasi wrote:So, to begin with, I went back and checked out your first post updates. Deadlines work for some, though I find there is nothing more demoralising than missing them (or realising you can't meet them...). Basically, there is no right or wrong way to approach the hobby, only your way - so do what works for you!

Good point, everyone has to find out what works for them personally. For me, no deadlines and lots of projects keeps me going because it combats what I'll admit is basically me being lazy. For others, deadlines might provide focus. Something I discussed with Dark_Gear is the method he is starting to use where he times himself. His biggest delay is thinking he doesn't have enough time, keeping a record of how long tasks take gets him into action instead of procrastinating.

Arakasi wrote:"Floating terrain" warrior is again, very dynamic - I really feel you are catching the fluid, organic movements of the Aliens films, which (again) makes for a very novel and interesting force. It doesn't hurt that the implementation looks very promising too Are you going to put water (sludge?) on that base? It would seem to make more sense to me than solid ground...

I don't think I ever intended to draw on Alien for inspiration but Tyranid fluff, particularly the stuff I'm using, is heavily based on those creatures. I'm really glad that the floating terrain has worked, I haven't seen anyone else do it before and I have many more ideas for it. As for the base, I have a few ideas but I'm undecided, I'll keep sludge in mind.

Arakasi wrote:The Dakka auto-adjust is just a generic light level balancer I think - I don't tend to use it unless the difference is significant. I think the problem is that you are taking landscape photos when you should be doing portraits - there is a lot of wasted space to the left and right of the model, and the default display shrinks the pic to fit the display. The detail when zooming in in the Gallery appears fine - I just never go to the gallery on my phone, and rarely unless I'm particularly interested on my desktop.

I thought the detail was being lost but now I'm thinking it's because I'm using my phones mobile internet connection. That's good to know. And I agree about taking the pictures in landscape, I took a few and then felt tied in, I'll swap back now though.

Arakasi wrote:Also - nothing wrong in my mind with drip feeding blog content. The only issue to watch out for is when a comment comes in that you can't act on due to having progressed past the point that would make it relevant Otherwise, long post dumps are impressive, but then you only really get comments on the highlights of the dump...

Haha yeh good points, it shouldn't be an issue from now on anyway, when I'm working on this blog I'll be posting what I've done pretty much as I go. One thing I want to do is limit the number of posts that I make where I don't have an update. One in two or three is probably the plan now. So there will be an update Iof some kind next time I post. It might just be a sketch or a snippet of fluff but it'll be something.

Arakasi wrote:Re: bending plastic - I've heard use of a salt (I think...) bath - ie laying the piece to bend in heated salt. I haven't tried it (or anything else except hairdryers on resin), and I can't remember where I saw that technique now... maybe something else to look into?

Definitely something I'll look into, if it allows me to bend larger more complex components, which it sounds like it might, that'd be really useful. I'll do some research and post my findings.

Arakasi wrote:Nice drawings of the Mycetic Spores. Where are the bio guns? I generally find drawings more interesting once I start seeing the implementation, so I wait with baited breath for those (let's see how dynamic you can make an alien egg! I guess the real challenge is to make it organic and fluid without being forced...)

I'm thinking I'm only going to run Cluster Spines and the Ripper Tentacles. I have designs for them which will be in my next drawings. And I have ideas for dynamic spore 'poses' which I hope work out. I also have a lot of designs which won't make much difference to the models, how the eggs are grown, deployed and such. I've taken steering, and slowed planetfall into account too, among other things.

Arakasi wrote:I tell ya, if I ever did a Nid army (unlikely), I would certainly be back here for inspiration

slice'n'dice wrote:You've inspired me to get back into my Nids

This means a lot guys. If my work is a source of inspiration then I know I'm doing something right and I like to be able to take a 'pass it along' attitude. Dark_Gear's Blog inspired me enough to start this project so it makes me happy to know I'm inspiring you to get back to yours.

Arakasi wrote:Hive Tyrant - I think I totally underestimated how big that statue is! Dare I say it's almost too much distraction from the Tyrant? The Tyrant itself is looking suitably bad-ass - the pose is well chosen, and might only be improved by an open mouthed screaming head...

Damnation. You're right. You're totally, totally right. I always wanted the terrain in the project to be a secondary focus but the statue is just too much. Never fear, I had some work I wanted to do to it anyway and if I expand upon that I can bring the size down quite a lot. Phew!

slice'n'dice wrote:Great looking Nids - I particularly like the warrior poses

Look forward to seeing more!

Thanks, dude! I hope I can continue to give you a little inspiration. Now I'm off to find your blog and get some back!

Arakasi wrote - The Tyrant itself is looking suitably bad-ass - the pose is well chosen, and might only be improved by an open mouthed screaming head...

And i agree with him. i'm always looking at nid stuff to see ways that i might improve my own nids, and i saw your blog link in your siggie and decided to take a look see. I'm glad i did, as i think we will both have relevant ideas for each other, you right now are contributing to the creation of my own Ymgarl stealers. i have my broodlord, but not the rest of them.
linkie-->Broodlord Gallery Pics
i built this guy for a fantasy chaos army that i have since sold, but could not bear to part with this model. i decided to use him as the Ymgarl lord because to me he just oozes character and mutability.

getting back to the your hive tyrant, with the pose you have given this guy, leaning forward on the statue, arms swept backwards, and wings spread out, it seems to me that he is screaming a challenge to someone. Much like you see dragons or dinosaurs, even daemons bellowing, that's what this guy suggests to me. i understand your going for more of the Ymgarl fluff in your models, but honestly the Ymggarl fluff doesn't cover everything, so there's no reason you can't have a mouth that's bellowing and have the tendrils stuck out sideways from his head. like this:

as for the statue, i'd cut the statue not quite in half from top to bottom, and then make it look as if it's partially buried in the ground. this will make the statue less prominent on the base, and will give you extra parts to use on other bases as well. now if only my greenstuff skills were anywhere near where yours are, i'd be a happy camper. hope this helps some.