Hi all, I decided I would document the growth of my hive fleet. This project will be seen through to it's initial completion, a 500 point 40k army, and then from there who knows how large it will grow.
This task is very important to me as over the 15+ years (on and off) that I have been into the hobby I have yet to finish a good sized project.
This I have probably proven to some of you out there who might have started to follow the development of my Warhound Titan last year (apologies it will continue).
I have been very keen to actually play a game of 40k but my mate and I refuse to play unless we each have a fully painted army to field.
So as he claimed the Imperium with his Blood Angels I thought I'd have a bash at a tyranid hive fleet *gribble gribble*.
I know most of you out there probably think I'm mad neglecting a project involving a forgeworld titan model, but I thought I'd get more use out of an actual army I can play around with and not just use as an ornament.


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So the 500 point hive fleet will roughly consist of ...
* Tyranid Prime
* 3x Tyranid Warriors
* 15x Termagants
* 20x Hormagaunts
* 20x Hormagaunts

Other than the Termagaunts every model with be close combat based.
I'm not too bothered if this is not a recommended list to field against marines, if they all get shot down time after time then the hive fleet will simply have to adapt and evolve.

First up Hormagaunts!!!
These guys will provide the majority of the fleets bulk so i had best get these guys out the way to prove to myself that i can do this.

Ok now the gaunts are assembled and weighted with a penny on the bottom it's time to base them properly.
I use a cocktail of sand and grit I've collected over the years, i have found a good variety of grain sizes produces the best results.



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Oh by the way the random gaunt colours is due to buying the models from various sources. Some brand new from the store and some from various neglected projects being re-homed via ebay.

The gaunts have been taken into the loft and placed on the spray board of destiny to receive their undercoat.

Generally after I spray a model with a black undercoat I tend to give them a blast from above with white paint too to provide directional lighting.
This doesn't really make too much of a difference (depends on what painting style will follow) but I've gotten into the habit of doing so.
I don't have a painting plan set in stone, I just know I want them to be.... brownishy-beetle-esk?
*yeah you heard me!*
Basically I'm making it all up on the spot.

Ok base coat paint has been mixed and applied with my air brush.
An air brush is a great bit of kit to get your hands on, it's just a bugger to clean every time you use it, this can really put you off using it's only for a small job.
Anyways... after the base coat I dry brushed them all using a makeup brush I stole off the Mrs, think it was graveyard earth I used.

Right, as I explained earlier I had no plan as to how I would be painting these guys from start to finish, so i thought it was time i had better get with a programme and stick to it.
I took a lone gaunt and through some paint at the poor fellow.
I didn't want to create a masterpiece, as attempting to do this with each and every model in the past has always been my downfall and lead to projects no reaching completion.

I then replicated my first attempt with another 4 gaunts, taking notes as I went along due to having a memory like a sieve.


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Now for the fun task of repeating this so as I have 40 finished little foot soldiers.
Surely if I can do that then there is hope for me yet.

Really nice looking paint scheme, looks quite organic and a bit evil too! Maybe add some colour to the bases if you are not going for a urban rubble look.

My little guys are coming on. The majority of the armour is finished, I even got a small group of termagants up to this 80% complete stage.
The termies might be finished off slightly differently so I'll put them to the side for now while I have a think about it and finish the gaunts.

40 Complete Hormagaunts!
This might seem pathetic, but I'm so proud of myself for actually seeing such a large number of model through to completion.

Right well I have painted all the termagants, decided I wanted to subtly colour code my nids.
As all of the scything talons and stabby/pointy bits have been in black/red so far I thought I'd go for a green glowing effect for the shooty ranged weaponry.
I'm quite pleased with how it came out. With this in mind I was thinking that when I get round to producing a Zoanthrope maybe I could use a blue to depict it's psychic abilities.

That's actually one of the better painted tyrind mass armies that I've seen.
I'm curious to see what you will do with the bigger creatures!

Thank you very much.
Well watch this space as I will havelarger models to show you very soon.
I have most of this project finished already, and as I'm on holiday this week I am keen to get it wrapped up and vaguely documented on here.
So over the next few days I should have three Tyranid Warriors and a Tyranid Prime conversion to show off.
There might even be time for a group hug photo at the end.

glad to see some more nids. i really like the coloring, i feel it has a bit more realistic tone for a grown bioweapon. really interested to see where this goes with some of the bigger creatures

Next up we have 3 Tyranid Warriors that I plucked from an eBay purchase.
They were all armed with ranged weapons, so I apologised, ripped a pair of arms of each of them and replaced them with rending claws from the ravener box.
GW only supply one pair of rending claws with their warrior sprue so unless you buys 3 boxes of them then your going to struggle kitting them up with such a load out.
So anyways I pretty much approach these guys the same way as I did with the Hormagaunts.
As you can see I base coated some shooty warriors too but I'll be brushing them aside for now.

...and here we have the 3 finished warriors, apologies for the photography.
Hopefully I'll get time to take some better photos when the 500 point goal has been reached.

So onto the final stage of my mission...

The TYRANID PRIME!

There are three factor that put the pressure on me at this stage...
* He is my "warlord", the leader of the pack and I need him really fit the bill.
* He is the largest of the models in my army and all eyes will be on him so he just gotta look good.
* And of course GW don't have a model for this guys so I might have to put my modelling skills to the test.

A Tyranid Prime is very much like a warrior but bigger and more of a bad-ass.
I instantly thought of the first Hive Tyrant GW brought out when I was a young teenager.
I was hoping I could bring that model back from the dead. It was a great sculpt but we did need a bigger model to represent the mighty Tyrant.
So I pulled him down from the loft, began tinkering and this is what I came up with...

...I'm not happy with this...

How come you're not happy with that? I quite like it.

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
How come you're not happy with that? I quite like it.

Don't think it fits aesthetically with the rest of the hive. Not happy with the scything talons, maybe they are too big and make him look a little camp.
I dont know...
But I have gone back to the drawing board and I am using more of a modern kit bashing approach to him.
Will definately return to this model in the future though.

I really like the Dark natural look to your nids.

Maybe the old big fella is just a bit dated? His face doesnt seem to fit in, but keep at it"

Well this is what i have so far...

*Torso of a ravener
*Legs of an old lictor
*Arse/Tail and Rending Claws from the warrior sprue
*Lash Whip and BoneSword from GW's warrior resin upgrade blister

...Just stuck on a head. The ravener and warrior head are too small and everything else is way too big. But I'm sure I'll come up with something, I have a couple of ideas that might work

looking great! i love the colour scheme!

Here are the aforementioned components cobbled together, still no head but I'm working on it.
To give you a rough idea, I am taking the back of a warrior and plonking it on top of a ravener's head.
...bear with me, this could work!


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Oh all the arms are magnetised too!
woo-hoo!!
Switcharoo!!!
...sorry :(

This all looks awesome so far, would be wicked to get some break downs of your paint scheme, obviously it is a little late for step by step guides as you have painted most of it already, I find stuff like that is what makes a really good blog.

Keep up the good work!

Eldercaveman wrote:
This all looks awesome so far, would be wicked to get some break downs of your paint scheme, obviously it is a little late for step by step guides as you have painted most of it already, I find stuff like that is what makes a really good blog.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for that.
I will aim to knock up a step by step the next time I start something from scratch. It wouldn't take too long to do that for one lonely gaunt.
I shal do my best Eldercaveman, and thanks for dropping by.

im loving the real and organic looking colorscheme!! good job!

Thanks for the praise everyone, it's really encouraging.

The Prime's head is coming on nicely and will upload a pic later tonight or failing that first thing in the morning.

I'm already eyeing up 3 zoanthropes and a carnifex kit, although my army is a bit too small for such things at this stage. Would really like a tervigon first to expand things.
But first things first. I must complete Mr Prime.

 Reeno wrote:

Eldercaveman wrote:
This all looks awesome so far, would be wicked to get some break downs of your paint scheme, obviously it is a little late for step by step guides as you have painted most of it already, I find stuff like that is what makes a really good blog.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for that.
I will aim to knock up a step by step the next time I start something from scratch. It wouldn't take too long to do that for one lonely gaunt.
I shal do my best Eldercaveman, and thanks for dropping by.

No worries, also the hormagaunts before you primed them the creamy bone coloured ones any idea what colour they were primed with?

Some really nice paint jobs there.

Eldercaveman wrote:

 Reeno wrote:

Eldercaveman wrote:
This all looks awesome so far, would be wicked to get some break downs of your paint scheme, obviously it is a little late for step by step guides as you have painted most of it already, I find stuff like that is what makes a really good blog.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for that.
I will aim to knock up a step by step the next time I start something from scratch. It wouldn't take too long to do that for one lonely gaunt.
I shal do my best Eldercaveman, and thanks for dropping by.

No worries, also the hormagaunts before you primed them the creamy bone coloured ones any idea what colour they were primed with?

No idea I'm afraid, they were bought like that off eBay. I'm pretty sure it was just bleached bone or something similar from the army painter spray range, but that's just an educated guess. Sorry I couldn't be more help. I just spraid over it in black anyways.


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Eldercaveman wrote:

 Reeno wrote:

Eldercaveman wrote:
This all looks awesome so far, would be wicked to get some break downs of your paint scheme, obviously it is a little late for step by step guides as you have painted most of it already, I find stuff like that is what makes a really good blog.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for that.
I will aim to knock up a step by step the next time I start something from scratch. It wouldn't take too long to do that for one lonely gaunt.
I shal do my best Eldercaveman, and thanks for dropping by.

No worries, also the hormagaunts before you primed them the creamy bone coloured ones any idea what colour they were primed with?

Well as they were purchased from eBay I couldn't be 100% sure. My educated guess would be 'Skeleton Bone' Primer from 'The Army Painter' Range
http://shop.thearmypainter.com/products.php?ProductGroupId=2

They arrived primed on sprue, and was definitely done using a spray can.

Back to the Prime.

So here we have my Prime complete with head.
I used the back of a tyranid warrior and cut away the lower layer of it's exoskeleton.
I then popped it on a ravener's head using green stuff to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Then to make it a little more ornate, I stuck a spike (that I think came from the carnifex kit) atop of his crown.

Painting of Mr Prime has begun.

Still using the last generation (and earlier) of GW's paint range I'm afraid, but...

*Undercoat [Chaos Black]
*Base Coat [Custom - Chaos Black + Talarn Flesh + Graveyard Earth ...I think]
*Dry brush [Graveyard Earth]
*Mid tone for carapace [custom - ?Brown? + Bleached Bone]

A little more done this afternoon...

*Wet Brush Fleshier Bits - Tallarn Flesh
*Claws/Sword etc. - Chaos Black
*Ground of Base Dry Brush - Fortress Grey

 Reeno wrote:


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So the 500 point hive fleet will roughly consist of ...
* Tyranid Prime
* 3x Tyranid Warriors
* 15x Termagants
* 20x Hormagaunts
* 20x Hormagaunts

Might need to bump the army up by 250 points against a bunch of marines that have added a dreadnought to the ranks.
Any suggestions as what to counter this addition with?

Oh and i will update on my Prime's progress tomorrow.
Didn't spend much time on him tonight as I had the pleasure of unboxing zomicide!!
... Can't wait to play this game on Friday with the lads.

Some Hive guard would complment this list nicely, squad of 3 is only 150 points, and it will make mince meat of your friends dreadnought, and maybe conisder the extra 100 into more synapse

Hive guard aye?
Can't say I've paid too much attention to this unit.
Well at a glance, I'm seeing that you may be onto something here,
that Impaler cannon looks like a handy bit of kit to have lying around.
I really want to squeeze that tervigon in there but I just don't have enough termigants as yet.
Time to have a poke around on eBay, or pop in GW to see how bad the finecast stock is of these hive guard.

That's again for you input cave man.

 Reeno wrote:
Hive guard aye?
Can't say I've paid too much attention to this unit.
Well at a glance, I'm seeing that you may be onto something here,
that Impaler cannon looks like a handy bit of kit to have lying around.
I really want to squeeze that tervigon in there but I just don't have enough termigants as yet.
Time to have a poke around on eBay, or pop in GW to see how bad the finecast stock is of these hive guard.

That's again for you input cave man.

No worries, I was going to suggest Tervigon but I assumed you would be short on Gants,in my Nid list, Tyrants, Terv's, Hive guard and gants make up the core, no matter the points cost

Just a quick one, i'll list the paints i used next time i'm online.
I know he's looking a bit all over the place at the mo, but i'll tone him done the when i attack him next.
This stage of the production line always looks a little ropey, so bear with me.

That Warrior Prime looks great! I love your colour scheme.

In addition to my fleeting update last night regarding Mr Prime here are the next painting stages for the previous uploaded picture...
*Armour Highlight - Bleached Bone
*Face/Cartilage - Baal Red Wash
*Spikes/Claws/Sword Dry Brush - Mechrite Red
*Spikes/Claws/Sword Texture Base - Blood Red

Dude, this army looks awesome, how dare you patronize yourself so shamelessly?
The paint scheme is awesome, and I really dig the "striped" looks on the chitin (my GF plays 'Nids, so I have done plenty chitin myself to help her out so I know it can be extremely tedious...)
I love the details that even the littly guys receive (seeing gaunts with no eyes just break my heart, and that is the norm I feel with Tyranids)
Overall, really looking forward to seeing more! Consider me and my GF subbed!
(Oh, and the name of the Hive Fleet is epic... Although the behaviour of the 'Nids kinda lands them more towards "fagocyte" in my mind )

Done!!

Well there he is, the last part to achieving my 500 point goal has been completed.
I CAN finish something after all!

I don't think there were many painting stages left to add after my last post. but here it goes...

*Complete wash - Badab black
*Face/Cartilage - Baal Red Wash (again)
*Spikes/Claws Extreme Highlight - Fiery Orange
*Wet Flesh/Carapace/Claws etc - Gloss Varnish

This is really impressive and they have turned out really well. Give yourself a pat n the back.

Eldercaveman wrote:
This is really impressive and they have turned out really well. Give yourself a pat n the back.

Cheers mate.
I'll try and get them together for a group photo.
...As long as I can get them all within synapse range.

I had some new additions arrive in the post this morning,
Just a bit of transport but looking forward to assembly.
I'll return with more info in the morning.

These are some great models mate Love the dark gritty look of them. Keepup the good work

Good morning folks, as I mentioned last night I had some goodies in the post.
As we all know GW don't supply mycetic spores amongst their Tyranid range, so anyone out there who wants one has to look elsewhere or scratch-build something.
I searched the web (mainly eBay) and found a fair few but nothing that I liked.
The oop forgeworld 'hive node' looks great but has negatives,
*It's out of production :(
*It's only practical for little gribbles (model its self has hormagaunts popping out)
*Oh yeah and it's f**kin' oop. Why oh why did FW discontinue these and their capillary towers? Oh well best get over it aye!
*Is it even meant to by a mycetic spore, or is it used as terrain/objective marker???
(seriously anyone know?)
Anyways, despite my rant I managed to get hold of one from eBay, also this is probably why I'm annoyed I cant get it directly from FW.
Got it for about £22 off eBay, but when it arrived It's quite clear that it is a re-cast and suffers from many little defects.
Here is a pic so anyone that follows in my footsteps can see what they are potentially buying...

Back to the hunt for a mycetic spore...
As I couldn't find anything I liked I came here to browse the gallery so see if I could find any scratch built inspiration.
You people have come up with some great ideas, but one caught my eye in particular.
An image was posted it turned out to be a bought kit and not scratch built at all.
"Sweet!" I thought.
So I found the Web site...
http://puppetswar.com/product.php?id_product=21
...and placed an order. It took about three weeks to arrive but yesterday I received a knock on the door and signed for a small box containing two of these models.
It came in a regular cardboard box with all the components for the two models just thrown in together.
I'm not complaining, they both seem completely undamaged and of a good quality. See for your self...


They came with a little bag of magnets too, so you can magnetise the four ...
departure ramps? atrium flaps? pod peelings? (you know what I mean)
I would launch straight into the assembly but I started cleaning and basing three Zoanthropes and want to get them primed before I move on to anything else.
I might even assemble a Tervigon first, but have no fear I will return to them.

This warrior prime looks quite badass.
I really like how it turned out.

Had lots of fun with my Tervigon kit this afternoon, it's a very nice model to assemble.
Saying that, the kit is quite restricting when it comes to posing the model.
Unless you cut the legs up and do some green stuff work you kinda stuck with the one stance.
I still love the model, plenty of load out options.
A good 30% of the kit doesn't even get used. Into the bits box you go.
Next time I get the chance, I'll finish him off and get the basing done.
Then into the loft I go and out comes the airbrush to do some base coating.
The zoanthropes are ready and waiting.

Nice, you have some Zoanhropes. Realiable in the save department (3+ invun) but my firneds ones never really do anything attack wise. Either fails the psychic test or doesn't damage anything.
Looking forward to some paint on these guys!

P.s. Will you be making a Doom of Malantai?

I just had to have a few of these, if only to paint them up. I think they are great models. Doom of malan'tai will have to be done but its not high on my list of priorities at this moment.
I just want to get these thropes, a tervigon and maybe another brood of termigants made up. Once they are built and based ill get them primed and base coated and won't do anymore modelling until they are finished.
...Oh, other than the mycetic spore pods I got from puppets of war.

A quick update to my Tervigon progress. She's nearly there.
Didn't know what to arm her with so I decided to go down the magnetised route as I was fairly successful with the Prime.
I had to re-do the magnets as they were located awkwardly and made the arms rub against the body.
I hope they are spot on this time as I have to let the green stuff cure overnight, don't want to be wasting more time.

Magnets are always a good thing to do if you have a great kit like this and you cant decide what to equip it with.
Looking forward to more updates

Updates will probably be few and far between for the next week or two.
After assembling my Tervigon, I thought it would be such a shame to get him complete and not have a sizeable swarm of termagants for him to squeeze out and command.
So I'm going to bite the bullet and plough through another sizeable production.
It might take some time and I know I'll be sick of it far from finishing them, but it has to be done.
If I can get these out the way then I can treat myself to more elite choices.

Thanks to everyone that has been leaving comments.
All helpful hints, tips and constructive critics are most welcome.

...You could even check out my gallery and vote on my pics!

Man, this is taking forever!
40 Termagants assembled!
In hindsight, I should have bought ready built second hand models off of eBay to save on time.
Still... I thought as these would be the last of there kind for a long time
that I would treat them to a bit more of a thorough cleaning.
I would also like to put a little more into the basing but I'll cross that bridge tomorrow.

Maybe you could of got push together ones? (I think they exist?) Either way the horror of building them all is over. Just painting to go

Exciting stuff in the post this morning.
A slight delay in the painting of my next batch due to newly acquired airbrush knowledge.
Should have some time to photograph and report in more detail tomorrow.

Wow them nids are just sick. Love the dull, fadded colours and the way you put the red on top of it.
Very good.
Oh and some friendly advice, read my signature.

Nice colorscheme, and great looking carapace!

As I mentioned last night I was very pleased to receive my post yesterday morning.
I finally got hold of some oop FW capillary towers.
They cost me just over £30 from cadwallon.com. I had never placed an order with them before but they seemed legit.
I thought with such a low price for such a long oop product they must be recasts, but I thought for the price and the fact that I've had no joy hunting any down on eBay I'd just place an order and see what I got.
You can probably see from the pic why I was so pleased with what I received and if they are recasts they are bloody good. In my opinion they are easily FW standard.
Hardly any cleaning to do on them either so will be priming them asap.
Needless to say I have placed an order for more!!!

I always wondered why FW stopped making those towers. Nice to see you managed to get a hold of some. Looking forward to seeing some paint on them

 Reeno wrote:

AMAZING!

As today is mother's day and my Tervigon still stands incomplete I thought I would unite here with her brood and shower her in gifts.
*40 x New Termagants.
*3 x Capillary Towers.
*70 x New Dice (not sure if she'll appreciate that one).
*A set of Vallejo Model Air Paints (still in the post) so Painting can begin.

Just to explain the latter...
I have always found it very frustrating when using my airbrush to apply my base coat as is does not take long until it blocks up and has to be cleaned to be able to continue.
I thought that this was just the nature of airbrushing or something to do with the temperature of my loft where I use it.
I spoke the helpful chap at my local art supplies shop and he explained that it could have something to do with the paint I'm using.
He explained that the pigment in airbrush paint is smaller than that of normal acrylic paint as it has a tendency to clog up. So I turned to the internet and found a set of WW2 Vallejo Air Paints that contained a colour very close to my custom basecoat.
Thats about it for today. I was going to begin construction of my spore pods but as I haven't really got the time I could just continue with my Tervigon pampering and get some Green Stuff on her, there are parts on the model that really do need some filling before painting can start.

Wow Im new to this thread and im starting tyranids too and I must say this is really nice!!!

I am in love with this army! And geeze I be jealous of who ever's mom gets that card ;D Good job mate!

Thanks guys.

I'm still working on my batch of 40 Termagants although progress has been slow due to work, a bad back and my computer's PSU blowing up.
I'm trying to take photos of each step so I can produce one big painting guide for them instead of dripping the odd photo on here.

Someone asked me "why no Genestealers?", trust me I have plenty set aside for when the timing is right including those limited to the last Space Hulk.

I did give myself a break from the Termagants a few weeks back and started work on an 'Old One Eye'. He's not really for use in my army especially at this stage, but it gave me an excuse to play with a Carnifex kit and experiment with slate on a my interactive basing level.
Spent a bit too much time on this kit really considering I still have so much to do for my 'gants. As 'Old One Eye' is a bit of a battle scarred legend I thought I'd put some effort into weathering his armour much like Forge World's Hierodule
...I may have gone a little over the top!

Ok, just a quick update.
Have most of the long, slow and painful parts done for my 40 Termagants.
Just some detail work and bases to paint so another couple of days and I should have them all pretty much done.
At that point I'll cobble together a painting guide for them and post it up here.
The next project I was going to start was the painting of my Tervigon, but as I have gotten hold of some Kwik weld to try out I'm going to assemble one of my mycetic spores I purchased from puppets of war.
To those that are interested, I will keep you all posted.
Wish me luck!

keep it up!

Haha Good Luck

The 40 Termagants are complete! Which now gives me a grand total of 56 to field if I wanted to.
I hope to post some pics later today and put together a quick step by step on how I painted them.


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...and here's a couple of quick snaps I've just taken as proof...



oow, look at them all!

I dont want to see another Termagant sprue for as long as I live.

First go with JB Kwik weld last night.
Very impressed with results so far.
Touch dry in 15 mins!
Let me know if anyone else out there is considering using jb weld.

Here's my Gant guide as promised...

01 - Stick the thing together and trim any mould lines.
02 - Decorate base with Green Stuff, sand, bit and bobs etc.
03 - Undercoat black (not shown) and base coat with Vallejo Air Cam. Grey Brown 71.042.
04 - Dry brush everything with Graveyard Earth.
05 - Roughly paint all fleshy bits with Tallarn Flesh.
06 - Highlight fleshy bits with Elf Flesh.
07 - Start to apply texture to the Chitin with a mixture of Graveyard Earth and Kommando Khaki.
08 - Highlight Chitin with Bleached Bone.
09 - Paint Teeth Skull White and the tongue/eyes Mechrite Red.
10 - Wash everything Black.
11 - Drybrush Base Fortress Grey.
12 - Paint the ammo/energy sections of the Fleshborer with Emerald Green.
13 - Drybrush on Scorpion Green to roughly simulate organic light from the Fleshborer.
oh, and paint the sides of the base black again.

Nice work, could be helpfull to me but I dont recognise some of the paints you are using.

TermaGrant wrote:
Nice work, could be helpfull to me but I dont recognise some of the paints you are using.

They're all GW paints, some are just the old batch, check out the paint conversion chart and you should be all good

Eldercaveman wrote:

TermaGrant wrote:
Nice work, could be helpfull to me but I dont recognise some of the paints you are using.

They're all GW paints, some are just the old batch, check out the paint conversion chart and you should be all good

Thanks caveman you beat me to it. Yeah they are all GW paints apart from the one Vallejo, my collection of paints goes back to the very early 90's, amazed some of them are still going.
I'm afraid I cant afford to keep myself up to date with GW's paint range, the only one have bought since the new range came out is Steel Legion Drab that is the latest equivalent to Graveyard earth.

Oh ok thanks guys, i managed to find out most of them. I'm sure i can improvise if i come to use your colours. Hope you dont mind

Course I don't mind, that's why I put the guide up on here. If you do use it please post some pics so I can have a peek.
Well whatever you end up doing make sure you share, I for one would like to see what you get up to.

I'm really looking forward to starting my Tervigon next weekend, I think I've earnt the right to paint a nice big model after wading through so many little'uns.

 Reeno wrote:
Course I don't mind, that's why I put the guide up on here. If you do use it please post some pics so I can have a peek.
Well whatever you end up doing make sure you share, I for one would like to see what you get up to.

I'm really looking forward to starting my Tervigon next weekend, I think I've earnt the right to paint a nice big model after wading through so many little'uns.

You have most certainly paid your dividends

Love the paint scheme, it's very earthy. The red accents on the Warriors look awesome! Really makes them stand out.

Cheers guys. I'd like to knock up a few more warriors at least, but before that I must get myself a finished tervigon and then my three zoanthropes I think. I've seen some pics of a shootyfex that got me inspired but I really must stay focused on what I already have. It's always been my downfall in the past, to drop a model before completion because of something shiny and new.

Do you base coat with a brush or a spray paint?

Man, I really like the green glow effect you gave to the termigaunts! makes them look even more alien.

@Termagrant. I used the GW black primer spay can and then applied a Vallejo Air paint with my airbrush as the base coat.
Does this mean your ready to start painting then?

@Brakkos. Cheers, I was quite chuffed with how it turned out, so simple to achieve too. All I did was dry brush it on, well more kind of scrubbed it on. The technique is a brush breaker for sure, but worth it in my opinion.

Not quite ready to paint, well haven't even got many tyranids yet, but I'm on the look out for some cheap Termagants or some hormagaunts.

@Termagrant. Keep hunting, I found some great deals on ebay you just need to be patient.

Here is the progress I have made with my mycetic spore so far...

JB Kwik weld doing a brilliant job of holding those spines in place.

I also gave a quick tickle to my Tervigon yesterday, but to be honest it's a little overwelming having such a big model to paint. I really want to do her justice and have a finished model that I can be proud of.
I guess it's just pre-project nerves, spose i should just push myself to get into the swing of things.

Wow, nice organic looking scheme. Very dark and alien!

I also gave a quick tickle to my Tervigon yesterday, but to be honest it's a little overwelming having such a big model to paint. I really want to do her justice and have a finished model that I can be proud of.
I guess it's just pre-project nerves, spose i should just push myself to get into the swing of things.

Just sit and do a little pre-planning of what you want to do and how you going to do it. After that, just follow Nike's logo: just do it!

Cheers for the pep talk. Did a little more tonight and I'm getting into the swing of things. I already have my own painting guide to adhere to so the planning is already done I suppose. I just hope it works as well on a larger scale.
Only one way to find out.
It's all good fun!

i'm sure you'll do just fine. Lovin the slate work on the base, especially on your old one eye. The way its talon smashes into the rock floor really shows the power of a carnifex.

I have made some slow progress with my Tervigon but as It's my B'day tomorrow I have booked the week off work, YAY!
So the plan is to finish her off by the end of the week, probably sooner as it will most likely be raining the whole time.
I now have a copy of Relic (40k Talisman) looking forward to giving it a good playthrough on Friday with a couple of friends.

A quick snap shot of my progress so far...

wow, thats a really nice contrast between the skin and carapace. Really nice so far

Looking good so far. You going to add glowing effects from the gaints coming out?

Brakkos wrote:
Looking good so far. You going to add glowing effects from the gaints coming out?

Hmmm, hadn't thought about that but I don't see why not. Might even have some glowing through the gant sack, that's if I can pull it off.

She's coming on well. yeah would be good to see some green glowing from the insides aswell as spilling out from the front with the termagants.
Keep up the good work, want to see more.
Oh and happy Birthday for yesterday.

Here is a quick update with the progress I made yesterday.



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yet another update to my Tervigon. I spent some time this afternoon building up the texture on her exoskeleton. It is very time consuming on such a large model but will hopefully be worth it.

Nice progress. keep it up.
I can see where your going by looking at your Prime and i'm sure your hard work will pay off.

Those are realy cool.

Thanks guys, I'll try and get some more done today.

Like the line effect on the chitten! I am a bit too impatient to do each one free hand.

Brakkos wrote:
Like the line effect on the chitten! I am a bit too impatient to do each one free hand.

Well I did it for all my gribbley models (56 Gants and 40 Gaunts) so I couldn't really skimp on my nice big Tervigon.

Unfortunately I have made no progress with her over the last few days due to emergence home maintenance and playing Relic yesterday with friends, but I hope to get some good painting time in this afternoon.
Fingers crossed I'll get some photographic updates up on here by tomorrow morning at the latest.

I final finished the first stage of armour texturing. Might not seem that exciting to you guys but I'm so glad that bit is over with.
I hope to make some more progress today and finish off all the armour other that the varnish(which I'm still undecided about).

Nice, she is coming on isn't she. That line painting looks like a lot of hard work, don't think i'd have the patience to do that. It looks great it really, really does, I just know I wouldn't be able to get through it all.

Just finished the mid highlights. My eyes feel like they are bleeding and my neck feels like its made of twigs and stone.
Think it's time for a break as I am clearly now too old to be painting none stop all day.

How's the tervigon going? Hope you haven't done yourself too much damage

I'm still alive thanks. I have been finding it hard to find time to spend on my Tervigon this week, it being the first week back after a week off from work.
I dedicated a bit of time this afternoon between jobs and managed to get 80% of the chitin highlights done, when complete it'll be all toned down a bit with a black wash.
Fingers crossed I can spend some more time on her tomorrow, although I suppose I should make the most of the very rare appearance of the sun here in the uk.

That's good work on the chitin. Gives it a nice textured appearance.

sweet! yeah the texture is really coming out now. Your hard work is really starting to pay off

Yet another Tervigon update.
I hope I'm not baring people by uploading after every painting session, I know they aren't the greatest leaps and bounds.
Maybe I should wait until a model is finished and then upload a painting progress guide like I did with the Termagants.
Please let me know people if I'm not being a good bog host.
Anyways, YOU ARE getting this update but to spice things up a little I thought I'd plonk her on my paint set. WOW!!!
If you want her plonked on top of something else for the next update I do take requests...

model is looking sweet as

This army is immense! Love the colour scheme, you've outdone yourself here!

You've made some good progress over the weekend, she is really coming together now. You can't have much left to do now, right? What's next on the cards when you have finished?

Nah shouldn't take too long now, should be all don't by this time next week if I'm lucky enough to find the free time.
I really don't know what I'll be working on next, I try my best not to think about it as I get easily distracted. But probably mycetic spore pods.
Thanks for all the positive comments they all help me get through it.

Good to see she is almost done!

NOw you just need to paint the 2 others

Brakkos wrote:
NOw you just need to paint the 2 others

Two others? No no no, that's enough Tervigonage for now, well I have to finish this one first.
I just remembered I haven't even started her crushing claws and scything talons.
Damn! There I was thinking I could have her finished by the end of the week. Think I need another week off work.
Nah after the Tervigon I'll try move onto something completely different, like mycetic spore pods or even my trio of Zoanthropes.
Mmmmmmm, Zooooanthropesssss!

 Reeno wrote:

Brakkos wrote:
NOw you just need to paint the 2 others

Two others? No no no, that's enough Tervigonage for now, well I have to finish this one first.
I just remembered I haven't even started her crushing claws and scything talons.
Damn! There I was thinking I could have her finished by the end of the week. Think I need another week off work.
Nah after the Tervigon I'll try move onto something completely different, like mycetic spore pods or even my trio of Zoanthropes.
Mmmmmmm, Zooooanthropesssss!

Tsk tsk! You make the Hivemind cry!

These are awesome!! and personally, I like that you've uploaded WIP pics instead of just finished ones. Keep up the hard work, and hopefully I'll have the same determination as you to get my 'nids painted!

Have you finished yet?

Hi all, sorry I haven't been on for a while. I've not had much time on the internet let alone chance to paint my Tervigon. I had hoped to blitz her this weekend and get a photo up on here by the evening, it has not turned out that way :( I did however find a bit of tervigon time but ended in disaster a few hours ago when I dropped her onto the hard floor chipping paint and breaking the model into four pieces. The air was blue to say the least. Anyways, I have fixed her up to to the best of my ability and will try to get some more done shortly, but the goalpost for completion has been moved to next weekend now. If I think I have made enough progress to warrant a pic I'll upload one this evening
As always, thank you guys for dropping by and leaving comments.
Catch you later!

Nooooooooo, that's awful! I can only imagine, but after so much effort and hard work it must have been crushing to see it fall like that. Well I hope you manage to do a repair that your happy with and look forward to seeing the finished project next week.

Wondering why I haven't voiced my liking of your work till now? Oh yeah 'cause I'm lazy.

Great work, love the step by step on the gaunt painting and I am wondering what tool you used to 'weather' Old One Eye?

Sorry to hear about the drop, ever wonder why our workstations are near hard floors or horrible shag carpet that hides anything we drop?

 Reeno wrote:
Yet another Tervigon update.
I hope I'm not baring people by uploading after every painting session, I know they aren't the greatest leaps and bounds.
Maybe I should wait until a model is finished and then upload a painting progress guide like I did with the Termagants.
Please let me know people if I'm not being a good bog host.
Anyways, YOU ARE getting this update but to spice things up a little I thought I'd plonk her on my paint set. WOW!!!
If you want her plonked on top of something else for the next update I do take requests...

You have some awesome color gradients built up on this tervigon, it looks amazing. I must say the Guant painting guide was very helpful.

I have to ask, did you make "color label" stickers for the tops of your paints? I noticed them and have never seen them before, they look like a huge time saver.

Thanks for all the kind words guys. I've had a couple of weeks off due to various jobs needing to be done etc.
I need to get back to Ms Tervigon this weekend. I always get stuck like this just before finishing a model, I think there is something going on in my subconscious.

 Pause Game wrote:
I have to ask, did you make "color label" stickers for the tops of your paints? I noticed them and have never seen them before, they look like a huge time saver.

Hi Game Pause, thanks for dropping by. No they aren't stickers I have simply painted the top of every paint pot, I then applied a layer of 'ard coat and finally wrote the names on with a permanent fine liner.
I cant really say it's a time saver because it took a whole weekend to do.

Power through dude, It'll be well worth it. She's going to be a beaut (and a brute).

OK then guys I'm sorry if i'm starting to sound like a broken record but I do intend to finish the Tervigon this weekend. I skipped drinking this Friday to get jobs done around the house, I have a pile of ironing to get through and a BBQ to attend but any spare time left today and all of sunday will be dedicated to her. There isn't that much left to do on her really, it's mainly just the gants crawling out of her sack, a few touches to the base and whatever varnishing I think is needed.
Whatever happens I will post an updated pic.

Well here she is so far.
I was getting quite excited at the prospect of finishing Ms Tervigon today (between exposures to the British sun), but I've just realised that there are still two crushing claws that are sitting on the side still at base coat stage
So it looks like the big incomplete stamp will remain on this project for another week at least, suppose I might as well paint up the scything talons while I'm at it.
I'm quite happy with this model so far, the green glow from within the sides of the belly didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped but.
This might improve however if I decide to put a layer of varnish over the entire gaunt sack, but not too sure yet, I don't want her to look too shiny.

Awesome. The texture on the carapace is particularly convincing.

Looks good so far!

Glad to see your still in business. She's looking real good!
Would be good to see some more detailed close ups of the different areas of the model and from different angles.
Hope you get your claws done this week so we can see a new model started.

Simply stunning.

Thanks for your support guys.
@grant. I'll take some more shots when it's finished. I'll be taking some higher quality pics with my dslr as I now have a funky soft box to shoot them in. Just need to sort out a background for it.

Great army, scheme, and log mate. The painting technique of glazing back gives a really natural look to the bugs I really like.

Kudos on finding some cool FW terrain too, I spent ages trying to track some down and ended up getting recasts of poor quality, but I did get 27 of them for not a great deal

Whats next on the agenda?

Indeed very nice progress!

 Sheep wrote:
Kudos on finding some cool FW terrain too, I spent ages trying to track some down and ended up getting recasts of poor quality, but I did get 27 of them for not a great deal

well there are three sets I have purchased, for all I know they could be recasts. I have plenty of experience with models bought directly from FW and the quality of my capillary Tower models easily live up to that standard. So either way I am a one happy chappy.


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 Sheep wrote:

Whats next on the agenda?

Well I really want to start on my trio of Zoanthropes but I made a promise to myself and others that I would get at least one of my mycetic spores done next.


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Oow while i'm here i'll just add that I starting painting those Crusher claws for the Tervigon so all should be done by the weekend.

Good work Reeno, seems like your building up momentum again. Interested in how those mycetic spores turn out. Are you converting them or just using them straight out of the box?

Great looking army, just read your thread from the beginning and have been inspired to start hoarding away eBay deals to start my own
Nid force.

Thanks. Not entirely sure yet grant, I had better start thinking about it though.
Good for you 'small victory'. When you get to the stage of painting don't be shy, start your own thread or post a picture up here. Either way let me know how your getting on.

The model looks great that you are using, but aren't mycetic spores meant to able to defend themselves. You could add lash whips or scything talons maybe?

That's a very good point, something that had crossed my mind a while ago but didn't come up with a plan. Can't remember off the top of my head what they are armed with. Anyone have a codex to hand?
I am planning on basing the spore so it ties in with the rest of my models. Will have to go and womble some more slate.

 Reeno wrote:
That's a very good point, something that had crossed my mind a while ago but didn't come up with a plan. Can't remember off the top of my head what they are armed with. Anyone have a codex to hand?
I am planning on basing the spore so it ties in with the rest of my models. Will have to go and womble some more slate.

Lash whips and Ripper tentacles.

Translation: Lots of flaying arms.

Eldercaveman wrote:
Lash whips and Ripper tentacles.

Translation: Lots of flaying arms.

Well that shouldn't be a problem, I'll have to have a rummage around in my bits box and see what I can come up with.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
If all else fails i'll try and find a couple of cheap venomthropes, use their tentacles for the spores and the body of one for a doom of malan'tai conversion.

 Reeno wrote:

Eldercaveman wrote:
Lash whips and Ripper tentacles.

Translation: Lots of flaying arms.

Well that shouldn't be a problem, I'll have to have a rummage around in my bits box and see what I can come up with.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
If all else fails i'll try and find a couple of cheap venomthropes, use their tentacles for the spores and the body of one for a doom of malan'tai conversion.

You could just sculpt some using some wire and green stuff?

Yeah good point mr caveman. I shouldn't be so lazy, especially when gw parts cost so much. I'll have play and see what I can come up with.

I did it, I F***in' did it. She took some doing but I got there in the end.
Not the best photo but I'll rectify that at some point soon.
Hope you all like here...

Very nice, it shows you put a lot of time in it It's paid off in the end, extremely well done

awesome work glad to see to her done looks great.

Congratulations! She beautiful. Lol.
That's by far the best tervigon I have ever seen.
Has she got matching scything talons?

TermaGrant wrote:
Congratulations! She beautiful. Lol.
That's by far the best tervigon I have ever seen.
Has she got matching scything talons?

seconded! That is definitely the best tervigon I have ever seen!

Thirded! Exceptional levels of awesome!

Fourth

Now do you ever plan to play with it or do you intend to superglue it down to a sturdy shelf so that it never falls again?

WOW.
Such kind words, thank you all so much.

No Scything Talons as yet, think i'll leave them for now.
I do intend to field it on a game board at some point but I haven't played a game of 40k yet. I haven't really got into the Games Workshop scene instore. Don't ask me why, I'm just shy I guess. There don't appear to be any local gaming clubs either. Just waiting for my Blood angels friend to finish his assault squad, then maybe the hive will get some action.

So will you be having a break or are you powering on with your spore pods?
I find it hard getting on in the GW shops too, the staff are really friendly, too friendly tbh, and we all know they are there to get more money out of you. Maybe that's a bit harsh but you know what I mean. The people that hang out in there are a bit klicky too. I can be like walking into a very "local" pub, when they all turn and stare at you. either that or they are just a bunch of really young kids.
Still, I wouldn't be without the place as I love to pop in and look at all the model and the excellent painting skills of some folk.

 Reeno wrote:
WOW.
Such kind words, thank you all so much.

No Scything Talons as yet, think i'll leave them for now.
I do intend to field it on a game board at some point but I haven't played a game of 40k yet. I haven't really got into the Games Workshop scene instore. Don't ask me why, I'm just shy I guess. There don't appear to be any local gaming clubs either. Just waiting for my Blood angels friend to finish his assault squad, then maybe the hive will get some action.

Honestly for games, you are better off at clubs, home or none GW-gaming stores. GW stores can be quite useful if you are just getting into the game and need help learning the rules etc. But they will only do this as well as LGS.

I'll be pressing on with my pods this weekend, don't really know how that will pan out but I'll come up with some sort of action plan.
Regards gaming, I'll keep an eye out for local clubs but I've had no luck so far. If anybody does know of any in wolves uk then please let me know.
I'll upload a couple more pics of my finished tervigon at the weekend, so you can see her from different angles.

Dakka has its own rather comprehensive Store Finder http://www.dakkadakka.com/core/store_finder.jsp

I tried Dakka's search that you just mentioned Eldercaveman but I think it is very much out of date, it doesn't even list my local GW on there let alone any clubs hiding away.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention though. If I do locate any i'll try to have it updated with anything that I find.

Another quick pic of my latest completion...

That looks fantastic

http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=92299

A quick google brought that up, see if it is any good.

 1-i wrote:

Now do you ever plan to play with it or do you intend to superglue it down to a sturdy shelf so that it never falls again?

I have dedicated a GW carry case to my Tervigon and all of her termagants now, they all sit in there quite comfortably with room for another 15 small units.


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Eldercaveman wrote:
http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=92299
A quick google brought that up, see if it is any good.

I did come across this myself a while ago, K'ford is a bit too far away as I do not drive and the time it would take to get there would overlap with work etc.
Cheers for looking. I willl find someway to field my army, as I am a beginner when it comes to playing 40k I should really embrace my local GW.

Lovely mate! The colours are really striking and natural. Look forward to more

Another quick pic of my latest completion...

I've gotten my as whipped by nids soooooo many times that I thought that I never could look at them again...

That was before your tervigon (I think it was). Awesome paint job!

And how is the work progressing on the spores? Seems like a nice piece of kit

Thanks everyone, you all give me the motivation I need to keep knocking out these models.

 danesk wrote:
And how is the work progressing on the spores? Seems like a nice piece of kit

It's coming on quite well thanks. It is a nice model but alterations have to be made.
My one major gripe with the pod is that the four shell walls are very loose as they do not fit snugly, to remedy this I have to do a lot of GS work so they don't rattle around quite so much.
I have based my first attempt on a GW large oval base so as I have some space to build up scenery (slate etc) similar to the rest of my nids.
Oh I have to incorporate some lash whip detail too, I will probably feature this inside the pod.
Pics will follow soon.

Any plans on how you are going to make the lash whips yet?

As a matter of fact I have just closed the lid to my tool box after trying out a couple of ideas. I tried the GS around twisted wires with a spike on the end and likewise with a few tyranid tubes I cut off some monstrous ranged weapons. I've got chilli to make now so I'm going to let the glue cure to its fullest and return to them tomorrow. They seem promising, hopefully I'll still be happy with then when looked upon with fresh eyes.

You might find it is worth painitng one or two up before making your final judgement

Yeah good call. If the wire and green stuff works out I'll be going with that option as its cheaper, but I was finding it difficult to make the tentacle straight and smooth which might effect my painting method. Watch this space...

How's that pod coming on?
I still keep popping back to look at your tervigon, seriously dude it's so good!
Had any luck organising a game yet? If you do get round to it take some photos, it'd be cool to see them in action.

Thanks Grant. I've had such a good response to my tervigon efforts, I'm a very proud hive minder.
No game as yet, I'm ok just expanding the fleet for now.
No progress on the pod this week. I do intend to get stuck in this weekend, in between playing shadowrun returns.

Hi everybody!
Well I made a bit of progress on my Mycetic Spore. It is going to be a gradual project as I am having to do lots of green stuff modelling on this kit. Don't get me wrong, it is a great kit but I do want to put my stamp on it.
The four hatches on the pod rattle around quite a bit so I am doing what I can to remedy this. As you can I see I've added scything talons to replace the top halves of the structure, this is purely to add some aesthetic consistency.
I've been playing around with options for the lash whips and ripper tentacles. I'm thinking of having the large one in the middle (made from armature wire, ravener talon and GS) and 3-4 smaller tentacles made from tyranid weapon bits.
It looks a bit of a mess at the moment I know. Hopefully it'll start to look a bit more pleasing after I've made a bit more progress this afternoon.

Love your Nids- great painting and your tervigon in particular is excellent. I love the depth and richness of tones you have got on it- really impressive and it makes for a beautiful model.
The spore is looking promising too- looking forward to seeing how this develops.

The cast looks a bit ropey in places but the overall design looks great for this model. I look forward to seeing what you do with this spore. Tentacles look good but the green one on the right looks like it could do with some improvement.
I'm sure you'll work your magic on it and it will look great.
...oh and dont drink too much

Thanks for the kind words and faith in my work. Your right Grant, the cast is a bit rough in places and some of the sculpting is a bit lax here and there. I do aim to try my best and build on it in places. As I say it does look a bit of a mess at the moment, I hope it comes together as well as I have it in my mind.

How hard does that kwik weld stuff get when it has cured? looks like it would be good for sculpting bases, do you think it would be good for mud?

That's a beastly big pod! If it's help to the same standards as your other miniatures it'll look incredible when done.

Awesome paintjob on the tervigon, love the gloss red, using that on my own nids too. Really like the pod too, can't wait too see it painter

Thanks guys. I'm sorry to say due to a BBQ, pub and household jobs/cleaning I had zero progress to report so far this week. Sorry, I must try harder.
@grant. I think Kwik weld would be good for basing although a little overkill. It would make a great mud, if it was mixed with a little sand maybe. The only problem is that the Kwik weld does tend to relax so to get detail to cure on it you would have to keep manipulating it until it was hard enough to hold its self.
... If that makes sense. Also when it does cure it cures easily as hard as a tough mix of green stuff so it can be cut drilled and sanded.
I loved finding new sculpting tools and methods.

Well I'm looking forward to a good weekend of productivity as far as the hive fleet is concerned. I really want to get this pod done so my aim is to get all of the modelling completed, undercoat it in the week and start painting it the following weekend.
soon i will get started on my zoanthropes or even a tyrant!

Things have gone quiet, how goes the hive fleet?

Hi sorry I haven't been around recently, I'm having to take a break from the nids for a little while so I can get some jobs done around the home. I'm also taking the opportunity to get back into some horus heresy reading, only read a couple in as many years so I picked up fallen angels a few days ago and plan on finishing it off tonight.
al' be back!

Don't take too long, we need more Tyranid logs here and yours is one of the best!

This log is full of amazingly painted figs! Congrats and I am in awe of your attention to detail.

I'm about to start an ecalation league with Nids and yours are just a bar or two above what i've seen.

I was thinking black carapace, with dark blue for the fleshy bits and bone for well.. the bone but this has me re-thinking a bit. Excellent work my friend.

Thanks guys for all your kind words. That's the kind of sh*t that kicks me up the ass and keeps me going. Just picked up 'A Thousand Sons' but will aim to get some work done on the hive fleet too.