Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I have about 3 or 4k worth of nids that I never seem to get around to painting. Seeing as I now have a lot of time on my hands (just had hip surgery) I am interested in trying to paint them. I'm looking for a realistic darker color scheme (eg something that might occur in reality and definitely no rainbow nids). I kinda like the bone look but I'm not entirely sure where to go with that or how. The only other restrictions I have would be no purple (maybe the really dark purple but that's stretching it) and it can't be overly complex (I had to quit my job to have the surgery and now have little/no monies). Any help/ideas would be appreciated.


The Weasel King

Hive fleet Leviathan seems like it fits your description. I like it so much I wish one of my friends hadn't picked behemoth instead.

I like that, now the hard part... How do I paint that?

I think there's actually a tutorial in the p&m tutorial section. That or the P&M blog. take a look there, I'm going to look around for it as well and will post alink if I find it.

However, I'd wager it's a black undercoat, black base on the armor, some type of brown, or somehow working down to bleached bone on the body.

I couldn't find if there was a tutorial but here are some close up pictures of the trygon, I think it is.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/278789.page

I think it looks epic. However, I have never done any painting and have no clue how to even come close to imitating it....any chance I could get it spelled out for me? Sorry for being so incompetent.

To be honest, tutorials are probably your best bet. Look up some videos on youtube for painting nids. I think L Bursely might have a few up, and he's a phenominal painter.

Here are a few links to nid tutorials I found on youtube.


This one is quick, not too in depth but uses about the same colors you like.

This one is a bit more in depth and still has a relativly light skin color.

Hope those help man. Any other questions just shoot into google or something. You cna find a lot of techniques and tutorials on youtube and through google.

do hot pink carpus and blood red skin! they will win every battle they do.
Like this

lol as funny as it is, I want realistic not a army whose paint scheme makes people embarrassed to loose to them.

I'm just going to ask. You want realistic? In a tabletop game set in the future, where there are aliens and demons and a giant hole in space that leads to a funky messed up alternate universe, and you're worrying about the realism of a color for an alien? Well then.

Lol, but yeah, basically make them whatever color you want. Like I said, look around online ands tuff to find what you like.

the weasel king wrote:lol as funny as it is, I want realistic not a army whose paint scheme makes people embarrassed to loose to them.

The funny thing is, in their original incarnation (2nd Edition), Tyranids really were all garish colours and mis-matched. It even sort of worked!

I know that the realism thing isn't the norm, it just doesn't sit right with me playing a serious game with bugs with funky colors.

I did find instructions that I like, just need to change the color of the carapace...I have always hated purple for some reason.
http://www.stoppable.se/thegreatdevourer/painting_kraken.htm

Alright, well good luck, and instead of purple paint it black or whatever.

I don't know, black just seems a little to dull for me... I honestly have no idea what to do with the carapace yet...

OK, so you want the bone like skin color, but aren't sure what for the carapiece?

Yep, sounds about right.

Crushy wrote:
Hive fleet Leviathan seems like it fits your description. I like it so much I wish one of my friends hadn't picked behemoth instead.

Hey... I came across a picture of my Tyranids! I am amused

Anyway, you can dig around my youtube if you want: http://www.youtube.com/user/Auxelli0n

Hive fleet kraken is for badasses

See my blog (link in sig) for a natural and quick painting scheme.

I've always wanted to do a tyranid army in this color scheme:

I think the example of painting in the rulebook has a dcheme a lot like that. IFIRC

alright I'm thinking the carapace from http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/286852.page and the body from http://www.stoppable.se/thegreatdevourer/painting_kraken.htm . Opinions?

Skarboy wrote:I've always wanted to do a tyranid army in this color scheme:

I would never want to play you because, I don't want all my men being sent back to base covered in wasp bites =p.
although that would make a really cool nid scheem.
something like this

I like the cgi, what is that a Dawn of War or what?

the weasel king wrote:alright I'm thinking the carapace from http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/286852.page and the body from http://www.stoppable.se/thegreatdevourer/painting_kraken.htm . Opinions?

Subtle but I like it a lot. Good luck and make sure to post pictures when you're finished.

The Bloody Handed God wrote:Subtle but I like it a lot. Good luck and make sure to post pictures when you're finished.

It's defiantly not when it's if...seeing as I had hip surgery on the 17th of this month I'm not really going anywhere and since I had to quit my job to get the surgery I have no money to buy all the paints I am going to need (who ever heard of 30 bucks worth of paint lol). So if I can scrounge up the money and find someone willing to pick up the paint for me (discreetly, my parents wouldn't be happy if I spent money on paints while I'm jobless) I will most certainly borrow a camera and upload some pics.

Lol, I mean not lol, but lol.


Sorry for your situation. I thin vilejo's paints are supposed to be a bit cheaper. worst come to worst just get some like car model paints or something. I hope you get to do it though.

at first when i sa the wasp, i did not like it. but after i sa the cgi pic. the idea grow (dont know how to bend grow) more and more, and now i will give it a go and se how it works on one of my grunts. thx for the idea m8. i will post a pic ones i got it done.

edit: i think i will give it some more gray so that the yellow color can blend in to the tyranid more easy, dont get me rong i like the blak but black to yellow is so hard.

I assembled and painted a 2000 point Tyranid army in one week, I dipped them, it's easy and damn fast and as an extra bonus the varnish protects them and they look amazing, all you need to do is undercoat white paint your brown/yellow/red spots on the skin parts choose your carapace colour, paint your claws and then paint on a healthy layer of varnish, let dry overnight and you're done, this way you don't have to be a painting god it's easy to do and you can use whatever colours you like, mine were just the white undercoat and calthan brown carapace with details like the spots and teeth, I actually pulled them out for their first game and the guy I was up against bought them off me then and there! hope this helps a bit?

I've started painting my tyranids hive fleet kraken which is white undercoat, bleached bone exoskeleton, scab red carapace and adeptus battle grey talons and claws etc. I then washed the entire model in gryphonna sepia which dulls it down and gives depth. Looks alright.

I play Kraken, but I use mechrite red for the carapace and scab red for the talons and "fleshy parts"