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I'm thinking about creating a Tyranid army. I've been looking over the codex and some popular builds. Not ever playing anything other than marines it's hard for me to get used to all xenos stuff lulz

so here's my question: for certain units what models do you use? For example I would like a tervigon with my gants but I have no idea what I would use to represent that. Also the mycetic spore

If you could shed some light on this for me that would be greatly appreciated!

Carnifexes make for good Tervigons with a bit of converting. Chapterhouse has a kit, and you can get some other bits on ebay. Alternatively, you can sculpt using Green Stuff. Tyrannofexes work off of Carnifexes too, but they require a lot more converting.

Gotta convert your own Tervigons, Tyrannofexes, Harpies and the like. Use Green Stuff, Carnifex kits, and bits to do your best. I've seen good results using the butt of the big Orc spider from Fantasy. For spores, get Mega Blocks Plasma Hatchers (find em in toystores, on eBay) or the expensive Chapterhouse kit.

I just use my Carnifexes as counts-as Tervigons. They are about the same size, and I never use them in my heavy support slot.

Hi, FaceCrusher! Tervigons are one of the more popular models to create because of their utility on the battlefield. But other converted units do exist. The Doom of Malantai can be made using a zoanthrope and a little sculpting. I've seen the Parasite of Mortrex done with bits from both warriors and gargoyles. Mycetic spores can be made with plastic eggs or those Plasma Hatcher things from the UK. And of course the Swarmlord is essentially an uber-tyrant.

Any ideas on what you might like to try to make first? Perhaps we can get some idea sharing going on.

Several sources say that we finally get the Tyranid second wave this year, maybe even Q1.
Otherwise there are a few non-GW alternatives for most models.
E.g. Chapterhouse offers a Tervigon converion kit, Puppet's war a nice alternative tervigon and Mycetic Spore.

The best mycetic spore is from maxmini. It actually looks like it belongs in the Tyranid range.



I really hope the second wave is worth the wait. I mean, if the Tyrannofex is missing, I won't be too upset, but I do want the Tervigon, and strangely, the Harpy.

My converted Tyranids:

Tervigon, using a second hand Carnifex, tail made from putty and some spare arms and claws from various other creatures.



Tyrannofex; another second hand Carnifex converted with bits from the Chapter House Tervigon kit, the Forge World rock crusher arms and tail from a Trygon. Also putty and stuff.



Mycetic Spore Pod: A "Plasma Hatcher" egg, just put on a base and sprayed.



The Flyrant and the Doom are the other main units you'll need to convert.

That's awesome! Thanks for all the feedback! I think I'm gonna start with the tervigons and the spore cause that's what I need for my lower point list! I really hope they have a new wave of tyranid models that would be fantastic!

Thanks again guys!

You won't get any use out of your Carnifexes as Carnifexes, so just use them as straight-up proxies for Tervigons. Should the Tervigon have an oval base by all logic? Will it almost assuredly have one in whatever year after the codex has come out that GW decides to grace a xeno army with a few scraps of models? Yes to both, but it's not out and Carnies are horribly over-pointed crap so use them for something.

Mycetic spore, when I was first assembling my army and seriously had no time to get to them while I had like 40 'gants alone that weren't even glued together I used a blast marker and if LOS came into question I assumed there was something there the same height as a drop pod. Not that it is a drop pod, no xeno army is allowed to have anything like that, but it's close enough and again until there's an actual model if anyone wants to give you grief challenge them to find the official model and/or base size.

The general idea is 'Find something close enough and wing it for a few years until GW stops releasing marines'.