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Hullo

I've been away from the hobby, minus a checkup every year or so, for about 15 years. I decided now that I'm retiring I have the free time to model and play again, so here I am.

Running a blog really helps me focus and stay on target so I figured I'd post updates, answer questions, and ask for advice.

Anyway, here we go:

Tyranids!

I bought an Anycubic Photon X 6k and I've been busily printing a Tyranid army (proxies, if that goes down easier). I also printed a bunch of Tyranid-themed terrain pieces. My goal is a gritty, comic-book style.


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Here are some shots of the bases in-progress:








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And some more shots of the bases finalized before painting:

I've never seen anyone use white chocolate as a basing material, but that's an interesting idea.

It might melt though.

Cool bases.
I'm already interested to see where this goes.

White chocolate keeps the monsters on the bases. Has something to do with pheromones. Shrug.

Here are photos of my walking Hive Tyrant and the beginning of the carrying case. I know some of the detail looks a little chunky in the photo but I think it's just the light. It looks superb in person.







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Also, here's a shot of the carrying case with epoxy, pre-sanding.

Love the idea of the carry case and the bases are looking excellent!
Not sure I'd ever be completely on board with printing models that are close to GW counterparts, but I'm also not gonna judge you for it! I would bet my bottom dollar your print has come out better than some of those from FW eh!

How are you finding the resin printer? Would you recommend it, as I am looking at getting a resin printer at some point in the near future - not just for little hobby bits, more engineering based stuff as well! Would be good to hear your thoughts!

Keep up the good work, have you thought about how these are going to be painted when the time comes??

Also the white chocolate/fudge on the bases is just biomass for the nids, or a mid game snack

I'm in love with the 3D printer. Setting aside actual models, it's incredibly useful for bits or small conversion pieces, base additions, terrain etc. There's a big learning curve and the isopropyl alcohol used to clean the final prints makes me nauseous, but those're minor inconveniences compared to the value it generates.

My new airbrush arrives on Monday. I'm gonna' play around with it and see what I can accomplish.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/401900?browseid=13619129

This is the best scheme I've come across, but I'm not sure I have the skill to execute it well enough to pass haha.

Below are shots of my two Carnifexes and five Tyrant Guard.

The prints are very good quality! and yeah I really like the little nid style terrain bits on the bases they are very thematic!

As for the colour scheme, looks amazingly gritty and probably would be a challenge but I reckon especially with an airbrush it wouldn't be too difficult at all?

Excellent prints, and I like a lot the bases too. Looking forward for the paintjob!

Models look awesome. Do you have a hive fleet color-scheme picked out?

Absolutely looking forward to the paint job on these bugs. And you've done some great work on the bases. Keep it up buddy!

Here's the last unpainted photo that should be in the thread haha. I finished the magnetized carrying case, put all the models together, and started airbrush priming. Once they're all primed I'll finish one of them and post WIP photos to get feedback. Thanks all for the support!

Edit: Helps if you post the image derp.

Ok, here we go. After ruining a model with an oil wash, I present his brother in chronological order:

Here, airbrushing on the armor and skin has been finished and he (she? it?) awaits ruination via oil wash:



And here you can see a not-terrible oil wash applied:



Next up will be claws and brains and all the little details. As a prototype I'm happy with the chitin and I find the skin acceptable so far. I think I'm going to use some acrylic washes to add some more contrast to the skin.

I have no idea what to do with the bases as far as color goes. I guess something neutral that isn't going to fight with the models?

I didn't think white chocolate for the bases, instead I thought Parmesan cheese. And the yellow brown you used suggests cheese that has been weaponised and ready to destroy the galaxy

In all seriousness, it's a great colour scheme. I think a 'realistic' bug approach makes Tyranids look very creepy.

My suggestion for the base would either be a dull yellowy brown like the carapaces or alternatively a warmer reddish brown to create a contrast.

Things don't always turn out like you plan, but if you just stick to it you'll find some happy accidents along the way.

All the main colors are there with shading. I just have edge highlighting and battle damage yet to do, and then I'll figure out the base.

Hullo! It took a bit but here I am. These are shots of the finished Maleceptor. I have all the rest of the models zenithal primed with white and I'll probably get to work tomorrow.

I love the contrast between the dark chitin and the bright brains. Well done!