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Getting ready to paint some Tyranids and I have a question about color scheme.

According the the lore of 40k, are there "official" color schemes for Tyranids like there are chapters of Space Marine or tribes of Orks?
Or can they just be anything that looks cool?
And for that matter, why do any of them have one color instead of another?

I have no problem creating my own color scheme for them, but I want them to be true to the Warhammer 40k lore, "fluff" as they call it.

It's the same thing as the DIY vanilla marines and Orks. I've got all kinds of mismatched boyz with just a few things in common (red shooze and kustom blue gloves, of course!)

Just do whatever looks good to you, man. Nobody knows exactly how many different Tyranids exist anyway. Only thing that matters is that you enjoy yourself.

The various hive fleets have established colours but there is plenty of scope to paint things as you wish.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Portal:Tyranids#.Ubtyg9jWNBA

Colours can change based on the terrain but I think most people just paint them however they want based on what they want them to look like - either a distinctive hive, or to blend in with their surroundings.

There are for different hives. However, like all of them these are actually guidelines.

Given how many hives there are likely to be, it'll be perfectly true to it to come up with your own. But the most commonly used one is Leviathan.


As well as Kraken.


And I forget the name of this other one.


I'd say, just pick your own.
As for why they're the colour they are, probably has to do with the biomass they've had available to work with when they were making their hive.

Great replies - thanks very much folks
This is exactly what I was looking for.

I think I'm going to do Leviathan!

 The_Juggler wrote:
Great replies - thanks very much folks
This is exactly what I was looking for.

I think I'm going to do Leviathan!

I haven't seen the Tyranid Codex, but all the Codex books showcase many different painting schemes and are usually a great place to gather ideas.

 n0t_u wrote:
And I forget the name of this other one.

Behemoth

Ah k, thanks.

 n0t_u wrote:
Leviathan.


Behemoth.


Kraken.

Fixed that.

Yeah, thanks - I knew something was wrong but couldn't remember, just remembered he was missing Behemoth.

Here's a speedpaint job that I did a while back, it was the first time I ever did Tyranids.

It's pretty close to the Leviathan color scheme, but not quite.
I think it's pretty cool, different than anything else I've seen.
But I want to do em the way they're supposed to be done.

In one of the BL books I have, it talks about how they can change for what environment they are fighting in, which makes sense for the whole biomass thing.

Hive fleet Eumenides are also quite sharp. Snappy dressers indeed.


There's also quite a listing of different colour schemes in the codex... if you have it.

If not, the lexicanum pages features some of those.

Beregond is right, all the fluff going back through the multiple codexes talks about tyranids adapting constantly to the foes and environments they encounter. The 3 main colour schemes are imo dull and out of character to the main theme of the fluff. They only make sense during the initial encounters with the impeirum and not thereafter.
The fluff for space marines likewise makes mention of there being more than 1000 different chapters and new foundings still happening. This is more true for tyranids. Its not like the surviving tyranids will all queue up to get back on the ships to travel to the next planet., most will be melted down and used for base materials to create the next evolution of that hive fleet shard force. The colour and army makeup would change based on what they encountered and learnt on their last planet.

So basically, go nuts m8. Try a load of schemes and pick whichever you like the most and which scheme you can paint the easiest/best.

Personally, I really like the last scheme you posted. Maybe pick a different colour for the weapons/blades, to differentiate them from the armour plates.

Don't let all these guys bully you out of playing a proper Tyranid hive fleet. The established three hive fleets look good. They have many interesting and rich histories that anyone you play against can recognize and relate to.

Your Leviathan gaunt looks good.

So to answer your OP, yes there are established hive fleets. They have rich histories and interesting battles you can relive.

In the end - the models are yours. You should always paint them how you want them painted, regardless of other peoples opinions/fluff background/trends in gaming. If everyones opinions were the same - life would be dull.

The previous ouf of date codexes should be cheap and easy to pick up second hand, so if you decide to go with one of the main ones then maybe give them a look for all the old background histories etc which have been left out of the current codex.