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Hey guys this isn't really tactics related, but I'm getting a bit self conscious on my paintwork, all I ever see is these gorgeous Tyranids everywhere online. I'm going back and painting over a lot of quick and easy paint jobs that was basically my army, and re-adding techniques I picked up along the line for the sake of getting some unison... But my painting really isn't anything special, altho it has improved over time. There isn't really another Tyranid community thread, so can I ask people in here to show me a shot of a model they feel is an accurate representation of their army? No matter how good or bad, I'm just curious what the standard of painting for Bugs is for just the average community member in here. Feel free to PM me the pics if you don't want to play in here, not a lot going on in here atm though right

 SHUPPET wrote:
Hey guys this isn't really tactics related, but I'm getting a bit self conscious on my paintwork, all I ever see is these gorgeous Tyranids everywhere. I'm going back and painting over a lot of quick and easy paint jobs that was basically my army, and re-adding techniques I picked up along the line for the sake of getting some unison... But my painting really isn't anything special tho it has improved over time. There isn't really another Tyranid community thread, so can I ask people in here to show me a shot of a model they feel is an accurate representation of their army? No matter how good or bad, I'm just curious what the standard of painting for Bugs is for just the average community member in here. Feel free to PM me the pics if you don't want to play in here, not a lot going on in here atm though right

PM sent. Don’t be too worried about your paint job- anything is better than Grey Plastic. Even if your paint is blobby and needs to be thinned, you have more bragging rights than the Grey and Primed Tides.

The Tyranidos aesthetic is generally about tying together a paint scheme over a large swarm. Even if they’re individually kinda bad, if everything matches it looks decent.

They’re also the best candidate for dipping, which generally doesn’t look great but works for Nids since brown gloss matches their cockroach origins.

 SHUPPET wrote:
Hey guys this isn't really tactics related, but I'm getting a bit self conscious on my paintwork, all I ever see is these gorgeous Tyranids everywhere online. I'm going back and painting over a lot of quick and easy paint jobs that was basically my army, and re-adding techniques I picked up along the line for the sake of getting some unison... But my painting really isn't anything special, altho it has improved over time. There isn't really another Tyranid community thread, so can I ask people in here to show me a shot of a model they feel is an accurate representation of their army? No matter how good or bad, I'm just curious what the standard of painting for Bugs is for just the average community member in here. Feel free to PM me the pics if you don't want to play in here, not a lot going on in here atm though right

You see a lot of gorgeous Tyranids everywere online because they are an army that you can do lots of very cool stuff with, and have a very unique look. Almost all of the really skilled painters in my area have done at least one Tyranid army, even if they don't play bugs, for the challenge/joy of painting them. Go to an event, or play a lot at a local shop, and you will see plenty of average looking paint jobs and lots of grey plastic.

babelfish wrote:

 SHUPPET wrote:
Hey guys this isn't really tactics related, but I'm getting a bit self conscious on my paintwork, all I ever see is these gorgeous Tyranids everywhere online. I'm going back and painting over a lot of quick and easy paint jobs that was basically my army, and re-adding techniques I picked up along the line for the sake of getting some unison... But my painting really isn't anything special, altho it has improved over time. There isn't really another Tyranid community thread, so can I ask people in here to show me a shot of a model they feel is an accurate representation of their army? No matter how good or bad, I'm just curious what the standard of painting for Bugs is for just the average community member in here. Feel free to PM me the pics if you don't want to play in here, not a lot going on in here atm though right

You see a lot of gorgeous Tyranids everywere online because they are an army that you can do lots of very cool stuff with, and have a very unique look. Almost all of the really skilled painters in my area have done at least one Tyranid army, even if they don't play bugs, for the challenge/joy of painting them. Go to an event, or play a lot at a local shop, and you will see plenty of average looking paint jobs and lots of grey plastic.

I wouldn’t say they’re a challenge to paint- I keep seeing them recommended because of how easy they are. Being “organic” little mistakes are easily forgiven. And as Badablack mentioned they’re easiest to get away with dipping, although I wouldn’t recommend a gloss.

I think one aspect is that Tyranids are easier to convert than many other armies except perhaps orks. Orks are easy to convert but are often messy looking whilst Tyranids are often cleaner and more proper looking; even if they've got extra arms sticking out of them.

I'd also say they are the most alien of all 40K races. Most of the rest are fantasy races in space (space elves, space orks, space skeletons etc...). Even Tau don't look so alien considering how many of their troops are in armour or power armour (and most are four limed bipeds anyway).

I'd love to see GW do a second really visually alien race one day.

 Sinful Hero wrote:

babelfish wrote:

 SHUPPET wrote:
Hey guys this isn't really tactics related, but I'm getting a bit self conscious on my paintwork, all I ever see is these gorgeous Tyranids everywhere online. I'm going back and painting over a lot of quick and easy paint jobs that was basically my army, and re-adding techniques I picked up along the line for the sake of getting some unison... But my painting really isn't anything special, altho it has improved over time. There isn't really another Tyranid community thread, so can I ask people in here to show me a shot of a model they feel is an accurate representation of their army? No matter how good or bad, I'm just curious what the standard of painting for Bugs is for just the average community member in here. Feel free to PM me the pics if you don't want to play in here, not a lot going on in here atm though right

You see a lot of gorgeous Tyranids everywere online because they are an army that you can do lots of very cool stuff with, and have a very unique look. Almost all of the really skilled painters in my area have done at least one Tyranid army, even if they don't play bugs, for the challenge/joy of painting them. Go to an event, or play a lot at a local shop, and you will see plenty of average looking paint jobs and lots of grey plastic.

I wouldn’t say they’re a challenge to paint- I keep seeing them recommended because of how easy they are. Being “organic” little mistakes are easily forgiven. And as Badablack mentioned they’re easiest to get away with dipping, although I wouldn’t recommend a gloss.

That is something i'm fought over. I painted my hormagaunts with grey brown skin (stormvermin fur and baneblade) and carapaces green with light green stripes. I didn't make the carapaces gloss though, and i'm not sure if i should do that. I tried one as a test and i find it good looking, but this isn't the first time that i'm being told not to do that.

 SHUPPET wrote:
Hey guys this isn't really tactics related, but I'm getting a bit self conscious on my paintwork, all I ever see is these gorgeous Tyranids everywhere online. I'm going back and painting over a lot of quick and easy paint jobs that was basically my army, and re-adding techniques I picked up along the line for the sake of getting some unison... But my painting really isn't anything special, altho it has improved over time. There isn't really another Tyranid community thread, so can I ask people in here to show me a shot of a model they feel is an accurate representation of their army? No matter how good or bad, I'm just curious what the standard of painting for Bugs is for just the average community member in here. Feel free to PM me the pics if you don't want to play in here, not a lot going on in here atm though right

I feel the exact same way. I went with all different shades for each unit type, with different carapace colours for each also. This is all fine, but the really stupid thing I did was decide to go the Leviathan-esque route and paint their skins over with Screaming Skull. It's incredible time consuming, and is the most transparent paint I've ever used. They look fine from a distance, but up close they look like a dog's arsehole. Then I look at what people have done online and they look universally incredible. The benefit of airbrushes, it seems.

Spoletta wrote:

Spoiler:

 Sinful Hero wrote:

babelfish wrote:

 SHUPPET wrote:
Hey guys this isn't really tactics related, but I'm getting a bit self conscious on my paintwork, all I ever see is these gorgeous Tyranids everywhere online. I'm going back and painting over a lot of quick and easy paint jobs that was basically my army, and re-adding techniques I picked up along the line for the sake of getting some unison... But my painting really isn't anything special, altho it has improved over time. There isn't really another Tyranid community thread, so can I ask people in here to show me a shot of a model they feel is an accurate representation of their army? No matter how good or bad, I'm just curious what the standard of painting for Bugs is for just the average community member in here. Feel free to PM me the pics if you don't want to play in here, not a lot going on in here atm though right

You see a lot of gorgeous Tyranids everywere online because they are an army that you can do lots of very cool stuff with, and have a very unique look. Almost all of the really skilled painters in my area have done at least one Tyranid army, even if they don't play bugs, for the challenge/joy of painting them. Go to an event, or play a lot at a local shop, and you will see plenty of average looking paint jobs and lots of grey plastic.

I wouldn’t say they’re a challenge to paint- I keep seeing them recommended because of how easy they are. Being “organic” little mistakes are easily forgiven. And as Badablack mentioned they’re easiest to get away with dipping, although I wouldn’t recommend a gloss.

That is something i'm fought over. I painted my hormagaunts with grey brown skin (stormvermin fur and baneblade) and carapaces green with light green stripes. I didn't make the carapaces gloss though, and i'm not sure if i should do that. I tried one as a test and i find it good looking, but this isn't the first time that i'm being told not to do that.

Don’t let me scare you off from gloss- there are times where it’s okay to use it(it’s why they make it). If you like it, that’s one of those times. Remember it’s your army, enjoy it.

I like to muck around with gloss, satin, and matt finishes. I use Humbrol varnishes andthey’re really good for this. I put gloss on the chitinous exoskeleton, satin on the soft skin, and matt on the bony carapace. It take a little time and requires neatness, but it gives them a visual and tactile quality that’s completely unlike my other armies (satin all round, as it’s not,a polished glossy finish and doesn’t dull metallics like matt does).

These Carnifexes show the way the finishes vary:

This is probably my favorite of my bugs. And Im not that great of a painter ieither lol.

That looks great. I think I need to use more gloss most of my bugs look very dull.

Dipping is awesome for 'Nids.
Without dipping I'd never have a fully painted Tyranid army!

It looks great on the table as well - just don't look too closely at the details lol

Thanks to everyone who posted theirs so far, keep em coming! I'm finishing up a Dakkafex now so I'll share what my army WILL be looking like soon (gotta retroactively work on a bunch of models buts its no problem)



Polkadragon, those look positively horrifying

Here we go guys, sorry for the delay I was just putting the finishing touches on my first Dakkafex.

He's the first MC of Hive Fleet Qalupalik to meet my new updated scheme and paint standards (a change brought on by jealousy of everyone's beautiful bugs). It's still nowhere near as good as some of the better ones I've seen out there, but I don't know if I'm capable of much else at this stage.

Sorry, not the greatest quality pics cause im just working off a handheld phone.




Hard to see the carapace from that angel but here's another shot that shows the effect I've found and decided to stick with.

I love those carapaces, and the blue compliments the white fairly well imo.

Dude your stuff would look just as good on the table as any other really man nothing to worry about

Karang029 wrote:
Dude your stuff would look just as good on the table as any other really man nothing to worry about

Thanks man. I'm happy with this one too. This is a new scheme though.... a week ago when I made the post... Well let's just say there is a marked different in quality. I've played for I don't even know how many years, and I've never cared for my own paintwork beyond bringing it past the grey tide, and converting has just been a way of saving money. But I was kinda hit with an existential crisis this week, bought some expensive brushes and spent a long time and painted a lot of Termagants with random styles working to find something I was happy.

Big thanks to the guys in this thread who shared theirs with me, you all have excellent models and themes and it was nice to see the standards of the Dakka-level Nids player, it gave me something a little more tangible to aspire to instead of all the professional painted Nids I see out there. I'm sure the thread will keep moving but if anyone else is late and sees this message go ahead and PM me like a few others did, I'm still very interested to see them. Thanks!

Has anyone tried a zoanthrope heavy list? I saw one at ITC in Houston that did fairly well. How has smite changes effected our army if any since the Big FAQ?

 Dynas wrote:
Has anyone tried a zoanthrope heavy list? I saw one at ITC in Houston that did fairly well. How has smite changes effected our army if any since the Big FAQ?

Do you happen to know the list? Would be interesting to know if they were maxing out the brood, or keeping them MSU. I don’t think the Smite nerf affected us too much, since we still have some fairly nice Psychic powers to scatter between Smite blasts(and Psychic Scream when the penalty gets too high).

I run 4 of them in tourneys that do pretty well, and in casual games I’ll run 9 for the stratagem. While their damage output is nice and works well against the sort of targets that will be up in your face soaking fire (Custodes, knights) in my opinion a bigger point in their favor is being so resilient. 3++ 3 wound flyers will consume every shot sent at them and come out smiling. Always keep a Neurothrope near them for rerolls and healing.

 Sinful Hero wrote:

 Dynas wrote:
Has anyone tried a zoanthrope heavy list? I saw one at ITC in Houston that did fairly well. How has smite changes effected our army if any since the Big FAQ?

Do you happen to know the list? Would be interesting to know if they were maxing out the brood, or keeping them MSU. I don’t think the Smite nerf affected us too much, since we still have some fairly nice Psychic powers to scatter between Smite blasts(and Psychic Scream when the penalty gets too high).

I believe it was 3 nuerothropes, 3 units of 5 Zoanthropes, 2 units Hiveguard x6, 3 units of 10x termies, some GSC, IG Mortars,

Sorry to derail the return to tactica but I have to say @SHUPPET I *love* that creative use of Devourers. Used them myself on some Nurgle Obliterators, it never ceases to amaze me how ‘nid weapons can be put to so many uses

Tyranid bits are fantastic, i used adrenal glands as shouldepads for my Seraphon.

 lindsay40k wrote:
Sorry to derail the return to tactica but I have to say @SHUPPET I *love* that creative use of Devourers. Used them myself on some Nurgle Obliterators, it never ceases to amaze me how ‘nid weapons can be put to so many uses

Thanks! Mine were inspired (but not directly lifted from) https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/user/profile/47473.page's TL Devourer conversions, which were similar in concept but very different in execution. I had to think long and hard about how I was going to cheap my way out of the FW models, but still find something I liked even more.


I'm sure he wouldn't mind me sharing them.






Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Dynas wrote:

 Sinful Hero wrote:

 Dynas wrote:
Has anyone tried a zoanthrope heavy list? I saw one at ITC in Houston that did fairly well. How has smite changes effected our army if any since the Big FAQ?

Do you happen to know the list? Would be interesting to know if they were maxing out the brood, or keeping them MSU. I don’t think the Smite nerf affected us too much, since we still have some fairly nice Psychic powers to scatter between Smite blasts(and Psychic Scream when the penalty gets too high).

I believe it was 3 nuerothropes, 3 units of 5 Zoanthropes, 2 units Hiveguard x6, 3 units of 10x termies, some GSC, IG Mortars,

There was 2 lists running Zopes, 1 had 3x 4 strong, and the other had 3x 6 strong.

Both supported them with waves of infantry, one guy packing +100 Termagants with 3x Flyrants for I guess a little more balanced list (relative to the other guy anyway), the other packing 220 infantry units, split about halfway between Krak Gants/Gaunts, and Neophyte Hybrids (with an Iconward+Relic and a Patriarch to significantly buff them all).

I actually like that second guys list a lot, I'm guessing he's planning to just try deny the board, try force a bunch of units in close, and ideally surround them in CC and hit them turn after turn with the Psychic Nuke strat. Sounds gimmicky, but I'm not going to dismiss anything till I play it, and it could be really fun. Neophytes are actually pretty wild in CC with the buffs, and Krak Gaunts should be able to catch and tie up most things.

EDIT: Patriarch buff doesnt affect Neophytes actually only Purestrains (which he has none of), and none of the Zopes had Onslaught, so I dunno what he's doing. Cool concept though.

Patriarch gives GSC infantry fearless so it means those 30 man blobs have to be chewed through manually

C4790M wrote:
Patriarch gives GSC infantry fearless so it means those 30 man blobs have to be chewed through manually

Oh damn I thought the Primus did that. Well that makes sense I guess. I think I would have found points for the Prius either way.

The Zoanthrope lists seem similar to how I've been using them as part of Hydra swarm lists. They are not an especially appealing target for heavy weaponry so they don't break the swarm's threat saturation like Warriors or similar do while providing wide synapse coverage. Smite also works well with tarpits in general since you can lock down a key unit and light it up (plus Zoanthropes can potentially Smite from outside of denial range).

 SHUPPET wrote:

C4790M wrote:
Patriarch gives GSC infantry fearless so it means those 30 man blobs have to be chewed through manually

Oh damn I thought the Primus did that. Well that makes sense I guess. I think I would have found points for the Prius either way.

Not sure if a Primus would really be of much use with that list. While his to-hit boost is always handy (and mandatory if you bring Rockgrinders), the biggest benefit a Primus brings is the ability to modify the Cult Ambush table (especially with Meticulous Uprising) so he generally wants to be run with a key melee squad that you need to be able to reliably deliver. Neophytes really like the buff as well mind you, but the damage potential is significantly higher with GSC melee squads.

Also incidentally, the Iconward also has a moral reroll aura in addition to the 6+ FNP and Relic-granted +1 strength bubbles.

Hey guys,
I just got my hands on the Nidz codex today and I've had some nidz from the deathstorm and 1 pack of genestealers and ofcourse many from the Space Hulk which are already assembled and painted. Deathstorm and the pack ain't build yet, but we don't play games under 1k, so I haven't never really bothered.

I played around with list ideas which can be made with the above models and start collecting box:

Flyrant
Broodlord

20x Genestealers (5x maw + toxin sacs)
9x Genestealers (2x maw + toxin sacs)
3x Tyranid warriors (2x spitters and sword&whip + 1 venom cannon)

Carnifex (spitters & HVC + enhanced senses + cysts)

Does it sound like a bargain to start my Nidz? Or anything better to recommend. This list would be more or less against semi-competitive friendly lists... and a new start of an another faction.

Thanks in advance.

Xirax wrote:
Hey guys,
I just got my hands on the Nidz codex today and I've had some nidz from the deathstorm and 1 pack of genestealers and ofcourse many from the Space Hulk which are already assembled and painted. Deathstorm and the pack ain't build yet, but we don't play games under 1k, so I haven't never really bothered.

I played around with list ideas which can be made with the above models and start collecting box:

Flyrant
Broodlord

20x Genestealers (5x maw + toxin sacs)
9x Genestealers (2x maw + toxin sacs)
3x Tyranid warriors (2x spitters and sword&whip + 1 venom cannon)

Carnifex (spitters & HVC + enhanced senses + cysts)

Does it sound like a bargain to start my Nidz? Or anything better to recommend. This list would be more or less against semi-competitive friendly lists... and a new start of an another faction.

Thanks in advance.

Not a bad start at all. Only nitpick is I would build the dual Boneswords instead of Bonesword/Lashwhip on the Warriors. The extra attack is worth more than striking after they get killed.