This army consists of two dozen flying Tyranid Warriors as well as some larger creatures.  Some of the models are out of print, and they all have conversion work of some kind.

http://www.bluetablepainting.com/view_gallery.php?galleryID=1086

The client sent all the parts.  We were able to get the hormagaunt scything talons needed from www.bwbits.com at a very reasonable rate, and they arrived in just a few days.  I would highly recommend their service.

I created about six prototypes for this army, to get the colored glazes just right.  The carapace glaze incorporates Vallejo Deep Green, Prussian Blue, and Royal Blue.  It took about four tries to get it to come out not too green and not too blue.

In the first incarnation, I wanted to approximate a real dragonfly with a glittering carapace and a very dark black-brown body.  This didn’t work because the body and carapace had no light-dark contrast; they were the same value and didn’t stand out.  So, I went with the more light and fleshy version.

In the meantime, Bill our lead assembler put together all the models, using steel rod to mount them flying.  The bases incorporate a lot of Cities of Death terrain, a nowadays favorite at the studio.

After getting the glazes right, I turned the project over to Jon Gentry who painted the entire force.

The dragonfly wings were cut from blister facings.  Jon had the genius idea of coating them with a layer of black glaze, pressing the wings together and pulling them apart.  This made each wing a duplicate of the other and gave a very organic pattern.

The back legs of the Tyranid Warriors we decided would be like vestigial limbs, or the short hooks of bats.  We used a devourer connecting arm, cutting off the tip and replacing it with a hook from a Termagant weapon.

Shawn G.

Meh.

The wings themselves are a good idea, and pressing the glaze between them was a good idea. But, in the end, it just looks like dirty pieces of plastic shrapnel jutting from their backs.

Good idea, poor execution. I think a little bit of touching up and definition to the wings would have gone a very long way.



Suggestions:
Maybe try and go for a bit more realistic shape to the wing. Organic and slightly tapered at the end, instead of tongue-depresser.

Define the leading edge. This is where the primary vein and structural support is. Pick it out with a dark line or something.

Instead of the random organic glaze look, try and create an organic lattice. Dragonfly wings tend to have a semi-rigid grid pattern between the larger veins. Quickly draw it out with a toothpick dipped in glaze and then press the two wings together.


Nothing as detailed as this of course, unless it was a competition/display piece, but a little bit closer to reality if you're gonna charge money for it.

As it stands, the wings look like a 5 minute afterthought. I know BTP is a business and must complete the project quickly and with as little expense as possible in order to make money, but a little bit more effort would go a long way.
Think of it this way - you would have lost money here as there is no way I would have paid for that.