Bio-Plasma Beauties and Tyranid Paint Scheme
I converted up some Drone ships with Bio-plasma, and dropped more than $45 on contrast paints! Time to get going!
Below, see my first three test subjects.
To the left, my first attempt. This is a base spray of Wraithbone with straight Shyish Purple for armor, Gulliman Flesh for the body, and Mephiston Red for details. However, the colors were too dark for my taste. I tried a simple highlight of edges with a vallejo brand magenta but it didn’t do anything for me.
To the right is my second attempt. After picking up some Contrast Medium from AFK Games in Holt (door service, I maintained social distancing) I mixed 50/50 Medium with the purple and flesh. This was too light. Mephiston Red was not dilluted.
Finally in the middle, is a mix of 2 parts purple or flesh to 1 part medium. Like Goldilocks, it is just right, but without the home invasion or devouring children.
Next, I strip the non-standard minis above, re-prime them, and finish the squadron, then on to the rest of the fleet!
Tyranid BFG – More ships and Design Philosophy
In my last post, I showed off the members of my Tyranid fleet that I could make with just spare bits. However, I did not have the materials to make something as big as a Hive Ship and I quickly ran out of flying bases.
To badly paraphrase Tolkien, “the fleet grew with the building.”
It’s sort of out of control because I’ve been ordering lots of bitz from ebay to shore up where I was deficient.
Now, here are the latest additions:
First, some Krakens with torpedoes.
Next, Krakens with Feeder Tentacles
I added on to one of the previous cruisers to model its torpedoes and add some antennae.
Now, for the chonky bois: Hive Ships! My first has 8 Launch bays and 8 Torpedoes. It is a bit hard to see with the grey, but the underbelly is studded with Genestealer armor plates that represent orifices from which lifeforms can launch and/or be born.
Next, this Hive Ship has nothing but Pyro Acid to make sure that I don’t immediately lose against Eldar.
There’s more to come, but before I share them, I wanted to touch on the design philosophy I am adhering to during this project:
- All ships will be made with plastic bitz from the Games Workshop Tyranid line. No finecast (too bendy) and no pewter (too heavy). Epoxy putty sculpting is acceptable only to fix flaws in the conversion process (this is a kitbashing project, NOT a sculpting project).
- Ships with different armaments will look noticeably different to aid in play (i.e. no using generic looking craft and using “counts as” to explain their weapon loadout)
- Hive drones will use the Termagant or Hormagaunt bodies as a base, but all other ships will lack uniformity from class to class or type to type. This makes the fleet more visually diverse.
- Ships must be converted in ways that do not look easy or cheap. (i.e., no pinning a Fleshborer to a flying base and calling it an escort)
- Ships must look like they can navigate in the void. (i.e. they must have some sort of thruster looking area and ways to turn. They must look like they belong in the void.)
- No wings. Only Eldar can sail the solar winds. Nids are nowhere near that graceful.
Using these guidelines, I hope to have a final fleet of:
- 2 Hive Ships
- 4 Cruisers
- 24 Hive Drones
- 7 Vanguard
- 16 Krakens
Note that as I acquire more bitz from low-cost auctions and/or get more flying bases that these numbers can be adjusted upwards.
Next: the last of the Tyranid fleet for now and the beginning of painting them, plus painting Primaris and updates on other projects!
Tyranid BFG Fleet: A Beginning
Recently at the finale to the Highland Gaming Club I walked away with a paper ream box of Tyranid bits. Sadly, these did not include a lot for things worthy of making a ship. However, subsequent bitz orders to fill in the gaps and some creative kitbashing have yielded a very promising beginning:
First, a cruiser with two sets of Massive Claws! This is both threatening and dirt cheap. If it can survive to close (a risky proposition) it can make four attacks and if any two hit, it’s lunch time!
Here’s the same ship from the back.
Another cruiser, this one doubling down on Bio Plasma Spines. Short range, but terrifying to high armor foes.
This cruiser is all about the Pyro-acid, making it a nightmare for Eldar. It has some torpedoes to add a bit of ordnance to the fleet.
Here is the same cruiser from below.
The final cruiser also doubles down on Pyro Acid, but trades torpedoes for one set of Massive Claws, making it more of an all-rounder.
Here are some repurposed Gaunt bodies sporting pyro acid batteries to become Hive Drones. I tried to vary them a bit, as most other races have varied escorts.
My first creations, these kitbashed ships are a bit big for escorts, but make excellent Krakens with either Pyro Acid or Massive Claws.
One in ten Hive Drones can be upgraded to a Fire Ship. Insanely devastating, I could not help but make a few. Granted, I’ll need to field 27 Drones to field all three of these bad boys, but even one can be an unpleasant surprise to anyone who strays too close…
Finally, (at least for now) some Vanguard with Feeder Tentacles to put the smack down on heavier or faster foes.
Next, Primaris and more Nid BFG goodness!
Thomas’ Deathwatch Azure Flames Marine – A Proud Tradition Continues
At the wonderful local game store AFK, you can sometimes find Thomas, who is proud to play Deathwatch. After several heated games, he made a request.
He wanted an Azure Flames shoulder pad so that one of the Flames could join the Deathwatch.
It took me a while but I eventually found an older pad on a disused marine.
The pad was awful.
So, I tidied up the paint job and delivered it to Thomas. Here’s the result:
This as-yet-unnamed Battle Brother is joining the ranks of the Deathwatch to fight aliens with a signature Bolter-Melta. How will he fare? Hopefully better once the Deathwatch get their Psychic Awakening book and become somewhat competitive again.
Next: a special surprise!
Lieutenant with Jump Pack and Combi-weapon
The hits just keep on coming! This Lieutenant has a magnetic combi-weapon. It seems like a silly idea but it’s perfect to play around with those last few points in a list.
Next: Sergeants, Primaris, and Devastators, oh my!
Lieutenant with Jump Pack
I’ve been using this guy for a while, but he’s been awkward as he kept falling off his base because he wasn’t painted.
No more!
Next, the other Jump Pack lieutenant!
Modular Primaris Aggressors
As promised, here are the Aggressors that I modded, fully painted and ready to go!
For convenience, the inside of the gauntlets are color coded.
Speaking of color, that’s a lot of green for the Azure Flames… Are these members of the 4th Company? Is that an Eleven as their insignia? Is this foreshadowing to events that may happen to the Azure Flames?
Yes.
Well that killed the mood. Next, Tyranid Escorts and more Primaris!
Farewell Swap Meet at Highland Library, and Sweet Acquisitions!
Today was the last day of the Highland Library 40K club, and they finished it off with a HUGE swap meet! I brought my disused Orks and traded for some wonderful treasures, but first, the festivities! Actually documented thanks to my new phone!
Age of Sigmar was played for the entire duration. It’s pretty popular in the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti groups!
My good buddy Paul offloaded a boatload of Space Marines and other stuff from Age of Sigmar.
In a heated game of 40K, Salamanders fought traitor beastmen guard! The star of the match: a Leviathan Dreadnought who took multiple quake cannon shots to the face and devastated multiple tanks!
Here, Dawn and Ian celebrate 10 years of the club at the library with a wonderfully decorated cake, complete with the Golden Rhino logo. It was chocolate.
…and here is the beginning of my haul! First, a set of craters bought from Dominique, a former student.
Next, a bunch of Primaris models! Sadly one got lost in the shuffle, but hopefully Dawn can find it and I can pay her to mail it to me.
Finally, the sweetest deal, an ENTIRE PAPER BOX of leftover Tyranid bitz for $20! This is the beginning of my Tyranid Battlefleet Gothic fleet!
It’s sad to see the Highland Library Club gone, but I have a feeling that there will be more gaming coming soon.
Next, painted Aggressors!
Proof of Concept: Primaris Aggressors
Thanks to Lexington’s extremely generous xmas spirit, I am the proud owner of a new Primaris Aggressors kit. Naturally, I wanted to see how the kit went together. As the Azure Flames are a Salamanders successor, I of course went for the Flamestorm Gauntlets.
The kit is designed very well. My one big gripe is that the arms are mono-pose. However, this is inevitable because without one specific pose, the ammo feeds for the gauntlets would be impossible. The back and backpack are not glued on for ease of priming and painting and…
…oh a second one? Wait. That’s the same pose… how…
Oh my, MODULAR AGGRESSORS!
That’s right, even the grenade launchers can be modular! Sadly this is the weakest of the joins as the only magnet small enough to fit in the launcher is the smallest magnet made. This size magnet is also on the ammo feeds on the lower left and right of the backpack, but the direct contact with the magnet inside the feed provides extra strength.
All in all, the finished product will have 6 pieces. The main body (with head, back, and backpack all permanently glued), the grenades, and the four guns.
Sadly, I cannot make the other two right away as I am almost out of the smaller magnets. But I plan to put an order in today!
Next: More Aggressor fun! I also plan to get a new digital camera for more batreps!
Khalil, Captain of the 7th Company on Bike with Thunder Hammer and The Shield Eternal
Khalil has been in pieces for several games, so I prioritized getting him painted up and ready to go. Here he is! Doing a sweet sideways skid as he climbs out of the seat to swing his Thunder Hammer. Two Storm Shields on the faring of his bike represent The Shield Eternal.
Math time! Bike characters start at 5 wounds. With the Warlord Trait “Iron Resolve” it bumps him to 6 with a 6+ FNP which is functionally a 7th wound.
The Shield Eternal halves all damage, rounding halves up, so D6 weapons like Lascannons instead do the equivalent of D3. On average, two apiece, so you’d need 4 Lascannons to get through the shield to kill him.
The Shield is a 3+ invulnerable, so you’d need 12 total wounds.
Toughness 5, so a S 9 Lascannon wounds on a 3+ so you’d need 18 hits.
Guardsmen are BS 4+ so you’d need 36 Guardsmen Lascannons, or 27 Space Marines at 3+, excluding any re-rolls. That’s hearty!
Conversely, those 7 wounds could be eaten by about 54 Ork regular close combat attacks, which one squad of Orks could do in a turn. That’s how a Smash Captain goes down; force of saves!
Next, more painting!