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Isuue 005

Hive Fleet Moloch

By chtorrr

Tyrant Guards

This is the model which you can also see in the Tyranid Codex. I consider it a great honour to see a model of mine on the same page as that mindblasting masterpiece by Victoria Lamb.
When I got the new Guard model I immediately thought that it is a big improvement over the last one. One problem I noticed was that a unit of them would look weird crouching on all fours. So a different variant was needed.
But when you start to hack up a model it’s sometimes really hard to stop. In the end I exchanged the Scything Talons, the legs, the Rending Claws and the tail for Tyranid Warrior parts which I consider superior (escpecially the stubby tail had to go).
I then added some mandibles (scavenged from Epic ‘Fexes) and lots of armour plates (didn’t like the std. Ones much).
In the end I only used three parts from the original Guard model...



Hive Tyrants (Ground)


With the 3rd ed codex the new options of Leaping Tyranid Warriors, Flying Hive Tyrants and the look of the new Hormagaunts formed a coherent picture in my mind: That of a fast swarm which could race across the table and grab the puny flesh things by their throats before they had even raised their guns.
On this Tyrant I took special care to get a coherent pose with the Scything Talons. With so many long limbs there is always a danger to make them look as if they are randomly flailing through the air - something which I wanted to avoid. The Ripppers were placed at the Tyrant's feet only to underline his terrifying majesty.
Together with three Guards this model won a Silver Golden Demon in the 40k Command Squad category at the German Games Days 2003.



Hive Tyrants (Flying)


Initially I was inspired by the ultra fast look of the new Hormagaunts. I wanted to convert my second flying Tyrant so that he also sprinted across the ground - the idea of him slamming into the oposition with the weight of a freight train just appealed to me.
Showing how fluent creative processes often are the final model turned out very different.
The stretched body looked as if the beast was in midflight and when I tried to arrange the Scything Talons the whole model had a very balanced symmetry which I still like a lot. So the big beast learned to fly.
The model actually had two bases. The first one featured an Eversor assassin with a captured Ripper who didn't notice the Tyrant behind him. But the comic value of that idea soon wore off and the base was in parts a little crude. So I used the 2003 German Golden Demon as a reason to change the base. The new one features a digestion pool throughflow with all the nasty details you would expect.



Old Tyrants


Both of the Old Tyrants were done before the 3rd ed codex was released. Although I was determined to make this army dark, scary and fearsome their paintjob undeniably shows the influence of the bright 2nd ed 'Nids.



Genestealers


Those Genestealer models have really been around for some time. I also did these before the 3rd ed codex came out and did my best to make the poses look different from the standard Stealer. Two got snake bodies instead of legs. At the time there was no Ravener around...



Hormagaunts

Together with the new Warriors the plastic Gaunts are among my all time favourites miniatures. These were done immediately after the 3rd ed codex was published and I was so in awe of the models that I didn't convert many of them. Something which doesn't happen to me often.



Mindslaves

One of the main things I like about the Tyranids are the endless possibilties of alien horror. The Mind Slaves were part of a first edition Tyranid list and in the game Advanced Space Crusade there were rules for different Mind Slave squads (even Chaos Marines). The idea is that they are controlled by a parasite (or Tyranid Brainwaves, etc.). I normally use the rules for Spinegaunts although I think bigger bases and Ripper Swarm rules would be more appropriate. Against Guard opponents I always deploy them at the front so their former comrades have to shoot them. And yes, the commissar is used as a Hive Node - oh the irony... These models were also done a while before the 3rd ed codex came out. At the time I had not seen anyone else combine parts of the different plastic boxes. Now it's common practice (and with the Lost and The Damned even official)...



Rippers

The Ripper Swarms were a good excuse for me to get indulgent. Many possibilties for conversions and small stories. Most of them were done before the 3rd ed codex delivered the beautiful new Ripper model into our hands.



Spinegaunts

When I did these I wanted to see if I could expand the limited amount of positions in which the models normally can be put together. Many were cut apart at the waist and reassembled. This was quite a lot of work for models that are only worth 5 points each, but I am very satisfied with how the unit turned out.



See the first section of the army here.

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