40K Tyranids: Bigger creatures

 I painted some bigger 'nids as well:

The Neurotyrant has potent psychic abilities, floating malevolently over the battlefield. It has a big brain, and smaller accessory brains from lesser creatures melded to it.

Neurotyrant

The Neurotyrant is accompanied by two Neuroloid underlings.

Neuroloids

The real highlight for me is the Screamer Killer, redux. I had one of the Jes Goodwin metal ones in the nineties. It was the size of a clenched fist and weighed a hefty packet, and I let it go about 15-20 years ago. These are the only two photos I have of it:

1992 Screamer Killer

My 2nd edition tyranids!

I do not regret the time I spent wet blending those claws!

Then thirty years pass (!) and the new plastic Screamer Killer is released in 2023. There was no way I was not going to have this. It is massive, on a 90mm base- already over twice the size of the original, and so light in comparison!

I added some drool with UHU glue and a toothpick.

Free hugs!

40K Tyranids: Smaller beasts

I've painted a few more tyranids recently, to add to the swarm:

Neurogaunts are weaker creatures that act as synaptic signal relays for the hive mind. Wifi boosters, if you will. I've also heard them called bluetooth piranhas, and space chickens. They have smaller creatures on their backs, guiding them. The brood leader is a Nodebeast, and is a little bigger and fancier.

Neurogaunts

Neurogaunt Nodebeast

I painted more termagants.

I painted some genestealers. I don't like these sculpts- they have a lot of soft detail and don't comfortably gel with the main Tyranid aesthetic notes.

I painted more spore mines. Love my mines.

40K Combat Patrol: Lamenters vs Tyranids

The Lamenters Combat Patrol try to investigate organic nodes at the rusting comms facility, as the Tyranid swarm tries to eat them!

The action will swirl around the central building.

Tyranid Combat Patrol

Space Marine Combat Patrol

Infernus Marines approach a pulsating node.

A brood of Leapers and a Psychophage scuttle towards them.

The Leapers are incinerated before they can attack.

Terminators pound Termagants into a sticky mess...

... and follow up into the Tyranid Prime.

The winged Prime flies away and guides more Termagants to the Infernus squad.

The Psychophage turns its attention to the hulking warriors.

Endless swarms of Termagants hurl themselves at the Infernus squad.

The Psychophage tears into the Terminators and eventually eats them all.

The Prime launches itself at the Captain, but he heroically kills it with his powersword.

Prolonged melee will eventually see numbers prevail.

The Captain plants a meltabomb in a node and fights off hordes of lesser beasts,
but the Lamenters are unsuccessful overall.

I had a game of 40K Combat Patrol, pitting the endless swarm of the Tyranids against the valiant and unlucky Lamenters. I don't mind the limited format, as we're still forgetting a myriad of rules left, right and centre. The Infernus Marines put up a longer fight than I expected, as the Termagants don't hit hard in close combat. I didn't want the Marines to get to fire their Pyreblasters, so gumming them up with waves of 'nids was a viable tactic. The Psychophage is 'tankier' than it looks, making a literal meal of the Terminators. The Tyranids were able to bring back many Termagants using their 'Teeming broods' ability, almost faster than the marines could kill them. The sole surviving Lamenter was the Captain.

I made some objectives in 24h using old scenery bitz on 40mm bases. I've got more to build, and I'll see if I can number them 1-6. A nice fun project to get done from my pile of potential.

40mm 40K objectives

40K Tyranid Biovore/ Pyrovore, and Spore Mines

I've painted my first Biovore. These are tyranid 'living artillery'; a beastie with a symbiotic weapon on it that spits out spore mines. I really like spore mines- languidly floating exploding jellyfish thingies.

Biovore and spore mines

I never liked, however, the original 1995 biovore.

Photo from Mr_Pink's excellent Modern Synthesist.

The new sculpt is more than an upscale and aesthetic improvement- it also has a detachable tail so it can be fielded as an acid-spitting Pyrovore. Or the tail can be removed for a xeno-arachnid look.

Biovore

Biovore

Biovore

Pyrovore- note different gun and tail.

Sans both gun and tail.

Despite not having a biovore before, I have acquired a few spore mines. The new ones are much taller.

New (2023) spore mines

Old (2004) spore mines

Spore mines

I'm mulling over using Five Parsecs: Bug Hunt to represent a PDF unit mopping up a spore mine infestation etc.

40K Tyranid Combat Patrol

The Tyranid slippery slope continues... so here's my Combat Patrol. I'm thinking of calling it Splinter Fleet Glaurung.

Tyranid Combat Patrol

They're led by a winged Tyranid Prime. I'm neither a huge fan of winged big 'nids, nor this sculpt's original pose with the wings down like a walking bat. It was an easy conversion to a wings-up pose.

Winged Tyranid Prime

The big beasty is a Psychophage, a gribbly that loves to feed on psykers and releases a corrosive ash from its digestive vents on its back. The original model has the smoke effects modelled on- it is easy to carve them off.

Psychophage

There are three Von Ryan's Leapers, named after a throwaway line in the 3rd Edition Codex (2001). They look pretty cool.

Von Ryan's Leapers

Another new gaunt variant is the Barbgaunt. There's a ganglio-parasite that pilots the main beast as it carries around a RPG-like organism that fires transfixing barbs. Targeted units are slowed down. Not my favourites, but nice to have them done.

Barbgaunts

Barbgaunt

Finally, twenty termagants. I 'merely' had to paint another thirteen after my initial brood of seven. These are the old sculpts, not the nice new ones.

Termagants

I've just acquired Jon Hodgson's Sci-Fi Backdrops book, which you will be seeing more of.

Behind the scenes of the VFX at 20th Century Barks Studios

Tyranids

Last millennium, I had a small 2nd edition Tyranid force. I gave them away about 15 years ago, and only have a few terrible photos to remember them by.

I hope they've had a good life

Tyranid Warriors

Hive Tyrant

Nicely converted weapons, IMNSHO.

This was a pain to assemble

Love my Screamer Killer.

Hunter Slayers. Came in blisters of three and units of five.
Never change, GW.

Last year, I painted some Termagants I got off eBay for potential Stargrave/ Five Parsecs use, and quite enjoyed doing so. I used Contrasts Gryph-Hound Orange and Skeleton Horde, which were a massive time-saver.

Termagants

I thought I would get some melee bugs, and then a Xenos Rampant slippery slope occurred which I threw myself down...

Bugs, Mr Rico! Forty-eight of them!

Free hugs!

Hormagaunts

I got some MDF movement trays from Knights of Dice, which are great.

Weighted base for infamously unstable figures

And now I need some balance with more Termagants. And apparently there's a big brood-mother bug that spawns these critters...