Painted Lictor

For this guy I did an experiment to speed up my painting.  Instead of mixing each layer of highlight individually, I created batches and bottled them so I can use them again.  Furthermore I reduced my highlighting layers to three for the carapace, skin and claws.  Normally I do about 7 for the carapace, 5 for the claws and 4 for the skin.  Some models get more layers (like my Malanthrope), but to speed things up I wanted to push how few I could do and still get good results.

The carapace isn't as bright as normal, and I may add one more layer back.  I may have to use a slightly different technique as well to make the blend better.

Tyrannofex Conversion

After months and months of sitting on my desk it's finally done.  I picked the Carnifex kit as my prize for Fantasy 'Ard Boyz Prelims and intended to make a Tyrannofex, so I've had it on my desk since April.  I found this conversion very difficult.  The hardest part was the upper carapace.  I used Instant Mold to make the cannons.

Originally I was going to have his claws gouged in the ground like a Biovore for support, but I couldn't bear to cut the claws off at the tip.  I like them too much.

All I have left to do to finish the Tyranid range is the Doom of Malan'Tai and a Tyranid Prime.  If I beat GW to the finish line it will be a sad day, as I am a slow worker and the book has been out for a year and a half.  Next on my workbench though is a Skaven Mordheim warband!

Tyranid Harpy Conversion

After months of this thing sitting on my desk it's finally done.  The most difficult part of this conversion was trying to make matching left and right venom cannons.  I'm still not satisfied with them, maybe I should have mounted them on the wings.  Oh well.  I'm not going to do any more work on it though.

Swarmlord WIP

Here's my current Swarmlord.  The arms are magnetic so it can be a regular tyrant if I wish, I customized the tail to make him stand out a bit more and that weird double-tail thing in the codex picture doesn't do it for me.  I'm still not satisfied with the swords, I think they need some detail or more hollowing, I'm not sure which.  I'm open to suggestions on that.

Tutorial: Magnetizing the Trygon

The body is pretty straight forward, so I won't go into too much detail, but here's how I did the head and Mawloc spines. I used 3/16" magnets for the weight bearing joins, and 1/8" for the non-weight bearing.

Note that this is not the best way to do this. I glued two magnets into the bottom part of the head. You can see some drill scars from previous attempts. I then glued a paperclip bit to the front and back of the top part of the head. I carefully bent and cut the paperclip until it touched the magnets. The best way to do this is like the way I did on the Night Spinner, making a greenstuff setting and fitting the magnets that way. My way works, but it could have been better. I magnetized the jaw in this way, and the mandibles were really easy.


The body is pretty straightforward. Be sure to check your polarities. Each side needs to have the same polarity. The left and right can have different polarities or the same, it's up to you. I make them different.


Here's how I magnetized the Mawloc spines. I glued some 1/8" magnets into the inside of the body, and sealed them with epoxy. You don't want these to come undone and rattle around the inside. The magnets are powerful enough they'll hold the spines on even through the plastic. While the body is apart, drill and glue the arm sockets. You can reinforce the insides with epoxy in case you drilled too greedily and too deep.

Rethinking the Mawloc

I've been thinking about this guy ever since I finished up my magnetic Trygon/Mawloc. A lot of people on the intertubes are bashing this guy, and when you think about it the Mawloc doesn't seem that powerful. Sure, its initial strike can do some damage but in a 5 turn game you're only getting to use his abilities twice. However, I think there's more to it than that.

The Mawloc is the Tyranid version of the tank shock. It's one of the few abilities in the game that can move the opponent's models. You can use it to push models off an objective. If the opponent is turtling up, you can make him rue that decision with a Mawloc not only in the damage, but if you push the model into something else and there's nowhere else for it to go, it is destroyed. I may be wrong on this rule, but I think you can also push models off the table with it. This strategy can wreck an IG parking lot.

Furthermore, what other model can disappear from one side of the board and appear on the other the next turn? The eldar can zip around and cross the battlefield long ways in two turns but the Mawloc can even beat that speed (Eldar: 48" in two turns unless you took Star Engines, Mawloc: unlimited). This can come in use in the Capture and Control mission.

That said, I think that if you're going to take a Mawloc, you need to take more than one. A single Mawloc won't do much, especially if it misses. Redundancy is crucial in this regard.

These tactics and ideas are untested and unproven. Here's some questions for comments.

Have you used the Mawloc? What did you think?
Have you used more than one, and how did that turn out?
Aside from its killing power, are there any other uses?

Magnetized Trygon/Mawloc

This is one of the most difficult magnetizations I've ever done. Don't get near it if you have a pacemaker, I used at least 40 magnets if not more. Here it is with no options attached:
I magnetized every option. Well, not every. The chest spike/claw things aren't magnetized. And the thorax armor plate isn't either, as I used the other for my Tervigon.


Here it is as a Mawloc. Even the spines on the back are magnetic. It gets a little tight in the chest area, I didn't realize that the chest spikes would get in the way. I should have glued those in first, then fit the magnets.

A regular Trygon.

And a Trygon Prime.

BY THE EMPEROR WHAT IS THAT

Best/laziest Tyrannofex conversion ever?

If anyone wants a tutorial I can work one up, the hardest part is the head, by a ridiculous measure. Everything else is simply painstaking.

**Post Edit:  Tutorial is here.**

Painted Tervigon

This has been painted for a month or so now but it's taken me this long to get it photographed. Mostly laziness. Here it is!

The Parasite of Mortrex

I think that's how you spell it. Here's mine.







I tried to use a lot of negative space in this composition. The metal wings were a pain to work with and make the model very top heavy but aesthetics win in this case. The painting of the carapace is a lot sloppier than I would like but I was in a hurry. I used parts from a Ravener, a coat hanger, bits from a Genestealer, Winged Nightmare wings and a bit from the monstrous creature sprue.

As for the ovipositor I looked at the ichneumon wasp and other creatures that have similar reproductive habits to the Parasite. I wanted something powerful and slim. I know that he technically has rending claws but the scything talons were an aesthetic choice. I just didn't think it looked good with the rending claws.

Also, the Rippers are magnetic and are wound counters.

A New and Improved Mycetic Spore

This update comes from my new computer! Here's another Mycetic Spore that I built last week.

This one looks kind of like the Saarlac. It's a bit big, I thought it would shrink more in the kiln but I was wrong.

It took me a bit longer to build this one compared to the first one. I still was really rough with the lines. I consider this one a rough draft, but I think this is the direction I want to take my spores. It's actually lighter than my first one and less fragile. I just have to figure out the sizing issues now. The next one shouldn't take too long to build as I know what I'm doing now.