[Unforgiven302]

Alright, this is my very first project log! After playing and painting chaos marines for what seems like ages, (15 years) it was well past due for me to start a new army. After much debate and procrastination I made my final decision to go with Tyranids. I wanted something different than "humans" or power armor, and Tyranids fit the bill perfectly. It also didn't hurt that I think the codex is very well written and chock full of options to pick from. More options = good!

So I thought I would start from the beginning, unboxing of the new army.

Battleforce box set and a Hive tyrant all set to kick off this project.

Sprues and sprues and sprues! It's a swarm or sprues!

You do get a lot of stuff in the Tyranid battleforce box. Model count is very high. That is a good thing!

Next up will be assembly and option choices. Stay tuned to see where this goes. :victory:

 

[Varakir]

I suspect this will be another great addition to the many awesome project logs on heresy.

That is a serious boatload of sprues, can't wait to see some painted up :victory:

 

[apidude]

My son has been collecting and painting a Nid army for several years and he started drooling and twitching when he began to see advance copies of the new Nid models and has regaled me with the details of what his bugs can do....unfortunately I haven't yet found the mix my Tau Army needs to respond to them effectivly. I'll get there.

Anyway, he likes them a lot and mostly I lose to him (the fact that he may be a better player is, of course, ignored by me) so you should have fun. Have you decided if you a "Big Bug" guy or a "lots and lots and lots of little bugs" guy?

 

[Unforgiven302]

I suspect this will be another great addition to the many awesome project logs on heresy.

That is a serious boatload of sprues, can't wait to see some painted up :victory:

Thanks for the early vote of confidence varakir. This is going to be a big departure for me, seeing as I am so used to painting tanks, vehicles and power armor. I must admit, I am a bit hesitant to begin. But, I welcome the challenge and look forward to learning not only a new army but new painting and modeling technique's.

My son has been collecting and painting a Nid army for several years and he started drooling and twitching when he began to see advance copies of the new Nid models and has regaled me with the details of what his bugs can do....unfortunately I haven't yet found the mix my Tau Army needs to respond to them effectivly. I'll get there.

Anyway, he likes them a lot and mostly I lose to him (the fact that he may be a better player is, of course, ignored by me) so you should have fun. Have you decided if you a "Big Bug" guy or a "lots and lots and lots of little bugs" guy?

I know exactly where you are coming from. My son crushes me with his Orks on a regular basis. We will see how he handles some bugs!

As for what type of swarm I am leaning towards I am a bit unsure of at this time. I really like the idea of a hoard army and weight of numbers but I am very tempted to do a big bug army simply because I really love painting big models. A trygon is on my list as that model is one sexy beast. Time will tell how this army pans out...

 

[Hooobit]

Only thing i can think to suggest ATM is to buy loads of blue tack, and get posing them early on.

Also, when made a Tyranid army with a friend, we spent a whole day watching the Aliens films just to get the feel for them. They came off pretty well.

 

[Serpion5]

Experiment with the poses, and don`t be afraid to experiment, you get a fukton of versatility with these kits.

My advice on the hormagaunts, position them so that they`re upright because:

1: They fall over a lot otherwise.

2: They`re supposed to be anthromorphic, so an upright pose suits them more.

You can simply snip off the sticking out piece of tab, and the foot sometimes overhangs the base at the back but this is not a problem unless you intend to use WotR movement trays like I do. Good luck mate. :good:

 

[troybuckle]

Hey - looks like you got a big project ahead of you! I’ve painted and played nids as my main army now and for the last 3 years or so. The biggest advice I can give you is on your paint scheme. I wish someone had given me this advice when I started on mine. Use a simple and fast scheme, especially if you have a lot of troops, and you do because a lot comes in that battle force lol. I have attached a link to a painting tutorial from beast of war below, now I’m not suggesting you go with these colors if you don’t want to, but just the general process using washes instead of paint. This will make things much faster and you can get a painted army on the table in no time. (If you do this, I would not recommend Citadel Spray -Skull White, because it goes on to rough) Good Luck I will be following this plog.

http://www.beastsofwar.com/3-colors-up/nid-week-painting-tyranid-warrior/

 

[Midge913]

My son has been collecting and painting a Nid army for several years and he started drooling and twitching when he began to see advance copies of the new Nid models and has regaled me with the details of what his bugs can do....unfortunately I haven't yet found the mix my Tau Army needs to respond to them effectivly. I'll get there.

Anyway, he likes them a lot and mostly I lose to him (the fact that he may be a better player is, of course, ignored by me) so you should have fun. Have you decided if you a "Big Bug" guy or a "lots and lots and lots of little bugs" guy?

Ok there may have been some drooling, but I definitely didn't twitch! :biggrin:

Welcome to the Hive Mind Unforgiven! I think that you will find the Nids a very rewarding army to play with, and the modeling possibilities are endless. Looking forward to your progress!

 

[Unforgiven302]

Update #1

UPDATE #1​

Alright, after the unboxing and sorting out of the contents I decided to tackle the three warrior models first. First ever Tyranid models I have assembled and they are really cool to put together. Cleaned up the mould lines and tried to make some decent poses for these guys.

I decided that these guys are going to be a nice shock troop type unit. Two warriors equipped with dual scything talons and the third has a barbed strangler and one set of scything talons. I couldn't help but use the strangler due to the large blast, pinning and 36 inch range. As I play mainly against Orks, this should put some serious hurt on those pesky mobs and Nobs for a turn or two before I get to the carnage of close combat. The dual taloned models were made specifically for the rerolling of failed "to hit" rolls. I will try and use weapons or abilities that grant rerolls where ever I can to tilt the odd's a bit more in my favor.
Because of the models point cost, options and abilities, I have already mentally added another box of these to my wish list. A unit of six will be very nice indeed.

Still haven't made a final decision on colors for the swarm, but I have time to debate that before I have to make a final choice.

Next up: Hormaguants...

 

[Hooobit]

Very nice, Any plans to open up the barrel of the Barbed strangler?

 

[Unforgiven302]

Very nice, Any plans to open up the barrel of the Barbed strangler?

Yes. I have a small pilot hole drilled right now, (did it after the picture was taken) and just haven't made it larger yet. I am a bit OCD about barrels being drilled, so it HAS to be done. :biggrin:

 

[Doelago]

Sprues and sprues and sprues! It's a swarm or sprues!

Thats a lot of frames... :shok:

 

[Hooobit]

My suggestion with the barbed strangler would be to have lots of smaller holes in the barrel instead of one bigger hole, so it looks like the strangler is actually firing barbed strands/ wires instead of a big chunk of the stuff in one massive ball.

 

[Unforgiven302]

The description on the weapon is that it fires a pod the size of a mans fist. One big hole ought to be good enough. :victory:

 

[TheMissus]

Looking good so far, can't wait to see more. Maybe I get some ideas for my own bugs as yours progress.

(TheMissus scuttles away into the shadows)

 

[HorusReborn]

sweet posing on the warriors.. I kinda want to get me a couple now.. my wife thanks you LOL

 

[Unforgiven302]

Update #2

UPDATE #2​

I have been feeling rather ill lately, so I can't claim any impressive news from the hive mind today. I did find enough energy to wield a scalpel, files and some glue for about an hour or so today. So, straight from the work table, 8 fresh Hormagaunts. Nothing too special really, but it is progress.

8 more to go and then on to either genestealers or termagants depending on my mood and health...

 

[Serpion5]

Have you weighted them? They will faceplant a lot otherwise.

Alternatively, position them upright a little more by putting them in the slottabase on a bit of an angle. It gives them a dynamic pose and helps with the balance issue.

Have a look with the next batch and see what you think.

 

[Unforgiven302]

Have you weighted them? They will faceplant a lot otherwise.

Alternatively, position them upright a little more by putting them in the slottabase on a bit of an angle. It gives them a dynamic pose and helps with the balance issue.

Have a look with the next batch and see what you think.

Yes, I have weighted them. I use an air dry modeling clay. Shove a bunch in the bottom of the base, let dry and then pop out it out and glue in place. Works great and a 10 pound block of the stuff was dirt cheap.

 

[Unforgiven302]

Update #3

UPDATE #3​

Took a break from the little hormagaunts for a bit and started work on the Hive Tyrant. It was just too cool a model for me to not dive into!

Here is the torso, legs, tail and head all pinned, gaps green stuffed and finally glued in place.

As the glue and GS was curing I debated on the weapons I was going to give him. So many options to choose from I finally set upon the fact that I really liked the rules for the lash whip and the bonesword so they got picked. With two other arm sockets to fill I finally concluded that I liked the way the scything talons looked on the model better than anything else, so I went with them.

As for what is next, I think I will try and get those little gaunts finished... maybe.