Stu's Wolves and Nids- BUGS! BUGS EVERYWHERE!

[codyrstuart]

Choco-nids.... Now you got me thinking of making molds for Christmas candy...

 

To be honest, green in the joints that was my thought, but I was a bit afraid the green may be too much for a spot color. Just wanted to get an idea on how it looked before going any further.

 

As for the ribs, I hadn't thought about doing anything, but I do agree now you pointed it out. But does it need to be bone, or red to gonwith the carapace?

[codyrstuart]

Today I was able to finish up my test on the Tyranid Warrior. Really fun to paint, this one was. Let me know what you think.

 

 

 

 

Family shot with the test Termigant

 

"I'm ready for my close-up."

 

Danny, wanted your opinion on the finished idea before picking the ribs out in bone. If I do the ribs, do you think I would have to hit the pelvis region as well?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Tyranid's colors remind me of 'Spawn', Todd McFarlane's comic book creation. Are you a fan?

[Dantay VI]

Looks better.

 

You could probably get away with leaving the ribs and thorax brown.

 

The brown is pretty dark, so I would suggest maybe giving it a wash in the recesses to add shadow & a highlight, this would really help some of the detail pop more. If you hadn't already done the red, I would have suggested a drybrush to really get the detail to show up

[codyrstuart]

Thanks, Danny. I'll put some more wash in the thorax recesses when I get around to painting his buddies.

 

No painting to report because the last few nights have been spent reclaiming older biomass (AKA refurbishing old models). The first one is an old Zoanthrope that just needed a stripping and assembly.

 

 

Next was a Malanthrope of dubious origin. He came with some chips and missing limbs. Still need to do some work to the mouth tendrils, but after some sanding, and adding Hormagaunt limbs (which I like better), he's almost ready for paint as well. 

 

 

Finally, there was a HORRIBLE Mawloc conversion that was screaming to receive the Emperor's mercy. I decided to go the Trygon route with him, but as I was trying to pry the mangled bottom jaw off, I broke off some upper teeth. My scuplting skills being what they are, I decided to just cut away all of the teeth and find an alternate route.

 

"Has anyone seen my teeth?!"

 

 

Luckily, I had a spare Tyrannofex head that was willing to donate his upper jaw to the cause.

 

 

After everything was said and done, I think the oral surgery was a success.

 

 

 

Now to get all the old glue out of the arm sockets. And before you ask, yes his waist does look wierd. Instead of using the original waist, the owner decided to use a cut-away Carnifex waist (don't ask). 

 

Thanks for looking, and Happy Thanksgiving!

[Dantay VI]

That was a really good save with the mawloc face. I think I woiuld have lost the plot with it if I had damaged it like you did.

 

You can't tell that it isn't the original face!!

 

Well played good sir :tu:

[codyrstuart]

Last couple weeks was taken up by end of semester shenanigans, but the games are about to begin in earnest. First up, my next 4 models to paint; two Broodlords, one custom Deathleaper, and one Neurothrope:

 

 

With the base colors finished on the Neurothrope during lunch today:

 

 

Also decided I didn't need two Tervigons, so one was absorbed back by the Hive Mind and regurgitated as a Tyrannofex. I had to use a Harpy head, seeing as I used my spare Tyrannofex head to repair my Trygon.

 

 

I also spawned some Ripper swarms. They were all clumped onto three bases, so I broke them down to where I could run two units instead of one.

 

 

Finally, no pictures to show, but I have boneswords, lash whips, deathspitters, and bio-cannons coming for my shooty Warriors. Still need to find a "groin plate" for the Trygon before I can move forward on him. Other than that, some minor work on my Carnifex, Flyrants, Swarmlord, Walkrant, and more Lictors before I start mass priming of everything in preparation for an extended work trip at the end of January. No pressure. Gonna need some cheering on to get this done. Thanks in advance guys.

[Dantay VI]

Looks good so far, and nice squad of old school bio/pyrovores in the background

[codyrstuart]

Oh yeah, most everything I have Tyranid is OOP or metal but it worked out really well that I essentially bought a Kraken-Kronos suited army before the codex even dropped. I just wish it had more biovores when I bought them.

[codyrstuart]

Today I finished up the Neurothrope. Minus the claws/horns, which I may do something different on the next model, I'm happy with how he turned out.

 

 

Also worked on a Thornback Carnifex conversion. I didn't have the Carnifex deathspitters, but I did have some extra Harpy weapon arms that wasn't working for a Tyrant conversion, so I slapped them on my Stone Crusher Carnifex. I figure that with a stranglethorn cannon and two deathspitters, that's potential for 12 S7 shots, something my army is lacking.

 

 

 

Other than a dakka Flyrant, this should be all of my major conversion work to be done for now. Speaking of which, what load out have you tried, or faced off against, twin deathspitters or twin devourers? Do you prefer one over the other? I'm torn right now because, while devourers bring more weight of fire, deathspitters look like they hit harder. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

 

[deathspectersgt7]

Bugs are looking Ace !!!! 

[codyrstuart]

Thanks, DSS! They are most definitely a labor of love, and boy do they need alot of it...

 

Alright everyone, closing out the week. First off, managed to finish painting a Broodlord. I still have another Broodlord and a Deathleaper to finish before the end of the month.

 

 

 

Here he is with a brood of 8 Genestealers that just put on bases. Need two more to run 20 of these buggers.

 

 

I also started working on the Deathleaper yesterday, getting some basecoats on. Between layers of paint drying, I assembled two more of his brood. 45 points and can bring a unit on the table? Yes please.

 

 

Finally, after closer inspection, my Hive Tyrants were broken down and thrown into the stripping bucket. They've been in for a couple days, so I should probably check on them...

[codyrstuart]

So, a visit from Papa Nurgle allowed me to stay home from an out-of-town baby shower. Can someone say hobby time?! With the free time, I was able to finish up the Deathleaper.

 

 

 

While I've used the green as a spot color on alot of other minis, I really like how it works with the tendrils on the face. Anyway, feel free to let me know what you think.

[codyrstuart]

Alright folks, got busy at the end of the year, but I was able to finish up one last Broodlord in the paint queue.

And a group shot of what I was able to complete in December (excuse the lighting, still working on taking pictures with my new iPad and using the B&C gallery again.).

I also purchased some Tyrant Guard arms to fix the puny Boneswords on my bio cannon Warriors, and had some bits left to turn a CC Warrior into a Bonesword/Lashwhip Tyranid Prime.

I like using the Tyrant Guard’s thicker Lashwhip to help differentiate the Prime from other Warriors.

So I’m done with painting, minus priming, for awhile. Long story short, the military is giving me an extended, all expenses paid, working vacation. Hobby will not be dying though, I’m planning on bringing 1000 points each of Space Wolves and Nids and as many hobby supplies possible, partially to finally have a completely painted and based army list for each, and partially to see if I can garner some interest and play a few games. Everything from here on out for the next month will just be finalizing lists, identifying last minute work, get priming out of the way, and packed.

[Dantay VI]

Good luck with the extended military vacation, and with finding some gamers :)

 

I am liking the nid prime, you did a good job with parts.

 

Oh and happy new years :)

[codyrstuart]

Thanks Danny. Since there won’t be much to do, I don’t think it will be hard to find some guys that would be interested.

 

So, trying to build equally strong lists for Space Wolves and Tyranids at 1000 points was pretty hard, but I think I found a balance. Maybe. Anyway, here’s what I plan on bringing for each.

 

Wolves: 1000 points

Njal in Terminator Armor

Battle Leader with Power Axe and Combi Plasma

2x8 Grey Hunters with CCW, Power Axe, and Plasma Gun

9 Grey Hunters with CCW, Power Axe, and Plasma Gun

2x5 Reivers, Bolt Carbines, Grav Chutes

9 Long Fangs, 4x Missile Launcher

 

Tyranids: 999 Points

Neurothrope

Tyranid Prime, Scything Talons, Bonesword/Lashwhip

30 Termigants, 30x Devourers

15 Genestealers, 3 Acid Maws

5 Warriors, 4x Scything Talons and Deathspitters, 1x Venom Cannon and Bonesword/Lashwhip

3 Hive Guard

1 Thornback, 2x Deathspitters, 1x Stranglethorn Cannon

 

I think each list has equal amounts of shooting, melee, psychic abilities, and enough variation to build smaller lists for beginner games. Off the bat Tyranids may come off stronger with the weight of dice, so they may be the teaching list, where I’ll use the Wolves until the training wheels come off. And (minus the Thornback) this all should pack neatly enough where they take little space.

[Dantay VI]

Sounds like a really decent plan.   Worst case scenario, call it Starship Troopers and teach them to kill bugs :D

 

Have fun amigo!!

[codyrstuart]

Howdy, guys and gals! After a couple months, things have slowed down to where I was able to break out the paint last night. Nothing too big, just updated the colors on my Wolf Guard Battle Leader. He was my first rendition of Bran Redmaw from years ago, so I had to bring his armor color, pelt, and axe head up to the standard I can paint at now. Updates will be slow coming as my work day is in flux, but there will be updates. C&C is welcomed.

Not sure why the pics are different sizes, but I’ll be working on that.

[Dantay VI]

Looks good, very neat paint job

[codyrstuart]

Hey everyone! Finally got to where I was going, and have found a schedule and rhythm that allowed my painting to continue. And to show for it, I have half of my Reivers finally finished! (considering I bought them almost a year ago...) Now I'm still trying to figure out a decent photo setup for where I'm working, but I also kinda like the dramatic lighting these have. I also have a Carnifex done as well, but I'm having a harder time photographing him, so he will be in a later post.

The Pack Leader:

The Assistant Leader (for Combat Squads):

Gun# 1

Gun# 2 (Really like how the "Bloodmaw" ended up on the Reiver helm)

Gun# 3

As usual, C&C is welcomed. Thanks for looking!

[Dantay VI]

Looks good, but pack leaders knife is awfully grey.

 

Hows things with you?

 

Good to see you back

[codyrstuart]

Danny- Yeah, while the models are cool, the luster and excitement of painting them has faded rather quickly. Since he is the only one with his knife pulled, I may go back and do something different with his.Things have been well, still trying to adjust to digging sand out of crevices I didnt even know I had. Things were rough for me mentally for a while, until I was able to get back to painting. Hows the little one?

On another note, finally managed to get decent pics of my Carnifex. This beast helped me to learn to paint monstrous creatures in sub assemblies...

[codyrstuart]

The progress train has no brakes! Another night, another Reiver complete. One more to go, and my black combat squad will be complete. Then it'll be my grey combat squad to complete. My scheme for the Reivers is to have a unified pack marking on the right shoulder and left knee to identify them as a single pack, but to identify the combat squads by different armor colors; black and dark grey. Kinda convoluted, I know, but I liked both color schemes when I was test painting too much to choose one scheme. Anyway, enjoy, and thanks for looking.

[codyrstuart]

Last member of the black Reiver team is done! I can almost smell the barn!.... or that maybe the camel herd nearby... I dont know, all I know is I'm 3 away from having my Reivers completed.

[codyrstuart]

Greetings, everyone! I am finally making it back to the hobby after several months. As many recall, I was in the Middle East for a time, and things got too hectic for me to keep up with the hobby. I packed everything back up and shipped it home to await my return (which surprisingly survived the trans-Atlantic trip very well). I've recently returned home, and have gotten the itch again. Guess its a good thing that ETL is around the corner. During the next months, there will be some revamping of my Space Wolves. But more importantly, I've finally amassed all the parts needed to build a small force of a faction that caught my attention when they first came out...

This will be a 1,000 pts of Militarum Tempestus from the 54th Psian Jackals, famed Eldar hunters that will pair well with the Bloodmaws of Bran Redmaw. These guys will be the focus of my ETL this year. There will also be a trio of Ordo Xenos Inquisitors accompanying them, including the famed Inquisitor Eisenhorn. The two others will be converted from MT, AdMech, and Blackstone Fortress Rogue Psyker bits, much like the one below...

Still need to sort the head, arms, and green stuff some spots, but with a Dremel, you can match the Psyker torso with the MT Commissar legs pretty well.

Finally, while weapon swaps and battlefield roles are coming for the Space Wolves, I couldn't resist getting one teeny-tiny new model for them...

What is a First Founding chapter without their Primarch? I've always wanted Russ, even if it's just a centerpiece. But, if I feel squirrelly enough, I may run him as counts-as Guilliman in larger games for SnG.

Man, it feels good to be back. Stay tuned for more updates!