Jabberwocky Rises: Neurolictor Conversions

[Xenith]

I think I've had something similar with a wash though it wasn't a gloss one. Always worth giving them some good agitation to be on the safe side

Yea, I remember it possibly happening to nuln oil, or it going white/shiny if it pooled, where the pigment settled out on the model instead of remaining suspended.

Definitely the shaking issue. And yes, it happens to non-gloss Citadel washes from time to time as well.

Are you varnishing your models? If you were, the gloss finish would not be an issue unless needed for some reason. I can happily recommend Vallejo Premium varnish (in that bigger container) for brush applications as it flows really well out of the bottle.

Besides, it's always worth to varnish minis that are being played with.

Glad for the confirmation - it's looking a lot better and going on matte after the shake - thanks for the tip on the matte varnish also, didn't realise that would remove an underlying gloss. As I've found contrasts to be a bit thin/undurable, I've started varnishing my nids after contrasting with windsor and newton matte/multi purpose varnish, which has been great so far! Never had an issue with normal citadel paint rubbing off plastic models.

And the big beastie is done, bar the base. Pretty happy with how it turned out, basically 6 hours work, 2 hours a night in front of the TV. Now I need to paint some smaller bugs to go with it!

Right, I'm calling it done! A big beast to paint, but fun and fast with contrasts, there's still some work to do and the base, but it's ready for the table!

[Xenith]

So a spate of semi ok weather spurred me on to prime some stuff:

Exocrine, fully magged C'Fex and 10 ETB borergaunts added to the horde.

The Exocrine is actually magged to switch between that and the Haruspex, but I couldn't be bothered magging the forelimbs - the haruspex ones look better anyway, I'll just say they're for stabilisation. I think it looks good this way, like a giant alien crab.

[Xenith]

In addition to the above, I've finally got round to cleaning up the Tyrannocyte and Mawloc I got a while ago. Mawlocs been primed, but the TCyte wasn;t built by myself and has a bunch of visible gaps and joins that I hadn't noticed before. I want to fill these before I work on it. 

 

Primed stuff: Exocrine, 10 gants, carnifex, mawloc. I'd like to add the TCyte to that, then try to get another 3 warriors, or 10 devilgants, ideally both to the list to keep me going through winter. 

[Xenith]

Trying to clear the backlog some more, as well as field hardly ever seen units in my crusade force, I opened up 2 boxes of Raveners I had and got them made - I've magged the middle set of arms, but only done the talons for now. If rending claws ever become sensible on them I can go back and mag those also.

[Brother Nathan]

Am actually considering raveners may be the way ahead with the nerf on lictors commingraves May be a better table cornercampwr unit for certain secondary. Iv a unit of 3 mixed old metals sitting I need to start and then expand with plastics at some point

[Xenith]

Am actually considering raveners may be the way ahead with the nerf on lictors commingraves May be a better table cornercampwr unit for certain secondary. Iv a unit of 3 mixed old metals sitting I need to start and then expand with plastics at some point

 

Yea, I think they might get a bit better. At the moment they're about 66pts for a minimum unit, so roughly double the lictor, but better in combat and with more wounds. They beneft from CRUSHER STAMPEDE and might be a great choice in that to steal table quarters or perform actions. 

[Xenith]

So after far too long, I finally have some better shots of my Hive Tyrant after I got all my 2021 painted nids out for a photoshoot:

I'm still super pleased with how he came out. I haven't converted that many Tyranid models, but I always loved the psychic stuff, and a big brain Hive Tyrant or Swamrlord was always in the back of my mind when doing this guy. The arms are all magged, so in theory if I paint up some bonesabres he could be Swarmy also.

And for the sake of spam, here's all the stuff I managed to paint in 2021:

And just the Nids:

[Majkhel]

Loving the Santa's hat 

[Xenith]

Loving the Santa's hat 

 

Santervigon brings gifts of Gaunts! 

[DOGGED]

Great job! Nice colour scheme, the degraded colours, pale blue, white and shadows kind of blend perfectly.

 

Love your brainy tyrant and the idea of linking the conversion to the higher psychic ability of the hive fleet. Dig it!

[Xenith]

Great job! Nice colour scheme, the degraded colours, pale blue, white and shadows kind of blend perfectly.

Love your brainy tyrant and the idea of linking the conversion to the higher psychic ability of the hive fleet. Dig it!

Thanks Dogged, the comments are appreciated, that's kind of what I was going for, quite bright, and I'm glad it worked!

Some photos from a game I had at Warhammer World in Feb against @battle captain corpus's Nurgle daemons:

Really fun game, this was 1500 each as I recall, so much death going around. The Tyrannofex shone on the smaller board and melted the faces off scores of Plaguebearers (D3d messes with disgustingly resilient) with some lucky rolling, the gaunts managed to hold the other blob up long enough for the hive tyrant to whiff against the Plague Drones, but then Rottigus came into play. I think I might have won this on points, just but would have been wiped out to a bug, good game BCC, and gorgeous Daemons, a pleasure to play against!

Edited March 9, 2022 by Xenith

[Xenith]

I've managed to finish off 6 Raveners last week, here's a teaser while I get some better photos!

Also, my local club is having a tournament, 1500pts 40k. There's been a lot of grumbling about power levels etc, no matter how much I say it's all about experience. As I won the last one, I've taken a jokey anti-meta list of some of the worst units in the old codex. Lists were submitted ~4-5 weeks ago before the nid codex was announced/pre-order went up, and there's no changing now, so I'm using an army made of the worst units in a codex that isn't valid anymore, so we'll see how that goes!

List:

+++ Tyranids 1500 fun tourney (Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition) [75 PL, 10CP, 1,500pts] +++

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Tyranids) [75 PL, 10CP, 1,500pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment Command Cost

Hive Fleet: Leviathan

+ Stratagems +

Bounty of the Hive Fleet [-1CP]: 1 Extra Bio-artefact

Progeny of the Hive [-1CP]

+ HQ +

Neurothrope [5 PL, 95pts]: Power: Catalyst, Relic: The Void Crown, Warlord

Tervigon [11 PL, 190pts]: Massive Scything Talons, Power: Psychic Scream, Relic: Biomorphic Carapace

. Adaptive Physiology: Dermic Symbiosis

+ Troops +

Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]

. 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons

Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]

. 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons

Ripper Swarms [2 PL, 36pts]

. 3x Ripper Swarm: 3x Claws and Teeth

Termagants [9 PL, 182pts]

. 16x Termagant (Devourer): 16x Devourer

. 14x Termagant (Fleshborer): 14x Fleshborer

Tyranid Warriors [5 PL, 97pts]: Synaptic Link: Bioweapon Bond

2x Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Lash Whip and Bonesword

1x Tyranid Warrior (Bio-cannon): Barbed Strangler, Boneswords

+ Elites +

Hive Guard [14 PL, 300pts]

. Adaptive Physiology: Enhanced Resistance

. 6x Hive Guard (Impaler): 6x Impaler Cannon

Zoanthropes [15 PL, 310pts]: Power: Smite, Power: The Horror, Synaptic Link: Psychic Channeling

. 6x Zoanthrope: 6x Claws and Teeth

+ Fast Attack +

Raveners [3 PL, 60pts]

3x Ravener: Deathspitter, Rending Claws, Scything Talons

Raveners [3 PL, 60pts]

3x Ravener: Deathspitter, Rending Claws, Scything Talons

+ Heavy Support +

Biovores [2 PL, 50pts]: Biovore

Created with BattleScribe

Tervi might actually be a tough prospect with T8, a 5++ and -1 to wound, We'll see! Goal is to ignore the opposing army entirely and take objectives. There's still the Hive Guard (old rules!) and Zoanthropes for some durability and damage output.

[Brother Nathan]

to be fair its not a terrible list with old rules. i take it no armour of contempt for marines then? let us know how it goes anyway. 

 

love the ravener btw!

[Xenith]

Yea, I've added some actual good stuff in there to anchor the army and give me a chance, but Tervi, 30 gants, 2x raveners, biovore and Lictor in Nachmund are odd choices - hopefully it'll throw people off!

 

Had my first game against Goffs, the game felt closer than the points would let on, but I came away with a win, and ran away with points. Gaz charged the gants and got tarpitted for most of the game while I whittled him down with smites, keeping him alive for interrogation. Hive Guard were star performers, point click, dead, repeat. Easy to see why they've been nerfed into oblivion. Regular boys took a big chunk out of my zoanthropes. Banners I failed massively at, and got like 5 points over the game - need to do better with that last secondary. Stranglehold would have been better in this instance. Maybe I need to think of homers or something. Interrogation and engage I was happy with. 

[Xenith]

I got my first tourney game with the nids last Wednesday, and managed to get the win!

 

My opponent was playing orks and had:

 

Ghaz

Weirdboy with Da Jump+ Eadbanger

Warboss with da killy klaw

 

2x 10 shoota boys

2x 14 choppa boys

3x5 kommandos

1x5 stormboys

1x3 squighog boys

1x3 deffkoptas

 

Definitely not a meta ork list, but Ghaz is always a force to be reckoned with. 

I went with engage, interrogation, banners, my opponent took engage, no prisoners and Nachmund data. I won first turn and started my plan of getting the gants into the middle. It was pretty tricky as the ork boy units would eat through my gaunts like nobody's business. Zoans went off to the right to take that objective, and I pretty much ignored my left flank - I only need to hold 3 to hold more (not that I took stranglehold). The Hive guard went crazy end essentially deleted 2 units per turn, meaning my opponent had to push out and try to take objectives otherwise he'd die in his DZ. Ghaz charged the gants, which was partly my plan/was ok with as he had max ~8 attacks on the waagh, and I can regen 10 gants per turn (though should he have been able to shoot into combat?). Either way, he held Gaz up while the rest of my army did it's thing and mentally interrogated him. 

 

End result was ~82-47, with me almost maxing interrogation (should hav done, actually) and 12/15 for EooF, I got like 5 for banners total which was poor. I really need to find a better third objective for my guys. Homers might be a good option for my raveners in T2 when they come down to engage. 

 

So winning that game, I'm through to the winners bracket of the tourney, which is weirdly against knights . This will be interesting, as I have virtually zero firepower to take down the big ones.

 

I think the list is:

Valiant - warlord (flamey thing and harpoon)

Warden - gatling cannon and fist

2x helverins

2x warglaives .

 

The Knight specific secondary is great, but will put him at a disadvantage here as I'll be popping up all over the place. Main threats are the inferno cannon thing to my gaunts, and the harpoon into the Tervigon. Thankfully it has short range so I may be able to bait him into chasing the tervigon around the table. If the harpoon shoots anything else it's a waste. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by Xenith

[Xenith]

I've had a

[WarriorFish]

The Parasite is a nice kit, quick to assemble and - when I get to it - should be quick to paint too :) Something to improve the oviposter will go far I think, as then it's more likely you can take advantage of the special rules :tu:

[Xenith]

Second game of the tourney down and another win for the bugs! This was against a 5 knight list, the giant flamer one (Valiant?) a warden with avenger and fist, 2 warglaives, then a helverin. No way could I outshoot or outfight them, so I had to be sneaky and try for board control. We both played a bit too cagey, and could have scored more. I picked, unusually, to the last, thinking that my zoans, hive guard and tervigon could survive, but this was a mistake, as the big knights could just chase them down, and despoite some incredible rolling on leviathan FNP blunting a lot of their firepower, the zoans were killed by mortals from an unlucky explosion from the valiant when I killed it, and the tervigon got harpooned then shot to death by the warden who had hightailed it across the board. I made a big mistake here in not charging the valiant to tie it up when it was bracketed, I could have totally neutralised it, but I didnt want to give it a free combat phase...however I hadn't factoredin how bracketed it was, so it would only have hit me on 6's.

Anyway it was still a win.

I got:

Primary: 45

To the last: 5

Stranglehold: 9

Interrogation: 9

Painted: 10

Total 78

Opponent

Primary: 24

Knight one: 6

Assassinate: 7

No Prisoners: 7

Total: 54

Interrogation I thought was ok, but my opponent shieldbreakered by neuro early on after I perilsed (double 1, rerolled using neurothrope to a double 1...then a 6 on the dice for 3 mortals. Seriously, a 1 in 3,888 chance), leaving me without catalyst and my tervigon to do the interrogation. I'll probably keep it. Stranglehold, similarly, I underperformed on - engage might have been better in this game, but it's hard to know. I underestimated the movement of house Raven knights, and they got onto all the objectives in T1 pretty much, and I didnt want to just throw units at them - though as nids I probably should have. I ended with 1 gaunt unit that didnt do much, next time this will be for sacrifice only.

[Xenith]

3rd game of the tourney vs a tough Death Guard list - this was the semi final and I got drawn against maybe the worst list for me to face.

Mortarion

2x1 blight haulers

1x1 drone with fleshmower

2x PBC's

Death Guard

Primaries - 45

Grind - 9

Engage - 14

Spread - 6

Painted - 10

Total - 84

Nids

Primary - 45

Stranglehold - 12

Interrogation - 9

Banners - 3

Painted - 10

Total - 79

Really close and hard fought game - There was no way I could out shoot or out fight the Death guard, and I really had no answer to Morty, so I just had to go for board control. In the end, the -1D on everything, and appalling rolling from myself were just too great obstacles for me to overcome - The Hive guard rolled a single 3 for damage over the course of 3 turns double shooting, so maybe 30 wound dice, and a single 5+. Likewise, 3 on the super smite, then a single 5 on damage for the tervi claws. Similarly, opponent was unlucky with hit rolls for multimeltas and the like, but was on fire with morty's 5+ fnp - in my turn 3, a super smite and psychic scream did no wounds.

Zoans were stellar again in holding morty up - they tanked his damage output for 2 turns before falling back to let me try to shoot the plague drone with the hive guard (no wounds).

My opponent played extrememly well, he knows this army and went 4-1 at the feb team tourney, and was possibly robbed in the game he lost - this was always going to be a tough match. In the end the scores were way closer than I had ever imagined, based on our lists, literally a couple of rolls would have changed the outcome - faling to spread the sickness in turn 2 and failing to deny one interrogation would have won me the game. Likewise, failing a single save on a ravener would have cost me 2 turns of holding an objective.

I keep going for banners. I dont know why, it never works for me - this game was way too close and personal, and my units too squishy. A single homers in their DZ would have got me more, though not enough to win. Any ideas on a decent third secondary option for nids?

[Xenith]

Throwing myself in at the deep end, I've vowed to paint 4 MONSTERS in the next 3 months.

On another note, in for a penny, in for a pound of biomass.

I Xenith, Swarmlord of Hive Fleet Jabberwocky, vow to paint One Tyrannocyte, One Mawloc, One Carnifex, One Exocrine and One Parasite for a total of 34 Power Level before the 22nd August 2022.

June and July are really busy for me, but I hope I can knock some of these out at the weekends.

[WarriorFish]

That's quite the haul, looking forward to seeing these done :D The Parasite is good fun to paint, though maybe I'm finding that because I've not painted many wings :P

[Xenith]

Yea, it's odd to have a relatively large, smooth area on nids! I enjoyed the wings on my harpy and gargoyles also, contrast made it easy 

[Xenith]

Any my Carnifex for my A Bug's Life vow is complete! One down, four to go! 

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Xenith
playing with new gallery

[Brother Nathan]

Nice work on the fex. Kudos on the base especially

[Xenith]

Thanks! It's just taxtured and strip plasticard on top of the regular base, with leadbelcher ad GW corrosion and rust paints.