Hive Fleet Solerön

[WarriorFish]

9th feels a bit bloated in places which doesn't help, but once I'm back into the routine of regular games (fingers crossed) that should be more manageable :) This is a great list and ideas, I know about Hive Guard but it's looking increasingly like I need their capabilities... Maybe once I've painted a few other things up?

 

I should look at my Biovore again as I like them and their utility, maybe look at stripping the others I got - I have been juggling Heavy Support slots but with how the fexes perform maybe I can find room? Is it worth finding a fourth Zoanthrope for the Smite bonus?

[Xenith]

Yea, It's kind of s shame how far ahead of other units HIve Guard are, but I'd put a small wager on them being one of the best units in the game - they basically have a small battlecannon each, that can fire indirectly at better BS than guard. They're good on their own, but if you layer them with buffs like symbiostorm for 6's = 2 hits, bioweapon bond for +1 to hit (now 5's = 2 hits) and Kronos for reroll 1's to hit, they get real mean. I haven't done that myself, but even in small, not super competitive games they're the primary damage dealer (point click die) and as they're hidden, the opponent can't do much against them. I try not to take too many of them, if at all, against newer players. 

 

9th is absolutely bloated for sure - I've realised in my last 3 games that I've gotten comfortable with my thousand sons - so after about 6 games I'm really remembering stuff? 

 

Biovore is a fun piece. They were all the rage in 8th, but fell out of favour in 9th, but they havent inherently changed. FLY units ignore them, sure, but if you can drop a spore mine to stop something like a blighthauler or other big tank (or a knight!) moving for a few turns, then it's done it's job! 

 

Carnifex can be taken as a unit, don't forget, so you can get 3 to a HS slot - so you can take 3 and have room for a trygon and a biovore. Or just omit the biovore for something more effective in bigger games. 

[WarriorFish]

It's a bit of a problem with my nids in that I have a lot of units I want to put down, and Detachments can only go so far. The trouble with going up to the Brigade is the other requirements, I don't have much Elite or Fast Attack to play with and they don't appeal to be greatly either :confused: Maybe I can look into deploying Spore Mines directly too (I have quite a few) - a bit expensive for what you get but would be a good way to mess around with the table?

 

I think it's decided: I need Hive Guard :lol:

[Xenith]

If you can convince people to play narrative instead of matched, it really cranks nids up a notch via the sporefield strat and tervigon. On-board spores might be ok if you have opponents that rush you - I'm a fan of putting less used units on the table also. They're small, easily hidden, and might deter an opponent from going after an objective they're near. 

[WarriorFish]

Later than planned but still a good turnaround:

Tyrannofex is next on my nid project list, I fancy some assembly too and this should tide me over while I finish some smaller painting projects in the coming month or so

[WarriorFish]

I'm in the zone (Zoan?), started on the Tyrannofex last night:

Just dry fit here, all the chimneys are glued ready for filler (that will be fun) so I can progress with the weapon mounts next. I will review magnetising to see how much work is involved and magnet availability as I still need to sort that replenishment. As much as I plan to run the Rupture Cannon I would like to try other approaches, and of course rules and points will change.

With the filling too I think this may be a bit of a slow burn project but we'll see how it goes :)

[Xenith]

I'm in the Zoan, 

 

I hope that means you've been digested by the Hive Fleet, as the alternative will mean a visit from the Ordo Xenos. 

 

Looking forward to the TFEX - what gun are you going with? If you;re thinking of magging it, I can reccomend magging the head also, the weird chin spike gets in the way of the gun connection if the model is based and you try to remove them, as I found out after painting...so I had to rip the head off...without a base you can go downwards, so I thought it was fine. 

[WarriorFish]

Rupture Cannon is what I'm after primarily as some serious ranged AT I desperately need, but as there's also transport considerations as ever a removable weapon would do much to reduce the required space so I think I will be magnetising it's more a question of how much. I have a feeling I'll need to wait until I stock up on magnets but I'll see how it looks once I start playing with the model pieces

 

I really enjoyed the Zoanthropes and this is another nice kit to work on, though I think it might feel less so once I've done all the gap filling (and again after painting all the carapace)

[Arkaniss]

Been a while since I checked in! New models and a batrep too! :tu: The 'thropes look nice, I've not seen the new plastic model before! Didn't take long either so I bet you're pleased with that. The Tervigon looks stunning - such a large centrepiece model in your unique scheme really pops   I'm really looking forward to seeing the Tyrannofex done next. It does seem like it's needed to shore up your army lists too.

[WarriorFish]

It's nice to have a simpler scheme, what passes for detail here is picking out inner bits for a red wash and edge highlights Though the carapace is a bit time consuming with all that's involved relatively it's a simple package and as nice models to work on they always seem to go well

 

Enough that my Rakarth Flesh pot is finished, though it does feature for other armies it has been my nids that ate most of it I will have time to get a replacement before I need it so it shouldn't matter, I'm set on fully magnetising it now which will take a bit of time even if I do have the right magnets

[WarriorFish]

No more on the Tyrannofex yet, but I did get a little bit of time where I decided for some assembly:

Should be a quick project and will fill a gap in my lists, so depending on time I might see if I can get them done this weekend...

[WarriorFish]

Quick yes... easy? Not so much I didn't consider that I was more or less painting 14 very small gaunts Good job I didn't add any more to the bases or getting in between them would have been even worse

I expect good things from them in holding an objective for me, next is returning to the Tyrannofex with a check on magnets :tu:

[Evil Eye]

Those are some nice little Rippers! I still kind of want to get the FW Swarms but they look like they'd be a PAIN to paint...

[WarriorFish]

I think they might not be as terrible as they seem in that you don't need to paint the entire models just the surface area? I think that's the nature of Rippers, however they come they're always going to be a lot of work compared to what you get They are a classic though, and useful for holding objectives so worth it in the end as you only need to paint a model once If I did any more I would paint them all separately then glue to the base - lesson learned!

 

Unfortunately I have made no progress on the Tyrannofex as I have not been too well lately, but things are looking up so this should change soon. I need to focus on my Guard vow to ensure I can get them done in time but after that I'll be back I am looking at my magnets to restock too, so I suppose that counts as some form of progress?

[Brother Nathan]

Rippers look ace. Iv thought about the seperate painting them before but then think if i cant get in to paint whos going to get angle to see. Also can swqrms hold objectives? I thought they couldnt but havent feilded them yet despite a full squad and a bag of spares to make more

[WarriorFish]

You're thinking of old rules, I don't think swarm is a rule any more either? Either way they can hold objectives :)

[WarriorFish]

Unfortunately with issues getting the magnets I wanted work has stalled still :( I will see if I can look again at the model and work something out with what magnets I have. In the meantime I found some more Rippers so I thought a stand up/back up project to work on here and there isn't a bad idea:

Six bases of Rippers should be enough for all my needs?

[Brother Nathan]

Aye 6 should do. By the looks of them i cant see them being hugely worth taking much in lists in new dex but theres a few ways to spawn them that could be fun curve balls for opponents such as parasite and i think gestation sack? As such atm unless iv missed something iv other ways to fill fast slots

[WarriorFish]

I'm not sure where Rippers will be at as I've not kept up with all the rumour details but they'll make for nice objective holders which will allow the rest of my army to push forwards. Cheap objective holders are great especially for armies that want to close on the enemy (my Daemons keep having this issue).

 

This may be largely because my collection lacks choices that can sit back and shoot currently but not being bound to any point is good as mobility is important so would still be useful for such units. The Parasite's rules seem ok, but I'm looking at it more from a model perspective as always Having options is never a bad thing

 

In case anyone is wondering I did think about leaving them off the bases but I decided that juggling them to paint individually was probably more hassle overall especially as the scheme features a wash across the entire model

[Xenith]

2X3 rippers should be all you need, I think. They've gone to fast attack, apparently, no longer Obsec, but I think can still burrow and appear places. Maybe a couple more if you use gestation sac (spawn rippers once per game) and the parasite. 

[WarriorFish]

Hmm, Genestealers are going Elites too, what else will be in Elites? I thought of Brigades before to give me the extra Troop slots I wanted but Fast Attack was one of the stumbling blocks - couple of Ripper squads would be most of the way there. All depends on costs as from the looks of it points are going up to go with the stats (whether this means a net gain remains to be seen...), but maybe I can still have my gribbly horde :P

[WarriorFish]

Now I have the 3x2mm magnets which should be the right size and strong enough for all the arms it's back for some more assembly:

Seems to be a never ending number of bits to snip out and clean, this isn't everything either The focus is magnetising so I've got one of each arm to go along with the weapons, I've figured out how I'm going to start on the magnetising so real progress can begin soon

From the looks of it the guns are particular in how they fit which is to be expected so it's more about making sure everything matches up ok. That and needing an extra hand I think? I plan to magnetise the Tervigon pouch with two or three small magnets inside as this should let it attach to the body ok (will need matt varnish to help protect the paint from contact, but I'm in the habit of varnishing most of my nid models anyway), aside from being easier this makes sure the room inside the torso is all saved for the arms which are the main work (plus the head, but that's easy)

When this task is done all I need to do then is all the gap filling Fortunately I'm enjoying the model and think it looks good so I won't mind featuring it in lots of lists to make the work worth it

[WarriorFish]

I am progressing slowly, having finally got to starting on the magnetisation. I've gone with this gun as it has an extra connection to the torso which will help in lining it up:

With one arm set almost done (the table magnet needs its opposite in the gun) I'm hoping this will mean the ruptune cannon is easier for it. It's a bit of a task getting things to align right as you can't see the connection well and the torso isn't glued currently Hopefully it all works out, the 3x2mm magnets are a good fit and seem to be strong enough. I'm thinking of raising the model up from the base a little to help ensure there's room to manoeuvre the pieces when exchanging them, but I'll see how it goes as I'm taking things slowly.

I will take pictures of the details when this round of magnetising is done I may glue the torso together then but it might be best to wait until I have filled the joins on the various parts first. At least I can be sure that is this model will be featuring in a lot of lists, and I'll never magnetise one again

[WarriorFish]

I had a few minutes suitable, so I thought "why not?" and assembled the Parasite of Mortrex:

I am too used to old models perhaps, but this was easy to put together despite all the bits poking out so along with there being very little cleaning required it went together in a flash. I like the model just as much now I've seen it in person so I expect I'll get it painted up quickly once I get started. It'll go with the Rippers waiting for enough to get the primer out, it's nice to be scratching the assembly itch some more - and just as nice to break the spell of my CSM if only briefly

[Xenith]

Parasite looking great, getting my own next month I think! I read somewhere it's not unique like the swarm lord, so you actually field multiple... Might have to have an alpha parasite then convert another from some bits...