Post by greyseer on Nov 20, 2013 6:34:49 GMT
So, I've been pondering over this idea of a "living defense line" for Tyranids. Instead of having motionless, static walls that can be erected for cover, I figured the Tyranids would evolve a specialized strain of creatures that serve that very purpose. Kind of like a smaller Tyrant Guard.
The original idea was for a beast, much the size of a warrior, that would run up and jam its overgrown chitinous forearms into the ground and provide a wall of living armor for an advancing swarm. Mechanically, I assumed they'd use Aegis Defense Line rules, but fluff-wise, they'd move and redeploy as needed between combat.
Now, I had done up a couple of prototypes using warriors and carnifex carapace pieces, but none of them "spoke" to me. However, as I was working on armoring up my kitbashed Exocrine, I noticed that one of the pieces from the Lizardmen Bastiladon kit is almost perfectly sized for an ADL piece. I was then hit with a spark of inspiration, so I had to cobble together another prototype to see if it would work. Instead of a larger beast with forearm shields, why not a smaller, crablike beast the could burrow face first into the ground and provide cover using overgrown back armor?
I now present to you ... the Tyranid Trilobite! "Horseshoe crab" may be more fitting, but that doesn't have much menace to it (note that you may need to scroll right to see the first two images if they're not showing up):
As you can see, from the above angle, it looks like a series of bony plates in the rough shape of an ADL.
The edges may be a bit sharp, but it's still just a wall, right?
Well, would you look at that! There's actually a tiny Tyranid hidden beneath all that armor! For model balance, the scytals provide a stable base for the wall section. In fluff terms, though, they'd likely be anchored into the ground itself to provide stability.
Don't get too close, though, they can still be mean...
... unless, of course, you turn them onto their backs.
Now, all kidding aside, this is just a prototype, so I have some refinement that needs to be done. Right now, I'm using pieces from a Ravener kit (the extra front torsos that come with it), a hormagaunt kit (scytals and rear legs), a ripper (for the small, receded head), and the bastiladon armor piece. This means it's far from cheap to make. However, I think I can get these done with just a Hormagaunt kit and spares from a Ravener kit. If I can custom sculpt the armor plate and recast it in resin, that'll help tremendously. As it stands, getting the back armor is a bit costly.
I imagine that these things would ride larger beasts, like my Exocrine, into battle. When the enemy approached, however, they'd drop off the carrier creature and scuttle up to the front line and provide cover for the more medium sized members of the swarm. Others could ride on the outside of a Mycetic Spore and break off shortly before impact and deploying that way. All-in-all, I think there are plenty of fluff options for a thing such as this.
The original idea was for a beast, much the size of a warrior, that would run up and jam its overgrown chitinous forearms into the ground and provide a wall of living armor for an advancing swarm. Mechanically, I assumed they'd use Aegis Defense Line rules, but fluff-wise, they'd move and redeploy as needed between combat.
Now, I had done up a couple of prototypes using warriors and carnifex carapace pieces, but none of them "spoke" to me. However, as I was working on armoring up my kitbashed Exocrine, I noticed that one of the pieces from the Lizardmen Bastiladon kit is almost perfectly sized for an ADL piece. I was then hit with a spark of inspiration, so I had to cobble together another prototype to see if it would work. Instead of a larger beast with forearm shields, why not a smaller, crablike beast the could burrow face first into the ground and provide cover using overgrown back armor?
I now present to you ... the Tyranid Trilobite! "Horseshoe crab" may be more fitting, but that doesn't have much menace to it (note that you may need to scroll right to see the first two images if they're not showing up):
As you can see, from the above angle, it looks like a series of bony plates in the rough shape of an ADL.
The edges may be a bit sharp, but it's still just a wall, right?
Well, would you look at that! There's actually a tiny Tyranid hidden beneath all that armor! For model balance, the scytals provide a stable base for the wall section. In fluff terms, though, they'd likely be anchored into the ground itself to provide stability.
Don't get too close, though, they can still be mean...
... unless, of course, you turn them onto their backs.
Now, all kidding aside, this is just a prototype, so I have some refinement that needs to be done. Right now, I'm using pieces from a Ravener kit (the extra front torsos that come with it), a hormagaunt kit (scytals and rear legs), a ripper (for the small, receded head), and the bastiladon armor piece. This means it's far from cheap to make. However, I think I can get these done with just a Hormagaunt kit and spares from a Ravener kit. If I can custom sculpt the armor plate and recast it in resin, that'll help tremendously. As it stands, getting the back armor is a bit costly.
I imagine that these things would ride larger beasts, like my Exocrine, into battle. When the enemy approached, however, they'd drop off the carrier creature and scuttle up to the front line and provide cover for the more medium sized members of the swarm. Others could ride on the outside of a Mycetic Spore and break off shortly before impact and deploying that way. All-in-all, I think there are plenty of fluff options for a thing such as this.
