Post by bubbah0tep on Jun 13, 2017 14:44:49 GMT
So I love Tyranid Warriors. I think it comes from loving Zerg Hydralisks first, and that one time that Zerglings had Hydralisk heads. So it only made sense,
when I couldn't decide if I wanted to field a Hive Tyrant or a Prime, that I would decide to use a 3rd-ed model.
Unfortunately, it was static and lame.
Fortunately, however, I was a kid in the 90s. So I was part of the cutting-edge debate about how Tyrannosaurus Rex hip joints were supposed to be assembled. And this dictated posture, coolness level, and threat index. So, I remembered that and attempted to add more life into the model. Plus I built a lash-whip from a crushing claw-arm from a 'Fex, some tendrils from a venomthrope, and some MC boneswords from Chapterhouse.
Oh here is another pic:
unfortunately he looked weird. I mean, I loved the whole stepping onto a rock looking down at something pose. I actually modelled him so he'd be making eye contact with an AOBR tactical marine if they were standing facing each other. I wanted to capture that feel of a predatory beast flaunting his power before devouring the hapless victim. As cool as the pose was, something was lacking. He didn't have a tail! I tried half-heartedly to find it, but it was a lame tail. So I made my own! An following the logic of dinosaur-science, it didn't drag the ground and contributed to the Awesome Factor.
I am missing a couple photos. So above is when I started painting. With my Tyranids, I decided to practice using washes rather than straight-brushing. So here is a picture
of my creation with a tail comprised of greenstuff and a hormagant talon. So I finished painting, and was pretty happy with him. So here are a couple pics of what he looked like
for the longest time.
While I love this model and how it turned out, on the table he kind of sucked. With the advent of the 6th ed codex, it didn't make sense to run him as a Prime. And, as a walking Tyrant, he kept getting shot off the table. So, I decided to turn him into a Flyrant!
It turns out I had a set of Baelrog wings buried in a drawer full of spare parts, so I was ready with materials. So, here are pics of that process.
So first, I took the wings. I trimmed the shoulder down to a 30-45 degree angle, and I cut down the muscles so that they fit onto the body. And then removed the rear spike as it kept hitting the body when I was practicing dry fits.
Oh, and I took the limbs off the tyrant.
So then I was faced with a dilemma. I wanted close combat weapons, but I also wanted those super useful twin-lined worm-launchers. So, as I wanted to keep within the six-limbed aesthetic, I hit upon the idea of mounting the weapons on the wings! I opted for this, as the launchers wouldn't fit on the torso without looking as clunky as a 90's era transformer.
Here is a picture of me prepping the guns. I wanted to mount the essential pieces, which I considered to be the triangular launcher piece, the spines from the bottom, and the armor plates on the back. So I cut up a couple of termagaunt devourers that I had lying around.
Next, I mounted the pieces on the wing. I visualize it as hunching and flexing to fire, rather like a Hydralisk within the Starcraft universe. I thought about how it could fire while fling, and I think that it would likely be able to pulse those muscles and fire while gliding rather than when beating it's wings. Both wings were done the same way, but I will only include one picture for brevity's sake. I used greenstuff to create the body of the weapon as it mounted to the wing, on the main arm to allow for a plausasble placement. I then added the pieces around the greenstuff to create the weapon.
The worst part of the entire process was putting the wings onto the body. I do not have a pin press, so I was attempting to use the traditional greenstuff and superglue approach. So, after a lot of anger, frustration, and slowly curing greenstuff, I found a way to balance the model in a way that allowed it to dry and set in a way would keep my desired pose. As they say on Imgur, bananas for scale.
So after leaving it overnight, it was finally ready! I took a couple pictures from different angles so I could share the final result.
Here is a picture of the wings from the back
Here is the model with a Blood Witch to give a sense of scale
One more picture, because I'm really excited by this model.
So, there is my legnthy photo-based post of how I took an old and clunky model and made it more awesome! And by that I mean that I personally really like it now when I did not really before fresh out of the box.
I posted earlier, a couple of years ago?, about the start of a hive fleet utilizing ruined or damaged models. I jokingly named it Hive Fleet Wendle after the leader on the island of misfit toys. This model was a mess when I first got it, so I'm happy with the restoration and renewal for this little guy.
Please share any comments or questions!
when I couldn't decide if I wanted to field a Hive Tyrant or a Prime, that I would decide to use a 3rd-ed model.
Unfortunately, it was static and lame.
Fortunately, however, I was a kid in the 90s. So I was part of the cutting-edge debate about how Tyrannosaurus Rex hip joints were supposed to be assembled. And this dictated posture, coolness level, and threat index. So, I remembered that and attempted to add more life into the model. Plus I built a lash-whip from a crushing claw-arm from a 'Fex, some tendrils from a venomthrope, and some MC boneswords from Chapterhouse.
Oh here is another pic:
unfortunately he looked weird. I mean, I loved the whole stepping onto a rock looking down at something pose. I actually modelled him so he'd be making eye contact with an AOBR tactical marine if they were standing facing each other. I wanted to capture that feel of a predatory beast flaunting his power before devouring the hapless victim. As cool as the pose was, something was lacking. He didn't have a tail! I tried half-heartedly to find it, but it was a lame tail. So I made my own! An following the logic of dinosaur-science, it didn't drag the ground and contributed to the Awesome Factor.
I am missing a couple photos. So above is when I started painting. With my Tyranids, I decided to practice using washes rather than straight-brushing. So here is a picture
of my creation with a tail comprised of greenstuff and a hormagant talon. So I finished painting, and was pretty happy with him. So here are a couple pics of what he looked like
for the longest time.
While I love this model and how it turned out, on the table he kind of sucked. With the advent of the 6th ed codex, it didn't make sense to run him as a Prime. And, as a walking Tyrant, he kept getting shot off the table. So, I decided to turn him into a Flyrant!
It turns out I had a set of Baelrog wings buried in a drawer full of spare parts, so I was ready with materials. So, here are pics of that process.
So first, I took the wings. I trimmed the shoulder down to a 30-45 degree angle, and I cut down the muscles so that they fit onto the body. And then removed the rear spike as it kept hitting the body when I was practicing dry fits.
Oh, and I took the limbs off the tyrant.
So then I was faced with a dilemma. I wanted close combat weapons, but I also wanted those super useful twin-lined worm-launchers. So, as I wanted to keep within the six-limbed aesthetic, I hit upon the idea of mounting the weapons on the wings! I opted for this, as the launchers wouldn't fit on the torso without looking as clunky as a 90's era transformer.
Here is a picture of me prepping the guns. I wanted to mount the essential pieces, which I considered to be the triangular launcher piece, the spines from the bottom, and the armor plates on the back. So I cut up a couple of termagaunt devourers that I had lying around.
Next, I mounted the pieces on the wing. I visualize it as hunching and flexing to fire, rather like a Hydralisk within the Starcraft universe. I thought about how it could fire while fling, and I think that it would likely be able to pulse those muscles and fire while gliding rather than when beating it's wings. Both wings were done the same way, but I will only include one picture for brevity's sake. I used greenstuff to create the body of the weapon as it mounted to the wing, on the main arm to allow for a plausasble placement. I then added the pieces around the greenstuff to create the weapon.
The worst part of the entire process was putting the wings onto the body. I do not have a pin press, so I was attempting to use the traditional greenstuff and superglue approach. So, after a lot of anger, frustration, and slowly curing greenstuff, I found a way to balance the model in a way that allowed it to dry and set in a way would keep my desired pose. As they say on Imgur, bananas for scale.
So after leaving it overnight, it was finally ready! I took a couple pictures from different angles so I could share the final result.
Here is a picture of the wings from the back
Here is the model with a Blood Witch to give a sense of scale
One more picture, because I'm really excited by this model.
So, there is my legnthy photo-based post of how I took an old and clunky model and made it more awesome! And by that I mean that I personally really like it now when I did not really before fresh out of the box.
I posted earlier, a couple of years ago?, about the start of a hive fleet utilizing ruined or damaged models. I jokingly named it Hive Fleet Wendle after the leader on the island of misfit toys. This model was a mess when I first got it, so I'm happy with the restoration and renewal for this little guy.
Please share any comments or questions!
