What is the purpose bits 4, 5 and 6 on Tyranid Termagant Kit

[copelion]

Hi,

I build up a whole bunch of termagants over the last years, but could not answer that one question. There are three bits label 4, 5, and 6 on the smaller frame of each termagant kit ... you know the one with the spine fists and the adrenal glands and so on. I have never seen those bits on any picture of a termagant and they do not seem to fit anywhere on the model. They look like additional armour plates. Are they purely for kit bashing? Are they used for building ripper swarms? Does anyone have a clue?

[immortalblue]

Yeah, these are a leftover from codexs past, and I think apply more to warriors than our little gribblies. Remember that the weapon sprue is universal to several models...

[Threeshades]

They are artifacts. And not like the ones mentioned in the codex, but the type of artifact that is a vestigial leftover of something that had a function once in the past.

These were meant to represent the then ubiquitous Extended Carapace biomorph which improved the save of the user by 1. Nowadays they only serve as decoration and kitbash bits.

[copelion]

Thanks for the explanation. So I will stop trying to fit them somewhere on my gaunts.

[swarsummer]

I have used those when building genestealers from hormagants and leftover genestealer bits (arms and heads).
When used as a pair they gave those hormastealers a nice buff to their carapace.