Oldschool "Epic" Malefactor

I came across another nice printable file online. It's from the same creator as the ‘Epic’ Trygon, and it's a Malefactor!

A few details differ from the Armorcast original, but it's free! These old Tyras looked really alien and totally crazy. It's almost impossible to tell which end is which or where the head is. Today's Tyras, unfortunately, look quite normal and are easier to ‘read’.

There are no rules for this miniature in the 5th edition of 40k (which are the rules I currently play by). Therefore, I will use it as a Tervigon. I think that fits well, since the Malefactor was originally a transport option for smaller Tyranid creatures, and a Tervigon comes closest to that nowadays.

 

 

I'm not entirely satisfied with the result, but on the other hand, I don't feel like painting any more. After all, the swarm is growing steadily and the first big battle is approaching...

  

 

The Mycetic Spore "Problem"

With regard to the further expansion of the Tyranid swarm, I realized that I would soon need Mycetic Spores. Some of you may remember that it took a very long time for GW to officially release a model for this. The 5th edition Codex included the codex entry, but no model. Quite a few people therefore proxed Mycetic Spores with Mega Blocks' Plasma Hatchers. It looked like this: 

 

However, these “eggs” are no longer available. Puppetswar offers a good alternative to the official GW model and nowadays there is also 3D printing. So there is no shortage of alternatives. However, I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I used digital kitbashing to build a Mycetic Spore from freely available "Space Bug" models. Last but not least, I didn't want just any Mycetic Spore, but one that matches the style of the second edition of 40k Tyranid models.  

 

I am quite satisfied with the result and think it suits the old models well. This first Mycetic Spore will bring a squad of Zoanthropes onto the battlefield in upcoming games.  

Oldschool Zoanthropes [2nd Edition 40k]

Following the Genestealers, I continued straight on with the bright colours and old Tyranids. I had already painted a Zoanthrope a few years ago. Two were still lying around unpainted. It was time to paint them!

The model in the middle is the one I painted before. I have no idea why I decided on a black carapace armour back then. The model on the far right was missing its mandibles, so I repurposed two demonette claws for it.

For games using the 5th edition rules, they also absolutely need a Mycetic Spore. I already have an idea for that...

Oldschool Genestealers

I haven't been idle over the last few weeks and months. I have been busy crafting and painting, but somehow I didn't feel like writing about it. I'll catch up on that bit by bit. 

Here are a few more recent miniatures – a few Genestealers for my Retro-Nids. I like these striking colours and hard contrasts. 

 

I had already painted six Genestealers over two years ago, and those have a more blue and purple colour scheme. The new ones are blue and pink. This wild mix can also be found in the 2nd edition codex, making it highly official! 

Oldschool "Epic" Tyranid Trygon - Finished!

The Trygon is finally ready for battle. I think it is pretty cool and it fits in well with the other old Tyranids. Yes, you can see some printing lines, but the model practically costs nothing. You will hardly see such details on the gaming table.

With claws, he's about 30 cm long, about 13 cm high and 14 cm wide. I've added a few other minis in the last picture to compare its size.

Oldschool "Epic" Tyranid Trygon

I thought it would be cool to play a big game (approx. 3,500 pts.) with the Retro-Nids this summer. However, I still have to paint some of the medium-sized crawlers and one or two larger monsters are still missing. 

I've fantasised about a Trygon for a while now - in the classic style! They exist for Epic 40,000, but unlike some other Epic monsters, there was no miniature of them from Armorcast. I came across a picture of a raw model from Armorcast on the Modern Synthesist blog, but it didn't go into series production: 

http://www.modernsynthesist.com/2012/02/tyranid-archive-armorcast-tyranids-and.html

However, the community has not been idle and there are print files for some of the old monsters. I was also able to find some of the Trygon! 

https://cults3d.com/en/users/CaitSidhe/3d-models

For me, however, there was a catch - the mouth. It just looks strange and doesn't fit in with the other minis. I have no idea whether this is the case with the Epic models. In any case, the raw model from Armorcast suggests a normal mouth. 

I have only very modest 3D modelling skills and I don't get on at all with Blender, for example. To make some progress here, I took the mouth part of a ripper and used it to roughly replace the beak in the original file. I would bend the rest with modelling clay.

I'm quite happy with the result and after a little more sanding I can apply the primer.

Oldschool "Epic" Tyranid Heirophant - Finished

 Here is the little finished bug.

 

Oldschool "Epic" Tyranid Heirophant - WIP

After the Exocrine, I've acquired a taste for bigger tyranid models and the next ‘epic’ beast is already in the making. Unlike the original Epic version, however, I won't be building the weapons above the head, but rather hanging downwards, just like the current Forgeworld version. 

You can download the files here: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/space-bugs-insectes-de-l-espace-61-artist_t

After an initial trial run, I printed out the body and head again in a larger size. While the rest of the model is 250% larger than the original, the body and head are 350% larger. The first printout was also not completely clean and contained errors.

Oldschool "Epic" Tyranid Exocrine painted

It was fun to paint the Exocrines and the Termagants. Looking at them gives me a cosy, nostalgic feeling. I've also printed a second exocrine in the meantime and I'm even thinking about going one size bigger. 

Oldschool "Epic" Tyranid Exocrine

I'm still riding the nostalgia wave. So I'm returning to my retro Tyranids. I'm starting with an Exocrine in the old Armorcast design and a few Termagants with Spike Rifles.

The original Armorcast Exocrines are now rare and expensive. That's why I looked for printable files. I found two quite good versions. One is free, the other costs just under 11 euros:

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/alien-bio-tank-mbt

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/space-bugs-insectes-de-l-espace-30

I liked the 11 Euro version a little better:

I printed the Exocrine in two parts with my FDM printer and then glued them together. It worked surprisingly well.

Classic Metal Termagants

I painted some classic Termagants for a Hivefleet Kill Team. The colour scheme was heavily inspired by the old codex images. Ah yes, the good old times...

Retro-Nids: Makeover

As you might know, I am a child of the 2nd Edition of Warhammer 40.000 and like some older models more than their newer cousins. Take the old Tyranid models for example. They are so iconic and I still remember seeing them in the White Dwarf for the first time.

A few years ago I started to buy some of those old models and paint them in their classic paint schemes. That's something I couldn't do over 20 years ago, moneywise and in regard to my painting skills. 

Last week I dusted off my models and rebased them. After that, I went off to a small tournament (40k in 40 minutes) with some friends. I  had a lot of fun with my models but got beaten up pretty bad...

Funky_Biber's (much more advanced) Tyranids

Captain_Valerius' Ultramarines

Clyde_Frosch's Admech Force

Shadow Wars: Armageddon - Our Tournament

Last Sunday, we finally held out small Shadow Wars: Armageddon tournament. Instead of our usual tournament mode "40k in 40 minutes", this time we used the relatively new Shadow Wars: Armageddon campaign rules. 

I joined the battle for glory and honor with my old school Tyranids. Captain_Valerius played Necrons, Funky_Biber also played Tyranids and Clyde_Frog joined in with his Grey Knights. We planned two rounds of dog eat dog fights, which meant twelve games overall. The games were consistently exciting and challenging and I had a lot of fun. In addition, it ran quite well for my Tyranids.

Here are some pictures of our games:

  

We agreed to skip our last game and had some serious hobby talk instead. Therefore, each of us played five games. I surprisingly won all of my games and ended up with the most promethium, too. 😅

Still, I would not use the same lineup in future games. Honestly, several times I was pretty lucky. I should have used specialized fighters instead of all-around warriors. The spinefists I used on all of my warriors had no real influence on the game and with pure melee, I would have been better off. In addition, one or two gun beasts with big guns would be useful to pin enemies down beforehand.

The Tyranid Prime is a real monster, by the way. Now it is time to for new projects...