'nids part 329 - Tyranid Warriors - chitin 1

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my #Tyranid Warriors. Coming off the back of how tedious I was finding the bone I'm now onto the turquoise chitin plates. I did adopt an 'outlining approach though. This is where I do the outer edges - they're the easiest to do as you can quickly identify what needs to be painted. Then I'll do the inner ridges.

I then subdivide it again, similar to how a ruler breaks down centimetres, then half, then millimetres. With the striations getting a little smaller as you work your way in. It means they end up with a uniformity to their markings, which is slightly unnatural but I can live with having a system helping me through the process.

Having done all the outlines, the 'inlines' feel a little more manageable to do. Another chunk, was getting the tails done. Again this was a fairly simple part to paint so it didn't feel to much like a chore. 

With each model having somewhat of a headstart it felt a lot easier to do the rest of the model. The head was surprisingly time consuming but the top carapace plates took the longest, because that's where there's more freedom in how the striations form.

The legs are also fiddly trying to get the top top plate which is usually hidden under a Deathspitter or weapon arm.

And lets not forget the front shoulder plates and any bits on their weapons. It's really weird how chunky these paint strokes have become. First highlight isn't so much of a problem, there'll be thinner marks inside these ones. But I look back at my Trygon and see finer paint strokes and I can't understand why.

I don't know whether it's me and my cack-handed painting, the paint itself or my brushes. I have a very old sable brush that has quite a nice point to it but I'm not sure it holds its shape the more you paint with it. The same goes for a number of cheaper brushes.

It's a little frustrating. I'm also a little paranoid about my dots now. I love them, it was an inspired choice when I added them, originally to my first Trygon but first discussed on my kitbashed Tervigon. I think I shared a pic on Reddit once and had some guy claim the 'dot-thing' was a fashion trend, because the coconut crab theme had just surfaced and everyone was jumping on it.

I tried to point out this wasn't that scheme [although sometimes I wish it was] and I'd been doing dots for years just to fill in empty space [mainly] on the carapace. They weren't having any of it though, apparently 'dots were a fad, that would eventually fall out of fashion and then I'd be stuck with this scheme'.

How they couldn't grasp that I'd never done it to be fashionable, so whether it was on trend or not was completely irrelevant. What was I going to do? Repaint my entire army [he says, repainting 9 Warriors... 😝]. And yet it still irks me that they planted that seed of doubt about something that I'm particularly proud I chose to do. However great this community is there are so many that suck big time. The world might be a better place if folk just remembered to follow Wheaton's Law.

'nids part 328 - Tyranid Warriors - bone 2

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my #Tyranid Warriors. These were highlighted over 3 and a bit painting sessions [evenings] this is becoming quite the undertaking now. 

I've been keeping a record of my sessions, this is 9 sessions, not including build, prime, base, basecoat and washes. I'm definitely up to the task but the 9 Warriors and 2 Primes as a batch feels a little too much.

I think it drains too much motivation. It's like feathering the accelerator when you're driving - just enough gas to keep your momentum, rather than having to put your foot down and it drains your tank. 

It's frustrating because I have bags of desire to get all of these projects done, I just can't progress quick enough so I can consistently tick things off. That frustration can make things feel overwhelming with so much still to do, which then makes me want to take a break.

 Now, I know a lot of people advocate that if the hobby feels like work or a chore then it's not fun and you should stop doing it. Occasionally I agree, but also if I take a break I still have to come back to these at a later point and everything else has just been delayed that much more.

That said, with the bone complete it's turquoise next, then reds and blacks and finally all the details like teeth, eyes, random pink bits. Hopefully those won't be as time consuming as the bone and chitin as they take up less of the model.

Also, when I come to do the black highlights I'll be jumping back onto my Talonmaster to complete those bits too.

I just think it's handy to paint those things at the same time, just kicking myself I didn't get my Ravenwing Attack Bikes to that stage too, but then if I had all these Warriors would have been delayed to fit them in.

The funny thing is I actually have more time to paint at the moment, I'm just finding more things to do like playing Company of Heroes, after I finished Space Marine. That's one of the reasons I stopped computer games, because it wasn't that productive and then threw myself at the hobby. Now I'm using that distraction a way to not burn out, which is a help, but as explained, is also a hindrance. Nevermind, 'progress is progress'!

'nids part 327 - Tyranid Primes - bone 2

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on these #Oldhammer Tyranid Warriors, which I kitbashed into Tyranid Primes and painted 11 or 12 years ago. I'm probably going to set my OCD off now, chronologically I did the 2nd bone highlights on the Primes, after the Warriors [next blogpost] but for some reason I want to post these first.

As you can see they are very pale, compared to what their original paint scheme was. You might just be able to see a subtle retention of that on the legs. I didn't go over the top with the second shading of strong tone, so they have more of a sepia tint lower down.

However, I probably do go over the top with the 2nd bone highlights, there's perhaps more of that shading and 1st highlight I could retain but I may get carried away. 

I don't know if they appear overly pale because the turquoise hasn't gone on. It presents as such a huge contrast with the dark blue. I'm comparing them to my most recent Warrior from last year and they appear no more pale, but the chitin does make him balanced a bit more.

Anyway, I was lucky these two highlights, alongside a Warrior were completed in one painting session, That was a slight speed increase on the first highlights - less thinking as I'd already laid down the areas perhaps. Maybe if I'd done less highlights second time around I could have boxed them off even quicker? I'm pleased with what I've done, but yet again I query how much I'm obscuring with my final highlight being too much. It doesn't matter really, they're going to be a marked improvement from their original scheme.

'nids part 326 - Tyranid Primes - bone 1

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on these #Oldhammer Tyranid Warriors, which I kitbashed into Tyranids and painted 11 or 12 years ago now. I saw someone making fun of these sculpts the other day, comparing them to the new[er] models. Sure the current warriors are streamlined and have a consistent theme with the rest of the Tyranid range but these are really tall and menacing. They tower over the current models, which is why I thought they were so apt for Primes [when there was none].

Additionally, that rib cage tho! I can't think of any current model that utilises that hollow, layered effect. I think we've lost that ingenuity and creativity because you can cast in more detail now. That kind of layering of pieces seems to have been forgotten about, which is a shame. 

OK, their waistline and neck is a little anaemic, thanks to their insect-like head/thorax/abdomen design. But the head crest helps them look part of the current line up at least.

They're a devil to paint though, as I tried to individually pick out all the texture on the legs. Again, that texture has been lost on the current range. In some respects the smoothness looks cool, but quite often you will see artwork, where that non-chitin, non-fleshy area has lots of texture.

Just look at the work of Helge C. Balzer and his renditions of Tyranids. Now that is the level of alien horror we should be seeing. Fibres, threads, textures, slime and all sorts of bio-material emanating from these creatures.

I appreciate that might be challenging to injection mould, but we've evidently had texture in the past. Of course the design language for Tyranids is pretty set now, so we're unlikely to get more detail. Thankfully it's easy enough to simulate the effect of texture with paint, which I'll be doing with the next set of highlights. It took me 5 sessions to get these and the 9 Warriors done, fingers crossed bone 2 highlights aren't so time-consuming. I don't know why but I'm really looking forward to the turquoise...

'nids part 325 - Tyranid Warriors - bone 1

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my #Tyranid Warriors. Boy, did I forget how tedious this part can be! It's not really hard, but it takes a while to do each one and sometimes it can be fiddly.

To help with my motivation I've kept a progress log - just keeping track of what I achieve in a painting session. There's no pressure, but it's handy to see I painted the bone on 2 Warriors in a sitting, for instance. 

Then I know what I can do in the next sitting, or if I'm energised maybe do 3, or tired 1 and a bit. Of course I'm still mindful that there's 9 of these to do, so I'm always thinking about how many are left and if I've completed the bulk of them or not.

The Lashwhips are untouched as yet. I'm not sure when I'll tackle them in the process but I'm both excited and apprehensive about them.

My existing 4 updates were also brought up to scratch.

I had some doubts about why I was doing this initially but I think now it was the right thing to do, well there's certainly no going back.

But I think it'll look really impressive having them all painted to the same standard at the end.

The funny thing is 10 sounded like quite a big brood, or collection of broods, but now it seems like more would be necessary - not that I want to buy, or even paint anymore right now.

Should I need to scratch that itch I can revisit my kitbashed Hive Guard, to fix the frosted varnish at the very least. There's 4 of them that could do with a repair. Then I'd be looking at Termagants... there's at least 30 that are old skool and in need of a refresh. Plenty to keep me occupied for now though.

'nids part 324 - Tyranid Warriors - washes

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my #Tyranid Warriors. Right now I'm reminding myself I get a huge amount of satisfaction from the creative side of the hobby as the gaming aspect is leaving a lot to be desired.

I can't quite recall how long I've had these Warriors in my pile of shame. I think they were from a couple of ebay purchases. I remember vividly two auctions I won one time commuting home from work on the train. The auctions literally ending as the train is pulling into my station and I'm watching the bids to see if I was sniped at the end, but won.

I'd have guessed that was around 5 years ago, but with COVID skewing time up it's probably more like 7 or 8! Outside of a Hive Tyrant, 4 Lictors, 3 Warriors [I'm still debating turning into Shrikes] and all my Genestealer cult stuff [including my Space Hulk stealers and 13 purestrains] this represents the last of my purchased Tyranids!

As I've mentioned I fancy a Maleceptor and probably need a Zoanthrope/Venomthrope box to fill out minimum respective broods. But I can't really justify the costs and I've plenty figures I can painting to scratch that particular itch of the hobby.

After the 5 new Warriors comes the 4 upgrades to current painting standards [plus Spore Mine]. 

For the most part I've covered most of the original paint, very little of the Bone has been left unwashed, although I have left it in places. The glossed talons and claws have been left, hopefully and additional coat of gloss varnish will be sufficient,

There's also a subtle difference with the bases of the 3 on the right, as I originally used VGC Bronze Fleshtone for the highlights and now I use the Docraft Pumpkin [which I need a new pot of].

I don't think it makes too much of a difference and less so when all of the miniatures are synced up

Altogether the 9 Warriors and 2 Primes look like quite an impressive force on my display shelf. Even before any of the highlights it's a pretty grimdark army. Reaffirming my view that with a fraction more care they could be left at this stage. Of course I knew there were other layers to come so I can hide all sorts of mistakes - there's still Red Oxide overspray on some of the legs that I'm banking on adding more texture to the basecoats and shading when the highlights go on.

'nids part 323 - Tyranid Primes - washes

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on these #Oldhammer Tyranid Warriors, which I kitbashed and painted 11 or 12 years ago now. Having upscaled and repainted their bases to 50mm it was time to wash the model now that all the basecoats are in place.

I often delude myself into thinking this is the halfway point. In reality it's no more than a third of the way through. With the 2 lots of highlights on the Chitin, bone ares, red fleshy bits, black talons/claws and any special FX there's so much still left to do. 

And these elements require far more finesse, painting skill and patience than those parts painted so far it can become quite a shock to realise this isn't the 'hump day' on the project. Add to that there are 9 Warriors also being painted/updated at the same time and there is significant work yet to do.

I'd washed everything with my dubious Vallejo Sepia wash, that does leave powdery deposits like Seraphim Sepia Shade, but a second coat of Army Painter Strong Tone on the Chitin always fixes it and gives this polished finish ripe for the first turquoise highlights. I've also tried a different approach to the Lash Whip - using Bloodletter glaze over VGC Pale Flesh.

It's a new way for my to tackle pinks in my army, not necessarily a good thing but I wanted to explore a new technique. I think as there are 3 Lash Whips among the Prime and Warriors, there are sufficient number to support this new take on pinks. If I confine it to this weapon alone it might not look out of place. Anyway, just had to check my previous WiPs - it's bone highlights next.