The Death of Cathar - Hive Fleet Typhon

[ManusMarines]

The shadow in my mind grows darker every day. An unspeakable horror approaches us, and soon we will be faced with certain damnation. Cities will burn. The populace will be devoured. Another massive outpost dedicated to the triumph and superiority of man will be eradicated from the galaxy.

The Hive World of Cathar does not have much time left. The fate of billions rests in the minds of the astropaths. Emperor guide their psychic messages through the great void, and pray they are answered. May the Angels of Death and the great legions of the Emperor's guard find us. May they find us quickly, before there is nothing left to defend.

They are coming.

They are here.

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Yes, this is another Tyranid log. Yes, I might be jumping on the bandwagon, but it isn't because the big-bad bugs got a new codex. (Yes, Kory, you probably saw this coming.)

This is my third log on Warseer. The other two are updated as I achieve progression on them, but I'll mainly be focusing on this log.
My other armies include:
- Ultramarines (9000+ points)
- Orks (4500+ points)
- Imperial Guard (2500+ points)
- High Elves (1250 points)
- Vampire Counts (1250 points)

You can find my Marines/Orks/Guard in the first link in my sig, and the Vampire Counts in the second.

The 'Nids have been my primary opponent since beginning 40k a few years ago. I have battled the hordes, the wall of Monstrous Creatures, and the feared Stealer Bomb. Needless to say, I've killed a lot of bugs (and been killed by a lot of bugs).

I consider myself an off-and-on painter. I get giant periods of free time where I will knock out a huge chunk of army, and I also get periods of a "I don't want to paint anything" mentality. Thus, updates will vary in frequency.
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Hive Fleet Typhon
Start Date: 2 February 2010
Updated: 25 December 2010
Estimated Point Size: 1850ish

Painting Status:
White = Purchased
Yellow = Assembled/Work in Progress
Orange = Basecoated/Painting in Progress
Red = Finished

[HQ]
- Hive Tyrant
- Tyrant Guard (1)
- The Parasite of Mortrex

[ELITE]
- Hive Guard Brood (2)
- Hive Guard Brood (1)
- Venomthrope
- Zoanthrope Brood (2)

[TROOPS]
- Tyranid Warriors (5) - 4x Deathspitter/SyTal, 1x Venom Cannon/SyTal
- Genestealer Brood (8) w/ optional Broodlord
- Genestealer Brood (8) w/ optional Broodlord
- Hormagaunt Brood (16/24 done)
- Termagant Brood (22)
- Ripper Swarms (11 Bases)

[FAST ATTACK]
- Shrike Brood (5)
- Ravener Brood (6)
- Gargoyle Brood (20)

[HEAVY]
- Carnifex - Screamer Killer
- Carnifex - Magnetized
- Trygon/Trygon Prime
- Trygon



Let the swarm begin!

[ManusMarines]

Since I have stated that I have the first two units assembled, it is only fair for me to post pictures. RAWR!

First up is the Trygon/Trygon Prime.




I assembled him as a Prime just for option's sake. He can be fielded as either. I also wanted this guy to be in an aggressive pose, Scything Talons aimed forwards, ready to devour. The next Trygon I get will be in a more relaxed, post-burrow pose.

I also knocked up a quick, easy detachment system for him. It is pretty sturdy, and will aid in the ease of transport, and especially painting.



I also assembled the Warriors. I figure this first batch will eventually be bumped up to around 5 warriors, with a possible Prime escort. I went with the Deathspitter/HVC loadout for some fire support. They will most likely be walking behind a Horm/Term screen once I get that far.


And I'm not sure why, but I love the pose for this warrior.


That is all for now! I aim to get these guys primed in the next day or so.

I also managed to find 4 Genestealers and 5 Termagaunts I had lying around from the old Battle for Macragge box. I aim to have a test scheme (or two) knocked up tomorrow night.

~Manus

[Ganymene]

Insurance money = new army, huzzah!


Those Trygons are really sweet, and for their size it is a good idea to keep them in pieces.

What colors did you have in mind for the encroaching swarm?



p.s. I did see this coming...

[ManusMarines]

Insurance money = new army, huzzah!


Those Trygons are really sweet, and for their size it is a good idea to keep them in pieces.

What colors did you have in mind for the encroaching swarm?



p.s. I did see this coming...

I am rather transparent in my "hidden" army choices.
I was being honest yesterday about the Space Wolf thing. It wasn't a subtle hint drop that I was starting 'Nids. Just coincidence.

Something purple. Perhaps a dark purple chitin with a darker brown skeleton?
I'll also be basing them as urban, most likely. They will fit in nicely as an opponent to the Cadian 173rd

[pazshadow]

For the Typhon Swarm!

jeez, I think the biggest problem the imperium may up facing is running out of cool monster names

[ManusMarines]

For the Typhon Swarm!

jeez, I think the biggest problem the imperium may up facing is running out of cool monster names

Amen to that. I had to sit down for a moment to try and think of some ancient, awesome monster to use as the name. Was going to use Scylla or Charybdis, but saw that they were both already used in the codex.

Hello, Ancient Greeks. Can we haz more cool monsters?

Test mini should be posted in about a half hour or less.

[ManusMarines]

As promised, here is the test mini for the color scheme I plan on using. Ignore the mold lines and improper construction on the gaunt, as he was put together when I first started the hobby.







I'm not sure yet if I want to drybrush a slightly lighter brown (graveyard earth perhaps?) on the skin.

Right now he is painted as follows:
Skin: Khemri Brown with a heavy Devlan Mud wash
Chitin/Carapace: Liche Purple with a Warlock Purple highlight, washed with Leviathan Purple
Hooves/Bone/Teeth/Bioweapons: Skull White/Bleached Bone mix, washed with Gryphon Sepia
Eyes/Living Weaponry: Orange
Base: (eventually) Adeptus Battlegray with a Fortress Gray drybrush

I wanted something simple enough to not destroy my painting willpower on another Horde army, but something decent enough that shows I didn't just spend 2 minutes per model painting.
Gribblies and medium sized creatures will follow this scheme. Monstrous Creatures/Characters will receive slight variants to this scheme, most notably extra markings on the carapace

Thoughts?

[Meldebious Duron]

I want a trygon.. : (

[Ganymene]

The skin is much lighter than I was imagining. I think it look good, very natural.

Even though I not a huge fan of the gun being a different color, I like the way you painted it. Being the same color as the claws really ties it in well to the rest of the model. One thing I would suggest is putting little bit of a brighter color in the center of the eyes to make them pop.

[ManusMarines]

The skin is much lighter than I was imagining. I think it look good, very natural.

Even though I not a huge fan of the gun being a different color, I like the way you painted it. Being the same color as the claws really ties it in well to the rest of the model. One thing I would suggest is putting little bit of a brighter color in the center of the eyes to make them pop.

Glad you like the scheme. It's nice to paint weaponry without a single drop of boltgun metal!

Note taken on the eyes. Perhaps a dot of yellow or an even lighter orange?


I've included some pictures of my base work for the Trygon. The large chunks of slate will be representative of crushed buildings/rock that the Trygon has demolished. The random Imperial Guard bits represent his nomming of a communications officer. Om nom nom.





Trygon and Warriors are drying from their priming as I type this!

[sCar[Sandstorm]]

omm nom nom

glad to see someone else uses that phrase for Trygs or maws

[ManusMarines]

omm nom nom

glad to see someone else uses that phrase for Trygs or maws

I tend to use that phrase a lot in my daily life...

Anyways, small update.

Just had enough time to put Khemri Brown to one of the Warriors. It's very rough...



I already see some spots that need more paint, and I still need to drill out the Deathspitter a bit more.

~Manus

[Ganymene]

Note taken on the eyes. Perhaps a dot of yellow or an even lighter orange?

Yellow would change the way the color on the eye looks overall, and I think the orange looks good.

I would test some things out, but I think your best bet would be mixing whatever orange that you used (Blazing Orange?) with some bleached bone and using it as a central highlight.



The Trygon base looks very nice, it is simple but effective. Will there be lots of bases in the army with pieces of Guardsmen on them?

[ManusMarines]

Yellow would change the way the color on the eye looks overall, and I think the orange looks good.

I would test some things out, but I think your best bet would be mixing whatever orange that you used (Blazing Orange?) with some bleached bone and using it as a central highlight.

The Trygon base looks very nice, it is simple but effective. Will there be lots of bases in the army with pieces of Guardsmen on them?

Point taken. I'll give it a whirl tomorrow.

As far as guardsmen bits, definitely on the bigger bases (and special creatures), and perhaps on some medium sized bases as well. Perhaps some stealers holding dismembered limbs (especially since my bitz box is full of limbs)

And yes, I will be repainting the "Shirt" Genestealer on my one dreadnought base to match this army color.

[ManusMarines]

Huzzah! A quick 3 hour paint job and my first warrior is complete!

The color scheme is time efficient, and pretty quality for a limited color selection (at least I think so..heh)



I need to touch up that one little spot of Warlock Purple that somehow got on his talon. Huh, not sure how I missed that. Also, what do you think about the orange tongue, and could it use a bit more definition?







And as proof of concept, here is what he looks like next to his gribbly test subject. RAWR.



I doubt I'll have much, if any painting time tomorrow, as I will be working and watching the Super Bowl. Huzzah. I aim to get the other two warriors finished this week so I can start on the Trygon.

~Manus

[ManusMarines]

Slight update today.

I haven't had much time to work on the Warriors this week, and seriously doubt I'll have any significant time to work on them the rest of the week. However, I have made some progress, laying down 2/3 of my base colors.








I hope to finish them off this weekend, if at all possible.

~Manus

[Ganymene]

I think the tongue looks fine as it is. The subtle highlights are all you really need.

That squad of Warriors should look sweet once they are all finished.

[CraftMonk]

Wow Ilike the scheme - Purple and grey/brown are a good combo.
Nice work - interested to see more!

[ManusMarines]

I think the tongue looks fine as it is. The subtle highlights are all you really need.

That squad of Warriors should look sweet once they are all finished.

The tongue is actually not highlighted at all. The fine white line on the side of the tongue is just a light trick from the picture. Perhaps I'll actually highlight it with the same White/Orange mix I used for the eyes. Definitely looking forward to completing my first unit.

Wow Ilike the scheme - Purple and grey/brown are a good combo.
Nice work - interested to see more!

Thanks for the support, CraftMonk! Glad to hear others like the scheme.

[ManusMarines]

Alright, so I unintentionally lied. I did manage to find time to paint due to usual Thursday night plans being cancelled.

In fact, I found plenty of time, and managed to finish off the rest of the Warrior brood! Huzzah!

Second Venomspitter Warrior




Venom Cannon Warrior




And finally, a big ol' happy family shot!


Yes, I realize the shovel on the VC Warrior base isn't painted, but I have remedied that. Just didn't want to retake a bunch of pics.

Tomorrow I start on the Trygon!