Hive Fleet Apophis

[Dezmord]

Hello again, fellow warseers!

It's me (again) with another army and another log. You might already know my other work/armies from my various logs - so you might also know, that I'm always sorely tempted to start a new army when I finish the previous one...

There are several reasons for this:

1. I take as much pleasure from painting/converting as I take from playing
2. Themes/ideas for painting new models/armies always start popping up in my mind when one of my other projects reaches completion
3. I encounter optical features in armies, that I'd like to work on

In 2001 my brother and I bought a Tyranid battleforce and a hive tyrant. Our painting skills were mediocre at best, as was his interest in the overall hobby. He quit with 40k (and fantasy) a year later and we sold the Tyranids soon after, as I started disliking the models and the crappy paintjob.

With the new codex this year and some new models available, a friend of mine (who normaly runs CSM) and I decided to give the Tyranids another try. We decided on separate armies with similar colours, so that they might look like part of the same Hive. The original plan was, to meet for a painting session once a week or every two weeks - which didn't work out (because of different schedules) as well as we thought. We will still try it, but I've developed a second plan: I'll try to paint 500 points every month - that shoulöd leave me with enough time to still work on my Daemons (which are nearing completion).

Here are the first 500 points I'd like to paint 'til the end of april:

1x Hive Tyrant (wings, BS/LW)
2x Zoanthropes
10x Gaunts
3x Warriors (1x VC)

As we started painting a month ago, I alreday have 6 Gaunts done (no. 6, the test-Gaunt, is missing in pic):



Tell me what you think!


BTW: The name "Apophis" refers to egyptian mythology: The great snake Apophis tries every day to devour the sungod Ra and to plunge the world into darkness - I wanted the Tyranids to look quite dark and menacing, as if they were adapted to fight and carmouflage themselves in perpetual twilight.

[Ganymene]

It's always enjoyable to see another log by you Dezmord. Tyranids were my first army, so I'd love to see what you can do with them.

I like the dusky colors. The highlights on the carapace look as though they are being hit by moonlight and I think the blue skin goes with it nicely. Are you aiming for a limited palette (blues and grays) for the whole army, or are the larger creatures going to sport brighter colors?

Looking forward to seeing this army progress!

[Elazar The Glorified]

Well these first Gaunts look brilliant. Your minis never disappoint Dezmord, will enjoy watching this army grow. Nice name for them, gives a great theme for the army that your colour scheme matches nicely. Looking forward to the Zoanthropes in particular as I think they're awesome minis!

[bigcheese76]

I really really like that paint scheme. There is just something about those cool blues and how they tie in really well with the carapace that I just love. Really excellent scheme and very well executed.

[Kriegschmidt]

If this is an April Fool's joke, I'll be miffed!

I love the look of those already, but then again, based on your evident painting skills I would have been surprised if I hadn't

They look like they would look very menacing both in daylight and in the dark; good choice of colours and expertly applied as usual.

[Nicho]

Looks sweet mate cool name aswell

[SevenSins]

If this is an April Fool's joke, I'll be miffed!

I love the look of those already, but then again, based on your evident painting skills I would have been surprised if I hadn't

They look like they would look very menacing both in daylight and in the dark; good choice of colours and expertly applied as usual.

I agree with Krieg on all points

interesting colorscheme

[Toschenko]

Wow, those gaunts are mighty fine!

I don't visit this part of the project logs forum too often, and missing logs with minis painted that well is what I deserve . Now I'll put this to an end

Subscribed, I'll follow your progress with interest

Toschenko

[Dezmord]

Wow, that's quite a lot of positive feedback for just some humble Gaunts! Thanks a lot!

Seems like you all like the scheme and name.

@Ganymene:

Are you aiming for a limited palette (blues and grays) for the whole army, or are the larger creatures going to sport brighter colors?

Yes, I'd like to limit the colours to create a more swarmlike feel.

@Elazar:

Looking forward to the Zoanthropes in particular as I think they're awesome minis!

Guess what was one of the first minis I bought for the 'nids?

@Kriegschmidt:

If this is an April Fool's joke, I'll be miffed!

Painting is too serious a busines to joke around with

Good to see that this army seems to be interesting - and I'm more than happy to have the feedback-team of my other logs in here as well

[Dezmord]

Right after I had painted the Gaunts, I started a Warrior which I finished this afternoon. Here he is:

[Dejay]

They look fantastic. The highlights on the carapace look natural, and I think the bone weapons work really well.

[Oktober]

Great paint scheme! I can imagine them fighting in a snow world or something...

[The Laughing God]

The colors really compliment each other nicely. The carapace looks great too, I seem to be the only one who has trouble getting the striping effect to look good.

Looking forward to seeing your work on the larger bugs.

[Nocturn]

Hey mate :-),

ok that is no april joke haha :-), seems to be the right thing here ;-)
The highlighted blue on the flesh looks very striking, well done Dez.
Making the nids look lively is a difficult thing but you managed it :-)

Will there also be some convertions in the army or just the normal stands?

Noc

[Dezmord]

Looking forward to seeing your work on the larger bugs.

...and there will be at least 5

Will there also be some convertions in the army or just the normal stands?

I'm planning on 3 conversions so far: a winged Hive Tyrant, a Tyrannofex and a Tervigon - I already have plans for all three

[Ganymene]

Nice Warrior Dezmord, he looks great!

How many highlights did you use on the carapace? It looks like black, then three shades of gray. I was thinking about eventually re-painting my Tyranids and wanted to do a similar carapace style.

[Dezmord]

How many highlights did you use on the carapace? It looks like black, then three shades of gray. I was thinking about eventually re-painting my Tyranids and wanted to do a similar carapace style.

Spotted correctly. I tried severakl mixed and darker shades of grey on my test-Gaunt, but decided againts it. The reasons were, that it got to dark and took to long to always mix the colours. I decided on an easier way, which means that I searched for three shades of grey that can be applied straight out of the pot: 1. Adeptus Battlegrey, 2. Codex Grey, 3. Fortress Grey.

[ASSASSINAWOKEN]

I like your color scheme very much. Would you mind sharing a bit of your blue flesh recipe?

I use straight Citadel Adeptus battlegrey as the flesh color, but I would like to know how I can possibly achieve the look you have been able achieve with your miniature's flesh.

Thanks and great looking miniatures.

AA

[Dezmord]

I like your color scheme very much. Would you mind sharing a bit of your blue flesh recipe?

No problem. Here's the recipe:

1. Paint flesh with Asurmen blue
2. Highlight flesh with a mix of Regal Blue/Bleached Bone (80:20)
3. Highlight flesh with a mix of Regal Blue/Bleached Bone (60:40)
4. Highlight flesh with a mix of Regal Blue/Bleached Bone (50:50)
5. Mix a small drop of Regal Blue with lots of water and apply as a wash over all flesh parts
6. Very selective highlight with Regal Blue/Bleached Bone (40:60)

[ASSASSINAWOKEN]

No problem. Here's the recipe:

1. Paint flesh with Asurmen blue
2. Highlight flesh with a mix of Regal Blue/Bleached Bone (80:20)
3. Highlight flesh with a mix of Regal Blue/Bleached Bone (60:40)
4. Highlight flesh with a mix of Regal Blue/Bleached Bone (50:50)
5. Mix a small drop of Regal Blue with lots of water and apply as a wash over all flesh parts
6. Very selective highlight with Regal Blue/Bleached Bone (40:60)

Thanks for the recipe. Not I am trying to figure out if I can modify it to what I use.

Steps two 2,3,4 and 6 are easy to follow. I didn't notice you started with a wash as a foundation for your flesh, where I started with a foundation color for a foundation for my flesh. I think Codex Grey would be my next lightest color from the citadel line.

Quick link to adeptus battlegrey

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/ca...dId=prod800896


I have tried washing badab black or delvan mud on adeptus battlegrey, but I have yet to produce a desired effect. Perhaps lighting the flesh slightly and then washing the flesh may turn out better.

Any thoughts?