Hive Fleet Tattybojangles and the invasion of Manutia

Hi All,

Angryman here. This weekend Suicide Badger, Col Straken and myself are playing a 5K apocalypse battle. Hive fleet Tattybojangles will be taking on the might of the Imperial Guard allied with the Space Wolves and the Grey Knights. I also wanted to use this opportunity to show off what I have been working on lately.

The hive fleet awakes from dormancy, it has emerged on the edges of a star system. Due to its unusually long period of hibernation it must feed or die of starvation. The fleet makes its approach to what appears to be a world teeming with life.

Upon reaching orbit the swarm gains a better look at the prey world. Manutia is all its glory.

The swarm settles into geosynchronous orbit over the continent of Portsmotia and seeks out a suitable region to land. The chosen area houses the ruins of an old Imperial outpost, partially reclaimed by Mantuia's jungles.

The swarm must conquer and feed quickly so it deploys every bio-creation left in its arsenal in order to achieve its goal.

The Swarm has deployed no less than 3 Hive Tyrants. 1 is winged and armed with 2 twin linked Devourers (with Brain Leech Worms), another is armed with a Bonesword / Lashwhip and a Stranglethorn Cannon and the last is armed with a Bonesword / Lashwhip, a set of Scything Talons and accompanied by 3 Tyrant Guards. There are also 2 Tervigons, an Alpha Warrior and the Parasite of Mortrex.

Here the hive has spawned 3 Lictors, 3 Zonathropes, 3 Hive Guard and the Doom of Malan'tai with a Mysetic Spore. These elite infantry will take a fearsome toll on the defenders of Manutia.

The Hive makes heavy use of Tyranid Warriors to guide and direct the swarm. Here we have a unit of 3 Warriors armed with 2 Deathspitters and a Barbed Strangler. There is a similar but larger unit of 4 Warriors, armed with 3 Deathspitters and a Barbed Strangler. The last unit contain 5 Tyranid Warriors, there is 1 Warrior armed with a Venom Cannon and a set of Scything Talons and the remain 4 Warriors are armed with Bonesword / Lashwhip and a Devourer.

The Hive mind knows that in order to overwhelm the defenders of the Manutia a sheer mass of numbers will be needed to expend the ammunition and destroy the morale of the defenders. Here we have 70 Spinefist Termagants and 62 Fleshborer Termagants.

To spread terror and confusion the hive relies on speed and hit and run tactics. To accomplish this goal it creates Tyranid Shrikes and Raveners. Here are 3 Shrikes with Rending Claws and Scything Talons and 3 Raveners with Scything Talons and Devourers.

In the final waves of attack the hive deploys its heaviest bio-monsters, terror weapons created solely for the destruction of its enemies. Here we have a squadron of 3 Carnifexes all armed with 2 sets of twin linked Devourers (with Brain Leech Worms), a Carnifex with 2 sets of Scything Talons and a Mysetic Spore, a Carnifex with a Heavy Venom Cannon and a twin linked Deathspitter, Old One Eye with Crushing Claws and Scything Talons. There is a Mawloc on the left and last but not least is a Trygon Prime on the right.

Here we have the swarm in all its glory, ready to devourer Manutia and its inhabitants and defenders (please forgive the picture quality).

I've been collecting, painting and modelling my Tyranid army for about 3 years now. Apart from 25 Genestealers and 25 Hormagants (which I hope to complete this week) I've got everything in my army, including objective markers painting up and ardcoated. I went for a variation on Hive Fleet Behemoths for my colour scheme. The bulk of the painting I've gotten finished in this past month ready for this weekends battle. The Hive fleet in the first picture I built using spares from my Tyranid collection. The map of planet Manutia (Suicide Badgers home planet) is my first attempt at painting Planetary Empire tiles.