so funny i had to share it

http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/sledgehammer_explosives

[Orks] Waaaagh! Nobrot!: Weirdboyz

Hey all,

I'm getting more regular with these so I'm trying to get through the units in the army and the remaining units that I don't have models for, I'll try and buy, converted and play with to give my opinion on.

Last article I covered the Big Mek HQ choice, so it makes sense this time to cover the remaining HQ  - the Weirdboy.

Weirdboy Gazzar with a stolen Chaos Sorceror Staff and Warbiker Waaaagh Mask!

A lot of people look down on the Weirdboy, and in some ways, rightly so as by taking him as the HQ choice you lose out on certain options, such as Nobz as troop choices (and scoring units) along with the combat power from your Warboss. Then the Kustom Force Field ability, Deff Dredz as troops to free up your Heavy Support options and the ability of Leadership boosting in your Elite units.

However, you have to look at the Weirdboy from a different point of view. True he doesn't allow you to take some units as Troops. True he can't lead from the front. True he doesn't have access to cool special equipment. The thing he does do well though is support your big units of Boyz, which every Warboss should be using, albeit quite randomnly.

The random element of his powers can come in handy, catching opponents off their guard each turn, but can also be frustrating to the Ork player, not knowing what will happen and not being able to plan around that. So the simple thing is... don't plan around the Weirdboy, let him add to your plans, but reduce the risk by always upgrading the Weirdboy to a Warphead!

Let's have a look at his psychic powers and we'll see why....

'Ead Banger
S6, AP3, Blast, Pinning - sounds good - but it's resolved on yourself... This is the 'downside' Psychic ability, giving you a second risk on top of your psyhic test. If you're clever and have put your Weirdboy into a squad of Boyz that are spaced out well enough, this isn't so bad. But in a smaller unit of Nobz or other Elite Orks, it can be a nightmare. Not to mention the fact it will cause pinning and damage the Weirdboy.

Frazzle
The same as 'Ead Banger, but you get to target an enemy unit. Being a blast weapon really helps the Weirdboy with his shoddy Ork ballistic skill. This is a good power to throw at a Marine squad, deny them the armour and if you're lucky, you could take out half the squad, leaving the remainder an easy target for your Boyz squad.

Zzzzap
A souped up Lascannon with the Melta special rule - excellent... but it does have a downside. First of all, the shoddy ork Ballistic Skill, meaning the chances of you actually hitting it aren't so great. But also, if you're leading a big Mob of Boyz, they then all have to shoot and assault said vehicle. Can be handy if said Vehicle is a Rhino and you can snap through it, but if it doesn't come off, you're a bit stuck there... It's also pretty good for Monstrous Creature bashing, or targeting independent characters on bikes.

Warpath
This is THE power you want when leading a 30 strong Slugga Boyz mob. An extra attack per model, meaning your Weirdboy, Nob and the other 29 Boyz are looking at over 125 attacks on the charge. Nothing is likely to stand up to that.... It's extremely handy, you just don't really want to get it too early in the game. Not much use having +1 attack in the first turn with nothing to assault.

'Ere We Go
A very handy power, in that you can Deep Strike (along with unit) anywhere on the board. Comes in really handy at getting either to an objective with a foot slogging mob in a late turn, or going for a Turn 2 assault with said mob, by using this in Turn 1, weathering the incoming fire, then going for it after that. However, this power can be extremely frustrating if you don't want it to happen. In one game I sat with the Weirdboy protecting my home objective, with his 20 strong Shoota mob, then rolled this ability. I tried to then Deepstrike them close by so they could try and get back, scattered off the board and ended up being placed by my Opponent, away from the objective and right near his troops for the next (and final) turn. Bad times!

Waaagh!
A free Waagh move can come in extremely handy, albeit not so much now in 5th edition where Run moves are optional, but never underestimate in a late game turn being able to inch that bit closer to an assault, just to guarentee you get in and contest or wipe out the unit.

My first Weirdboy - Weirdboy Gutrotta doing his very best Hamlet impersonation, and his Grot assistant, Smasha!

 Conclusion
Personally, I'd always ensure he's at the heart of at least a 20 strong Boyz mob, the Weirdboy benefits from the Mob Rule, meaning he's going to pass his psychic test the majority of the time. As I said previously, I'd always make him a Warphead, having the re-roll against Frazzle or swapping the Deep Strike move for something more situational is invaluable.

I don't tend to use the Weirdboy much nowadays, in my Snotling days as a Warboss, my original army was formed around him and a Warboss, leading foot slogging mobs of 30. He does have his place, you just need to work to limit the random factor and accept that he isn't a Warboss or a Big Mek.

[FAQ] 5th Edition Rulebook FAQ

Busy week for the FAQ'ers at GW it seems, they've now given us a 5th Edition FAQ which can be found here: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m2030054_FAQ_40Krulebook_Feb2010.pdf

Have a read through and see if you can spot anything tasty!

A good clarification for my Burna Boyz and their Battlewagon:
Q. Must passengers fire at the same target that
their vehicle is firing at?
A. No, they are a separate unit (albeit they are
temporarily co-existing with the vehicle) and so
can fire at a different target.

Peace out,
SB.

[Orks] Updated FAQ

Well, well, well... the Deff Rolla debate has been settled once and for all by an updated GW FAQ for the Orks.

Q. Can you use the Deffrolla when Ramming
vehicles or does it only work when Tank
Shocking non-vehicle units?

A. The death rolla does indeed inflict D6 S10 hits
against vehicles, as Ramming is just a type of
Tank Shock.

Best 20pts spent in the Ork army!

The full updated FAQ can be found below, although it seems like that's the only (very necessary) clarification: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m970066a_2010_Orks_FAQ
 

There should also be a Nid update on the way :)

Peace out Battlewagon fans!

SB.

[HOBBY] The New Boys Pt 4

After a long period of inaction because of lack of money and lack of batteries for my camera (which ended up taking terrible pictures anyway) I have returned with a few pictures and short stories about 6 of my Sternguard.

Firstly, I apologise for the Quality of the pictures, they were taken on my Fiances phone, the best camera we have at the moment, I will post better ones in the future.

First up on the left we have Sergeant Jarvis and on the right is Buck

Sergeant Jarvis, usually refered to as Sarge for ease in battle is a Veteran of many raids. He favours plasma weaponry and often uses the Vengance rounds created by Cogs (the techmarine who is yet to be built) and a plasma pistol that he has aquired from past victims. He favours obliterating his foes leaving just a pile of ash. Sarge is vicious in battle and leads his Squad fearlessly into any combat.

Buck, is the newest recruit and hasn't earnt his Skull Honours yet, the equivilant of terminator honours in a standard chapter. Buck rose quickly through the ranks of his fellows and his skill with a bolter, where his nickname comes from, led him into the Forsaken Guard (Sternguard) squad. His shots are nearly always on aim and he is adept at keeping his targets alive long enough to take their still living skulls.

Next up we have Bones on the left and Roth on the Right

Obviously Bones isn't his real name, however, he has been fighting for so long that he doesn't remember his own name. Bones is the tactical department in the chapter and the only reason he hasn't raised higher is because he has refused every attempt to be "promoted". He knows that the Sergeants and Captains are always the first to be shot at when people can. Bones now tends to the Chapters dead and wounded much like an apothecary though he follows a more ritualistic way.

Roth is the second newest recruit in the Forsaken Guard and was very pleased when Buck turned up to take his old place. Roth is a scavenger and always has been even before being made into a Space Marine. His bolter is of archaic make along with his Chest armour, anything shiny is soon taken by Roth.

Lastly we have Drustos on the left and Attilas on the Right

Drustos is the squads main Vox operator and the Chapter rely on him to maintain their communications. Drustos aspires to be just like Cogs (the techmarine) and follows him around when not at war. There isn't much more to say about Drustos he is a quiet man and he will fight stoically and to the end.

Attilas is the chapters soon to be Chaplain, he also shows a large amount of psychic potential however that is completely normal for this Chapters Chaplains. The Forsaken Brotherhood do not have any Librarians instead their Chaplains maintain their beliefs of the Emperor in his Bloodthirsty state slaking his thirst on the blood of the heretic and Daemon and fight with his will manifest in their destructive powers.

For now that is it, I am currently building some Warmachine models and attempting to build one of my Tactical squads.

If you want to follow my other Blogs on this topic you will find them and the links to previous ones here http://maws40k.blogspot.com/2010/01/hobby-new-boys-pt3.html

Primarchs

Just though I'd post an open question. Who is your favorite primarch and why???

We have a choice from....

Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels

Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor's Children

Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors

Jaghatai Khan, Primarch of the White Scars

Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves

Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists

Konrad Curze, Primarch of the Night Lords

Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels

Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands

Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters

Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines

Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard

Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons

Horus, Primarch of the Luna Wolves

Lorgar, Primarch of the Word Bearers

Vulkan, Primarch of the Salamanders

Corax, Primarch of the Raven Guard

Alpharius, Primarch of the Alpha Legion

[Orks] Waaaagh! Nobrot!: The Big Mek

Hey all,

I figured to celebrate the fact there's 2 new awesome Ork plastic sprues coming out (Deff Dred and Killa Kans) I'd go a bit Mek-tastic on this article while I have a spare few minutes.

So basically, the first question is why take a Mek? - An even better question would be why would you NOT take a Mek?

They are ultimately, a support HQ, as opposed to the direct in-your-face combat threat of a Warboss. They allow you to free up a Heavy Support choice in the form of a Deff Dred, but also let you access 2 pretty cool pieces of kit in the Kustom Force Field and the Shokk Attack gun.

The Mek is pretty decent in close combat, although he is effectively just a standard Nob, so don't expect him to be going toe to toe with the big hitters, but he can add a fair punch in a unit of Burnas, Shoota Boyz or Lootas.

First off, lets look at each piece of Wargear the Mek can take, then look at how to use him in a list.

Wargear:
The standard loadout every Big Mek should be toting is 'Eavy Armour, Bosspole and Cybork body, same as your Warboss (minus the Attack squig). After this, it depends what you need the fella to do...

Kustom Force Field
Without a doubt, the best 50pts you will ever spend in an Ork army list. Cover save to all your foot slogging Orks, and obscured targets to all your vehicles, within 6" of the Mek, which the distance extends from the Hull of a vehicle he is travelling in. So using a Battlewagon helps a lot!

Big Mek Rorshark - Slugga, Choppa, Kustom Force Field

I've lost count of how many times this pieces of wargear has saved my 100+pt Deff Dred or Wagon being destroyed by a stray Lascannon or Melta gun. Or how many times I've enjoy a footslogging squad of boyz shrugging off Bolter fire thanks to this.

Shokk Attakk Gun
Some people swear by this, and personally I've only ever really used it in Apocalypse games, it's way too hit and miss for any kind of competitive gaming... but for fun games it's really fun... there's nothing more enjoyable than watching a Big Mek fly across a Battlefield and assault a unit of Terminators that have just deepstriked the previous turn.

Big Mek Lugnutz - Shokk Attack Gun

At 60pts though, meaning your Mek is just over 100pts, I can see him being useful with a Squad of Lootas or with a lucky shot on a group of Terminators etc. Also, some of the double rolls are quite funny and worth it in a game for that.

Burna
Now this is the only non-Powerklaw armour ignoring CCW the Orks get, and I really, really like Burnas... maybe it's something to do with playing with Fire...

Big Mek Gubbinz - Burna

You get the option for a standard flamer, or a Power weapon striking at the same time as Space marines. I've found however, whilst he's quite useful like this... this is the sort of build that requires him somewhere with a Nob in the unit to add with the Power Klaw attacks. There've been times when the Burnas he's with get assaulted by a Dreadnaught and that's it then. Game over man!

Kustom Mega Blasta
Finally, the last piece of unique HQ wargear the Big Mek can have is a Kustom Mega Blasta, which is a souped up Assault Plasma gun, but personally with rubbish Ork ballistic skill and the option to be used as a Power weapon, I'd have the Burna any day of the week.

Big Mek Trognutz - Kustom Mega Blasta, Power Klaw

This guy I've also given a Power Klaw to, so basically, he's kitted up for smashing Terminators or heavy infantry. Which is helpful in a unit with low combat capabilities such as Lootas... or even Grotz!

Where to put your Mek?
So yeah, once you know what you want to give the Mek, where's the best place for him to go?

I like to generally ensure he's armed with a Kustom Force Field and sat in a Vehicle, giving a big 6" radius from the hull of the vehicle to my footsloggers, Walkers or Trukkz nearby.

Back him up inside either with 19 Shootaboyz, or 15 Burna Boyz, shooting and flaming as they go, with the ability to either dish out a mega-ton of shooting (the Shootaboyz) or drive-by flaming / power weapon frenzy. If I'm sticking him with the Burna boyz, I'll tend to give him a Power Klaw just to stop some Dreadnaught Tar-pit and special characters having their way with you.

I also always use him to give me access to a Troop deff Dred, meaning I can then take 2 Battlewagons AND a unit of 3 Killa Kanz. And on top of that, he can attempt to repair any vehicles that do manage to get damaged, so pretty snazzy.

Conclusion
So I think I've covered a fair bit of the best ideas for Wargear - there's other items that can be discussed, such as Mega Armour, Warbike etc. but I feel they're all a bit too orientated to the Warboss as opposed to the Mek. I'd have liked to have seen some benefit to the Mek being in Mega Armour (such as being able to take extra arms or weapons) but y'know... you work with what you have.

Any questions or feedback, then gimme a shout! :)
SB.

[Tyranids] Weapon Loadouts for Warriors and Carnifexes

Hi all, Angryman here.

Whilst I'm off work with this bug that's going round (forgive the pun) I've been reading my nid codex, as you do when your ill so i thought I'd share a couple of thoughts that have been going round my mind.





WHAT DO I ARM MY WARRIORS AND CARNIFEXES WITH????


Warriors,




The age old question, what role do I want them to fulfill? in the previous codex I used to give my warriors wings to make them a fast attack option so that would free up my elite slots for the precious carnifexes. As warriors are now troops there is no need to do this which (in my opinion) rules out winged warriors, they still have a 5+ save, couples with the loss of eternal warrior (old synapse rule) means bolter fire will destroy them.

Do you want them to be fire support or close combat? as you can no longer choose 2 sets of the same ranged weapon to make them twin-linked (i had warriors with 2 sets of devourers) then its a choice of 2 ranged weapons and pick and choose the one you shoot every turn, have them with 2 close combat weapons and a mixture of both.

Warriors come with 1 set of scything talons and a devourer as standard (coupled with the stat upgrades from previous codex makes the points increase seem less severe). This load out is basic but will cover both aspects (ranged and CC). you could take the available biomorphs and give them enhanced combat abilities but then do you spend, what are now precious points, replacing the ranged weapon and making them a combat monster? There are benefits to doing this. Give them rending claws and they can take on light to medium vehicles, give them bonesword and lashwhip and they will rip through most units (providing they get the charge) or give them a 2nd set of talons and watch them never miss a thing in combat (once the FAQ comes out and ends this debate on stacked combat abilities......but that's for different, rule bashing forums).



Giving your warriors 2 sets of ranged weapons can help too, keep the devourer and give them either a blast weapon and a high strength multi-shot weapon will help you take on horde lists, elite infantry and light vehicles.


Remember these important facts about warriors though

1. They are synapse creatures so you are going to want them near the rest of your force so either give them support or make it so no-one wants to go near them
2. They are no longer eternal warriors so massed bolter fire can take them down, even massed lasgun fire will kill them
3. They are susceptible to instant death.

Carnifexes

What role will your carnifex (s) be fulfilling? Well these guys can take a punch, take another punch, a slap in the face and still kick you back into next week. I began by asking myself the same question. What role do I want these guys to perform? like the warrior they can be geared up for assault, ranged or a combination AND a 4th choice - anti heavy armour. The fexes are able to take the big daddy versions of the warrior weapons, heavy venom cannon and the stranglethorn cannon. these can be used to hunt heavy tanks and elite / horde lists respectively. The only downside is the points cost of all this.

Being a monstrous creature they fex has the benefit of ignoring armour and rolling 2d6 +s when rolling for armour penetration so tooling them up for all out combat may not be needed as much, add to the fact they get +2 I when they charge means they will attack before power fists / claws.

The points for them have almost doubled, so what do you get for this? well you get a lot of biomorphs you would normally buy for the previous codex fex, also you come with 2 sets of scything talons for free.

Some previous incarnations of the fexes have gone, the dakka fex, re-roll hit and re-roll wound 8 shot S6 has gone. We have the new incarnation which is 12 re-roll hit S6. This is good (I'm using one of these myself) but its expensive. The god-fex, the ultimate in fex killing power has gone. Although you can buy combat biomorphs to enhance your fexes killing power it isn't worth spending the points on.

Why? I hear you ask, would you buy a fex at all when the codex has such other lovely creatures to spend your hard earned points on??? Mysetic spores!!!! thats why!!!! tyranid drop pods!!!!. Put a fex into a spore and watch the look of horror on your opponents face when this apex of tyranid killing craftsmanship drops into the middle of his army.

My personal preference for a fex is lots of high S shots, it makes this the perfect multi-role creature that performs each task so well, if it cant shoot it then it will destroy it in combat.

Remember these important facts about carnifexes

1. If outside of synapse rang then they still have to test.
2. Balance the points cost against what you want the fex to do with the rest of your army
3. JOTWW - this can destroy fexes

well its back to my sick bed now to contemplate more weapon loadouts......tyrants....hmmmm

[Orks] Waaaagh! Nobrot! Part 4: The Warboss

Morning folks, it's time to return to the world of Waaagh! Nobrot in my un-frequent series of articles. Last article, I ran through with you guys about the troop choices in an Ork army, what their uses are and how I use them in my games.

In this article, I'll discuss with you the other core choice in your army - the HQ slot, but I'll look at it on a HQ by HQ basis. This week we're looking at....

The Warboss!

Overview:

The Warboss is generally the Go-To HQ choice of the Ork army, focusing on the primary Ork fighting style of up close and personal. He'll generally be the most popular choice on the tabletop.

His benefits are a higher than standard Toughness value - meaning he's not going to be insta-killed by a stray Lascannon or Melta Gun, if for whatever reason you decide to run him on his own.

He's also got an increased S value, which when equipped with a Power Klaw means he's more than capable of crushing any Tin can vehicle that's in his way.

Most importantly to your army, is the Warboss allows you to take a Nob or Meganobz unit as a Troop choice. Meaning you're getting one of the hardest assault units in the game as a scoring unit.

In my lists, there's generally 3 builds I see as useful and each depends on a bodyguard of Nobz to assist him in his battlefield antics.

Build 1: Footslogger


Warboss Nobrot: Power Klaw, Eavy Armour, Cybork Body, Bosspole.

This guy is cheap and nasty, coming in just below 100pts which frees up more points for his Nob bodyguard.

The downside to him hitting hard though, firstly is that he's got a 4+ save, which means he's a sucker for Heavy Bolters and rapid fire weapons. And also is that he's painfully slow so he NEEDS a transport vehicle to taxi him which your options are:
1. Trukk - Fast, cheap but made of paper when people realise what the Trukk is carrying. They'll make it a priority to blow it up and cripple your Warboss.
2. Looted Wagon - Just no. Waste of a heavy support slot and also a 1 in 6 chance of losing control of it for the turn, which will probably be just when you need it.
3. Battle Wagon - Not as fast as the Trukk but a LOT more secure and you can bolt on a shedload of weapons. If you have the points, go for this and make sure they get there safely.

Build 2: Mega-Warboss


Mega-Warboss Nobrot:Mega Armour (Power Klaw, Twin Linked Shoota), Bosspole, Cybork, Attack Squig.

The Mega Warboss is similar to the foot slogger warboss in suffering from slow movement. Even more so that he is subject to Slow and Purposeful, so your next task is mitigating this.

He weighs in at over 100pts, but for that you get a pretty durable 2+ save, meaning small arms fire isn't as much a worry

For a Mega Warboss I'd say that a Battlewagon is the only worthwhile transport. You've already invested the points in the Mega Armour and want him to get there safely, avoiding the chance he's walking on foot.

Also, I personally think it's a bad idea to be putting him in a Mob of Boyz. 1 bad Slow and Purposeful roll is going to stop a full mob of Boyz thundering forward.

I rarely use a Mega Warboss, as I find he needs to be used with a squad of Meganobz to be fluffy and effective, which I'll look into in a Meganobz article at a later date. But this is a TON of points to spend on 2 units and the taxi to get them there - you're talking 400 - 500pts.

Build 3: Warbiker Boss


Bikerboss Nobrot:Warbike, Power Klaw, Cybork Body, Attack Squig, Bosspole

This guy is the staple of my list nowadays... fast moving, able to Tankhunt on his own and backed up by a unit of Nob bikers, he scares the absolute crap out of most people.

The increase in toughness means it's even harder to wound him in close combat. Against shooting he's got a 4+ armour save and a constant 4+ cover save from the exhaust clouds - combine this with a Nob bodyguard giving him Feel No Pain and you are absolutely laughing, all for a measly 130ish points.

He's definitely my favourite Warboss build, especially since I rarely use 2 Warbosses, so he is my weapon of choice.

Conclusion
Everyone has their own play-style and your Warboss choice depends entirely on that army and play-style, but personally I find the Bike Boss suits me more as his mobility and benefits from being on the bike are awesome.

Do you guys have any other Warboss tactics or loadouts you fancy sharing?

So let me know what you think guys and if you have any questions concerning the models, I'll be happy to answer them :)

SB.

[Upcoming] Battle Missions and new Releases!

So I get into work this morning, check my emails and what do I find... Battle Missions up for pre-order, released the 6th of March.

But also, 2 of the best plastic kits GW has ever released... Ork Deff Dred and 3 Killa Kans.

I've been a long time user of scratch built Killa Kans, costing me a total of about £2 each to make... however I'm thinking these new Kans are far too good to pass up, and am intending on buying a box of them to break into my standard force.

Pics below:



Also due for release:
- Plastic Venerable Dreadnaught
- Updated Imperial Guard Chimera
- Updated Basilisk (which builds ONLY the Basilisk)
- Ork Flash Git (a Collectors range style model).

If you wanna check out any of the upcoming releases, then head here: http://tinyurl.com/bdu2kw

So what are you guys expecting of Battle Missions and what do you think of the upcoming model releases?

[HOBBY] Tyranids - Painting the Swarm!

Hey all,

It's that time of the month again (no pun intended!) for the From the Warp collaborative blogpost, and the topic is... the new Tyranids!

What I thought we'd do is open up a bit of a discussion over a couple of things, first up, since we want to show some of our stuff off, I thought we'd cover how to paint Tyranids - firstly with the club's resident Tyranid monstrous Creature, Angryman, and then my attempts from starting the army a while ago (which have since been assimilated into Angryman's Nid Swarm).

Hive Fleet Behemoth


These guys are Angryman's Hive Fleet, painted in Behemoth colours and in his own words:

Spray painted chaos black, once dry I’ll paint the fleshy parts with mecrite red, touching up the carapace or any bits you don’t want red with chaos black. I’ll then use devlin mud to wash over all the red fleshy parts.

I will get Ice blue and dry brush (dip the end of the brush in the paint and wipe 99% of it off) and dry brush the carapace so that the ends and raised parts then get a light layer of ice blue.

I’ll repeat this with skull white but an even lighter dry brush on top of the ice blue one. For the eyes I’ll use snot green (just a little bit to show they have eyes) and I’ll paint the tongue in the same colour.

For the teeth I’ll paint them codex grey, then skull white then dry brush them with bleached bone. For any claws I’ll dry brush them (using the above technique) codex grey and they a very light dry brush with skull white down one edge of them. for the spine fists I dry brushed the ‘wire’ and the fist part liche purple then lightly dry brushed over that with snot green

Hive Fleet Hydra
This was at one point, and may be in the future, my personal Hive fleet, named after the Hydra as I couldn't come up with another name and it was my favourite Imperial vehicle, also a mythical creature.

It's been a while since I painted these and things may have changed but it went a little something like this:

First off, they were undercoated in chaos black and given an all over basecoat of Graveyard Earth (this was before Foundation paints).

The next step was to give the full model a wash of Chestnut Ink to shade the crevices and give the entire thing a sickly shine.

Then, the Carapace and bone areas were painted over with Kommando Khaki (if I remember correctly) and then stippled / heavily drybrushed with Bleached bone to give the effect on the Carapace similar to insects.

Teeth and claws were then rest back with Chaos Black.

Eyes, weapon tubes and anything resembling poison was painted with Snot Green.

Hive Fleet Kraken

This guy technically isn't part of a Nid swarm anymore, but I'm sure you'll see where he belongs in a couple of weeks... so apologies for the rather cropped image.

He was painted up in the style of Hive Fleet Kraken, but needing to be painted extremely quickly! So as follows:

The first step was to undercoat him in Black, followed by painting all the skin with Dheneb Stone, then the Carapace was Mechrite Red.

The tongue was painted Ultramarine Blue, and the Claws, teeth and eyes were Chaos Black.

I then washed the entire model with Badab Black wash and voila. Done.

Overall, the schemes are extremely quick to paint, since a lot of models require painting and I'm no doubt intending to carry on painting Hive Fleet Hydra colours when / if I return to the Tyranids.

I think really the key points to painting Tyranids are:

- Speed, pick a scheme thats fast to paint, but also one that allows you a bit of extra time on special / larger models. I found some things look quite good on Gaunts, but awful on the Genestealers I painted.

- Drybrushing. Drybrushing the Nids helps so much, since a lot of the weapons are compact and pulled into the body and also with not many flat areas, they pick up drybrushing really well.

- Inks / Washes. The tyranids have a lot of crevaced areas that Inking works a treat on. Also, when using inks it gives them a slimey feel, handy if you want your Tyranids to be more Space bugs than space Dinosaurs.

- Foundation Paints. When these guys were released things got ramped up significantly... anyone who painted Hive Fleet Behemoth colours before foundation paints, I take my hat off to you!

So how do you guys paint your Tyranids, or if you're not a Tyranid player, do you have any ideas on what Tyranid paint schemes look / would look good on the tabletop?

SB.