Warhammer 40K: Tyranid Termagants Part 4

While preparing for the Genestealers, I had a few termagants painted as a test subject for the possible colour scheme should I decide to start a Tyranid army for W40K. I'll probably go with possibly Hive Fleet Tiamat (Blue/Purple) as they were supposedly the scheme which the genestealers in most of the Space Hulk video games were from.



First Two Prototype



 Unit 1

This unit was painted based on a method I read up in Mini War Gaming's post. The carapace was glazed with Guilliman Blue after layered with Celestra Grey. The glaze does not seem to apply well as seen above. However, it does give an pattern to the carapace of the termagant. Main body is layered with Genestealer Purple.

Unit 2

Same as above with the glaze applied after layering with Macragge Blue instead of Celestra Grey.

Unit 3

This unit suffered from poor priming with Bosny's Flat White which resulted in loss of some facial details. The carapace is layered with Macragge Blue and the edges drybrushed with Calgar Blue. Exposed body parts are layered with Genestealer Purple. Gun is layered with Ushbati Bone and washed with Nuln Oil. This unit, as you will probably noticed, was painted in the same time and scheme with my very first genestealer.

Unit 4

Also another unit disfigured from poor priming. If you have a suggestion on an alternative whites to use other than Citadel's, do let me know. Like unit 4, this unit was painted together with genestealer 2 and 3. Layered with Xereus Purple before being washed with Carroburg Crimson. Carapace is then layered with Macragge Blue and drybrushed with Calgar Blue. Exposed parts are layered with Genestealer Purple. Gun, like before, was layered with Ushbati Bone. Forgot to wash it.

 

Warhammer 40K: Tyranid Termagants Part 3

I have yet to find the right colour paint style for my Blue/Purple colour scheme. Hence I decided to get myself another box of termagants basic set to try out.

While exploring the web, I came across a cool design by another user.
Introducing ServvsUmbrarum's Hive Fleet Defaeco

His method of primarily drybrushing got me to try it on my own.

Nowhere as good as his but certainly a very cool way of painting the minis.

Paint Used:
-

Next step:
- More Termagants

Warhammer 40K: Tyranid Termagants Part 2

Got the other two completed with the Hive Fleet Behemoth (Blue/Red) and Leviathan(Purple/White) colour scheme.

Both plates were done in the same matter as in my previous post.

Hive Fleet Behemoth
- Mephiston Red for the main body with Nuln Oil wash
- Armour plates layered with Abbadon Black followed by wet Macragge Blue for the lining
- Ceramite White for the gun with Nuln Oil wash

Hive Fleet Leviathan
- Ceramite White for the main body with Carroburg Crimson wash
- Armour plates layered with Genestealer Purple then washed with Carroburg Crimson wash then lined with Genestealer Purple
- Mephiston Red for the gun with Nuln Oil wash

I have decided that I made a mistake with the earlier attempt to create Hive Fleet Tiamat (Blue/Purple), so I decided to work with Red/Purple as seen above.
- Genestealer Purple for main body then washed with Guilliman Blue
- Armour plates layered with Mephiston Red then washed with Guilliman Blue
- Ceramite White with Nuln Oil wash for the gun

 

Hunting party ready for action!

 

Here's a quality comparison between both the earlier poorly primed model with the current one.

1st Leviathan. Notice the quality loss on the fangs

2nd Leviathan. Details are retained from good priming

Fang detail comparison with 1st Leviathan. This is how it should have been

Nest Step:

- Lacquering

 

The Hobbit Starter Set Part 2

Finally complete the other two goblins.

In case you are wondering, the 2 right most are the final units I just completed. The left 3 is glossier since I lacquered it with Bosny Clear Coat.

Warhammer 40K: Tyranid Termagants Part 1

(Trouble with blogging is that consistency is a requirement. I am actually someone who is lazy in record keeping and prefers to just go with the flow in my projects especially when the key reader is myself. Anyway, here is something that I have prepared for a very some time but delayed in posting it for lack of the proper flow.)

With plans to pimp my Space Hulk card game and the fabulous expansions that comes with it, I got myself a copy of the basic Termagants as a test subject for my painting experiments.

Starting off, I found that not all Termagants are a perfect fit. In fact, the mold is constructed that each halves are to be fit on a 1 to 1 basis. And here I was expecting for possible swap. Probably which is why 2 pieces ended up with glaring gaps when joining each other. This gives me a chance to test out the Liquid Green Stuff which I recently bought. And interestingly, my pot had actually dried up even before opening it!

Thanks to my lazy bones, I tried adding water in an attempt to activate the green stuff (forget the liquid part). The stuff does get dissolved (with plenty of water) and it is then ready to use again. I started with a small amount and found that it does not flow into the recess easily. The best method to use it at this stage, was to use it as a putty replacement (not that I have used putty before). Somehow it works and the mini is ready for priming. Make sure your brush is loaded with water if you are using Dried Green Stuff!

Dried Green Stuff doing it's work

I primed 3 of the termagants black (since the other two were undergoing repair works as seen above, they were primed white as a test)

The first termagant was a to be a purple/blue scheme based on the original genestealers from Space Hulk. Base layer of Macragge Blue followed by Genestealer Purple on some parts of the carapace based on painting technique (http://thetyranidhive.proboards.com/thread/38555). It is a very interesting technique which is not easy to pull on a smaller unit like the termagants, but possible.

 

Somehow, after painting this, I realised I screwed the blue/purple scheme up. Time to take a step back and see what needs to be done.

In the mean time, I had a little accident with my 2 repaired termagants where the spray from the Bosny White spray turns out to be a little too thick for the model that the details of the teeth disappeared. I attempted to use nail polish remover (acetone) to remove whatever excess build up from the spray.

 

So comes the big question: How to fix? The first answer was obvious. Hive Fleet Kraken!

 

Body plate is painted with Mephiston Red while the main body is done with Ushbati Bone. Both is then washed with Agrax Earthshade. I actually liked the tone for this model despite the poor priming. In fact, I find the poor priming adds some improvement in the texture of the model.

 

The second piece was made to emulate Hive Fleet Leviathan's purple/white combo. The result, as seen above. Plates painted with Genestealer Purple/Macragge Blue while the whites are Ceramite White (until time of writing, I still have no luck getting White Scar). The shading of the plates is done by layering with Macragge Blue then a wet layer of Genestealer Purple coating the edges and dragged to the top., in the same manner as the first termagant above.

At the end of the day, 2 units complete, 1 unit prototyping partially done and 2 more to go.

Nest Step: 
- 2 remaining Termagants

Warhammer 40K Paint Set Part 2

Got myself this box when I picked up Jokaero Orange in my last run. Certainly a good box to get if you want to fiddle around with painting techniques. I do not really have any techniques to test in mind when I got this except to test out the effectiveness of the recently purchased Bosny White paint which I intend to use as a primer for my Robotech Tactics. The spray does give the units a slight shine after the paint job, for some reason. However, it seems that the paint may be a little too thick. Some minor details seems missing if compared to the older models.

The other method I tested was painting yellow by layering Lamenters Yellow over white surface. This certainly gives an interesting result as seen in Blue team with the grey base below. I ended up using this method, followed by a Nuln Oil wash, to paint all the emblems including the purity seals.

Shoulder pads were lined with Abbadon Black

 

Next Step:
- Faction insignia of the new units. Not sure if I can try stenciling it.

The Hobbit Starter Set Part 1

After painting most of the W40K basic, I decided to try something that requires slightly more details. Enter The Hobbit Starter  Set.

The idea of this getting this set was to practice more on painting fine layer/details that I foresee doing more in the future. Plus it gives me a wider variety of paint if compared with getting the Warhammer Fantasy Paint Set as 3 colors inside are already available in the 40K set.

The set, like the 40K set, comes with 8 different paint, 5 goblins with stand and a Citadel starter brush. This time around, the paints inside matches those listed in the paint guide.

Unit 1,2 and 3 - Initial work

In my previous post, I was working on using different color base. The reason, as I am told, is that it gives a slightly different tone on the end result. I probably do not have an eye for such detail. On the less, I Unit 1 was painted using Abaddon Black as the primer. Unit 2 was using Ceramite White as the primer while Unit 3 does not have any primer applied.

From Left: Unit 2, Unit 1, Unit 3

This paint set has a lot of freedom to interpret how you decide to apply the wash on the miniatures. I had a hard time trying to paint exactly as in the guide which resulted in over washing on most parts as you see above if compared to the ones in the picture below. Obviously, I need to work more on my layering techniques. Perhaps the idea of diluting the paint and using a palette is something I should really consider.

Images from the back cover. Vastly different and tidier than mine.

Next step: 

- Paint units 4, 5 and Aragon

- Try drybrushing units 1,2 and 3 to reduce the over wash effect

- Get a palette for fine lining