Waill And Roll's Wildcard Month

 It's travel sized 40k not Epic!

For this months wildcard entry I have spent the majority of my time working on Tyranid themed terrain, it's a mixture of modern terrain kits from GW, a few objective markers from the old Battle for Macragge boxed set and one sad looking burned out Epic scale Land Raider. I mounted it all on 1mm plastic discs to and most of it can serve double duty as terrain for 28mm scale games. This is the first time in years that I have had such a complete and cohesive set of terrain and I could not be happier.

Of course I couldn't go a whole month without painting some bugs too so I chased the terrain with a 3d printed Hierophant Bio-Titan and a vintage metal Screamer Killer Carnifex.

I finished up the month by test driving the new terrain with a battle between my Hive Fleet Leviathan Tyranids and the Eldar of Craftworld Saim-Hann.

Hive Fleet Leviathan prepares to cross no man's land.

The ever cautious Eldari take cover and plan their next manoeuvre.

The brave warriors of Saim-Hann find themselves outclassed by the larger Tyranid bioforms.

The Swooping Hawks ambush a pack of Genestealers.

The Battle was decided as The Tyrant and Wraithlord wrestled each other, the Tyrant enentually cracking open the Wraithbone body of the Eldar Lord.

See you next month for images of the full army and my thoughts on the project as a whole.

Waill and Roll paints some artillery (now over 2000 points total!)

 It's 6mm Warhammer 40,000, NOT Epic 40k!

Well everything has been chaotic for me since my last post, I was surprised by the early arrival of my firstborn biomass (mother and baby are happy and healthy) which I'm sure you can imagine has left me with little time to hobby. So here I am, a month late with an expansion for my 6mm 40k Tyranid force.

This month I come offering a third Hive Tyrant with lash whip, bonesword and venom cannon for 219 points. A trio of Biovores for 60 points along with six handmade spore mines, 10 points each. Next a pack of vicious Genestealers for 252 points and a Lictor, 96 points. This takes the swarm over 2000 points! a great sucess.

Shuffling around in the background looking shamefully "newhammer" I have a custom Barbed Hierodule based off a 3d print with hand sculpted additions and finally one of those newfangled 40k units the mucolid spore, here represented by a 28mm scale spore mine. Neither of these additions have points values in second edition.

I am particularly pleased with the spore mines, they are sewing pins, cut short and drilled into bases at a slight angle. I then used Vallejo Plastic Putty to apply some greebly texture.

Next month will be my wildcard entry (it's looking like terrain and a bio titan) and I shall try to get some glamour shots of the swarm so far, as a whole.

As I reflect on this project as a whole I am incredibly pleased to have a whole army that looks fairly consistent and is approching completion (I better get myself a Screamer Killer...)

There is a battle report on the horizon, Leviathan vs the Eldar of Saim-Hann.

Waill and Roll rolls some dice (1358pts)

It's 6mm Warhammer 40,000, NOT Epic 40k!

March draws to a close and as promised I have prepared a little battle report.

Before we get to that though, let's look at the fresh paint. I took March as my Leader month, so please be up standing as the Dominatrix enters the fray. This creature, the Norn Queens planetside representative is a threat so significant that she lacks rules in 40k, relegated to Epic, so she is mostly here to cast a long shadow, but she has not come alone! A pack of Tyranid warriors are at her side and they certainly will be joining battle! The Warriors, clocking in at 55 points each, add another 275 points to the roster, by 2e reckoning.

The Dominatrix is a wonderfully strange miniature with no modern equivelent to compare it to, the throne or sarcophagus on the beasts back contains a Tyranid brain beast and gives the monster the look of a funeral barge.

Battle at Chordelis Wreck Site, a Battle Report in 5 Images

The Leviathan Swarm and a Horde of Speed Freaks face off across the site of a crashed ship.

A pack of Termagants scuttle to outflank some Ork boyz seperated from the main action.

Hive Tyrants exchange fire with Ork Dreadnaughts.

Time for some ultra-violence, scything talons meet choppas

A mighty duel between Ork Warboss Ghoulgutta and Hive Tyrant

The Tyrant won the day!

And Finally a glamour shot of the encounter! Tune in next month for genestealers, Biovores and more!

Waill and Roll's whole lotta little bugs (1083pts)

 It's 6mm Warhammer 40,000, NOT Epic 40k!

>Astropathic comunication detected
>Translating
>Translating
>Translating
>Ordo Xenos report
>Tyranid Bioform codename Exocrine
>Threat level attached
>High Priority
>Emperor save you.

Well... Only hours after my last post was published I discovered a very ancient document. These incredibly low resulution images are my only evidence of rules, for 2nd edition, for the Exocrine I painted last month. This shred of paper would have been packed with the 28mm version from Armorcast Miniatures and while it is pixalated beyond all use, we can at least see that the beast was 165 points.

It's not pretty to look at, but there it is.

So, that out of the way, what's new this month?

1 Hive Tyrant with Venom Cannon, Bonesword and Lashwhip 219 points,
3 Custom Ripper Swarms 60 points,
10 Hormagants 80 points,
10 Gargoyles 160 points,
1 Trygon N/A points
1 Harridan N/A points
Total points this month = 519 points

Which, added to last months beasties brings us to a tatal of 1083 points

That's the bulk of my smaller bugs painted (excluding some Genestealers) so the coming months will shift focus to bigger monsters, titans and perhaps some terrain. Hitting 1000 points is quite a landmark so I shall also spend a portion of March on a Battle Report for my next post.

Taking a closer look at this months additions, I started with another Hive Tyrant and three more bases of Rippers.

I've always love Hormagants, I remember the old metal ones appearing in my first issue of White Dwarf as a kid and have loved every iteration of the kit that has followed. These Epic scale Hormagants are pretty big and in my opinion out of scale, but they ceirtanly have a charm. The Gaunts are followed by a Trygon, there are no rules for this one in 2e so it's just here for moral (Synapse?) support.

Last of the new additions are the air wing of this force. Ten Gargoyles and a Harridan Bio Titan.

And here's the family so far. It's looking like quite a lot of bodies, there's a lot more to come.

Waill and Roll's First Wave is Birthed. (399 points)

It's 6mm Warhammer 40,000, NOT Epic 40k!

Pict Capture of Hive Tyrant on Chordelis

> Reinforcements needed...Hab Block Maximus has fallen...

> Massive Xeno-form nesting in ruins...Bombard location...

> Swarms everywhere...current position compromised...

> Is anybody there?..

> Oh Emperor... It's...

> Ruins of Maximus occupied by gargantuan xeno womb beast...

> Birthing more of the gunner beasts, dozens...

> There's something else...

> I'm taking the shot...

> ...

> It sees me...

I can't believe we are already at the end of January and it's time to post some ShortyK progress.

In order to get a little ahead I started the month by priming and basecoating absolutely everything, it felt really good to tick off a few processes for the entire horde. The real biomass of this months painting however was the following 26 models (points values as per 2nd Edition, where possible): 

1 Hive Tyrant with Venom Cannon, Bonesword and Lashwhip 219 points, 

1 Exocrine N/A points, 

20 Termagants with Fleshborers 120 points, 

3 custom Ripper Swarms 60 points, 

and a 3D printed Tervigon with hand sculpted additions N/A points.

Total points for the month = 399

The vintage Epic40k Tyranid sculpts are a bit of a mixed bag. The plastics are almost two dimentional, reminisent of Egyptian bas reliefs, the metals on the other hand are very characterful sculpts though many of them are radically different from the modern versions of those Bioforms. This is most evident with the Exocrine, a creature that bares no resemblance to it's modern plastic version, here it is a strange bug tank, a flesh gun with seemingly no means of self propulsion. Tee Hive Tyrant on the other hand is a more direct ancestor of the modern beast, I have painted one of the three available Tyrant models, the others shall follow in future months. The Gaunts were very easy to paint and took contrast paints well, I think these Epic40k Tyranid plastics are a little oversized compared with other 6-8mm offerings from GW but that's fine by me, it makes them nicer to paint.

My Ripper Swarms are made from 40k Tyranid Toxin Sacs mounted on Legions Imperialis bases, I saw this done on Reddit a while ago so cannot take credit for the idea but I think they work really nicely. The eagle eyed amoung you may notice that the relative scale of my ShortyK bases is a little fast and loose. My Rippers are on bases that are too big, but I do not care, these are purely for my own enjoyment and this kind of base-scale-wonk is an unavoidable element of this project. Perhaps this will slightly unbalance my games? It remains to be seen.

The Tervigon is a modern 3rd party 3D print, not Old School at all! I know, I know! I'll not be using many modern minis in this project but there will be another couple in future months, I own them so they're getting painted. I had to hand sculpt an extra pair of arms and some head crests on this one in order to make it a true Tyranid.

I'm really just laying the groundwork at this stage, there's so much more to come. Next month Leviathan will be vomitting up more Gaunts, this time with airborn support.

Finally here is a cheeky Blood Angels Terminator that I am sending to Jaakko, this is my first ever Blood Angel and it feels great to tick off such a classic. Of Course I hope he will be ripped open by a Genestealer as soon as possible.

Heart of the Swarm - Waill and Roll's 6mm Swarm - Introductory Post

 It's 6mm Warhammer 40,000, NOT Epic 40k!

A base on a base on a base.
My Gaunts are magnetised and ready to rip and tear.

Hello to everyone following this blog, Waill and Roll here (real name Tom). This will be my first year taking part in the Old World Army Challange, it is intimidating company to keep but I shall do my best not to disappoint.

My project is a bit of a weird one, for a couple of years I have been using 6-8mm models, sourced from GW's extinct and extant games, supplemented by 3D printed offerings, to play "travel-sized" Warhammer 40,000. That is to say, completely normal games of 40k  subsitituting all inch measurements for centimetres. 

I have been reffering to these games as "ShortyK" but it remains to be seen if that will catch on or merely induce groans.

What does that mean for my OWAC entry? Well it means I'm going to be painting a whole lot of miniatures.

For this year's OWAC we were asked to select a piece of classic art to act as a jumping off point. As a die hard Blanche fan, I had to go with the chaotic masterpiece below. This piece is contemporaneous with the Epic 40k Tyranid range that I'll be using for the majority of this project and an absolute banger. Every pixel of this image is Tyranid, from the spore choked skies to the tooth filled landscape, even the ground is hidden beneath the tide of chitin.

Chordelis falls to Hive Fleet Leviathan. Exterminus by Virus Bombs ordered soon after this pict-capture.

So how is a 6mm army going to work for the OWAC? Well what we've settled on is each of the little guys will count as 0.2 of a full sized miniature, everything bigger, like a Hive Tyrant, counts as a normal single mini. So most months I shall be painting a full squad of ten little guys along with a handful of larger beasties. Then there's a couple of bio-titans in the mix just to keep things interesting.

I shall be refrencing this classic colour scheme from the 3rd edition Tyranid Codex. An alternative look for Hive Fleet Leviathan. I have not been able to discover if this paint scheme can be attributed to any particular GW staffer, any info on that front would be greatly appreciated.

The Swarm as it stands so far, desperately in need of a Screamer Killer and some Zoanthropes,
but there's time for that as the year goes on.

Pictured above is the horde of minis I have ammassed so far. Things of note include the hand made 6mm spore mines and ripper swarm conversions, both of which I will show off in detail when I get around to painting them. The 28mm spore mine is gallantly standing in as a 6mm Mucolid Spore (a new-hammer Tyranid unit) and finally the big guy in the back is a 3d printed  Hierophant bio-titan.

The swarm as it stands looks something like this:

1x Dominatrix

3x Hive Tyrants

5x Warriors

1x Lictor

20x Termagants

10x Hormagants

10x Gargoyles

10x Genestealers

6x Ripper Swarms

3x Biovores

6x Spore Mines

1x Exocrine

1x Mucolid Spore

1x Trygon

1x Harridan

1x Hierophant

I have a few additions planned for this force beyone what is pictured above, a few more big beasties and poptentially some Genestealer Cult minis (including a Limo?), terrain too I imagine.

For now I shall leave you to barricade your doors, Leviathan is coming...

1908 points of gribbly nastiness! - Mustafa’s wrap up post.

 

Pretty happy with how this challenge went despite not doing all the bits I’d planned.  After 6 months, I can’t complain about having close to 2000pts done :)

I did have one those big winged beasties planned, and a squad of hybrids on jet bikes too. Alas, time got the better of me and I had to make do with some easier bits.

The basic idea of this challenge was to get two armies painted up around a core of Genestealers.

Fat patriarch with his toady, magus, three squads of hybrids, and 30 Genestealers. All it needs is a couple of limousines ;)

Much more energetic and dynamic brood lord, 10 termagants, 3 tyranids, 2 biovores, 5 spores, and those same 30 Genestealers again :)

8mstill have a few bits to get done to fully round the army out, but as it stands I have enough to be playing with.

Time to get planning for next year’s challenge now. Perhaps some terminators to square off against them?

Mustafa’s GSC and Nids. Total so far 1729 points (600 points)

To make up for last month’s paltry offering I decided to pull out all the stops for May!

600 points or nastiness to bring the pain in the name of the 4 armed emperor!!!

3 tyranids with two boneswords and two spinefists each: 201 points

10 Genestealers: 280 points

1 Neophyte and  9 Acolyotes armed with,

Power Maul

Flamer

7 Autoguns

1 Melta gun

1 Plasma gun 

: 119 points

600 points

As per usual, washes and drybrushing is the name of the game. These lads are grotty and nasty, and have made no effort to look pretty for anyone!

Mustafa’s GSC and Nids. Total so far 963 points (727 points)

Rank and file month 3 

Banged out a lot this month! 28 minis to bring the army total up to 963 points!

Genestealer Patriarch 72pts

20 Genestealers 560pts

5 Spore Mines 50pts

2 Biovores 40pts

Total 727pts

I wanted to see how much I could manage using just washes and drybrushing. With all their textures, I thought that Nids would be the perfect choice to give it a try on.

First up, the Patriarch and Biovores.

The Patriarch is from the recent Space Hulk. I do have an old school metal one on a throne, but I’m saving him for the Leader month.

The Biovores were great fun to paint. Loads of lovely textures on them.

Next up, spore mines. Simple but quite characterful little minis.

Finally, the Genestealers.  Can’t have a genestealer cult without stealers! They are a mix of Space Hulk and regular ones. Don’t look too closely or the mould lines will get you!!!

And finally, a group shot of  everything that’s been done so far!

Next month will most likely be more from the nid side of the army.

Cheers :)

AdamH's Tyranids - In the jungle, welcome to the jungle! [Wrap-up post]

Well, that’s it, another challenge is in the bag. I think like a lot of challengers I find that the work I get done during these six months are by far the most productive I am throughout the year, and in fact since joining the OWAC three years ago I have painted more models than the previous 25 years in the hobby.

Anyway, here is my ugly face and my even uglier kitchen (we have recently moved, it is getting re-modelled soon), both of which I have tried to offset by the inclusion of my fluffy painting companion:

So the thing I like most about this army is the cohesive nature of it all, I feel it really does look like a swarm and despite the various bright colours they all seem to work together:

I am also shocked with how many I managed to get done, out pacing my original goals and the overlord’s minimum requirements:

I still have plenty more Nids in the box awaiting painting, I may do them for a future OWAC as it would be nice to have a fuller force and be able to field all of the available units:

So what about next year I don’t hear you ask; well I haven’t 100% decided but I am leaning heavily towards a sexy group of demon ladies. However, I do have several other forces in dire need of painting: Chaos Dwarfs, 2^nd Ed Necrons, more Skaven, more Brets, and of course more Nids. I think I will mull it over until the end of the year however will continue prepping all of the forces just in case one of them takes my fancy.

But until then my dear readers, I hope you have enjoyed this year’s challenge as much as I know all of us have. And Sam, I’m coming for you buddy! your puny Arnie rejects are going to be biomass soon enough!