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Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Return of Moloch: Hive Fleet Ouroboros

UPDATE: Marco Schulze/Hive Fleet Moloch lives again! You can not follow his work on his Hive Fleet Moloch Instagram profile!

As the recent White Dwarf featuring the new Tyranid releases may have caused some confusion, I thought it be best if I set the record straight about where "Hive Fleet Ouroboros" originated. You may have previously seen these kicking around the ol' bloggerino:
DOMINATRIX, CRAFTED FROM A FW HIERODULE, originally done by Hydra



They are all projects that Moloch and I have collaborated on over the years. However, compared to the photos from my slew of Hive Fleet Moloch posts, you may wonder about the shift in colour scheme from the Moloch reds and blacks. Well, these were certainly all painted by Moloch, and they mark a shift in his Tyranid evolution that took place shortly after the release of the fourth edition Tyranid codex. 
If you happen to own a copy of Forgeworld's Anphelion Project book, you may notice that this Ouroboros scheme looks familiar. I can no longer remember if Moloch came up with the scheme specifically for the book, or if he was already trying it out before the book. Regardless, the fact is that Moloch was approached by Forgeworld to paint up some Tyranids for the Anphelion book, and he elected to do them in this new Ouroboros scheme. While Forgeworld painters took care of the actual Forgeworld models, Moloch fleshed out the ranks of the Anphelion force with creatures like Carnifexes, gaunts, and Genestealers, and they featured in cinematic spreads like these:


However, Moloch was determined to hang on to the models he'd painted for the project, and they formed the beginning of his next fleet: Hive Fleet Ouroboros!

STANDARD MOLOCH SENSE OF HUMOUR: EAT THE CHILDREN!

 A BEEFY TYRANT GUARD

THE MAGGOT TYRANT AND FRIEND

Hive Fleet Ouroboros went on to score as many Golden Demons (if not more than) Moloch's previous fleet, including awards for the following Shrike squad and the hilarious "Shoot the Big Ones!" duel:


Whereas the previous Hive Fleet Moloch seemed to focus on some simple conversions to make the most of the existing models, with Hive Fleet Ouroboros, Moloch seems to have twisted his creatures even further. One example of this is his Taloned Horror that was created for a special campaign weekend:


He's also kept up his love for the big bugs with this dramatically posed Trygon...which he had ready remarkably soon after the plastic kit was released... ;)


And, though the lasting home of Hive Fleet Moloch and Hive Fleet Ouroboros here on the web may be down temporarily, there shouldn't be any doubt that Moloch is still out there, assimilating new strains and folding them into his new hive. Here are just a few of his more recent projects:

 
A RAVENER STAND-IN, SCRATCH-SCULPTED BY HYDRA AND INSPIRED BY THE VERY REAL BOBBIT WORM 

HIVE FLEET OUROBOROS' SWARMLORD

Pretty creepy and crawly, eh? However, if these newest bugs have got you in a tizzy, fear not for the Moloch provides protection as well, particularly in the form of GIANT, BUG-HUNTING ROBOTS that stomped their way to Gold in the 2009 Games Day Canada Golden Demon >:)


Yep, Moloch was responsible for that one, too.

2 comments:

  1. >I can no longer remember if Moloch came up with the scheme specifically for the book, or if he was already trying it out before the book. <

    For history`s sake here`s the bloody truth: Forgeworld asked me to come up with an autumn-like color scheme and they had two examples done in the typical Forgeworld schematics, one in a reddish bown/creme and the other in green/creme. I decided to tackle the latter and the first try nailed it. Back then I my idea was that the faded, bleached colour scheme offers an approach that hadn`t been seen before and gives the `nids an otherworldly ghostly hue in certain lighting conditions. Still like the scheme...

    ze Moloch
    (did I ever thank you enough for keeping all of this alive here ?)

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    Replies
    1. You did not, but you can certainly do so now >:)
      I had to do it when I saw someone say that you could paint Hive Fleet Moloch any colour you wanted. It triggered me HARD.

      Thanks for contributing the history!
      I hope one day that you can have the drive to get up your own re-do of hivefleetmoloch.com for history's sake.

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