GOLD for Hive Fleet Angrboda in AoP 2023

Though I wasn't able to get my display board finished in time for the international deadline for the online edition of Armies on Parade (honestly, GW, why shift the deadline from end of November to BEGINNING of November???), I DID manage to get it done in time for our local Games Workshop Toronto's Armies on Parade Day (though it was a near thing!).

10th Edition Tyranids - Unboxing and Review

 

I tend to think Unboxings to be a bit naff, but you'll permit me this one as we've been waiting for Tyranids for such a long time! In this video, I try to add a little more flavour by drawing on my decades of Tyranid knowledge to highlight what I like most about this brand new wave of Tyranid kits.

And shout out to my new editor Dwarfanage for having really burned the midnight oil to get this one out for release day! He did an amazing job!

How to Sculpt Tyranid Carapace

 Though long-time followers of the blog will know I've done a video before on sculpting Tyranid/organic armour, I took another run at it as part of my How To Sculpt Tyranids subseries. In this episode, we bulk Terry the Tyranid up with some armour plates!

10th Edition Screamer Killer Conversion with Eric's Hobby Workshop

 

Though Games Workshop did not see fit to send me any advanced Tyranid models to support the Leviathan release, I was tremendously fortunate that another hobbyist who DID receive them and was familiar with my work reached out to ask if I'd like to collaborate on a video with him. It was none other that Eric's Hobby Workshop, a pillar of the hobbyist community on YouTube and—as I learned from this collaboration—an all-around awesome dude!

This was meant to be a video about the Screamer Killer conversion I did, but what Eric wound up making of it was something far more broad about me as an artist and a Tyranid lover. I didn't know quite what to expect when Eric disappeared into his editing suite, but what he came up with FAR exceeded my expectations. I felt like he really got me—that he really SAW me. So much so that I've sent this video on to people like my mom, who knows little to nothing about 40k, because it does such an amazing job of explaining who I am within this hobby.

So I am eternally grateful to Eric on a whole bunch of levels for putting in all this time, and giving me this opportunity!

Is 3d Printing the Hobby Messiah?

I've taken a fairly old, haphazard series from here on the blog called Deepthought and transitioned it over to video format on my YouTube Channel. This was my most recent episode, where Hydra and I had some deep thoughts about the possible impacts CAD sculpting and 3D printing are having on the hobby. It's definitely a longer one, so maybe put it on in the background while you're doing some hobbying.

And here are the other episodes that I've recorded in this series:

The Hive Mind Reacts to 10th Edition Trailer

On our most recent Creature Conference Livestream with Hive Fleet Moloch and Hydra, we reviewed the beasties that were showcased in the 10th Edition Teaser Trailer. As this was our first look at a significant number of new Tyranids in a very long time, I was super eager to see what Marco and Simon thought of them.

How are you feeling about the new nids?

Breaking down Tyranid Rumours for 10th Edition

In case you've been living under a rock, Games Workshop has been heavily teasing a massive new Tryanid release with the coming Warhammer 40k 10th Edition. I made the above video breaking down which Tyranids we may be seeing in their first CG teaser trailer.

In case you're not already following me on YouTube, I also made the following videos earlier, relating to rumours for this release, and my reaction to the very first teaser. Here they are in case you find them helpful!

HOW HYPED ARE YOU about the possibility of a proper new Tyranid wave for the first time in roughly a decade??

How To Scupt Tentacles

I've got a fresh new How To Sculpt video for you on one of my most-requested topics: sculpting tentacles!

This was actually posted a few weeks back on my YouTube, so if you're not already subscribed over there, make sure to do so and get notified about all my new videos and streams: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernSynthesist/

How to Sculpt with Nivea and Lubricants

 One of the materials that has really changed the lives of people getting into sculpting with greenstuff is a proper lubricant. If you ask me, that is nivea hand cream, and I haven't looked back since I started using it!

However, people also regularly ask me if you need to wash your models after sculpting using nivea before you prime or paint them. I got so tired of repeating that NO, YOU DO NOT NEED TO WASH YOUR MODELS that I decided to do a little experiment on video to show you how well primer sticks to cured putty that's been lubricated with different materials. Here's hoping you find this helpful!

And this video was actually posted a few months back on my YouTube, so if you're not already subscribed over there, make sure to do so and get notified about all my new videos and streams: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernSynthesist

Building a Lictor Alpha or Lictor Prime (Project Deathleaper)

 The Tyranid Lictor has been a part of my hobby DNA since I started Warhammer 40k back in 1997. In second edition, I ran four of the beasts, each equipped with voltage field biomorphs, and when the Inquis Exterminatus art book was released in 2000, I fell in love with Jes Goodwin's original sketch for the Lictor.

So much so that not only was I determined to convert one of my own to match this artwork, I even felt the need to tell Jes about my plans when I met him for the first time at a Games Day Canada in the early 2000's.

That was my first-ever Tyranid conversion, and the first time I ever tried sculpting on models. I was a bit hamstrung by my materials (greenstuff was expensive and came in small quantities, so I worked with plumbers putty :P ), but I didn't make out horribly!

But that was the last work I ever did on a Tyranid Lictor for nearly two decades! The 3rd edition pewter model failed to inspire me, and though the most recent pewter/finecast edition has grown on me, never so much that I felt the need to model one. In the back of my mind, I always thought I'd get to converting my own Tyranid Lictor one day, and when I did, I'd draw on the amazing sketches from Roberto Cirillo that came out in the interim!

Fast forward to early in 2021, when someone approached me with a commission to make not one but THREE Tyranid Lictors for them, all inspired by the unique Tyranid creature known as Deathleaper.

An Honest Review of Green Stuff World

 

I posted a new video this week in my ongoing SculpTron9000 ridiculous reel series (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyjaTOn1cvVKzrHCX9Y51ijKTcYLv0ZxB), but this one was a bit more serious.

For a long time now I've been frustrated by Green Stuff World's scummy, anti-community business practices, and baffled that so many people still give the company their business. Whenever I mention that I would never shop at Green Stuff World, I invariably get the response "what have you got against Green Stuff World?"

It got kind of tiresome to repeat their litany of transgressions, so I thought about making a video about the whole issue, but the reality is that Tabletop Workshop already made a fantastic video on the topic, though in German (there is subtitles, and it's worth your time to read them!):

Then I realized that my ridiculous SculpTron9000 video format might be a good way to hit the high points of why Green Stuff World is the worst, without retreading the ground TWS had already covered.

It also allowed me to add to the YouTube video description the tags and links for the folks involved in this saga so far.

Anyway, here it is in case you missed it, or in case you weren't aware about just how scummy Green Stuff World is. In the video description, I also note some other sources for greenstuff, and I have no kind of professional relationship with any of them other than having decent service when I've dealt with them.

Have you had challenges sourcing greenstuff where you live? If so, let me know in the comments on this post, and we'll try to find you a better source.

So long, and happy sculpting!