tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post3915212206488566853..comments2024-03-10T00:36:46.995-05:00Comments on Modern Synthesist: The Tyranid Archive - 3rd Generation (2001)Mr_Pinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18057075789177712997noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post-11672041246280622882023-08-30T19:46:52.787-04:002023-08-30T19:46:52.787-04:00I know I’m super late, necromancing this practical...I know I’m super late, necromancing this practically, and you def don’t agree, but I adored most of this line. The Tyrant guard was hideous, yes but I thought the Carnifex was one of the coolest I’d ever seen until the one in the new Leviathan box. It was in contrast to the previous Carnifex thought which just looked so … “80’s” by then. It’s also when I played the most, so I’m nostalgic for it. I also never noticed the grin, to me it was more of a snarl or teeth grind. It always reminded me of when the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park would pull their lips back. I know I won’t change your mind, but that was my 12 y/o take. I also adored the more organic and cohesive look the whole range had (which this Carnifex fit with), the previous range being “random gribblies e’rrayware!” Feeling. That lictor is still my favorite lictor, in fact, I found this page wondering why today’s look back at the evolution of tyranid models ignores the 3rd edition molds almost completely (it even says the next Lictor after the first lost it’s “spines bursting from its chest” … you know, “flesh hooks,” the thing that was an actual equipment option for an age … the 3rd edition lictor def still had them). The step away from actual scythes is a huge mistake, the poky spiked bits just don’t look practical erring more on the “lets make it look more icky than scary.” The tyrant I loved both for what it was and what it reminded me of, though I do appreciate the update since. I think that Biovore was one of the best (the upcoming one is really great, but the fact that it’s a gun swap away from being a pyrovore ruins it for me. I can’t even tell them apart and that’s just wrong). This was an incredibly strong update to the range even if the pewter bits were less than the plastics, it made Tyranids feel like an actual force with lore and history as opposed to a random mish-mash of alien tropes. The one thing I always hated though was the “monstrous parts sprue” you would get in the Tyrant and Carnifex kit. Those scything Talons looked awful by comparison to the metal ones which meant buying a whole lictor or something to make it look like it does in the pictures.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post-75649922133962481052021-11-29T00:05:26.469-05:002021-11-29T00:05:26.469-05:00Ye gods, the long wait for the 3rd edition Codex w...Ye gods, the long wait for the 3rd edition Codex was agonising as a teenager... and that first sneak preview of the revamped Tyranid Warrior was electrifying. I feel the same way about the kit that you do about the 4th ed plastic Carnifex. And then I left the country to live overseas two weeks after its release, and didn't so much as see a 40K model for a year. Sigh. <br /><br />I quite like a lot of those rushed 3rd ed metal sculpts. Those first Raveners are my favourite of all their iterations. The later ones just resemble Warriors with tails. These ones have a deranged, nasty, intelligent edge to them. The later ones look like animalistic predators - but these Raveners look like alien psychopaths. You just know they enjoy their job. <br /><br />As for the grinfex, it does look a bit goofy (especially the gimp mask), but the model has potential. If you give it four of those huge plastic claws from the 3rd edition 'monstrous weapons sprue', it looks much more intimidating--and much closer to the classic Screamer-Killer than the later plastic Carnifex is. Maybe also fill in the eye sockets so it's as blind and featureless as a Xenomorph. <br /><br />But the most important thing about the 3rd ed release was of course the PLASTIC HORMAGAUNTS. Praise be. No more tipping over, gouging scrapes in the terrain, or impaling your unwary hand on a sharp metal spear-arm. <br />Zenithfleetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post-25169537666827027662021-11-27T06:44:21.332-05:002021-11-27T06:44:21.332-05:00Brilliant piece 👏 Brilliant piece 👏 Dr. The Vikinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01305788085660984153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post-86363404573182991242017-05-03T14:56:01.744-04:002017-05-03T14:56:01.744-04:00Never too late, Peter!
The second and third editi...Never too late, Peter!<br /><br />The second and third edition codexes were two of my faves, but I can't agree with you on the grinfex and tyrant guard. They are just too hideous to love! That being said, I do find it real interesting that your love for the 3rd edition Nid codex did not actually originate in third edition!<br /><br />I like your idea of having the talons being ball socketed in a way that you could choose how they work, but that's not too hard a conversion to do, and I'm pretty sure GW is sold on the Tyranid aesthetic as it is. Mr_Pinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18057075789177712997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post-60122193133873017222017-04-13T15:43:35.789-04:002017-04-13T15:43:35.789-04:00Kinda late to the party here, but I actually got i...Kinda late to the party here, but I actually got into 40K with this codex...in 5th edition. Still, I absolutely adore that book, with its fluff and that wonderful modelling section. I wish GeeDubs would put stuff like that in its newer books.<br /><br />I must also confess to being a huge fan of both the Grinfex and the Tyrant Guard. The Grinfex gave me the impression of a big scary crab, and to be honest I think they'd be much more imposing with a less adorable face. In fact, if the current plastic 'fex is ever replaced for some reason I'd like to see them try and blend all three Carnifex designs for it- the hunched-but-upright posture of the Grinfex with the modern aesthetics of the plastic kit and some options to hark back to the classic design. Perhaps they could make the scything talons three part- talon, forearm and upper arm, each connected by ball-sockets- and have them sculpted such that they could be assembled either in the modern "raking claw" design or as classic Screamer-Killer "hugging arms".<br /><br />The Tyrant Guard, meanwhile...I dunno, I like 'em. The Spineshield was a great idea that I'd like to see resurrected for the next Tyranid rules update, and the pincer-tipped lash whips were (IMO) pretty great too.<br /><br />Maybe it's just nostalgia (I'm too young to have ever played 3rd edition) but I did love that book. I still use it for model inspiration.Peter Hamsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09476410376576626115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post-66472471037057193162015-12-05T11:15:49.312-05:002015-12-05T11:15:49.312-05:00Yes, certainly in hindsight. I think my problem wa...Yes, certainly in hindsight. I think my problem was receiving these amazing plastics that were so fantastically sculpted, and then a metric ton of comparably uninspired tin to accompany them. The really cool thing that we should have been celebrating is that GW redid the ENTIRE tyranid line in one fell swoop, a feat that they haven't really replicated since until the huge dark eldar redo.Mr_Pinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18057075789177712997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post-39353461447983259292015-11-22T14:01:33.103-05:002015-11-22T14:01:33.103-05:00I think they look goofy and charming.I think they look goofy and charming.Joseph James Peabody Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14683250637936987828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-300995389438911591.post-4299176710944197482014-03-14T17:52:22.847-04:002014-03-14T17:52:22.847-04:003rd edition Tyranids were awful (most of them), Ca...3rd edition Tyranids were awful (most of them), Carnifex and Guard are the worst.<br />The only merit they had, it was that with third edition GW started trying to give them a coherent look. Well, apart the silly idea of making them derived from other 40K races (Zoanthropes-Eldar, Biovores-Orks, etc).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com