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!

 

Project #DominaNid3: Tyranid Dominatrix scratchbuild is complete!

So it has been a GOOD LONG TIME since I posted my last update on my #DominaNid3 Tyranid Dominatrix project, but I'm happy to report that, after what felt like a very long 2 years of off and on work, the BEAST IS COMPLETE!

Not to worry, little Termagant. I'll keep you safe.

Awww. You little guys think you're in charge of the swarm? That's cute!

As I did with the Dactylis build, I'll post another article a bit later showing the latter half of the build process, but, for now, let's revel in her completion! 

Converting Upright Termagants for the Viridian Stalkers Tyranid Killteam - #StandaGaunts

So just in time for the release of the new edition of Kill Team, I've become completely enamoured with a new take on the humble termagant. Namely: making them stand upright!

This dude was my proof of concept for the idea, and I honestly liked him so much that it wasn't long until he was joined by a friend...

...and then a whole bunch more!

I really liked how this new pose seemed to give your average gaunt more agency and individuality, but I didn't really understand it until a particularly brilliant person on Instagram pointed out the difference.

"Gaunts were kind of white noise in an army before. Not anymore."

Introducing Hive Fleet Angrboda

If you've been following me for any time at all, you may know one key fact about me:

I don't paint.

I love building, converting, sculpting, but when it comes to painting, my hobby fire tends to dry up. I mean, I managed to grind through painting an entire Genestealer Cult force (helped mostly by an airbrush and a deadline), but, given the choice, I'd rather be sculting!

But then Contrast paints came along. And though they're not the be all and end all that the marketing campaign may have had us believe, they're a neat little hack for skipping a couple of boring steps in the painting process. And I firmly believe that they're the reason I've actually painted some Tyranids for the first time in a decade!

It all started with these two warriors, which I converted up to look a little smaller/slighter than your average warrior so that they could be used by my buddy Matt in our introductory game of Shadow War Armageddon (yes, I know that game is older than dust, but I had the rules and had an understanding of it, so we dusted it off when we played our first game in December of 2019):

Xenos Alchemist: Talking Orks with GrimNGribbly

In the most recent episode of our Xenos Alchemist podcast, I chatted with one of my hobby idols from Instagram: GrimNGribbly.

If you're not familiar with Grim's work, we get into his work on his Cordyceps shroom cult and his orks, while also talking about Orks in general and how the new line for 40k unveiled so far stacks up against the classics. 

Haemoxyte Conversion: A new unit for Haemonculus Covens

Welp. The new Dark Eldar/Drukhari codex finally dropped. I picked it up at release, and didn't expect too much new, assuming it would be a simple update for 9th edition. 

But then it hit me with a surprise! A new unit type for my other hobby love, Haemonculus Covens. 

This new unit, the Haemoxytes, are meant to represent elite Wracks, and they were the perfect excuse to dust off my drukhari and convert up a model to represent it.

Enter the dream combination of Delaque gangers from Necromunda, with Kaoric Acolytes from AoS, with a little Idoneth Namarti Reavers/Thralls.

Project #SwarmSentinel: Building Better Tyrant Guards

Ever since Games Workshop delivered us second edition ant-style Tyranid Warriors carrying picnic tables as our Tyrant Guard models, Tyranid hobbyists have been on a quest for better Guards. Warren Beattie and Roberto Cirillo got us close with each of their concepts for Guards, but it wasn't until the current plastic kit that we got a decent model.

Decent, I say, but not perfect. 

Because, let's face it: when it comes to acting as a shield wall for a Hive Tyrant, the current plastic guard models look more like something that would be the Tyrant's dog.

If we want to keep our Tyrants safe, we have to think BIGGER:

Xenos Alchemist: A Review of Tyranid Design with Moloch & Hydra - #CreatureConference

This one has been a long time in the making. Back in the beginning of the pandemic, Moloch, Hydra, and I sat down to conduct a review of the newer parts of the Tyranid line. It wound up being a bit of a survey of our collective thoughts on Tyranid design, where the newer kits have hit the mark, and where they might have missed. 

And, to save it from just being three grey beards bitching about other people's designs, I kept a little surprise up my sleeve for the end of the video: a challenge that would make the three of us put our money where our collective mouths were. 

I'll save the surprise for your viewing, but the reactions I got from the Germans were pretty fantastic!

Anyway, if you love Tyranids and converting them, this is the video for you!

Converted Tyranid Tyrannofex - #Gunbeast4

In case you're not familiar with my past work on Tyranids, it could be said that I've got a THING for big, beefy Tyranids, and for Tyranid gunbeasts. So it should come as no surprise that my most recent Tyranid project consisted of marrying those two interest into a BIG BEEFY GUNBEAST!

As this is the fourth gunbeast I've made after my Exocrine, Dactylis, and upscaled Dactylis, I decided to organize my posts about the project under #Gunbeast4. 

When Life Hands You Lemons

It all started with me learning the hard way that, if a deal on the internet for a model kit seems too good to be true, IT LIKELY IS. 

I got what I thought were two Tervigon kits for a STEAL of a price...only to find out it was the seller who'd stolen from me when what I received in the mail were two shitty, chinacast recast of a Games Workshop Tervigon kit.

Tyranid Prime Ordo Xenos Crucifix - #KryptmansGambit

Behold! The most foolhardy machination the Ordo Xenos could devise: Kryptman's Gambit.

This project has been a long time coming. 

Some time back in 2011-2012, Hive Fleet Moloch, Hydra and me synergized a mad concept: what if the Ordo Xenos, in their unmatched hubris, sought to capture a live Tyranid synapse creature with the goal of using it as some kind of synaptic terminal through which they could force access to the Hive Mind. What you see above is that very creature, and what follows is some of the history for how we came up with it, more photos of my work on it, and an idea of what's next for this hideous creation.