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! 

Project #DominaNid3: Sculpting legs on a Tyranid Dominatrix

In my next adventure in livestream sculpting, I take on one of the legs for the #DominaNid3 Tyranid Dominatrix conversion, trying to make a leg big and stompy enough to match the stompy feet I had already planned.

Project #DomniaNid3 : Tyranid Dominatrix from a Hierodule rides again

It's that time again: time to return to the Tyranid Dominatrix from a Hierodule concept to see how the intervening years can improve on this community concept.

I call it a community concept since, though I've created two Tyranid Dominatrix from Forgeworld Hierodule models in my time (Tyranid Dominatrix attempt 1, Tyranid Dominatrix attempt 2), it all started with Hydra / Simon Schnitzler and his vision to cut up a pristine Forgeworld model to make something wholly new:

He cleaved pretty close to the classic Forgeworld Tyranid Hierodule model, fixing all of the annoying angry chicken parts of it, but with that he challenged the idea that Forgeworld models couldn't be converted, and he moved the Tyranid Dominatrix concept forward from the classic Epic model...

...into something new and awesome.

And he started something.

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

A DE-SLUGGIFIED EXOCRINE

A DE-SLUGGIFIED DACTYLIS

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. 

The Tyranid Archive - Armorcast Tyranids and Other Big Dreams

In honour of 40k's 25th Birthday this year, I'm working at an ongoing series called "The Tyranid Archive," which is meant to be a historical look back on where Tyranids came from and how far they've come. Here's our next, rather large installment. Note: this post has been edited thanks to some feedback from Tim DuPertuis himself. Thanks Tim!

Back in Second Edition 40K days, a couple of companies started dreaming big dreams out in the western United States. They took the designs of the miniaturized super heavy tanks and titans of Epic and made the creative leap of introducing these massive weapons to games of Warhammer 40K...at a scale that was more or less accurate. Their creations dwarfed the models that 28mm wargammers had become accustomed to, and the company that seemed to be selling the majority of these huge engines of destruction was called Armorcast.

Armorcast started in June of 1995 as the brainchild of Tim DuPertuis and Dave Garton.

The Tyranid Archive - Epic 40k

In honour of 40k's 25th Birthday this year, I'm working at an ongoing series called "The Tyranid Archive," which is meant to be a historical look back on where Tyranids came from and how far they've come. As I wasn't sure I'd have time for a Flesh Friday this week, here's a little Tyranid Archive side trip. Apparently there was a goodly amount going on back in second edition, and a complete Tyranid Archive would not be the same without the inclusion of...

Epic 40,000
(Also known as Titan Legions, Warhammer Micro Machines, and Sorry My Cat Ate Half Your Army)


I can't tell you very much about the Epic game system, unfortunately, since I never had any interest in/experience with it. However, Games Workshop did a pretty good job of shrinking down all of the second edition Tyranids into epic models, while also expanding the overall Tyranid line to include some massive bugs that we'd never seen before. Though the designs for the bigger bugs were a bit wacky, and, in some instances, a bit too sluggish for my tastes, they created a space in the imaginations of Tyranid players that has persisted to this day, encouraging people to take on conversions to represent things like Dominatrixes, Exocrines, and Dactylis.

So, without further ado, here are the Tyranids of Epic 40k. Special thanks to Warpshadow member Markconz for providing us with photos of his swarm.

First off, the devils we know:

The Art of Warren Beattie

The concept series is my schizophrenic attempt to shine light on the art that inspires me. I always do some of my best work when working from concept sketches. I find the hard lines and white space conducive to creation as they give you just enough definition to get you going, while still leaving space to do your own thing. Here's hoping you find these sketches as helpful and inspiring as I do.

This is the second installment in the Concept Series: a recurring feature here meant to showcase the concept sketches of both professional and amateur Tyranid artists. When it comes to converting and creating new Tyranid organisms, I have yet to find a better source of inspiration than the concept sketch. The goal of this series is to make sure this work is visible, allowing converters and kitbashers to get new ideas for diversifying their swarms.

We started the series off with an artist as professional as they come: Mr. Jes Goodwin--a man who has been defining the Tyranid aesthetic since Andy Chambers was called The Great Devourer. This week, we switch tracks to an amateur artist (in that he is not employed by GW), and as the series progresses, it will feature many more amateur artists. However, the decision to start with Warren Beattie was a conscious one as he was the first to ever pop up on my radar, and he may be one of the finest amateur, 40k-related artists I have ever run into.

"Warren Beattie" is probably a name you've never heard, and it's only marginally more likely that you've heard the forum handle "Vermis." It's more likely that you may have run across this sketch somewhere along the way:

Or, perhaps, this version that he coloured up for Hive Fleet Moloch:

Redux: Tyranid Dominatrix from a Hierodule

To build up some content on the site, I'm going to be posting a few of my past projects that were kind of like milestones in my development as a sculptor. I'll call them "Old Strains," and you can feel free to check them out if you're curious.


First up, I would be remiss if I didn't credit my Hobby Brother, Hydra, for being the first person ever to convert a Tyranid Dominatrix from a Forgeworld Hierodule. Go see his original work, though he wrote that article about 12 years after he created the original!

Having learned from the work I'd done on Ross'/Accommodator's original Dominatrix, and having improved a bit through practice over the time in between, I endeavoured to take ANOTHER stab at the idea of creating a modern Tyranid Dominatrix from a Forgeworld Hierodule model. The project was another one that was sponsored by Moloch, and, when all was said and done, it would be he who would put his brush to it. With this in mind, and having seen the fantastic treatments he'd given the Dactylis and Exocrine, I was well motivated to go above and beyond on this Dom.

Dominatrix from a Hierodule

To build up some content on the site, I'm going to be posting a few of my past projects that were kind of like milestones in my development as a sculptor. I'll call them "Old Strains," and you can feel free to check them out if you're curious.

Though I created this beast, a large portion of the credit for it goes to two other folks. First, Hydra, for if he hadn't had the spore sacs initially to take a saw to an already-beautiful Forgeworld model, there never would have been the idea to create a Dominatrix from a Hierodule. I'm glad he was rewarded for his inspiration at the Canadian Golden Demons back in 2007. Next, credit needs to be paid to Ross Nickle, a dear friend of mine and paragon of moderating might over on Warpshadow under his handle Accommodator.

When I expressed my interest in taking my own stab at a Dominatrix from a Forge World Heirodule back in 2006, Ross told me to do it. When I told him I hadn't the stones to pay $200+ CDN for a pretty model like that if I was only going to tear it appart, he bought me the model and said I could build it for him on commission.