The "great" devourer . . . and some more WIPS

Welcome back. 

As everyone who frequents this blog knows, I play Tyranids, Have for many many years, and I have been steadily working myself up to a fever pitch for the latest codex release. . . . what a let down!

After a day of reading the codex these are my initial impressions (the caveat that I have not actually played a game with the new rules should be applied though). All of these have been covered by other bloggers alot more extensively than I will, I'm just having a bitch.

The Bad:

Things that didn't need changing were changed for no apparent reason (Tervigon buffing nearby termagants, bonesword AP, scything talons), points costs were arbitrarily increased with no benefits incurred (hive guard +5pts/ea with -1 BS, tyranid prime +45pts!), and characters and units disappeared from the roster (Doom, Parasite, Pods, Ymgral stealers), exorbitant cost of most upgrades for monstrous creatures, instictive behavior (Wtf is it with random tables? Why eat/shoot each other?), Loss of access to biomancy.

The Good:

General decrease in points of previously overcosted units (Hive tyrant, Carnifex, Tyranofex, Lictors, Warriors Shrikes etc), Venomthropes giving shrouding, General increase in the effectiveness of the tyranids codex psychic powers.

Now I'm sure the codex is still playable, and Ill try my damnedest to do well with it, but it will be a hard slog, lucky I'm Australian and have a love for the underdog.

Enough whinging. Before the codex came out I had started working on an objective marker for games of the Relic. There isn't a prescribed size (that I can find) so I took an old model by my mate "The Hoff" did for our old FLGS themed game and gave it a lick of paint. 

The guts need a coat of "blood" once I figure out what colour to do it

As you can see the varnish went spotty on it :( 

Its supposed to represent an inteligence gathering or synaptic node beast, something not real combative, but having an important role. It is a frankensteins monster of pieces with bitz from the Warriors, Carnifex, Hormogaunt, and Genestealers sprues.

Next on the work bench I have a full brood of Carnifexes and a full brood of Hormogaunts on the go too for the army, and 8 cataphracti terminators for the Sons as well.

Finally I couldnt help but notice a combination of powers, wargear and warlord traits could give a Hivetyrant a 30 inch synapse bubble (Synaptic lynch pin = 18 Norn crown +6 Dominion psychic power +6 =30).  

I have several Tyrants lying around (who doesn't?) so I figured I'd try and be the first to model a Norn crown. The fluff description basically details it as a parasite that mounts the tyrants head and feeds on his brain. This wasn't enough for me, and I decided to make an actual crown of horns as well.

The horns were cultivated from all manner of places on the tyranid sprues, the tendrils of the parasite are greenstuff rolled out, laid in the correct place and then a extra thin liquid cement run under them to glue them to the head, the testicle like parasite is 2x genestealer toxin sacs from the upgrade head.

Thanks for looking.