SHOWCASE: Tyranid Tyrannofex with Fleshborer Hives

Who DOESN'T like a giant monster with living beetle hives for arms, really?

Greymantle gave me the Tyrannofex/Tervigon kit as a birthday gift a few years ago, and it was the first monstrous creature I ever built, and the first model I ever magnetized. I snapped some photos of it before I mounted it on a proper base. More pics and words after the jump.

Looking back, I can't believe I painted this thing with a brush. It's massive. It took me days, and it hurts a little to know that I could base coat the same thing in under half an hour with my airbrush. This was the first big kit I assembled, and there are tons of seams showing and joint problems. We all start somewhere, yeah?

Still, I love this kit. Not only does it make two different creatures, but also comes with multiple options for each creature, including these great Fleshborer hives. I love that they don't look like "guns" like the other weapon options for the model. There's something inherently creepy about a monstrous creature that houses massive swarms of flesh eating beetles WITHIN its own body. Brilliant.

The kit is magnetized, so the hives actually spend most of the time attached to my winged Tyrant, proxying as twin-linked devourers. But the model looks great no matter what weapon option is attached.

I really like that the largest part of the carapace isn't just a blank panel, and the artist sculpted  this spine cluster protruding from the creature's back. It has a unsettling, spider's nest-like quality to it that makes for a great sub focal point on the model. Combined with the hives, it just looks like a nightmare with a million little holes that horrible, horrible things can crawl out of.

The head is great too. I love the massive, silly double horns/blades that come off the front of the face. It reminds me of classic, '60's Japanese Kaiju design. I half expect to see this thing locking horns with Gamera...

Have You painted a Tyrannofex? Is your Hive Fleet expanding? Comment below!

-trip