Armies of the Jungle: Hivefleet Azhdarchoid  by Patrick Eibel
In the From Idea To Reality series, we chronicled the process of creating an army (first Dark Eldar, then Daemonhunters) from scratch.  In this series, we will showcase the finished results of our labors – the completed armies (as much as any 40K army can ever be considered “completed”).  By detailing how the army was collected, how the background and color schemes were developed, and how the army is used on the battlefield, we hope that this series will provide inspiration for those interested in collecting similar armies.

Collecting Hivefleet Azhdarcoid 
At present, here is my entire army list for my Tyranid Hivefleet:

HQ

• Hive Tyrant – Enhanced Senses, Adrenal Glands (WS), Toxin Sacs, Winged, Warp Field, Venom Cannon, Scything Talons (189 points)
• *Hive Tyrant – Enhanced Senses, Adrenal Glands (WS), Toxin Sacs, Venom Cannon, Lash Whip and Bonesword (156 points). Accompanied by Tyrant Guard – Rending Claws, Scything Talons (90 points)
• Broodlord – Extended Carapace, Toxin Sacs (90 points), acompanied by Genestealer Retinue (11) – Extended Carapace (220 points)

• Warriors (6) – Adrenal Glands (WS), Enhanced Sensed, Extended Carapace, Leaping, Deathspitter, Rending Claws (258 points) [Can also act as an HQ unit if needed]
• *Lictors (2) – Scything Talons, Rending Claws (160 points)
• *Carnifex – Adrenal Glands (WS), Enhanced Senses, Twin-linked Devourers, Scything Talons (115 points)
• *Carnifex – Adrenal Glands (WS & I), 2 x Scything Talons (111 points)

• *Four Genestealer Broods (12 each) – Extended Carapace (240 points each)
• *Two Hormagaunt Broods (24 each) – Toxin Sacs (288 points each)
• *Termagant Brood – Fleshborers (144 points)
• Ripper Swarm (9) – Leaping (126 points)

• Warriors (6) – Adrenal Glands (WS), Enhanced Sensed, Winged, Deathspitter, Rending Claws (276 points)
• Warriors (6) – Adrenal Glands (WS & I), Winged, Scything Talons, Rending Claws (258 points)
• Ravener Brood (6) – Scything Talons, Rending Claws (240 points)

• Zoanthropes (3) – Warp Blast, Synapse Creature (195 points)
• Two Carnifexes – Enhanced Senses, Reinforced Chitin, Venom Cannon, Barbed Strangler (163 points each)

Hivefleet Azhdarcoid, Pat's Tyranid army 
Click on the thumbnail for a closer view

The entire list comes to 4,590 points, which is large enough to accommodate just about any size battle (at least until Codex: Apocalypse is released).  The name of the Hivefleet is taken from a type of flying dinosaur, which I think is appropriate. 

In the list above, the units marked with an asterisk (*) were part of my friend’s army that I purchased, although some units were added to since the initial purchase to fill out their numbers (particularly the Hormagaunts and Genestealers).  Almost all of the figures in my army are from Second or Third Edition; since the figures in the initial army were out-of-print, I wanted to keep a consistent look to the army. 

The only current figures I have are one Zoanthrope, the Broodlord and his retinue, and the two units of flying Warriors, which have been converted to have wings.  I like the idea of using current Genestealers to represent the retinue because it adds a visual distinction from the older Genestealer models that make up the Troop broods. 

The older models have all been collected by frequent searches on eBay, which is an invaluable site if you are looking for out-of-print models. In general, I avoid purchasing painted models, as you are paying more for somebody else’s color scheme that you will just paint over, but sometimes you have to take what’s available (two of the Raveners had Dark Angel Green bodies with purple talons before they were repainted). 

Using the out-of-print models creates a visually unique army, although because the models are so much smaller than the current line, particularly the Hive Tyrants and Carnifexes, I sometimes have to clarify what some figures are. As with any Tyranid army, there are plenty of opportunities to customize your figures to represent biomorphs or weapons. 

I am very pleased with how the Carnifexes turned out.  The Elite Carnifex is converted from the old “Screamer-Killer” model, replacing his scything talons with the old metal devourer bits (I had to do some converting to get one to be left-handed) and the newer monstrous creature talons.  The two heavy support Carnifexes use the Third Edition model with new venom cannon and barbed strangler bits.  To get the guns to look right, stacked on one side of the model, I couldn’t use the tendril arm that is supposed to go on the other side of the gun.  I needed something to fill the two arm holes on the left side of the model, which seemed a perfect use for the spineshield bits leftover from the Tyrant Guard models.  I can use the spineshield to represent reinforced chitin, extended carapace, or just to look cool if I don’t want to spend points. 

The other striking conversion is the winged Warriors. When looking over the new codex, I realized that one of the problems that fast units like Hormagaunts and Genestealers would have is outdistancing the Synapse creatures. Giving Warriors wings seemed like a great way to have them move along at roughly the same speed as the fleet units.  I used the new plastic Warriors because they would be easier to convert and they look cooler than the older models.  I did a search for wings on the GW Online Store and decided on using Terradon wings from the Warhammer Fantasy Lizardman line.  I had to cut a bit of each wing off to simplify the join with the Warrior body, but I think the end result looks pretty good.

The winged Hive Tyrant took a bit of work as well.  I used the Third Edition model, but had to pin all of the parts keep them together.  The wings are the plastic dragon wings after a failed attempt to use Manticore wings (which were too small.) 

Background And Color Scheme
The Tyranid line of models are really monstrous and alien looking (and evocative of a certain alien movie), so I briefly considered painting the army in tones of black and gray.  At the original Fall From Grace, I had helped a friend paint some of his Tyranid models, which had an interesting Dark Angel Green, Camo Green, and Bleached Bone scheme, but I couldn’t remember exactly how it was done.  In the end, I decided to go with a variant of the Leviathan color scheme presented in Codex: Tyranids, mostly because some of the models I had purchased initially were already painted along those lines (Shadow Grey on the Bodies, Bleached Bone Claws). 

I refined the technique for painting the army into a series of drybrushed layers. By using a dark tone, a mid tone, and a light tone, the layers create depth. There are three schemes used for most models, four if the model has wings.

1) All body bits (the fleshy skin, not hard carapace plates or exposed meaty areas) are painted Shadow Grey, then drybrushed with Space Wolves Grey and Ghostly Grey (which is no longer made, but you could use a mix of Space Wolves Grey and Skull White). 

2) All claw bits, including teeth, talons, and all gun-like weaponry, are painted Bestial Brown and then drybrushed Bleached Bone. 

3) All carapace bits, the ridged plate areas on the backs, legs and arms of most of the larger Tyranids, are painted Chaos Black, then Liche Purple is applied to the edge of the ridge, then Fortress Grey is drybrushed across the purple to add some definition and contrast. 

The exposed interior flesh (the patches of bumpy sinew on the hands, arms, and legs) are painted Liche Purple before the Ghostly Grey layer is done.  The Ghostly Grey then can be applied over the area as a contrast to the purple.  Alternatively, if the drybrushing gets too thick over the area, purple ink can be applied to seep into the cracks, leaving the gray color as a highlight.

4) For the models with wings, the arm part of the wing is the same as the body and the wing is painted Chaos Black, then drybrushed Codex Grey and Fortress Grey.

Using The Army
I break my army up into three groups: 

1) Slow units (Broodlord, “Walking Tyrant,” Carnifexes, Zoanthropes);

2) Fast units (“Leaping” Warriors, Termagants, Genestealers); and,

3) Faster units (“Winged” Tyrant, “Winged” Warriors, Raveners). 

Achieving the right balance between Synapse creatures and fast units can be tricky, and it may be difficult to have consistent success.  I am still tinkering with different combinations as I expand my army, but I am usually pleased with just how lethal Tyranids can be when massing an opponent in close combat.  Just remember to keep a good mix between swarmed attacks and rending attacks.  Rending claws by themselves are notoriously unreliable, and I cannot count the number of times my Genestealers have whiffed against Space Marines and actually lost combat.  Conversely, while throwing 70 dice for a brood of Hormagaunts is nice, it is conceivable that well-armored units could survive (the 3+ Armor Save can be very frustrating).  Since my favorite part of the game is close combat, I enjoy fine tuning the army to achieve maximum carnage on the battlefield.  Hopefully, you will as well.

Posted October 2007. Used with permission. 
 

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