daboarder
07-27-2014, 06:09 AM
Heya guys and gals,
Been a little while since my last turtorial. And I'm going to change tack here a little, the last few of my have been on Chaosesque techniques, this one isn't, its for the Tyranid players out there.
So, I've always found the most interesting thing about the nids to be the truly horrific methods of warfare they use. Such as clouds of toxic spores and micro organisms that dissolve/eat their way through organic matter, to the floating doom that is the Spore Mine. But one thing I have always felt is probably the most terrifying thing to face in the Tyranid swarm is the seething carpet of teeth and claws that is the Ripper Swarms.
Its like in video games when you pick up the shotgun/flamer, you usually now it means theres a horde of critters around the corner that are going to swarm you.
Well whats worse than a mass of wriggling mouths....Flying ones of course.
Now FW does some fantastic winged rippers, and they really are nice and not very expensive, but most Tyranid players already have swarms of the ankle-biters and don't have to much interest in buying more. What follows is my guide on how to make our ground based Rippers into the airborn kind. The tutorial might ne a little rough as this is the first time I have tried this moethod, but I will tweek and update the How To as I get some more practice in.
Modifying your Ripper
1) The first thing you need to do is modify the body of the ripper to accomidate the wings. Remove the forelimbs and section as seen in the picture below.
nb: You can also take the "ground" area around the base of the tail away if you intend to post your rippers in the air.
10170
2) Then fill the gap with greenstuff
1017110172
3) Taking the tip of a toothpick and a sharp knife, carve down the tip to the following shape
10173
4) Using this shape, press the tip into the greenstuff to replicate the exoskeletion seen in other tyranids as shown below. (Think of it like doing a dotted line)
NB: leave a rounded area behind the jaw, this is where our new forelimbs will go later.
1017410176
Making the Wings
5) First thing I did here was to make a quick sketch of the wing shape I was after, so that I had the size and shape correct.
10177
6) Then take a piece of clear plastic and create a layer of greenstuff on the materiel (ensure that the thickness is reasonably even). Use water (or your lubricant of choice) to ensure that the green stuff does not excessively stick to the underlying layer of plastic, this will be important later.
10178
7) Move the greenstuff over the sketch and using an edge tool cut the greenstuff to shape, do not try and replicate the curves, they will be created later, instead leave those sections straight edged.
10179
8) VERY gently, using your edge tool, press into the greenstuff to create grooves where the limb segments will be. You do not want to press to hard as you do not want to either cut the greenstuff or cause it to stick to hard to the underlying plastic.
10180
To be continued in next post...
Been a little while since my last turtorial. And I'm going to change tack here a little, the last few of my have been on Chaosesque techniques, this one isn't, its for the Tyranid players out there.
So, I've always found the most interesting thing about the nids to be the truly horrific methods of warfare they use. Such as clouds of toxic spores and micro organisms that dissolve/eat their way through organic matter, to the floating doom that is the Spore Mine. But one thing I have always felt is probably the most terrifying thing to face in the Tyranid swarm is the seething carpet of teeth and claws that is the Ripper Swarms.
Its like in video games when you pick up the shotgun/flamer, you usually now it means theres a horde of critters around the corner that are going to swarm you.
Well whats worse than a mass of wriggling mouths....Flying ones of course.
Now FW does some fantastic winged rippers, and they really are nice and not very expensive, but most Tyranid players already have swarms of the ankle-biters and don't have to much interest in buying more. What follows is my guide on how to make our ground based Rippers into the airborn kind. The tutorial might ne a little rough as this is the first time I have tried this moethod, but I will tweek and update the How To as I get some more practice in.
Modifying your Ripper
1) The first thing you need to do is modify the body of the ripper to accomidate the wings. Remove the forelimbs and section as seen in the picture below.
nb: You can also take the "ground" area around the base of the tail away if you intend to post your rippers in the air.
10170
2) Then fill the gap with greenstuff
1017110172
3) Taking the tip of a toothpick and a sharp knife, carve down the tip to the following shape
10173
4) Using this shape, press the tip into the greenstuff to replicate the exoskeletion seen in other tyranids as shown below. (Think of it like doing a dotted line)
NB: leave a rounded area behind the jaw, this is where our new forelimbs will go later.
1017410176
Making the Wings
5) First thing I did here was to make a quick sketch of the wing shape I was after, so that I had the size and shape correct.
10177
6) Then take a piece of clear plastic and create a layer of greenstuff on the materiel (ensure that the thickness is reasonably even). Use water (or your lubricant of choice) to ensure that the green stuff does not excessively stick to the underlying layer of plastic, this will be important later.
10178
7) Move the greenstuff over the sketch and using an edge tool cut the greenstuff to shape, do not try and replicate the curves, they will be created later, instead leave those sections straight edged.
10179
8) VERY gently, using your edge tool, press into the greenstuff to create grooves where the limb segments will be. You do not want to press to hard as you do not want to either cut the greenstuff or cause it to stick to hard to the underlying plastic.
10180
To be continued in next post...