Monday 6 June 2016

Showcase: Gargoyles

Introduction

This won't be a long posting.  I was due to write an article yesterday, but it has been too hot to do much.  For about 2 weeks (from memory), we've had bright, sunny weather, culminating today in a temperature of 31 degrees in the office all afternoon and 32 degrees in the car on the way home.  I'm exhausted and limp.

Now I know that some of my readers might not think that such temperatures are anything particularly unusual, but remember that I live in Scotland.  We're just not prepared for such heat, either mentally or physically (and I'm referring as much to our buildings, cars and so on as much as I am to my physique).  20-25 degrees is OK, but today went somewhat beyond that and has drained me.  No new painting or anything much else in the evenings...

Right, here are some models that I prepared earlier.  Several years ago, that is.

Flying Bugs


I don't normally buy Games Workshop models (not new, at any rate.  I have collected quite a few cheap pieces over the years from eBay and the like).  In this case, I made an exception.

I remember spending quite a while looking for second-hand GW Tyranid gargoyles to go with the rest of my bugs before I came to the conclusion that only the simple "troop" types were at all common on second-hand sites.  Additionally, I wanted to arm these with spare claws from another kit rather than with the "bio guns" which are supplied, therefore I really didn't want models that had already been glued together.  So, it had to be a from-new kit.

Note that I am not planning to use these in any GW games, so the "non-standard" weapons doesn't matter.  To me, these are just dumb animals rather than biotech-wielding, space-faring aliens.  Perhaps the hive has bred the flying critters as specialist scouts or long-range scavengers, as opposed to the larger numbers of walking/scuttling, earth-bound bugs.



I've altered the bases a bit, mostly to angle the "flying posts".  If built out-of-the-box then these gargoyles would be very much rearing up, but I wanted my bugs to be flying forwards.  I think it saves them from looking as if they're about to stall, though I do recognise that such aerodynamic niceties wouldn't matter to many gamers!

The colour used is the usual two-tone black and tan scheme that I apply to all my Tyranid models.  I decided very early on that if I was going to paint large numbers of bugs then complex camouflage or display markings were out!



Finally, I gave some thought to the storage of these models.  It's often hard to find adequate ways to protect models with many bits that stick out.  Flying models such as these are especially bad in that respect; they have wings, tails, basing posts and claws protruding all over the place!

Being plastic, my completed gargoyles are very light models.  I attached a disk of magnetic sheet to the underside of each base and searched for an old biscuit tin (cookie tin, if you're in the USA) in which to house them.  This has worked extremely well; my bugs won't even come off if I turn the tin upside down and shake it, yet they're not stuck on so firmly as to make it impossible to remove them by hand.  It wouldn't do for heavier, metal models, but this is just fine for these tyranids.

16 comments:

  1. Outstanding stuff Hugh, even if they are a bit old ;-) They are a visual treat for the eyes, and would be a real eye-catcher on anyone's tabletop. great choice in colour scheme and the base alterations really make them appear to be sprinting out at their opponents.

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    1. Thanks, Blax. Seems that you like them, then :-) ?

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  2. These are excellent, Hugh. Tyranids were always my favourite Warhammer 40,000 army. I have never seen anyone convert the Gargoyles like this before but I really like what you've done with them. Absolutely brilliant!

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    1. I like the Tyranids as well, Bryan (at least, most of them). The trouble is, they're far too expensive for me to buy more than a handful. I'm fortunate to be in a position where I *could* afford to buy more, but I jib at GW's prices...

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  3. Great conversion on the tyranids

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    1. Thanks, HW. As conversions go, these are very simple; they're not changed hugely from the original kit.

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  4. They have painted up very well.

    (And sorry about the heat!)

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    1. I'm not sure you caused the heat Clint.....but I agree these are painted beautifully and some nice conversions to boot!

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    2. Thanks. I don't think Clint was expressing guilt for the temperature, but merely sympathy [which is much appreciated, by the way :-) ].

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  5. These look superb! Clever storage solution too.

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    1. It's never going to be possible to close-pack models of flying creatures such as these. This is the first (and only) time I've used a magnetic system and it works really well for the gargoyles!

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  6. If you hadn't mentioned their GW origins I would have been completely oblivious of it and it's difficult to know what you have changed on htem. I do recognise the colouring on them though and you've done an excellent job once more. Flying critters in any game are normally a scary prospect to face and htese look to be no exception - great stuff C6.

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    1. The Tyranids are some of the least "typical" GW models, perhaps? At least, they aren't covered in skulls, though they do have a few spiky bits :-) .

      Of course, in real life flyers such as these would have hollow bones (for light weight) & delicate wing structures; they wouldn't be nearly as dangerous as a land-based animal of similar size :-) . I think it's the human fear of being unable to hide that makes us big up the flyers!

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  7. Nice one.
    On the flying critters, there are always some old Starship troopers flying bug sets on sale somewhere.

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  8. Good solution, and very close the way I treat all my minis these days; I just use steel washers or or pieces of thin iron sheet as bases, then put self-adhesive magnetic sheets at the bottom of the boxes i use for storage.
    I just accidentally removed your question about the Dark Ages civilians on my blog, btw, didn't mean to, and I have left an answer for you there.

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  9. They look great even with just a two-tone colour scheme. And a very creative display on that last shot! :)

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