Like many Tyranid enjoyers, I find the cover of the 3rd Edition Codex to be a particularly evocative cover. It just has this look to it that oozes aura and dread that a seething mass of ever-hungry aliens with exude. As such, when it came time to pick a color scheme for my escalation league Tyranids, it was an easy choice. I actually used the hobby section of the 4th Edition Codex to find the right colors, so don't ever get rid of your old books!
This doesn't exactly match the look of the cover. For one, getting your miniatures to match the look of a painted image is just very difficult. For another, that image uses a ton of ambient lighting and shading to set the tone. This lets the Tyranids look very dark and menacing, almost completely black like a beetle's carapace. To be frank, I think an all black look is very dull and a ton of work just to make it not look like you primed it black and called it a day.
Hence why I turned to the codex hobby section. There it suggested red as the carapace highlight and a turquoise for the body, which is actually something very common in the comic book industry (so much so that some costumes are thought to be blue when they are in fact, black). While I think this looks cool and matches the cover best, I decided to invert the blue and turquoise as I wanted to lean into a cooler tone. This is actually a fairly common thing to do if you search this color scheme on the web.
One particular thing I really liked from this guide was the head color. A lot of folks use a white and red combo to get that streak, but the suggestion of pink helps do 2 things. First, there's more obvious contrast between the flesh and teeth, so it helps the model read as flesh instead of a boney head. And two, the pink gives the model a more distinctly alien feel, since we use pinks and purples as a shorthand for extraterrestrial a lot of times. So with my scheme in focus, it's time to gather the paints.
Yes it looks complicated, but it's actually very easy to execute. To start, prime the whole model black. I used Krylon 2X Ultra Cover Flat Black primer, but any black will do. Once that's dry, I go back in and touch up any places the spray missed with Army Painter (AP) Matt Black. They match very well so this is just a spot check in those gaps and under areas that a spray can sometimes struggle to reach.
Next I take Vallejo (VA) Lime Green and paint all of the vents and the eyes. It's totally ok to be a little messy at this point, but the cleaner you can make your lines the less clean up you'll have to do. Once dry, I wash the vents with GW Biel-Tan Green. Let that dry, and in the meantime we can work on the face.
I don't have the exact pink I want, so it needs to be a mix. I take Two Thin Coats (2TC) Ivory Tusk and mix it 80/20 with AP Warlock Purple, which despite the name is really more of a pink with a slight purple to it. This will take 2 to 3 coats to get good coverage over the black since it's such a light color. Again, you can be a little messy as you paint.
Once dry, I go back with AP Matt Black and clean up all of the green and pink that got onto areas that are meant to be black. Pay attention to the holes or vents or whatever that the Tyranids have on the sides of their heads. I filled it in with black as it gives contrast, but if you want you can paint it pink.
Up next is the red. I use AP Dragon Red, and I quickly paint it over the chest ribs, small claws, and joints. This red doesn't have very good coverage, but in this case it's a good thing as I want this to be a dark red. I went back and dabbed a little more of this paint as a highlight in certain places, but I only bother to do this on the heroes, it's not worth it on the little guys like the rippers.
This same red is used for the head streak, and since that's going on the lighter pink it turns out to be a much brighter red than when painted on the face. So you will have to use 2 to 3 coats to get them to match. If you don't, the side streaks will look like the Tyranid is blushing. To finish, I dabbed a bit of GW Nuln Oil onto the face and streak to bring the colors more in line with each other and the red on the body.
The red on the body paints up fast, but you will have to take some extra care on scything claws to get the transition built up. I painted a thin layer that went up 2/3s of the blade, then again but only 1/2 up, then again only 1/4 up. Then I edge highlighted the blade. You can stop here, but for that little extra I painted the very tips with AP Pure Red, which is a brighter more saturated red than AP Dragon Red.
Now for the time consuming part. I took pure, undiluted AP Deep Azure and marked lines across the whole carapace. I initially went with very thin, watered down lines, and then I took a look at a distance and the black looked unpainted. So just use your normal brush here, don't step down to a smaller size. Don't be afraid if it's too thick, it reads better at a distance than you think it will.
Once you get into the groove it goes very quickly, and on models like the rippers it's over before you know it. Drybrushing doesn't get the same look here if you're wondering, it's more scratchy and unrefined. Plus the colors aren't as bold. If you want it to look a little less cartoon-y or grimdark, then drybrushing is the way to go.
If you want to stop here, you can. There's some details missing but the model looks pretty good. If you want to keep going, I use the same blue to highlight around all of the joints on the model. This is a good chance to clean any of the red that might have escaped the confines of the joints.
For the tongues and flesh whip, I based with VA Salmon then washed with GW Reikland Fleshshade. For the flesh whip I did another wash but with GW Carroburg Crimson. I went back and highlighted with the VA Salmon, but again, totally not necessary.
The teeth and claws are just highlighted with 2TC Ivory Tusk. Nothing complicated there. The hoofs I edge highlighted with AP Uniform Grey, but you can use any of the other colors if you want to cut out a color.
That just leaves the bonesword. I based the whole blade with 2TC Ivory Tusk. You'll have to use multiple coats to get good coverage. Then I took AP Soft Tone and diluted it down with AP Anti-shine, which is basically a paint medium. This will go a long way to avoid the pooling look that washes can have on flat surfaces and basically acts as a glaze instead. I use this several times, focusing on certain areas to make them darker. I then finished with a highlight of 2TC Ivory Tusk and a more focused highlight of AP Matt White.
With that done, you can base your model. I actually went back and drybrushed the bases with an even lighter color since I think the dark model on dark bases were blending a little too much. But it's up to you whatever you want to do. For the spores on the bases, they're just small foam balls glued on. I paint them 2TC Ivory Tusk and wash with either GW Reikland Fleshshade, GW Carroburg Crimson, or AP Purple Tone to give them variety. After I varnish the model, I paint them with GW 'Ard Coat to give them some shine, and I do the same for the tongue.
And that's it. Again, I know it sounds like a lot of colors, but a lot of these steps are very quick. You could make it more efficient by removing some of the colors or using less texture on the carapace, or you could go the opposite way and really push the technique further. I think I've hit a good middle ground with it.
Let me know if that was helpful, I do have some guns to figure out so that might be a post for another day.
-The Space Dinosaur
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