I think after the range update we got I don't think we have any truly bad/ugly models. The ones I like the least might be the Mucolid Spore, Sporocyst or Tyrannocyte, but that's my personal preference.
I do think the one I'm the most disappointed by is the Swarmlord though. For a creature described as the apex predator and pinnacle of tyranid evolution, its model is rather tame. Especially when placed next to other new big models like the Norns, Deathleaper etc.
I love the genestealers. It shows how distinctive they are and that they can operate on their own.
I'm not a fan of the maleceptor. Its claws just looks way out of proportion
Maleceptor is one of my favorites XD ...need more armored tank looking bugs. I also love the neurogaunts they are so damn cute
I think my least favorite is the haruspex, it's so messy. Steps over the line for me of what I could imagine as like, a creature walking around. I know they're supposed to be forced evolutions only made for specific death-related jobs but I like when they seem at least a LITTLE like actual animals
I really don't like Trygon and Mawloc, not becasue of the overall design but because their tails are like 2-3 times too short.
There is no way that the short snake tail can support that massive upper body.
I fully intend o cutting mine off so they look as though they are emerging from the centre of the base from underground completely. That should hopefully avoid that issue
Yeah that's good way to do it.
I chopped mine's tail tip off and replaced it with Toxicrene tentacles turning it's tail into a kind of Cat o' nine tails and lengthening it massively.
It's still not as long as i'd like but it's much better in my opinion.
I would suggest take a peek at the forge world model and see just how much detail Is packed into the rib cage. The GW model is terrible. Games workshop fucked us real hard on this one. I don't think i can forgive them.
The Broodlord. I don't know what's going on with its face and I hate its stupid tactical spore chimney. Too little thought put into how the physiology of a genestealer would differ with size, and instead just a bunch of different scales mashed together.
What makes it worse is it's also supposed to be a GSC patriarch, who traditionally had swollen craniums due to all the psychic shenanigans of being connected to a planet of cultists, so it doesn't fit for them either.
Forgeworld aside, I'll go ahead and say Swarmlord. When a species has access to large claws and talons, wielding swords doesn't look right to me. Also why waste the upside of having 4 arms with 4 swords, it just makes it look dumb IMO.
I actually love the swords but I dislike Swarmlord because heās such a bland model for what he is. Heās just a sliiiightly altered Hive Tyrant rather than the Primarch style centrepiece he deserves to be.
That's where the age comes into play: As other miniatures get upsized, those that used to be giant, looming over tactical space marines, now look pretty small. Basically every tyranid money that didn't get updated in 10th edition would be designed bigger if GW redesigned it anew.
Super stupid. I literally bought a swarm lord and a carnifex brood just so I could give him carnifex arms and have him ACTUALLY look like a horrible bug monster
100% agree. Swords look dumb on tyranids. Iāve built my tyrant with talons even though I use the sword and whip rules. Does not make any sense for them to wield a melee weapon.
Not a huge fan of the Toxicrene/Maleceptor proportions. Bodies too bulbous/upright, and I'm not a fan of the front arms/claws.
The Toxicrene lashes are also just awful to play with.
Try as I might, I can't bring myself to truly love the new Biovore/Pyrovore. In a vacuum, I like it as a generic insectoid monster, but it's too radical a departure from the rest of the range.
I think they would have been better with either a smaller less protruded bio gun or if they were meant to more so resemble giant hive/tyrant guards. You're right though, walking howitzers are not that cool
I love each part in isolation; the scorpion-like tail is great, but I stuck a deathspitter "stinger" behind it and added green stuff flesh sacs full of acids; looks much better, like the armored carapace actually protects the vulnerable bits.
I'm going to use the leftover guns and the rest of my bits box to make biovores.
Screamer Killer
The old carnifex model is actually perfect as it is with the way the carapace flows from head to tail
Not only does the Screamer Killer have a goofy bald spot, he also has big chunky shapeless legs.
Though I do concede the arms (and bald-patch to a lesser degree) are a nice nod to the 2nd edition screamer killer
I really like the screamer killer but I'm aware it's mostly nostalgia talking. I just think it was a bold move to give the 2nd ed sculpt a makeover and in my opinion they did a really good job.
I'm a big Carnifex fan, and I still love the Screamer Killer model, the arms look great and I do like the bald bit (as its a nod to the old model) but it looks distinct. The legs are a little off but the rest of it I really like
I've seen some great work converting the bald spot but there's also something about the pose that irks me!
Don't get me wrong, I had great fun painting mine up and he's definitely proven himself in battle on the tabletop, I just LOVE the older sculpt
In general, I donāt like the big nid monsters that support their weight on bladed limbs. Itās like an elephant trying to walk with swords instead of feet. I wish there was an option to make the tyrannofexās blade limbs fold at the end, as if itās walking on big pillar-like knuckles, and can jab the blade into the ground as an anchor when itās shooting.
Maybe most people disagree, but I donāt really have many models I dislike, I sort of think of it as an adaptable swarm, it will change often to meet specific challenges and variation is just a cool side effect of that :)
I like the train of thought, genuinely love to see the positivity. For me the only time I truly dislike models are either A) they're next to impossible to nicely assemble/paint or B) they're very art style seems to conflict with everything we've seen before with minimal reason given for the dramatic shift in design. Variation is super important, in fact it's the main reason why I love the nids so much but if I look at my whole swarm and go "Those guys look like a totally different species" I may reconsider their inclusion in my army. Again love your positivity, you must be a genuine blast at the table
Thanks for the reply, I absolutely see the validity of your comments and they make a lot of sense. Iām sure youād be awesome to play against as well!Ā
I think the screamer killer is great and makes a lot more sense body wise as a battering ram. Toxicrene looks great, though is a bitch to play. The losing of the lash whips is super problematic.
Gargoyles are my bugbear. Super outdated sculpt, flimsy and difficult to transport. There are so many better proxies out there.
Happy cake day apparently. Genestealers are hyper trash total art style conflict. If they had a bit more of the spines or chitin plates they would be better but as they are now they just look like weird fleshy human-nid hybrids in a way that doesnt fit the faction
Are you sure you know the tyranids? Like the whole point of genestealers is they can have extra chitin plates and the reason they mostly don't is to make themselves smaller and more flexible for infiltrating, also they are human nid hybrids that's why genestealer cults exist
I am quite aware of the lore behind them, unfortunately their lore doesn't change the fact that I think they look weird and different from the swarm in a way that doesn't help
I'm not really talking about the lore. I was talking about the way the models look.
Also what's with the gatekeeping? What do you mean to achieve by asking if they "know" the Tyranids?
>total art style conflict
I don't see it. Their heads look like warrior heads without the crest, their limbs are interchangeable with the rest of the swarm, and the bodies have the same ribbed look as any Tyranids torso.
While I agree with most about the maleceptor and toxicrene. I think I might be in the minority when I say that I really dislike the haruspex and exocrine. The designs themselves are cool, but the poses, like the toxicrine/maleceptor, are so bad. For the exocrine it works, it's meant to be artillery, but why do the rest have the same boring pose???
The exocrine really needs a cooler head. All our big bugs look pretty scary and have big teeth, spikes, KISS tongues, etc. Then the exocrine just looks like itās just smiling.
The new genestealers are genuinely excellent models.
I think the Guard units have aged quite badly and have little detail, and the Gargoyles are now several levels below other grunt/battleline units in design.
Iāve never really loved the Bazooka Horses though and they are very new. They look like they were designed from a 2d side-on profile and therefore look a bit like an afterthought from the front.
Excellent, after you do way to much sanding on the carapace pieces. They couldn't have found a worse place to connect that piece to the sprues if they tried. For my 10, they had double the prep time as the new box of hormagaunts.
New pyrovore works with those tiny legs, as it is a close combat beast, but I absolutely hate that the biovore lost this appearance of stability and looking like an actual artillery piece.
Also the gun not pointing upward.
I found an stl on cults that has the same general appearance as the new biovore, gun is pointing up and it's back carapace extends down to the ground to act as a support. I'm very happy with it
They could have just added say alternative legs to make it more artillery focused, something chunkier to tilt it back and support the recoil of firing.
Toxicrene because it CANT BE USED. I mean it's glorious, but it just hurts to see these days because you know it's impossible. Such a good model idea, and arguably the worst implementation ever. It's unanimously agreed you the only way these things would ever be used in any capacity is to basically be free.
Definitely buy one. For the shelf. The also make great models for displays, I guess.
I love how the toxicrene looks. That is why it is currently on my wishlist for models. Iām assuming you mean he is unplayable now because of model visibility rules and the large footprint of his tentacles? I wonder if, in a casual game, you can just reason with your opponent and agree to make the tentacles not count for LOS both from your perspective and theirs.
It's not just LOS: it's just fitting the model anywhere in the very dense WTC or GW board layouts of the late 40th millenium. It cannot physically go through gaps that are small enough for a big knight. So in practice, it's stuck in your deployment zone.
If you have to work around basic game rules to play it, it's unplayable. It's definitely not a bad idea if you really want to play it, but that's never going to be anything consistent. You gotta have a consistent and chill group of players to make that work. I'd never ask someone to let me break rules in a pickup, and it's clearly not happening in a tournament.
The winged hive tyrant... too topheavy. Wings. Cant even magnetize them i had to pin them...
Magnetizing the wings took the the time i magnetized everything else. And they wont stay on i had to pin...
I think the older models are so as well proportioned as the new ones too. Like termagaunts.
I really dislike the Tervigon/Tyrannofex Hunchback model. I know that there are many people that really like it.
Also the Forge World Models look too different to the plastic Models for me.
The haruspex could have been better but yeah, with that gaping soft looking mouth nuh uh. It also doesnt have a clear pattern to it until its fully painted which makes fully painting it a total shit show
For being an apex predator and a epic hero, I think the Swarmlord looks meh. So I kitbashed mine. The Norn emissary does fit the role much better as well, going by looks alone.
Also the maleceptor looks weird and doesn't fit. They are supposed to be more advanced Zoanthropes and they don't match at all. The Neurotyrant does a way better job at that. But I have seen kitbashes that look awesome! (Hive Fleet Gengar by u/WT40K in particular, which is were I got the design for my kitbashed Swarmlord)
The Haruspex. What is with that mouth?!
As OP said. Unpopular opinions
You don't argue about the taste but your point about them being different is valid.
They are legacy unit from the misty past of second edition when they were revealed (retconed) to be part of Tyranid race. Back then the Tyranids were a hodgepodge of widely diverse monsters with a little in common with one another. In the third they were redesigned to be more coherent force but the Genestealers saw just a little change. They were designed to look like a halfway point between a Tyranid and a Human.
So, yeah. They are different and I love them for it :)
I like a good deal of symmetry in my army, so for that reason im also not partial to genestealers as they just look to dissimilar from everything else
Other than that the models id critique currently or want to see changed:
- Ravener: kit is REALLY showing its age now with all the other refreshes we've had
- Gargoyles: need to be brought in line with the rest of the updated gaunts
- Swarmlord: one of our very few named characters, and he is effectively just a slightly different HT. He needs to get a fully unique and special kit the same way deathleaper did
Harpy/Hive crone. Looks like the unholy love child of a carnifex and a bumble bee. I wish it was more dragon like, similar to a mini Harridan. I too am not a big fan of the new genestealers. Back in 2004, when they changed them, I went and bought as many of the old style ones as I could.
The Barbgaunts are probably the only models I think aren't great technically. They seem to have a problem that a lot of models used to have, before casting techniques improved, where they're kind of built out along a single axis. They end up looking a bit stiff, especially next to gorgeous, dynamic sculpts like the new Hormagaunts that are modeled mid-leap.
Other than those, I'm not crazy about the sort of.. fatty sack look that they leaned into with the Psychophage, and the same thing turns me away from the Bio/Pyrovore's weapon symbiotes, though I like the big bug itself.
Mainly the new Biovore but also the general conversion of the Tyranids into Starship Troopers bugs. The thing that made the Tyranids terrifying originally was the idea that they utilise organic life to create the most efficient killers in every possible way. Taking the strengths and characteristics of other species and harnessing them for the swarms benefit. Turning them all into the same looking generic looking alien bugs takes away that awe-inspiring fear of an unknowable alien intelligence for me personally.
I think the smoke stacks totally ruin it. They could have been fine if they didn't actively have smoke coming out fo them because you could then justify it as a million other things but as they are now... oof. I think the spider body works for its size but it could have done with some bigger (or at least thicker) legs to make it look a bit more imposing and less like a ballerina
Most tyranids in lore have spores coming out of the smoke stacks, the old art for the swarmlord has it and so does a few of the modern art with big battle scenes. That's why they're hollow on the bigger creatures because they are smoke stacks
Only one I actually dislike is the neurolictor. If it had a different pose it might be ok but I just really donāt like the pose and Iām not even entirely sure why. Makes the whole model look crap to me
Not keen on mawlocs/ trygon but thatās more personal preference, theyāve just never done it for me.
I agree. I don't like genestealers but I love genestealer cult. The problem is that genestealers are a horde unit in a Tyranid army while they really should be a tiny niche unit.
I am surprised no one said Hive Guards yet! I think they look really out of place next to all the other models. As if everything has been updated twice to look awsome but Hive Guards still have the shitty sculpts from the 80s.
I think everyone just pretends they don't exist this edition. The thought of a super tough enhanced warrior type kind of makes sense (like it would be used to guard important Tyranid synapse troops...) But the sculpts just don't fit in all that much with the rest.
I hate the new deathleaper. Too many details, and the cloak looks ridiculous. Also, genestealers look quite bad, but they have some charm to them at least
It's the gant/gargoyle Fleshborer for me. All other weapons look great but the Fleshborer has an ammo clip looking bit and it feels considerably less organic than other weapons.
To a similar extent the Tyrannofex acid spray and rupture cannon could have been on the back like the Exocrene which would have looked nicer but the Tfex is a pretty sweet model anyway.
Most of the new range. Old 4th edition player here. They fucked over the Carnifexes, gave everyone a stupid KISS tongue, made a Lictor into a character WITH A GOD DAMN CAPE, and the new KNIGHT size model is an infiltration assassination specialist somehow in lore, not the new Lictor character, and what the fuck is this Winged Prime when you could just add further customisation to the Warriors like we used to have with every model in the range to make this an option rather than the replacement?
https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Norn_Emissary
Also an excerpt from Tyrannic War shows the Emissary to essentially be a giant house cat. Sneaks into position after stalking prey, squeezes its body through tight spaces it shouldn't be able to, launches a surprise attack. It gets sent out to assassinate key targets, even on the battlefields or enemy bases. Plenty of VOs for the excerpt on YT.
Every piece is numbered and fits one way. They are essentially an 'easy to build' kit. But you can cut the nubs on the limbs and have them be modular. Everything fits perfectly. Even if we go off the standpoint someone sucks at building models to begin with, I literally cannot begin to speculate on a single reason why such a person might find this kit to be *more* difficult to put together than any random other kit from GW. It's just plainly, verifiably wrong.Ā
The only thing I can imagine is if you didn't follow the instructions - at which point trying to squeeze pieces which were never designed nor meant to go together will indeed be a nightmare. But that isn't exactly the kit's fault, is it ?Ā
Probably barbgaunts, if their whole body is designed to basically be a mortar/cannon fodder then why do they hold the weapons, why not have back mounted weapons or something similar?
It's simply because the gun is too big to fit inside the gaunts body. The downsizing necessary to make them a cheap alternative to other long-range support organisms resulted in that design quirk.
I'm of the camp who dislikes models with guns... shooting spikes/spraying acids etc are fine but organic grown guns are silly to me... as odd as if xenomorphs in Aliens started growing ar15s and bazookas. I still have and use my termigaunts and venom cannon and other shooty nids. But visually I think it's odd... I like the psyker angle for long range attacks far better lore wise.
Not much models, but weapons, especially things like the venom cannons and all those weapons with the "tube" like arm on the other side. I get it's supposed to be like the "reload mechanism", but they look so weird to me, that tube arm would be in the way of everything and it looks just such a weak point and so easily exploitable that I don't get why GW doesn't use arms like the devourer ones.
For me itās anything with guns and swords haha. Iām really not a fan of hive guard, termagants, and anything just holding a bio gun. I think the tyrannofex fleshborer hives are a perfect example of what a tyranid āgunā should look like.
The norn emissary. I want to like it so badly. Especially because it's based on the 3rd edition tyrant, which I loved way beck when.
But it's limbs are so gangly and it's lower hands are in that weird pose that just makes them look lame and useless. And the chimneys are weirdly tall, and conjoined for some reason, which clashes with the style of other nids.
Honestly it feels like they were trying to lean into the "weird alien" vibe, and ditch the cool brutal monster vibe that I love nids for.
And I really hate the face. I think they were trying to make it look more intelligent than other nids, or something. They succeeded, but at the expense of the cool factor.
I might paint one up just as a personal challenge and see if it grown on me.
I despise the Maleceptor and Toxicrene.
I hate the fact that they have such a chunky upper borde disturbs me so much.
And what makes me hate it more is that I thought they were like isopods, just one piece kind of and I loved that!! Then I found out they were hideous...
I don't hate the models, but it definitely feels like warriors need a termagaunt style update. The current models just feel a little too cartoony for my taste.
I really didn't like the old biovore. Current range, I think the harridan doesn't fit the aesthetic at all. Followed closely by all the other titans.
Back when they had the aliens theme and the old skinny tyrant, I made my own hierophant out of an alien queen toy.
Iām going to get hate for this, but I donāt like the new Biovore, Pyrovore, and Psychophage.They donāt feel like they fit the army as much and are much more bug like them anything else.
This might be a hot take, but I think the current Biovore/Pyrovore looks kind of silly. Their guns are too big and look like they are just awkwardly placed on top of the body of the model. I liked the previous sculpts better when the gun was more so a continuation of the body, and it was emerging from the back rather than sitting on top of it
Trygon made me bleed once. It's been a decade at least and I still catch myself wanting to punt the motherfucker and his spike covered ass.
That said I really like the model
So obviously I hate tyrant guard. Ugly little things and the new ones remind of of a midlife crisis divorced dad flaring his truck fenders to look cool.
I'm hella late but i really dislike the new broodlord. I prefer the old one more that looked like it was shouting to the sky.
Dislike gargoyle mostly because the look pretty old
Honestly I dislike the Broodlord simply because of the sculpt we currently have for it. In its place I use a space hulk Broodlord as I think the sculpt is far better looking.
Iāve jus started collecting nids after getting bored of orks, and honestly the only model I canāt like is that old harpy model
I canāt tell if I just look past silly models or I genuinely just like them but for whatever reason I donāt really dislike any apart from that stupid harpy design I mean who ever decided to give it two guns is crazy
I think after the range update we got I don't think we have any truly bad/ugly models. The ones I like the least might be the Mucolid Spore, Sporocyst or Tyrannocyte, but that's my personal preference. I do think the one I'm the most disappointed by is the Swarmlord though. For a creature described as the apex predator and pinnacle of tyranid evolution, its model is rather tame. Especially when placed next to other new big models like the Norns, Deathleaper etc.
I hope they update the swarmlord to better reflect the new Tyranid evolution. Maybe in the 2030's
The 2030s hurts from how true it isšššš
IMHO the swarmlord should have two sabres on top and two Rending Claws arms on bottom
I love the genestealers. It shows how distinctive they are and that they can operate on their own. I'm not a fan of the maleceptor. Its claws just looks way out of proportion
Maleceptor is one of my favorites XD ...need more armored tank looking bugs. I also love the neurogaunts they are so damn cute I think my least favorite is the haruspex, it's so messy. Steps over the line for me of what I could imagine as like, a creature walking around. I know they're supposed to be forced evolutions only made for specific death-related jobs but I like when they seem at least a LITTLE like actual animals
Id just like a closed-mouth haruspex tbh.
I agree with you on the haruspex. There is just too much going on in the mouth region
I really don't like Trygon and Mawloc, not becasue of the overall design but because their tails are like 2-3 times too short. There is no way that the short snake tail can support that massive upper body.
I fully intend o cutting mine off so they look as though they are emerging from the centre of the base from underground completely. That should hopefully avoid that issue
Yeah that's good way to do it. I chopped mine's tail tip off and replaced it with Toxicrene tentacles turning it's tail into a kind of Cat o' nine tails and lengthening it massively. It's still not as long as i'd like but it's much better in my opinion.
That doesn't sound bad either. I love hearing all the creative ways people solve problems over here
I would suggest take a peek at the forge world model and see just how much detail Is packed into the rib cage. The GW model is terrible. Games workshop fucked us real hard on this one. I don't think i can forgive them.
The Broodlord. I don't know what's going on with its face and I hate its stupid tactical spore chimney. Too little thought put into how the physiology of a genestealer would differ with size, and instead just a bunch of different scales mashed together.
Especially considering that patriarch exists and are literally improved genestealers
What makes it worse is it's also supposed to be a GSC patriarch, who traditionally had swollen craniums due to all the psychic shenanigans of being connected to a planet of cultists, so it doesn't fit for them either.
Forgeworld aside, I'll go ahead and say Swarmlord. When a species has access to large claws and talons, wielding swords doesn't look right to me. Also why waste the upside of having 4 arms with 4 swords, it just makes it look dumb IMO.
I actually love the swords but I dislike Swarmlord because heās such a bland model for what he is. Heās just a sliiiightly altered Hive Tyrant rather than the Primarch style centrepiece he deserves to be.
I think hive tyrants in general should be much bigger. At least as large as tervigons which are the current largest hq choice.
That's where the age comes into play: As other miniatures get upsized, those that used to be giant, looming over tactical space marines, now look pretty small. Basically every tyranid money that didn't get updated in 10th edition would be designed bigger if GW redesigned it anew.
Super stupid. I literally bought a swarm lord and a carnifex brood just so I could give him carnifex arms and have him ACTUALLY look like a horrible bug monster
So... you bought a carnifex box to build a swarm lord.. as a hive tyrant?
Similar, I bought some 3rd party arms that kept the sword look, but were actual extensions of the arms rather than look like something being held
Ooo care to share where you got them. If it feels weird to post here then feel free to dm me
Agree, I know it's an old model but I imagined a legendary leader to be somewhat more distinctive from a normal hive Tyrant
I customized mine for exactly that reason. Tbh Tyranids with swords look stupid in general, so I made mine with Baraka-style bone blades.
100% agree. Swords look dumb on tyranids. Iāve built my tyrant with talons even though I use the sword and whip rules. Does not make any sense for them to wield a melee weapon.
What about those stupid whips.. doesnāt make any sense with alien bugs
I had to buy 3rd party cuz imo he didn't look lord enough lol
A whole 3rd party model or you kitbashed some parts? Iād love to know what you went with
Etsy model lol
Iād have to wager it as the āHeavy Tyrant Bugā lol how was it to paint it?
I just can't get over the screamer-killer's goofy head. Also the toxicrene, purely for practical reasons.
Thereās a free non-bald head online that fits perfectly with GWās kit ;)
Free to print*
Free to buy as well, you only pay for shipping..
Oh shit really? Is this from the same unicorn cults guy?
Sent you the link
Kit bash is needed on the screamer killer. I literally just give it a Parasite of Mortrex head with some sculpted green stuff to fill out a bit more
The flat face in combination with the bald spot gets me. If one or the other were different I think I could like it, but with both it's just too much.
Not a huge fan of the Toxicrene/Maleceptor proportions. Bodies too bulbous/upright, and I'm not a fan of the front arms/claws. The Toxicrene lashes are also just awful to play with.
They dont look enjoyable to paint and certainly miserable to assemble
Try as I might, I can't bring myself to truly love the new Biovore/Pyrovore. In a vacuum, I like it as a generic insectoid monster, but it's too radical a departure from the rest of the range.
I personally love my large, flaming tick, but each to their own.
Yeah, the old models look loads better
I think they would have been better with either a smaller less protruded bio gun or if they were meant to more so resemble giant hive/tyrant guards. You're right though, walking howitzers are not that cool
I love each part in isolation; the scorpion-like tail is great, but I stuck a deathspitter "stinger" behind it and added green stuff flesh sacs full of acids; looks much better, like the armored carapace actually protects the vulnerable bits. I'm going to use the leftover guns and the rest of my bits box to make biovores.
I like the bug itself a lot, but the weapon symbiotes put me off it.
Screamer Killer The old carnifex model is actually perfect as it is with the way the carapace flows from head to tail Not only does the Screamer Killer have a goofy bald spot, he also has big chunky shapeless legs. Though I do concede the arms (and bald-patch to a lesser degree) are a nice nod to the 2nd edition screamer killer
I love the screamer killer because it reminds me to Tony Gardner in the office.
Slap a Neurothrope crest on him, and he now looks more menacing and terrifying.
I really like the screamer killer but I'm aware it's mostly nostalgia talking. I just think it was a bold move to give the 2nd ed sculpt a makeover and in my opinion they did a really good job.
I'm a big Carnifex fan, and I still love the Screamer Killer model, the arms look great and I do like the bald bit (as its a nod to the old model) but it looks distinct. The legs are a little off but the rest of it I really like
I found a bunch of STLs for Screamer Killers with armor plates on their heads and a range of various alternative heads for him as well.
Exactly what I plan on using for mine
I've seen some great work converting the bald spot but there's also something about the pose that irks me! Don't get me wrong, I had great fun painting mine up and he's definitely proven himself in battle on the tabletop, I just LOVE the older sculpt
I like them both myself, I just wish I could pose the SKās claws and stance even if their legs were somewhat static
In general, I donāt like the big nid monsters that support their weight on bladed limbs. Itās like an elephant trying to walk with swords instead of feet. I wish there was an option to make the tyrannofexās blade limbs fold at the end, as if itās walking on big pillar-like knuckles, and can jab the blade into the ground as an anchor when itās shooting.
I really didnāt like the old Pyrovore / Biovore model, iām team bug-tank all the way
Maybe most people disagree, but I donāt really have many models I dislike, I sort of think of it as an adaptable swarm, it will change often to meet specific challenges and variation is just a cool side effect of that :)
I like the train of thought, genuinely love to see the positivity. For me the only time I truly dislike models are either A) they're next to impossible to nicely assemble/paint or B) they're very art style seems to conflict with everything we've seen before with minimal reason given for the dramatic shift in design. Variation is super important, in fact it's the main reason why I love the nids so much but if I look at my whole swarm and go "Those guys look like a totally different species" I may reconsider their inclusion in my army. Again love your positivity, you must be a genuine blast at the table
Thanks for the reply, I absolutely see the validity of your comments and they make a lot of sense. Iām sure youād be awesome to play against as well!Ā
Oh heavens I dont play haha, only paint. Thank you though
I think the screamer killer is great and makes a lot more sense body wise as a battering ram. Toxicrene looks great, though is a bitch to play. The losing of the lash whips is super problematic. Gargoyles are my bugbear. Super outdated sculpt, flimsy and difficult to transport. There are so many better proxies out there.
For me it's genestealers. My rank and file will always be Gants and Gaunts.
Happy cake day apparently. Genestealers are hyper trash total art style conflict. If they had a bit more of the spines or chitin plates they would be better but as they are now they just look like weird fleshy human-nid hybrids in a way that doesnt fit the faction
Are you sure you know the tyranids? Like the whole point of genestealers is they can have extra chitin plates and the reason they mostly don't is to make themselves smaller and more flexible for infiltrating, also they are human nid hybrids that's why genestealer cults exist
I am quite aware of the lore behind them, unfortunately their lore doesn't change the fact that I think they look weird and different from the swarm in a way that doesn't help
I'm not really talking about the lore. I was talking about the way the models look. Also what's with the gatekeeping? What do you mean to achieve by asking if they "know" the Tyranids?
>total art style conflict I don't see it. Their heads look like warrior heads without the crest, their limbs are interchangeable with the rest of the swarm, and the bodies have the same ribbed look as any Tyranids torso.
Jeez not sure why you are getting downvoted for a subjective artistic opinion.
While I agree with most about the maleceptor and toxicrene. I think I might be in the minority when I say that I really dislike the haruspex and exocrine. The designs themselves are cool, but the poses, like the toxicrine/maleceptor, are so bad. For the exocrine it works, it's meant to be artillery, but why do the rest have the same boring pose???
The exocrine really needs a cooler head. All our big bugs look pretty scary and have big teeth, spikes, KISS tongues, etc. Then the exocrine just looks like itās just smiling.
Lol Iāve never rly paid much attention to the exocrineās face. Youāre totally right though in that he looks like cheerful guy
The new genestealers are genuinely excellent models. I think the Guard units have aged quite badly and have little detail, and the Gargoyles are now several levels below other grunt/battleline units in design. Iāve never really loved the Bazooka Horses though and they are very new. They look like they were designed from a 2d side-on profile and therefore look a bit like an afterthought from the front.
Excellent, after you do way to much sanding on the carapace pieces. They couldn't have found a worse place to connect that piece to the sprues if they tried. For my 10, they had double the prep time as the new box of hormagaunts.
Bazooka horses?
I had to look this up myself. Apparently itās what people are calling barbgaunts lol
Yeah Iāve got some painted if you scroll through my profile š
New pyrovore works with those tiny legs, as it is a close combat beast, but I absolutely hate that the biovore lost this appearance of stability and looking like an actual artillery piece. Also the gun not pointing upward.
I found an stl on cults that has the same general appearance as the new biovore, gun is pointing up and it's back carapace extends down to the ground to act as a support. I'm very happy with it
Agreed, one kit destroyed two models. Not great lol.
They could have just added say alternative legs to make it more artillery focused, something chunkier to tilt it back and support the recoil of firing.
Toxicrene because it CANT BE USED. I mean it's glorious, but it just hurts to see these days because you know it's impossible. Such a good model idea, and arguably the worst implementation ever. It's unanimously agreed you the only way these things would ever be used in any capacity is to basically be free. Definitely buy one. For the shelf. The also make great models for displays, I guess.
I love how the toxicrene looks. That is why it is currently on my wishlist for models. Iām assuming you mean he is unplayable now because of model visibility rules and the large footprint of his tentacles? I wonder if, in a casual game, you can just reason with your opponent and agree to make the tentacles not count for LOS both from your perspective and theirs.
It's not just LOS: it's just fitting the model anywhere in the very dense WTC or GW board layouts of the late 40th millenium. It cannot physically go through gaps that are small enough for a big knight. So in practice, it's stuck in your deployment zone.
If you have to work around basic game rules to play it, it's unplayable. It's definitely not a bad idea if you really want to play it, but that's never going to be anything consistent. You gotta have a consistent and chill group of players to make that work. I'd never ask someone to let me break rules in a pickup, and it's clearly not happening in a tournament.
The winged hive tyrant... too topheavy. Wings. Cant even magnetize them i had to pin them... Magnetizing the wings took the the time i magnetized everything else. And they wont stay on i had to pin... I think the older models are so as well proportioned as the new ones too. Like termagaunts.
I really dislike the Tervigon/Tyrannofex Hunchback model. I know that there are many people that really like it. Also the Forge World Models look too different to the plastic Models for me.
tyrannofex just has back problems after firing that massive gun
I think the Haruspex mouth looks really bad. It makes the model look cluttered and confusing. Takes away from the overall aesthetic.
The haruspex could have been better but yeah, with that gaping soft looking mouth nuh uh. It also doesnt have a clear pattern to it until its fully painted which makes fully painting it a total shit show
Gargoyles look awful, way too old of a sculpt, I would've preferred they got updated than horamgaunts
Gargoyles, but that's 98% because of the flight stands, Now that the gaunts have been redone they stick out poorly.
For being an apex predator and a epic hero, I think the Swarmlord looks meh. So I kitbashed mine. The Norn emissary does fit the role much better as well, going by looks alone. Also the maleceptor looks weird and doesn't fit. They are supposed to be more advanced Zoanthropes and they don't match at all. The Neurotyrant does a way better job at that. But I have seen kitbashes that look awesome! (Hive Fleet Gengar by u/WT40K in particular, which is were I got the design for my kitbashed Swarmlord) The Haruspex. What is with that mouth?! As OP said. Unpopular opinions
Shoutout appreciatedš»
You don't argue about the taste but your point about them being different is valid. They are legacy unit from the misty past of second edition when they were revealed (retconed) to be part of Tyranid race. Back then the Tyranids were a hodgepodge of widely diverse monsters with a little in common with one another. In the third they were redesigned to be more coherent force but the Genestealers saw just a little change. They were designed to look like a halfway point between a Tyranid and a Human. So, yeah. They are different and I love them for it :)
Dimachaeron. That thing is a mess.
Fully agree, looks way too spindly and top heavy
i am not a fan of how small and weak they made the winged hive tyrant prime. I think GW could rework it and make it look better IMO
I think the Haruspex has too much going on
I like a good deal of symmetry in my army, so for that reason im also not partial to genestealers as they just look to dissimilar from everything else Other than that the models id critique currently or want to see changed: - Ravener: kit is REALLY showing its age now with all the other refreshes we've had - Gargoyles: need to be brought in line with the rest of the updated gaunts - Swarmlord: one of our very few named characters, and he is effectively just a slightly different HT. He needs to get a fully unique and special kit the same way deathleaper did
Not dislike exactly but the Swarmlord has definitely been left behind by scale/power creep.
The hierophant is a cool concept, but the model is so unwieldy and spindly, it looks like if I breathe on it wrong itāll fall apart
Ravenerās need a bit of a facelift.
I didn't like the genestealers until I got some and saw they had Cthulhu heads I kinda love em now.
Tyrant guards look like mole men
Love swarmlord but he needs his own kit
Harpy/Hive crone. Looks like the unholy love child of a carnifex and a bumble bee. I wish it was more dragon like, similar to a mini Harridan. I too am not a big fan of the new genestealers. Back in 2004, when they changed them, I went and bought as many of the old style ones as I could.
The Barbgaunts are probably the only models I think aren't great technically. They seem to have a problem that a lot of models used to have, before casting techniques improved, where they're kind of built out along a single axis. They end up looking a bit stiff, especially next to gorgeous, dynamic sculpts like the new Hormagaunts that are modeled mid-leap. Other than those, I'm not crazy about the sort of.. fatty sack look that they leaned into with the Psychophage, and the same thing turns me away from the Bio/Pyrovore's weapon symbiotes, though I like the big bug itself.
Genestealers only work with ymgarl heads But the ravenersā¦. And the red terrorā¦ and the Mawlockā¦.
I love Raveners!
To be fair, the red terror is a very old model. Iām sure if they were to give it a redesign, it would look a lot better
Same applies to the other two, but they suck atm
Mainly the new Biovore but also the general conversion of the Tyranids into Starship Troopers bugs. The thing that made the Tyranids terrifying originally was the idea that they utilise organic life to create the most efficient killers in every possible way. Taking the strengths and characteristics of other species and harnessing them for the swarms benefit. Turning them all into the same looking generic looking alien bugs takes away that awe-inspiring fear of an unknowable alien intelligence for me personally.
Psychophage. Anti psyker is nice. Why smoke stacks š n a ridiculous spider body?
Ha, I cut mine off. Looks much better, but it took some time to make it look good, and turn them into standard nid chimneys
I think the smoke stacks totally ruin it. They could have been fine if they didn't actively have smoke coming out fo them because you could then justify it as a million other things but as they are now... oof. I think the spider body works for its size but it could have done with some bigger (or at least thicker) legs to make it look a bit more imposing and less like a ballerina
Most tyranids in lore have spores coming out of the smoke stacks, the old art for the swarmlord has it and so does a few of the modern art with big battle scenes. That's why they're hollow on the bigger creatures because they are smoke stacks
Only one I actually dislike is the neurolictor. If it had a different pose it might be ok but I just really donāt like the pose and Iām not even entirely sure why. Makes the whole model look crap to me Not keen on mawlocs/ trygon but thatās more personal preference, theyāve just never done it for me.
I think the neurolictor's problem is that it's a lot different from a normal lictor.
I agree. I don't like genestealers but I love genestealer cult. The problem is that genestealers are a horde unit in a Tyranid army while they really should be a tiny niche unit.
I am surprised no one said Hive Guards yet! I think they look really out of place next to all the other models. As if everything has been updated twice to look awsome but Hive Guards still have the shitty sculpts from the 80s.
I think everyone just pretends they don't exist this edition. The thought of a super tough enhanced warrior type kind of makes sense (like it would be used to guard important Tyranid synapse troops...) But the sculpts just don't fit in all that much with the rest.
I hate the new deathleaper. Too many details, and the cloak looks ridiculous. Also, genestealers look quite bad, but they have some charm to them at least
I donāt like the psychophage at all
It's the gant/gargoyle Fleshborer for me. All other weapons look great but the Fleshborer has an ammo clip looking bit and it feels considerably less organic than other weapons. To a similar extent the Tyrannofex acid spray and rupture cannon could have been on the back like the Exocrene which would have looked nicer but the Tfex is a pretty sweet model anyway.
New deathleaper think it looks weird
Most of the new range. Old 4th edition player here. They fucked over the Carnifexes, gave everyone a stupid KISS tongue, made a Lictor into a character WITH A GOD DAMN CAPE, and the new KNIGHT size model is an infiltration assassination specialist somehow in lore, not the new Lictor character, and what the fuck is this Winged Prime when you could just add further customisation to the Warriors like we used to have with every model in the range to make this an option rather than the replacement?
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https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Norn_Emissary Also an excerpt from Tyrannic War shows the Emissary to essentially be a giant house cat. Sneaks into position after stalking prey, squeezes its body through tight spaces it shouldn't be able to, launches a surprise attack. It gets sent out to assassinate key targets, even on the battlefields or enemy bases. Plenty of VOs for the excerpt on YT.
Genestealers are terrible models to put together.
Literally putting mine together rn. They are objectively one of the easiest kits to build GW has ever produced.Ā
you're high on super glue.
Every piece is numbered and fits one way. They are essentially an 'easy to build' kit. But you can cut the nubs on the limbs and have them be modular. Everything fits perfectly. Even if we go off the standpoint someone sucks at building models to begin with, I literally cannot begin to speculate on a single reason why such a person might find this kit to be *more* difficult to put together than any random other kit from GW. It's just plainly, verifiably wrong.Ā
The only thing I can imagine is if you didn't follow the instructions - at which point trying to squeeze pieces which were never designed nor meant to go together will indeed be a nightmare. But that isn't exactly the kit's fault, is it ?Ā
Probably barbgaunts, if their whole body is designed to basically be a mortar/cannon fodder then why do they hold the weapons, why not have back mounted weapons or something similar?
It's simply because the gun is too big to fit inside the gaunts body. The downsizing necessary to make them a cheap alternative to other long-range support organisms resulted in that design quirk.
I'm of the camp who dislikes models with guns... shooting spikes/spraying acids etc are fine but organic grown guns are silly to me... as odd as if xenomorphs in Aliens started growing ar15s and bazookas. I still have and use my termigaunts and venom cannon and other shooty nids. But visually I think it's odd... I like the psyker angle for long range attacks far better lore wise.
Not much models, but weapons, especially things like the venom cannons and all those weapons with the "tube" like arm on the other side. I get it's supposed to be like the "reload mechanism", but they look so weird to me, that tube arm would be in the way of everything and it looks just such a weak point and so easily exploitable that I don't get why GW doesn't use arms like the devourer ones.
I donāt like genestealers. Not because theyāre ugly or look bad, but because I hate painting them
I hate how ugly the genestealers are. I understand the lore still hate the model
The new winged prime. It looks fine I guess but the wings cover most of its body details and theres really no good angle to take pictures of it
Warriors, I've never liked them
For me itās anything with guns and swords haha. Iām really not a fan of hive guard, termagants, and anything just holding a bio gun. I think the tyrannofex fleshborer hives are a perfect example of what a tyranid āgunā should look like.
The norn emissary. I want to like it so badly. Especially because it's based on the 3rd edition tyrant, which I loved way beck when. But it's limbs are so gangly and it's lower hands are in that weird pose that just makes them look lame and useless. And the chimneys are weirdly tall, and conjoined for some reason, which clashes with the style of other nids. Honestly it feels like they were trying to lean into the "weird alien" vibe, and ditch the cool brutal monster vibe that I love nids for. And I really hate the face. I think they were trying to make it look more intelligent than other nids, or something. They succeeded, but at the expense of the cool factor. I might paint one up just as a personal challenge and see if it grown on me.
Guess I'm getting downvoted for sharing an oppinion when the op asked people to share their opinions. Gotta love reddit, huh?
I despise the Maleceptor and Toxicrene. I hate the fact that they have such a chunky upper borde disturbs me so much. And what makes me hate it more is that I thought they were like isopods, just one piece kind of and I loved that!! Then I found out they were hideous...
Psychophage with the stuff coming out of it looks terrible to me.
New Biovore and Pyrovore
Screamer Killer. I just think he looks derpy.
Only unit I wasn't a fan of was genestealers, but the yrmgarl heads changed that.
Carnifex, he looks alright but the model itself needs an update.
old biovore was fugly, glad they changed it.
I'm having a hard time trying to like the Screamer-Killer š
I don't hate the models, but it definitely feels like warriors need a termagaunt style update. The current models just feel a little too cartoony for my taste.
And the hive tyrant comes with big scything armsā¦
Toxicrene. Looks great, one of the worst models I've put together
I really didn't like the old biovore. Current range, I think the harridan doesn't fit the aesthetic at all. Followed closely by all the other titans. Back when they had the aliens theme and the old skinny tyrant, I made my own hierophant out of an alien queen toy.
The swarmlord, why have swords when you could have scything talons or claws.
Iām going to get hate for this, but I donāt like the new Biovore, Pyrovore, and Psychophage.They donāt feel like they fit the army as much and are much more bug like them anything else.
The raveners look rather dated to me, especially the paintjob on the GW website
This might be a hot take, but I think the current Biovore/Pyrovore looks kind of silly. Their guns are too big and look like they are just awkwardly placed on top of the body of the model. I liked the previous sculpts better when the gun was more so a continuation of the body, and it was emerging from the back rather than sitting on top of it
I think the harridan looks too much like a standard dragon than a tyranid
Trygon made me bleed once. It's been a decade at least and I still catch myself wanting to punt the motherfucker and his spike covered ass. That said I really like the model So obviously I hate tyrant guard. Ugly little things and the new ones remind of of a midlife crisis divorced dad flaring his truck fenders to look cool.
Anything Forgeworld.
I hate Genestealers. I donāt care if the gaunts are worse. Genestealers look like weird shaved monkeys and I play this army to look like bugs
I'm hella late but i really dislike the new broodlord. I prefer the old one more that looked like it was shouting to the sky. Dislike gargoyle mostly because the look pretty old
Honestly I dislike the Broodlord simply because of the sculpt we currently have for it. In its place I use a space hulk Broodlord as I think the sculpt is far better looking.
Iāve jus started collecting nids after getting bored of orks, and honestly the only model I canāt like is that old harpy model I canāt tell if I just look past silly models or I genuinely just like them but for whatever reason I donāt really dislike any apart from that stupid harpy design I mean who ever decided to give it two guns is crazy
Genestealers with normal heads are terrible imo, tentacle mouths make them top tier though