Warhammer Time: Hive Fleet Stheno's Swarmlord

Kit-bashed Swarmlord

I started my journey through the hobby of Warhammer 40k by buying a Start Collecting Orks kit back in 2018 and have always enjoyed making fun and wacky kit bashes. Each army I have has at least one kit bash that sets it apart from other's and allows me to flex my creativity. With Tyranids, I wanted something that used a non-standard color scheme + make them different than others. It wasn't until I saw a tentacle/cable roller tool for modeling putty that I thought I could make mine have vestigial appendages bursting from their fleshy bits, similar to the Las Plagas from Resident Evil 4. Tyranids are already horrifying, but they can look creepier!

 

I was generously gifted a Treant model and a Hive Tyrand/Swarmlord kit as a Christmas present and inspiration struck! With the right bits and some elbow grease, I could mold the Treant into a Swarmlord to get a second HQ! Using the leftover bits from the Hive Tyrant kit, modeling putty, paperclips to pin pieces, and lots of patience, the monstrosity was born!

Enough talk, let's see some photos!

Progress Shots

 

Complete!

Pardon my messy desk, it's been through a lot of painting and I regularly forget to put a cutting mat down before I paint. I am overall very happy with the end result. I was very skeptical during the entire build process that it was going to look good but to paraphrase one of my muses, Wyloch, "Adding more detail can excuse a bad paint job or decent crafting skills."

 

I'll post more photos of Hive Fleet Stheno soon! I've got Warriors, Hormagaunts, Termagants, a Tyrannofex, a Hive Tyrant, a Lictor, and a whole lot of 3d printed Ripper Swarms in various states of completion.