Wednesday 25 June 2014

Tyranid Infestation

Following on from my previous post about the interesting effects of Chaos Black Primer, I've finally found the motivation to start making Tyranid terrain.  Its a slow process but a welcome change from painting models.  

"On the fourteenth day I went into the kitchen, and I was surprised to find that the fronds of the red weed had grown right across the hole in the wall, turning the half-light of the place into a crimson-coloured obscurity."

I had already built 3 pieces of terrain from various bits of GW's Manufactorum and Basilica Administratum kits.  They are pretty boring though and I never felt the urge to paint them.  Then I saw a post on the Tyranid Hive where someone had created a marvelously alien effect, mainly using a hot glue gun.  I reminded me of the Martian Red Weed from H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds and was so good it inspired me to create a bit of Tyranid infestation of my own.

I started by gluing pieces of Extruded Polystyrene Insulation Foam Board onto random bits of the ruin, being careful to ensure that the exposed surfaces were freshly cut.  The exterior of the board seems to have a coating which protects it and stops it from disintegrating, which is the effect I'm going for.



I added cork board onto the styrene base and distressed it a bit.  I distressed it a bit too much and made a hole.  This turned out fine, I just made it bigger and decided it would be a puddle.



I then added tendrils 'growing' out of the foam with a hot glue gun.  This was a bit tricky and time consuming; its difficult to get the glue to taper into a point.  I found that if I just slowly stretched a strand of glue, letting it cool in the air for a while before sticking it to the terrain, it worked well.



Next, I added some grit/sand and the model was primed with Citadel Chaos Black.  This has the added bonus of melting the foam, creating a sponge like effect.  I'll basecoat the exposed foam with a deep red or maroon acrylic so that it is covered but doesn't melt anymore.


I've got to make the other two pieces yet and then start painting.  It should be an interesting challenge.

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