Manta Rays of Hell

by | Jan 16, 2015

Ending the week with more WIPs! With the Blood Angels Dreadnought assembly I figured that I really missed cleaning up and assembling miniatures and wanted to go for a new kit from the cabinet, this time I’m tackling the Screamers of Tzeentch. Join me as I muse about the nature of Chaos and see my progress with the models after the jump.

Infinite possibilities. That is the way of Chaos.

Infinite possibilities. That is the way of Chaos.

There, I think I’ve filled a post with enough Chaos icons to make up for the loyalist behavior lately.

Unlike a majority of Chaos players out there I’ve always deemed Tzeentch as the most fitting God of Chaos to represent the forces of Chaos: unpredictable, incomprehensible, sorcerous, alien and ever-changing. Just the way Chaos should be to mortals. However the miniature range for Tzeentch didn’t really appeal to me save for a few models and thanks to the latest Chaos Daemons releases of the past year or so there are some I’ve come to really like. The Screamers, while being sufficiently bizarre without becoming a chore to figure out what goes where, is one such kit.

I find the box art invaluable at such times, especially if there is color blending involved. The body with the plated back will be fun to edge highlight.

The assembly is quite easy in four pieces for a regular Screamer.

While the bodies are limited to three (for obvious reasons) the variations in other pieces keep things interesting. Here are the variations. I'm not a fan of the wide mouth option but the rest are pretty cool additions.

There are optional pieces to the three screamers, a tail in two pieces, a back ridge of tentacles (my favorite optional) and some more mouth pieces and tentacles. All in all, you can make the creatures as weird-looking as you like. I’m a big fan of eerie eyes so I opted for the maximum amount when picking headpieces. The assembly goes really fast, the trick is to clean up the models before it. As you can guess, the mould lines run over the sides which means you’ll have a great time maneuvering your blade (I highly recommend a scalpel for such close quarters) around the teeth and feelers of the “manta rays of hell”.

The sprues are not too crowded and there's enough variety to please the modeller. Body, head, tail and spine. That's all there is to a Screamer aside from the flyer stand. The mould line on larger surfaces are easy to remove. The sprue connections to the pieces may be tricky to remove since the attached surface is curved. Take your time. Screamers Patience. You don't want to destroy all that detail. Once all cleaned up, you'll be relieved to see everything clicks in position nicely.
Two items done. One remains, and I have a variety of pieces still to pick from. I think I'll use some spare tentacles and the asymmetric head for the last guy.

Two beasts done. One remains, and I have a variety of pieces still to pick from. I think I’ll use some spare tentacles and the asymmetric head for the last guy.

Another faithful servant of the Lord of Change has assisted me in the assembly!

I guess Cek can be considered a Lord of Change himself. He changed colors during his... ascension.

I guess Cek can be considered a Changer of Ways himself. He changed colors during his… ascension. He’s been climbing up my desk lamp lately, even as I work.

This weekend I’m meeting the chaps at FigurinIstanbul once again and will pick up a few goodies on the way. In the meantime there’ll be a quick tutorial by one of the veterans on how to paint faces which should work well for the Random Encounter! mini and all other pieces with bare faces. Who knows, maybe I’ll actually make it to the deadline with the dwarf.

Have a good weekend everyone!


Filed under: Chaos Daemons, Screamers of Tzeentch, WIP