Tyranids: Venomthrope, Neurothrope & Zoanthrope

by | Apr 12, 2015

Apologies for the blog weirdness last week; I've been experimenting with scheduling posts and something went very wrong! Those posts will feature shortly on the blog, but I've yet to finish some of those projects...

So, a Venomthrope, Neurothrope and Zoanthrope walk into a bar...


I've been so busy with other interests recently, that I've been unable to accept commissions. I'm not the sort of commission painter who likes to mess about with a client's expectations; I'd rather say no outright than take years to get a project done. However, a very good client of mine asked for a few models to add to his Tyrannic army - the largest commission I did last year - and the idea of revisiting this very interesting scheme was appealing! So I agreed to paint up a few models for the army, and today finished the first batch.

These models are form GW's newest plastic Venomthrope box. It's a really nice kit, capable of making several variations on the basic 'thrope chassis.

Let's start with the Venomthrope...


This is a much-needed revision of the older Finecast model. The Venomthrope was never a good candidate for resin, and the various flash lines, tabs and other assorted resinous peculiarities made the old version hard work. I painted up three last year, and the comparison between the old and new kit is very revealing.


Here are the older models:



From the new kit, next is the Zoanthrope. I've painted several of these in metal and resin, and the plastic kit is much nicer. The resin version had a real problem with sagging and being unstable on the base (the solution is, or was, to use brass or metal rods). This plastic version has all of the detail of the previous incarnation, and is much easier to assemble!



Finally, we have a new addition to the Tyrannic fleet: the Neurothrope. He's a generic version of the Doom of Malantai (oh, how we grieved his passing!) and represents something of royalty to the hive mind. A great little model and very detailed; there are some interesting spine parts on the back, and the head crest reminds me of the Alien Queen.

I painted these models in the same scheme as the rest of my client's army, but added more extreme highlights to the crest and spine of this model. I figured that he is something a bit special; perhaps this being reflected in the extreme patterning on his carapace and spine.


Bases are all from the excellent Secret Weapon range. I highly recommend them!


Another shot of the back of the model. The brain seems better sculpted on the plastic kit. I glossed these areas, and also used a turquoise glaze to add some pulsing effects.


So what's next? Some Forgeword goodness for the Tyranids will be coming soon. Next week I'll hopefully have some Judge Dredd pieces done.