Warhammer 40K Tyranid Leviathan - Screamer Killer

[Mike]

I saw this being painted on GW's run-up to the release of Leviathan, and although I'm absolutely disinterested in the gaming system, I do find these figures quite enticing.  The Screamer Killer is one of the big-boys of the Tyranid Hives, screaming their heads off while they tear you to shreds while disabling you with some psychic mumbo-jumbo.  They're about four times the height of a Space Marine, and bear in mind those guys are supposed to tower over mere mortals thanks to their genetic engineering... apparently

 

Anyway, I've been dabbling with it for a while now, spending half an hour on it when I have a moment, first putting it together as a modeller, which involved scraping and sanding seams, filling gaps and doing a bit of sculpture where the moulds had been simplified for injection moulding.  Things like the two rows of three cooling "things" on its carapace, which were shallow on one side, with no depth to them.  I hit those areas with my Galaxy Models mini-motor-tool, deepening the holes, and then tidying them up with micro-chisels, which are my new best friends.  A bit of liquid glue and some sanding with custom tools after the glue had dried left them in decent shape, that will give a better sense of depth when I've finished painting them.

 

 

 

 

I also reamed out the pipe under the slab of masonry he's standing on, as that too was shallow on one side.

 

The base is pretty big, so I thought I'd better shove some stuff on there, finding a few pebbles in the garden and using some sand I have in a pot from previous weirdness.  I glued it down with the AMMO Dio Glue, then when it was dry I fixed it with a liberal coating of AK Sand & Gravel Fixer, adding a few tiny pebbles to the mix.  A heavy coat of primer helped keep everything on the base.

 

 

That got painted with various colours and a bit of dry-brushing, but I'm not happy with the stones, so will probably change their tone later.  Citadel now have additional ranges of paints called Shade and Contrast, which you apply to a light base, and it adds a load of shadows and highlights as it gravitates to the folds and creases.  It's quite effective, and they even have  a Contrast Medium, which you can use to turn any of their other colours into a a Contrast colour.  Handy    I slapped a load onto the model in sections, leaving it to dry before dry-brushing it with Wraithbone, the base colour.  I also added a more purple shade to those little cut-outs on the limbs, another Contrast colour that just wicks away from the highlight areas nicely.  I gave the ends of the arms an extra coat to start the fading to darkness, and base painted the stone and pipe.

 

 

I've been putting off painting the carapace and limb armour for a while, as it's a large portion of the model, and I've seen a few variations on how to do it, but wasn't that keen on any of them, so I made up my own mix and started applying it to his butt armour.  I gave it a couple of coats, then two more Shade coats to vary the tone a bit.  Then I highlighted it a bit, and did a couple of sweeps over the individual plates, making swipes down the scales to imply a rough chitinous effect, which I hope I've achieved.  Here's a shot of the butt plate now. 

 

 

I'm reasonably happy with it, and just hope I can replicate it on the rest of the areas, as you know my memory   I'd also given the hooves and claws a coat of dark grey and highlighted it a few times, as I wasn't happy with the way the Contrast paint was working, possibly because it was hot in here at the time.

 

Let me know what you think.  I'm open to suggestions and any help you can provide, as this is my first GW figure in about 30 years?

[RAF4EVER]

At first glance in pics 4+5, I saw something that looked a bit phallic, I know dirty mind, in the last picture, I realised it was his tail🫣

 

Sorry @Mike, if this post breaks any rules, please delete, Thanks.

Edited July 10, 2023 by RAF4EVER
Disclaimer added

[fatfingers]

Aye up Mike,

 

I think thats nicely done so far. I managed to score the Psychophage, Neurotyrant and Winged Prime off ebay and the Screamer Killer is next on the list. 

 

Contrast paint has been a real game changer for me and i now have quite a collection of them 👍

 

Regards,

 

Steve

[Mike]

1 hour ago, fatfingers said:

Contrast paint has been a real game changer for me and i now have quite a collection of them 👍

I'm finding uses for them and the shade paints, plus the Contrast Medium that can make any paint a Contrast paint.  I've actually just finished using them on an aircraft model I'm fiddling with, as it happens

[Steve Coombs]

Just discovered this.

Looking good there!

My possible son-in-law-to-be is into 40K and I fear he has led me to the Dark Side.
I admire people who build then paint; I find the modular approach much easier - fewer contortions required to be sure I haven't missed a bit when painting. The potential downside is then being sure I have been consistent with colours, washes, and what-have-you.

[TeaWeasel]

Looks good. I've been using thinned-down Contrasts on a load of Daemonettes recently, had good results. You've definitely got the hang of it, especially in the carapace.