FTGT Ron - Flying Hive Tyrant (Flyrant) Conversion #4

Hey Everyone,

Here is my fourth flying hive tyrant pose conversion.  This guy has been sitting around ~95% finished for a while. I finally got around to finishing him, and dug up some WIP shots for a post.  

I've never been a big fan of the standard flyant pose, where he is supported by his tail between his legs.  Also - since flyrants are one of the main staples of "competitive" Tyranids these days, having four doing their best Tigger impression was out of the question.

This isn't the first flyrant I've had in the air (second flyrant link), so I had some experience to draw on.

Lower Body:

My first step was to convert the tail to be off the ground.  First I chopped the tail off of the flying lower body and carefully cleaned up the end of the tail where there is a flat section of earth attached, using clippers for big cuts, and an exacto knife for small cuts.  I used my heat gun to bend the tail into a wavy pattern with the method I used in this link (tail bending link).  I then grafted it to the walking tyrant's lower body at the base of the carapace plates with some green stuffing at the gap (sorry for not taking more WIP photos here).  I then attached the flying legs to the resulting lower body with some green stuff to smooth over the joins.     

Base:
Next up I got to work on a base, combining the plastic brood lord's spore tower perch with a Secret Weapon Miniature's urban invasion base.  I wanted to keep the invasion/creep on the base, but get rid of the "urban" parts of the base, so I used some sand to hide the tile flooring.  I then drilled a 1/8" hole through the center of the base and spore tower, inserting a 1/8" metal rod to support the flying tyrant.

Thorax Weapon: Next up I added the thorax mounted electroshock grub conversion that I have done on all my flyrants which you can see here:(electroshock grubs tutorial link).  

Neck Modifications: After painting up more of the mini I went to attach the head, and noticed that he was staring straight at the ground with the stock neck.  I clipped the bottom portion of the original neck off and angled the head upward so he would see where he was flying.  I attached the head and then green stuffed a new lower neck.

Here is the new neck with paint applied:

Back Vent Fill: Finally, I added some back vent fill with small blobs of green stuff that I shaped with embossing tools, and clay shapers.

Finished Pics:

Here are some finished shots of the model with painting and touchups finished.  I'm very happy with the final result.  I feel like he gives the impression that he is swooping low to line up devourer shots on fleeing infantry.  

This has been one of the most fun conversions I've done so far, and I hope it inspires some Tyranid conversion ideas of your own!    

-Ron