Tyrant Mechanicus Tyrannocyte

After finishing up the Hierophant's weapons, and finishing up the Zoanthropes conversion, I wanted to do some scratch-building IRL. I have been doing a lot of digital sculpting, and while I really enjoy it, it's definitely different than playing with clay and glue and scissors. So I turned my sights onto a really simple and easy project! The Battle-Egg!

When thinking about which models I could reasonably make, I looked at all the Tyranid units and very quickly settled on the Tyrannocyte since it's relatively simple; no limbs, no face, just egg. I also had the idea to stick some sort of gun emplacements or bunker at the top.

I began with a cardboard frame hot-glued together (since it's not Easter. Otherwise I'd have bought an oversized egg!) then wrapped it in a plastic grocery bag. This is a trick I learned from Black Magic Craft, except he used it to make stalagmites and stalactites. I was hoping the plastic would shrink down and wrap the frame, which it actually did! It was definitely delicate work, and overheating things would quickly cause it to thin and tear, but I persevered. Once that was done, I covered the entire thing in a thick layer of Mod Podge, then ran rivulets of hot glue vertically along the Egg. The Mod Podge was a good move, giving the skin a little bit of thickness and heat-resistance, so the high-temp glue didn't tear right through it. Once that was done, I attached some armature wire in the shape of tentacles at the bottom.

This has to be one of the grossest-looking scratch builds I've ever made

The basic shape completed, I then moved onto the armor panelling. My partner got me some Blue Stuff (That's the brand name) thermal molding plastic, and I'm really excited to try it, so I'm probably going to use it liberally in this project. Especially since this critter is pentagonally rotationally symmetrical - so I'll need 5 of almost everything. I sculpted an original panel out of oven bake clay, and baked it until hardened. Then, I used the blue stuff to form a mold around it. I tried out a few different methods of casting the part; I tried a version with Mod Podge and Hot Glue, that was a catastrophe. I also had a giant bag of plaster, which I got on clearance years ago; I tried that out, and it seems... ok? I think I need to practice using it. Some of the details chipped off, but it's what I've got.

I also chopped off the top of the egg, and glued down a circular plate to serve as a basis for the bunker on top. I decorated an interestingly-shaped container lid I had with panels and rivets made from small fake gemstones. Since the lid was four-sided, I also began building up a top-mounted swiveling gun to make it WYSIWYG, since the Tyrannocyte has five weapons total.

I also kitbashed a small gun, to look more like a heavy stubber similar to what the Adeptus Mechanicus might use. I re-used the blue stuff to cast this, along with several other small bits. I then glued this all together with super glue to form the final bunker. Once attached, I ran hot glue and pieces of green stuff along the edge to make it look like the casemate is being consumed and overgrown by the creature.

Finally, I attached the armor panels and the tentacles around the circumference! I casted several Tyranid blades from plaster, and glued them at the tips of the tentacles, too. I also added beads and googly eyes at the base, similar to the lumpy bits Tyrannocytes have at the butt.

Once that was complete, I gave it a thorough priming. One of my favorite moments is when a build, made from god knows what material in every color and goopiness, gets primed and suddenly, it looks like it was always supposed to. It's one of my favorite parts in the process, and feels magical every time.

I hit it with a quick Zenithal highlight from above with the airbrush, and here it is! I'll add it to my Army list once it's painted up and on a base. Thanks for reading!

- Miss Captain Bear