Tyranid Dominatrix from a Norn Emissary

Ok, so after digging around the files in my phone I couldn't find any of the making of pictures. I swear I took some, but they're just not there. I'll still try to go into the making-of but I'll have to use the instruction booklet and photoshop to show how I cut and repositioned things. 

First, let's talk about the inspiration! The Tyranid Dominatrix is a Bio-titan first seen in Epic 40k with a very awkward but charming sculpt. It featured a set of back sails (for psychicking!) and a mounted rider Tyranid in a cradle. It has never had a proper full-size release, but it's really a Tyranid conversion rite of passage to scrap one together. I'm of course inspired by Hydra and Mr Pink's amazing work on their really cool Dominatrices. 

This build was also inspired by me squinting at the modern model for the Norn Emissary and going... "Hey, I bet I could mess with that." It's a large, psychic critter that is a rough equivalent for a imperial knight. It's got big ole chunky shoulders and an upright posture, but I suspected I could change all that.

So, first things first, I ordered a Norn Emissary from the internet. It took a while to arrive and we're not going to talk about why it's plastic is a notably different color from the other parts used in the build. I also used some Venomthropes parts, namely the back piece and the face. Really any small Tyranid parts are substitutable, Warriors or Raveners would work just fine. I also used one of the weapons from my Hive tyrant. I started with the tail and the hindquarters. I felt like those big chimneys looked like a modern version of the old Dominatrix sails, and that was a big part of the impetus of the build.

After this, I attached the legs, and added a popsicle stick in the center of the model as the spine. Then, I attached the arms, legs, and reused the shoulder blades near the head of the creature. I also packed some clay into the gaps and textured it simply to look like a Tyranid.

Then I got to the head. This one took a few tries to get right, but I'm really pleased how it turned out. I started by clipping off the horns from the Norn Assimilator variant head, and smoothing that down. Then, I used the head cowl and a spare (not sure if this was included in the kit on purpose) tail socket to form the long neck and armor. From there, I used the offcuts of the head as claws and glued them to the little tabs on the cowl piece from the Assimilator to make those iconic jaw pieces that the other builds like to include. 

The final build ended up being far less quadrepedal and more raptorial, which is what I was going for, like a Tyranid T-Rex or something. I stuck the cannon in and glued up the rider real quick, and all done! I'm really excited to run this as a Norn Emissary proxy.

Up next, I have to paint the darned thing. Soon to come, and thanks for reading!

- Miss Captain Bear