It Came From the Forums: Tyranid Biodiversity from Simon E.

TJ here and with the impending Tyranid release, I want to show you a very special army on this edition of It Came From the Forums; Simon' Hive Fleet Daggoth from Warpshadow forums. His hive fleet is very diverse with many different conversions and forms for every type of creature and biomorph, making a characterful and rich army that is sure to blow your mind, but enough talk, let's get started:
The Tervigon above is amazing and a total improvement on the Dryder pattern that I pioneered when the Arachnarok was still in the Black Box. That is what is great about the online community though, we can feed off of each other and improve things and this Tervigon is a massive improvement. The arms are really cool and the whip tentacles near the birth canal are awesome. If this was the only peice of Simon's work we looked at today, I would already be satisfied, but we are nowhere near done and we haven't even scratched the surface of this artist's ability.

There are a ton of photos, so I am going to add the minimal text to this already epic post.

This is a really cool take on the old Screamer Killer Carnifex based on the new plastics.

One of the best things about Simon's work is the use of the old and the new bits blended together, As we go through, old school Tyranid fans will see a lot of Easter eggs!

I am a huge fan of these custom Tyrant Guard and I really like how Simon has sculpted carapaces he made on the same model as carapace bits from other kits, but because of his talent, it is very hard to tell which is which.

These custom Zoanthropes are incredible and are enough to almost make me buy up my third Tyranid army, just to use something that looks this cool! This is what Zoanthropes should look like!

I really love the pink flesh of the faces in contrast to the rest of the model.

An interesting take on Hive Guard that draws from bits taken from across the entire Tyranid line.

I once tried to make my own Prime based on a Hive Guard and it never worked out for me, so to see this model so well done is very inspiring!

For those of you unfamiliar with the miniature here, it is from Trollforged miniatures and when I had one, there were issues that bothered me, like the original model's blunt tail. Simon fixed that issue with the addition of a curly tail from the Dark Eldar line and then gave it a great paint job.

Simon is an artist with an eye for the details. As we go through here, check out the shells on the bases and some of the mini dioramas on the bases like this guardsman getting digested.

This tyrannofex is insane! Look at those armored plates on the arms! Also, the torso is made from the Arachnarok kit! 

That is an incredible use of parts!

Now this is sick! I imagine that this is another Tervigon conversion and what a cool one. It is a blend of Cthulu and Aliens inspired grotesqueness.

I have seen (and sadly committed) the sin of lazy Plasma Hatcher spore pods, to which Simon inspires me again. He took the time to add slimy tentacles and a carapace. He turned this up from a proxy to a legitimate conversion and it looks great!

This is a pretty sick model and I think would make a great Death Leaper. I love the panther style posing and the eyeless, tooth filled face!

Awesome custom biovores.

Curly tailed Gaunts are awesome and he has a metric ton of them!

On later models in his collection like this standard Tervigon, you can see how refined his painting style has gotten. I hope when the new book comes out, we get to see where he goes with new models and a firm grasp on this style!

A cool Harpy conversion.

Another great Tervigon based on the Dryder pattern. I love these models, especially those legs!

Here is a look at the Dryders next to standard Tervigons. That is an awesome set of bugs.

A buffed up and massive Swarmlord!

The color used for the wings here is really nice.

Here are some Alien headed Warriors. This, along with the other creatures like the Tervigons, is what I am talking about when I say biodiversity. Tyranids can get yawn-worthy when you just open the box and make a million bugs, but Simon has gone the extra mile to add tons of nice touches, showing the Hive Mind's ability to adapt to the field rapidly and show off the fact that on the same battle field, few broods look alike!

Plastic lictor conversions.

Now, I don't know what this big bug is, but it is really awesome. I hope there is something in the new book for this creature to take on the profile of, because this is so sick!

I love everything about this model, from the rows of stunted legs to the big feeler arms, to the eggs on the ground!

The big bladed head, backed up with slimy tantacles and little hands really come together to make this thing look so sinister, like a mini-Norn Queen or some other "smart bug."

If I get back into bugs, I want to make something like this.

When I saw the Zoanthropes earlier, I thought for sure you couldn't make anything much cooler than those, based on the same conversion pattern, but then I saw this Doom conversion! The conversion is full of motion and conveys the idea that it is bursting with psychic energy and the paint job is really cool. I like the freckled area near the face!

A huge gun-bug!

Here is a look at a custom Harpy based on the Malanthrope. The wings are magnetized and have been removed.

Here is a look at them on the model!

More spore pods. This idea not only saves money, but fits the basing theme of his entire army and because he took time to sculpt flesh and tentacles look very cool, considering they are sea shells!

We will end this whole post with some tentacle faced warriors. This is not Simon's whole collection, he has more great stuff, in fact he has another Hive Fleet. Check out more of Simon's Hive Fleet Daggoth by following the link to Warpshadow! You won't be disappointed. While you are there, check out the galleries. Warpshadow is filled with talented artists with tons of conversion and painting skill.