Genestealer Patriarch Throne - The Osseous Throne

The centrepiece of my Genestealer Cult of the Omega Strain is the cult's Patriarch, known as The Master, and his Osseous Throne.

In this article, I'd like to share more photos of the Osseous Throne, both unprimed and painted. However, before we get to that, I should probably touch on my...

Inspiration for the Conversion

Anyone who has been along for long enough, or who has a vested interest in Genestealer Cults has probably run across either the following piece of phenomenal art by Tony Hough...

(Due possibly to some Twitter cajoling, he even did the following colour version of the same art in recognition of his 30th anniversary as a 40K artist!)

The Tyranid Archive - 4th Generation (2005)

In honour of 40k's 25th Birthday this year, I'm working at an ongoing series called "The Tyranid Archive," which is meant to be a historical look back on where Tyranids came from and how far they've come. Here's our next installment.

4th Generation (2005)

(Also known as PLASTIC CARNIFEX!)

The 4th Generation/Edition refresh of the Tyranid codex caught me completely by surprise. Moloch, who at that time was pretty tight with the studio, had warned me it was coming. I remember being shocked, thinking that Nid players had waited so long for their codex after the release of 3rd Edition (not, actually, that long now that I look at it objectively), and that there was no possible way that we could be getting new models because Games Workshop had only just refreshed the entire model line. Long story short, I was, more or less, happy with the situation the Tyranids were in during 3rd Edition, and I couldn't imagine how Games Workshop could possibly improve on it.

Oh, how wrong I was.

The Tyranid Archive - 3rd Generation (2001)

In honour of 40k's 25th Birthday this year, I'm working at an ongoing series called "The Tyranid Archive," which is meant to be a historical look back on where Tyranids came from and how far they've come. Here's our next installment.

3rd Generation (2001)
(Also known as the Birth of Mutable Genus or What Is The Least Number Of Genuses I Can Get Into An Army, We Can Get Them For You Cheap, and Screw This Grinfex: Where's My Plastic Carnifex?)

The third edition codex brought with it a whole world of Tyranid evolutions that we still enjoy to this day. It created Scything Talons and Rending Claws where before there were just Random Slashy Things. The strength of ranged weaponry went from being absolute as defined by gun to being variable as defined by the bearer's strength (Venom Cannons, for example, fired at the strength of the creature carrying them +2, and a devourer on a carnifex was Str 8!). We were introduced to the importance of Synapse and the requisite consequences of Instinctive Behaviour. It was the birth of the Tyranid Monstrous Creature, with its ability to ignore armour and roll 2D6 penetration, and it was the first time Tyrants ever got wings. Genestealers, with their armour-munching rending claws, became the bane of many folks' existence. However, you were lucky if your genestealers ever made it to combat because the newly-introduced, Tyranid-specific "shoot the big ones" (no joke; that was actually the name of it) rule meant that our opponents could ignore standard rules for target priority/screening and fire on any Tyranid unit they liked.

The codex was set up in a similar fashion to others of the era, with a complete list of Tyranid creatures at front of the book, allowing a few options per squad, and you could build a full army from that list.

But then there was this mad, secondary list at the back of the book that fell under the heading of "Mutable Genus List," and it detailed the various "Mutable Genus" species of Tyranid (Gaunts, Warriors, Rippers, Carnifexes, and Tyrants).

The Tyranid Archive - 2nd Generation (1995)

In honour of 40k's 25th Birthday this year, I'm working at an ongoing series called "The Tyranid Archive," which is meant to be a historical look back on where Tyranids came from and how far they've come. Here's our next installment.

2nd Generation (1995)

(Also known as Warhammer 40k, The Codex Era, and You Can Have As Many Of That As You Like)

The second generation of Tyranids was ushered in by the army's first codex. What a lovely tome that was, allowing everything from Warriors through to Lictors, Zoanthropes, Carnifexes, and Hive Tyrants access to Tyranid-specific Wargear called "biomorphs." As this was second edition, these biomorphs were not your simple +1 Str improvements, they were mad abilities like feedback-causing forcefields and ranged bioplasma attacks that you could mix and match on some of the larger creatures. They were as far beyond our current biomorphs as a conversion beamer is beyond a bolt pistol. 

The Art of Callum MacDougall (Iron Nid)

The concept series is my schizophrenic attempt to shine light on the art that inspires me. I always do some of my best work when working from concept sketches. I find the hard lines and white space conducive to creation as they give you just enough definition to get you going, while still leaving space to do your own thing. Here's hoping you find these sketches as helpful and inspiring as I do.

Callum MacDougall's (Iron Nid) concept for a Swarmlord. Sure, it's just a head, but I think it does a great job of marrying the current Tyrant design with the Aliens-rip-off-Queen head of the 3rd Edition Tyrant model.

I think that the aspect I love most about the Tyranid community that has sprung up around Warpshadow.com over the years is the artistic bent of the majority of our members. Sure, there are Tyranid tactical geniuses around, but I focus the majority of my attention on the Modeling and Painting section of the forums. That focus has meant that I've stumbled across some pretty awesome, innovative Tyranid designs over the years. And, now that we've got the "big guns" like Goodwin and Cirillo and Vermis out of the way, I figured it was about time for the Concept Series to focus on some up-and-coming artists.

Iron Nid's Doom of Malantai concept sketch. An important aspect of it was his idea that the Doom would move by slithering through the air, held aloft by its massive psyker abilities.

This week, I'm posting up a few sketches by Callum MacDougall, who goes by the handle "Iron Nid" on the Warpshadow forums.

The Art of Robert Cirillo

The concept series is my schizophrenic attempt to shine light on the art that inspires me. I always do some of my best work when working from concept sketches. I find the hard lines and white space conducive to creation as they give you just enough definition to get you going, while still leaving space to do your own thing. Here's hoping you find these sketches as helpful and inspiring as I do.

For this week's installment of the Concept Series, we go with an obvious choice: Roberto Cirillo. This talented artist was contracted by Games Workshop to churn out a pile of concept sketches for the 4th Edition Tyranid release, and in an unprecedented move, the company posted a gallery of what must have been every sketch Cirillo did. In the interest of making sure that Gallery of Tyranid Win isn't lost to Tyranid Hobbyists, I'm reposting it here.

The Art of Warren Beattie

The concept series is my schizophrenic attempt to shine light on the art that inspires me. I always do some of my best work when working from concept sketches. I find the hard lines and white space conducive to creation as they give you just enough definition to get you going, while still leaving space to do your own thing. Here's hoping you find these sketches as helpful and inspiring as I do.

This is the second installment in the Concept Series: a recurring feature here meant to showcase the concept sketches of both professional and amateur Tyranid artists. When it comes to converting and creating new Tyranid organisms, I have yet to find a better source of inspiration than the concept sketch. The goal of this series is to make sure this work is visible, allowing converters and kitbashers to get new ideas for diversifying their swarms.

We started the series off with an artist as professional as they come: Mr. Jes Goodwin--a man who has been defining the Tyranid aesthetic since Andy Chambers was called The Great Devourer. This week, we switch tracks to an amateur artist (in that he is not employed by GW), and as the series progresses, it will feature many more amateur artists. However, the decision to start with Warren Beattie was a conscious one as he was the first to ever pop up on my radar, and he may be one of the finest amateur, 40k-related artists I have ever run into.

"Warren Beattie" is probably a name you've never heard, and it's only marginally more likely that you've heard the forum handle "Vermis." It's more likely that you may have run across this sketch somewhere along the way:

Or, perhaps, this version that he coloured up for Hive Fleet Moloch: