Tyranids and Zoanthropes

So I have a thing about trying out different models and paint schemes.  This time around, I picked up a Tyranid Zoanthrope a few weeks ago and wanted to try a more naturalistic paint scheme.  The plating and claws were fairly simple to do.  After basing the whole model white, I painted a layer of Ushanti Bone over all the plates and hard surfaces I wanted green.  Next, I used snot green for the first layer on the plates, and (not quite)dry brushed it on about the middle of the armor plates/claws.  I say not quite there since the paint was still fairly wet.  The goal is not to end up with gobs of paint sitting on the model, but to have lines and striations in it. Next, I applied a darker shade of green towards the back, going over the edges.  Lastly I brushed black just along the edges of each plate and claw, and then washed the plates and claws with a green wash.  I'll update colors when I get back home.

The skin was fairly easy, a flesh covered layer followed by an orange layer, followed by two washes with Flesh-something wash.  For the brain, I left the white paint there and washed it in blood gore wash, followed by a dry brushing of white over the noodles.

As you can tell from the picture, there are still a few areas to touch up on, but I think it's coming along very nicely, and once those areas are taken care of it'll be ready for varnish. The base is some rocks I bought at a train hobby supply store, and the grass is a grass product you can find at any model shop.  The base exterior is actually the same color as the skin on the Zoanthrope.  The blue on the base is actually the white glue I used to hold everything down, and doesn't look that way in real life.  However, seeing it in this picture has convinced me that washing the base in blue after things have been glued in could make a very good contrast for the model.

Total paint time right now amounts only to about 2 hours, meaning replication on less complex models should be fairly simple.  Since this is a horde army, that's really preferred for painting tons of miniatures.  Also, since I'm not going for complete coverage of colors, you end up with an army that still has uniqueness even though they are all painted the same.

I hadn't planned on starting Tyranids as an army choice, and after looking at finances, don't think it'll be an option for a while.  But it was fun to paint a model that was more organic looking.  I've also picked up a Hive guard this last week and will work on as well.  Haven't figured out yet how to paint that model, since there are gaps in armor coverage that will need to be worked out, but I'll post pictures when I get there.

-Cj