Warhammer 40K: Tyranid Range Through The Years
Games Workshop is showcasing a few key miniatures from the Tyranid Range and how they looked compared to their first incarnations.
The Tyranids are a faction that is known for their adaptations. They are the Great Devourer and seek to incorporate (ie eat) all the biomass out there and upgrade themselves. While that’s probably the in-game lore reason for their models changing over the years there’s the real world reason for the changes, too. Their sculpts have changed due to materials and technological changes over the years. But by how much? Well, GW has some side-by-side (by side) comparisons for you to see.
The Tyranid hive fleets are descending with a host of terrifying new beasties bristling with deadly bioweapons. The Hive Mind is always adapting its repertoire of living weapons, each with a specific function designed to aid the swarm in conquering fresh planets.
Carnifex
From left to right we have the old Scream-Killer metal Carnifex, the current plastic kit carnifex, and then the all plastic and latest version of the Screamer-Killer Carnifex. Now, this is a pretty clear transition from one to the next but there’s also one other metal version that GW left out:
You can see the evolution from the metal options to the plastic kits. I do have a soft spot for all these models. That said, I really like the multipart plastic carnifex kit the most out of all these kits. While the new Leviathan Screamer-Killer is impressive, it’s also a mono-pose model. The versatility of the multipart kit is why it’s my favorite of this batch.
Lictor
The Lictor has also had some bing changes throughout the years. The metal one on the left is really what informed the design decisions for every lictor since. The middle lictor was the half-way house model that was also in metal and then recast in resin. It was not the best material to work with. And then finally we have the new plastic version. What’s really cool about this version is that it can be posed in three different ways:
I think this is a really cool touch and I’m curious to see how GW pulled that off with the new kit! It makes me hopeful that maybe they can start to do a similar thing with other older mono-pose models.
I also wanted to mention the Deathleaper model, too. This one is getting quite a shift as GW really added a lot of extras to the Deathleaper to make it different than just another Lictor.
If you’ve got Illithid on the brain for some reason, then this model might be calling to you…
Biovore/Pyrovore
So here we have another batch of models that really showcase the evolution in technology and materials. I actually have a few metal biovore models on the left and they are tiny compared to the next two models. One thing that I wish the new plastic kit did a better job of alluding to is the fact that the Biovores were based off of Ork genes. You can really tell from the middle version with the face of the creature. Those orky proportions weren’t on accident. The new one does look really cool — it’s more tick-like than anything. It does lean into the living artillery vibe more than the orky genes.
And here’s a look at the Pyrovore just to compare. Personally, I really disliked the old Pyrovore model and think the new plastic one is way better. Feel free to disagree. But, as a Tyranid player, I never bought the old Pyrovore model. Now I’m probably going to pick-up 2-3 of the new ones…so I’m putting my money where my mouth is. You do you.
Hormagaunts
Players of a certain vintage might remember the old metal Hormagaunts on the left. They shared a certain similarity to a franchise and that look didn’t last super long. They were replaced by the plastic Hormagaunts that have been serving the Hive Mind for years. That’s kind of why the new kit is a welcome change. If nothing else the new kit will help to add some much needed “movement” to the look of the swarm.
They will have many more poses and the “same straight tail” won’t be the case for all the Hormagaunts moving forward.
Termagants
The Termagants have changed a lot over the years, too. The old metal ones on the left helped shape the future kits for sure. And the plastic kits will now have call backs to their old weapon options, too:
It’s worth noting that GW said that the Termagants will have the same push-fit bodies from the Leviathan box but they will have alternate weapon options that work with that kit. Pretty great news for Tyranid players out there!
Genestealers
The Genestealers are one of those models that got a plastic kit really early in their life cycle. I still use the plastic ones from their board game days! Partly because they are already painted but also because every time you pull one out of the box they are usually attached to two or three more — it’s a barrel full of monkeys situation.
Anyhow, the newest iteration looks to add some more dynamic poses and options to the range. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on these models and seeing what other options GW has instore. I know they mentioned their will be enough Ymgarl heads for the entire box so that’s exciting!
The new plastic Tyranid kits are coming very soon from Games Workshop!
