Hive Tyrants are without a question my favorite commander units in Warhammer 40.000. Yes, that's right, not just Tyranids, but the whole 40K. Why? They are imposing, psychic yet still excelling in combat, and they have so many different weapon options, something that is becoming a rare sight in post-Primaris Warhammer. This is why decided to at least partially magnetize my own Hivefleet Leviathan Tyrant.
I actually went only with magnetizing the upper arms, so that I can provide my Tyrant with a variety of melee weapons (and wings). The venom cannon is fixed as I consider it both visually appealing and satisfying on the battlefield. With a Tyrant, shooting is only a bonus, anyway.
Magnetizing the arms is actually very easy, you simply drill a hole where the joint connections would be and place magnets inside. Only problems is with the wings, which are simply too heavy for most magnets (see more on that below).
I went with my usual Leviathan paint scheme - with Ceramite White (White Scar) basecoat, Screaming Skull undercoat, Carroburg Crimson wash and Ceramite White drybrush. The bioweapons are painted with Mephiston Red basecoat, Carroburg wash and Evil Sunz Scarlet drybrush/highlights.Carapace is basecoated black and then highlighted with multiple strokes of Xereus Purple and Genestealer Purple.
One of my favourite looks is with the Scything Talons for upper arms. Unfortunately this combination seems illegal in the 10th edition. Don't get me started on that.
The most impressive way to build the model is with the wings. I love the way the miniature looks with feet stamping on the ground and the wings spreading! The wings are painted with a Kislev Flesh equivalent and, of course, they are too heavy to hold on just the magnets. I've fixed them in position using short pins protruding from the wings and fitting into rather inconspicuous drilled holes above the magnets.
For best results, I recommend starting by drilling inside the wings just behind the magnets and fixing the pins with super glue and/or green stuff. After that, then try the wings on the model and watch where the pin scratches the model. Then drill a hole there. Be careful while drilling that a proper direction is mantained.
Take a look at the pictures below to see how the pinning sytem works:
Anyway, hope this post is helpful! Let me know if you want help or could use more pictures.
