Harpy-fex – A Kitbash Tyranid Harpy

So, back when the Harpy was first introduced to the Tyranid Codex, I wasn’t that interested in having one. I already had a Biovore and loads of mines i could just drop from orbit. What did take my fancy when it was released was the Hive Crone.

I really like the idea behind this Tyranid anti-air bio form that hunted down the enemy craft, cutting off support for those dying on the ground. Just like the massive Tyranid organisms that attack ships in orbit, the thought of this thing flying along and then grappling with the vehicles that contained useful biomass and posed a threat to the consumption of other biomass, it really appealed to me. Not to mention the unique and wicked weaponry it came with. The little flyer seeking electric bugs and the huge spur on its tail I could just imagine it tearing tanks open.

“Brother Carthel… has this thing always had a sun roof?”

Needless to say, when I got my first duel kit and had to choose, I made the Crone.

I despise waste though, and the kit came with a whole bunch of cool bits for the harpy too. Not wanting to be defeated by the either/or choice given by the duel kit i got thinking and came up with an idea. I had a few unused Carnifexes left over from making Stompy the Looted Carnifex for Krakendoomcool. Using that as a base i figured all i needed were some wings and then to add the spare parts from the kit.

So i already had a carnifex I hadn’t painted up, and back when GW used to sell individual parts I bought some LotR Balrog wings. I always quite liked these wings and had used them in a previous Daemon Prince conversion for a friend. I did tyranid them up a bit though, adding claws to the wing bones and some of those little tyranid grills always on their limbs. Lastly all i had to do was add some of the Harpy pieces, a back spike/fin, the pointed tail and a head. I also had a add some “feet” as the normal model obviously doesn’t have carnifex legs, so I replaced them with the oversized warrior scything talons which I never liked on the smaller models.

I was happy with the model at this point but i had a new problem, no base and no flying stand. To solve this I made an oval base out of thick plasticard. Then used 3 pieces of hat wire to attach him to the base… and Hey Presto!

Another thing worth noting, is while the usual flyer stems make the models very presentable and uniform for any circumstance on the battlefield, I was able to pose it at an angle, so took the opportunity to give it a dynamic angle (even if occasionally it might not look right on the table). I’m sorry I can’t show any work in progress shots but as this is one of my earlier projects I didn’t think to take any photos at the time. Also when I was taking the photos I thought… wow… that base is barren, even for a Tyranid visited death world… that looks bleak but bland. So I may make some alterations to it to make it more interesting. I hope you like what I came up with. The Carnifexes I eBayed were all between £10 – £15, so I think I made a decent saving even after buying the Balrog wings.

Let me know what you think, your constructive criticism is welcome as always and your praise even more so!

~Pandora’s Bitz Box~