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Assembly Notes: Biovores

Use Pictures!

You should look up pictures of the model in the Tyranid Codex as well as keep the box the model came in close by. The picture on the cover of the box and the pictures in the Codex will help guide you as to the intended posture and appearance, which can be very helpful, even if you want to convert the model. The Biovore comes in a blister, so there is no picture there, but there is a very good picture in the Codex that shows a side view which gives you a good idea what angle the back legs need to be at.

Some General Comments

These notes relate what happened with assembly of my first Biovore. I found it to be more awkward than the other models I assembled. Even the Hive Tyrant and Carnifex seemed easier. I think the number of supporting limbs is the real clincher. Rather than worry overlong about precision matching and levelling, I decided to use putty on the base. Putty helps achieve the sandy base look that I want, but it also covers up slight differences in height and provides another level of structure and support for the model. Be very careful to test out the parts and carefully pin them. Moreso than any other model, I was ready for anything with this one. I had a reasonably clear work area and all of my supplies (including putty supplies) at the ready.

Materials

Procedure For Biovore #1 - Stationary, Launching

  1. Clean all of the flash off of the pieces.
  2. Play around with the model, loosely assembling it to get a feel for how it will go together. Pay special attention to the angles of the limbs with respect to the body.
  3. Prepare all of the joints and the feet for Pinning.

    On this particular Biovore, I was cavalier and tried to drive a single pin through the hips for both legs; that was somewhat time consuming in the end, as the drill emerged just slightly off on the opposite side and the right hip became more difficult to pin properly. This is probably more work than it is worth. I would recommend drilling a short hole for each hip joint.
    On Biovore #2 I took my own advice and drilled a shallow hole from each side, rather than trying to drill one hole all the way through.  

  4. Glue on the left leg

    Here I have glued the left leg onto the pin and, using the picture in the codex as a guide, I have adjusted the leg angle to a reasonable angle. This is an important point as the Biovore will barely fit on the base as it is and if the limbs are splayed apart too far, you will not be able to fit it on the base.

  5. Wait for the glue to cure, at least 15-60 minutes.
    Note: at this point I was having some trouble getting both feet flush without the body leaning to one side. The left leg position was good, so I decided to secure the model to the base before moving on.
  6. Glue a pin into bottom of left foot
  7. Position Biovore on the washer and mark drill point for left foot pin
  8. Drill hole for left foot in washer.
  9. Adjust the hole until the pin can be slid in easily but still be somewhat snug fitting.
  10. Clip the pin short enough so that it will not stick out below the washer.
  11. Affix the left foot to the washer.
  12. Glue/pin the right leg in place.

    Notice the gap at the bottom of the right foot. This is part of the reason that I moved on to this step. This is still surprisingly structurally stable, but I want to get something under that foot as soon as possible, so I am moving onto the putty.

  13. I mixed up some putty and colllected my supplies for making the base.

    I will use a double ball stylus (see image at right) as well as some other random putty tools (not shown). The ceramic palette is just there to hold the putty and some water. The water bottle is kept handy to apply water as needed to the putty. Note: I use water from my Pur water filter.

  14. Secure the model for working.

    I needed to support the model while working. I superglued a magnet to an empty jelly jar and this held the washer base quite securely. Note that with steel sculpting tools, your toll will want to stick to the washer edge. I exploited this to my advantage for cleaning/smoothing the edges, but it can be startling the first time it happens and you might prefer to secure the model with double-sided tape or something else non-magnetic.

  15. I start by mashing most of the putty into a thin layer to cover the bulk of the washer, especially the hole in the middle. Then I focus on filling the gap under the right foot. From there, I just build up the putty. For my Tyranid army, I plan to have sand as the base terrain, so I slightly build up the putty around the feet as if the feet are buried slightly in the sand.

    Here are some various shots of the finished base.

  16. Wait for the puty to harden (four hours from start of mixing is good for Milliputt).
  17. Attach the head.
  18. I was not happy with how poorly the head fit in the neck slot and I decided I would use putty anyway, so I went ahead and exploited the pinning technique to have him look off to the side.

    Notice the gap in the neck. I plan to fill this with putty.

  19. I used Kneadatite Blue-White Epoxy Resin Putty. This was my first experience with it. I liked it. I built upon and tried to follow the folds already present.


  20. I had an idea for a simple conversion, a spore mine launching out of the Biovore. That is included on a separate page.

Procedure For Biovore #2 - Walking

  1. Clean all of the flash off of the pieces.
  2. Play around with the model, loosely assembling it to get a feel for how it will go together. Pay special attention to the angles of the limbs with respect to the body.
  3. Prepare all of the joints and the feet for pinning. You may recognize most of the following pictures from the Pinning page.

    Starting with right leg.

    File a flat spot for drilling


    Drill a hole in the hip for a pin

    Prepare a pin by cutting it and filing the tips smooth.

    Insert the pin in the hip.

    Press the leg and pin into the hip joint of the body.

    This will create a mark that indicates where to drill.

    Drill a hole in the hip joint of the body for pinning. I recommend drilling each hole individually, rather than drilling one hole straight through.

    After drilling, clean up the hole edge wth the tip of a knife.


  4. Repeat this process with the left leg as well.
  5. Glue and pin the right leg to the body, using 5-minute epoxy.
  6. Wait 15-60 minutes for the glue to cure.
  7. Glue and pin the right foot to the washer base.
  8. Glue and pin the left leg on. I swiveled the left leg backwards a little to support the notion of walking, but not so far that it would not be supported after the putty was added to the base.



  9. Glue and pin left arm in place. I left the arm down in a supporting position.



  10. Glue and pin right arm in place.


  11. I mixed up some putty and colllected my supplies for making the base.
  12. Secure the model for working. I used a magnet on top of a large jelly jar (empty).
  13. I start by mashing most of the putty into a thin layer to cover the bulk of the washer, especially the hole in the middle. Then I focus on filling the gap under the right foot. From there, I just build up the putty. For my Tyranid army, I plan to have sand as the base terrain, so I slightly build up the putty around the feet as if the feet are buried slightly in the sand.
  14. For this Biovore, I did not submerge the left foot too much, and I left the right arm suspended in air to support the picture of motion.
  15. Wait for the puty to harden (four hours from start of mixing is good for Milliputt).
  16. I then filled the neck gap with Kneadatite Blue-White putty as with the first Biovore, above.