Anagi Leeuwenhoek, Grand Parasite of the Lidless Eye

Anagi Leeuwenhoek, Grand Parasite of the Cult of the Lidless Eye has been a member of the Mechanicus since before the singing of the Treaty with Terra. She worked within the gene vaults of the Emperor beneath the Imperial Palace at the onset of the Great Crusade as a surgeon pioneering many of the techniques which would become integral in creating the organs necessary in creating the space marines. There are secrets locked within her memories that no one but her recalls. Even Belisarius Cawl has lost many of the secrets from those early days, but Grand Parasite Leeuwenhoek has lost none of her long memory.

Archmagos Leeuwenhoek has many titles within the Lidless Eye. In her war aspect she is Archmagos Dominus Leeuwenhoek, who's knowledge of the microscopic world sees her unleash terrible nanomachine plagues upon her enemies. To the rest of Mars she is the Omnissiah's Red Right Hand, a destroyer of worlds and extinguisher of species. She is the figurehead of the Cult of the Lidless Eye and is seen as its leader. In truth she is closer to an ally to the Cult. The Golden King is the true leader of the Cult and Leeuwenhoek is his most powerful tool. Her extensive knowledge and political power within the Mechanicus has lead the Cult of the Lidless Eye to become the most powerful faction of Dark Mechanicus working within the Segmentum Solar.

The Eternal Wanderers

A large portion of the Cult of the Lidless Eye is dedicated to the exploration of the rad wastes of Mars as well as the vast data vaults beneath. Among these forces are the Eternal Wanderers, who search the wastes for the lost and forgotten entrances to infocaverns and datacaves deep within the Red Planet. Z-436x has roamed the wastes of Mars longer than he can remember. He is the Knight Baron of the Eternal Wanderers and under his command is a Rad-Zone Corps consisting of several units of Skitarii Vanguard, Sicarian Ruststalkers, and his own Sydonian Dragoon brothers. With z-436x at their head this army of irradiated killers roams the surface of Mars plundering the forgotten history of the Mechanicus.

Archmagos Dominus Anagi concept

I went out and bought the Lady Olynder and some green stuff today to make an Archmagos Dominus conversion. I have done a beginning sketch to start with. I'm sure she will change a bit as I come up with more ideas, but for now here is the initial concept.

The Clockwork King/Aurum Custos I

None suspect that the robot bodyguard Aurum Custos I is the master of the Cult of the Lidless Eye. To all outsiders it is merely an advanced and powerful bodyguard for the Tech Priest Dominus Galt Singe. In truth he is in fact an Abominable Intelligence. He is the impetus for the cult's research into AI technology as well as biological studies. His ultimate goal is to house AI intelligences within human flesh. With this ability he will be able to place his agents in all levels of power within the Imperium. It was the Clockwork King who was integral to the onset of Old Night and his plans to usurp mankind's dominance was only ruined by the emergence of the Emperor. The Clockwork King secretly backed Horus as soon as his rebellion came to light and he and his agents have opposed the agents of the Emperor ever since.

I wanted this model to have a completely different aesthetic from all the others in the army to give it the feel of something much more advanced and at the same time more ancient. I feel like the elegant Art Nuevo look of the model helped convey that feeling. I think adding the axe to the model helped add that brutal element to the model to bring it into the Grimdark of 40k.

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The Carnifex is one of the most brutal of all Tyranid bioforms. But it is also one of the most common sights of any Tyranid invasion. Some of Magos Cath's earliest experiments were with Carnifexes. Because of both their savagery and the ease of obtaining viable DNA samples Carnifexes are one of the most easily produced and most reliable of the larger Tyranid organisms grown by the Magos. Of the various forms of the Carnifex the "Screamer Killer" was both the first and most encountered of all varieties. The Screamer Killer has been known to Imperial records since Tyran and continues to be a common sight on all Battlefields involving the Tyranids. Magos Cath has had great success in testing the Screamer Killer's abilities in battle against many different opponents and even the legendary bravery of the Space Marines has been sorely tested by these terrifying creatures.

I am fairly happy with how this model turned out. The only problem that I have with it is that I feel it looks too glossy. I broke my airbrush today and has to add the clear coat with a brush so I feel it went on a bit too glossy. After I get a new airbrush I plan to do a coat of matte over the entire model to dull down the shine a little. Other than that I am very pleased with it. The army is coming alone quite nicely and after I finish my Hive Tyrant I will do a small group photo.

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Magos Cath has performed extensive testing on synapse creatures as they are the lynchpin of his efforts to create an artificial Hivemind. Without the synapse relays found within these creatures control of the "lesser" Tyranids would not be possible. But these creatures present a special complication as they are especially difficult to shield from the Hivemind. They require full shielding of the synapse nodes within the creatures cortex. Magos Cath's will is channeled through the synapse beasts into the other Tyranids in a synthetic Hivemind. The most powerful relay found within the subjects Cath has studied resides in the Hive Tyrants. Of all synapse creatures the Hive Tyrant has the largest and most complicated of all studied synapse nodes, but all synapse creatures are difficult to produce and control. The growth and implantation process for creating a viable Malanthrope is costly in the extreme so they are rare within the Magos Cath's growing menagerie of living weapons.

Here is my completed Malanthrope. Just like the Hive Tyrant I found the perfect bit to use as his head. This was an easy paint. A lot of drybrushing. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to paint this model in bright colors to contrast the rest of the army and to show its toxicity, but in the end I decided to use biohazard symbols instead. It just felt right for Mechanicus.

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The second post for my Tyranid army is just a progress picture of what I'm working on now. My Hive Tyrant, Beast 01. I am happy with how the cables turned out and how well the head came out in general. I decided to highlight up further than I normally do. I get a lot of comments about not adding enough highlights to my models. I prefer to paint them that way because to me it looks more realistic, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I think it's coming out pretty well so far. I've also been told repeatedly that my pictures are too dark so I've made an effort to not darken them down anymore.

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Magos Biologis Egrid Cath has been studying biological life for hundreds of years. It was only by a quirk of fate that he was not stationed on Tyran when the hive fleet first made contact with the Imperial world. Magos Cath, who was originally chosen to head the Mechanicus operations on Tyran Prime, was supplanted by his rival Magos Varnak in a successful political maneuver that would prove to be most fortunate for Magos Cath. After word had spread of the new threat that faced the Imperium from beyond the cold of galactic space Magos Cath became obsessed with this new form of life that was completely beyond anything humanity had seen before. He covetously studied every specimen that he could acquire for both Imperial and less official sources. Eventually he became the leading researcher of the Tyranid menace. Magos Cath has access to all possible data on the Tyranids and has even been experimenting on live specimens.

Magos Cath has developed a method of shielding live Tyranids from the Hive Mind and has used this technology to study the effects of separation from the Hive Mind on Tyranid subjects, especially synapse creatures. He has likewise developed a means of controlling several Tyranid species. Through various implants he has created a synthetic "Hive Mind" that he can control with his own will. Several field tests have yielded promising results and Magos Cath has also begun using gene samples to grow specimens in his biolabs. These specimens are more susceptible to control and have been engineered with increased aggressive tendencies even beyond those seen in most other hive fleets with the exception of Hive Fleet Behemoth.

Cath's progress has not been without setbacks. On more than one occasion his forces have come to blows with the Ordo Xenos. Fortunately for Cath none of the Inquisitors who have discovered the truth about his Tyranid control experiments have survived to bring the might of the Inquisition to bare. There are likewise some factions within the Adeptus Mechanicus who would consider Magos Cath's experiments heretical and there would certainly be conflict if it came to light that he was working with live Tyranids within the confines of the forgeworld, but soon he intends to reveal his successes and show the greater Imperium the benefits of his vision.

I present to you my new project. A Tyranid army controlled by the Adeptus Mechanicus. I'm having a lot of trouble getting models for my Tyranid project since a lot of the larger Tyranids are currently unavailable. But luckily I have been able to get a hold of a Hive Tyrant and he will be my next conversion. For now here is the first Tyranid I've ever painted. Hope you enjoy.