The floral theme for this Warhammer 40k Tyranids army came about after people kept comparing its original color scheme, red and green, to a Christmas tree. Creator Nathaniel from Queensland, Australia recalls how he decided that “they’re all plants now”, and “ended up going crazy with the theme”.
Nathaniel (who prefers not to give a surname) has only been collecting Warhammer 40k since 2022, after his housemate introduced him to it. He was attracted to the Tyranids because of how distinct they are from the other Warhammer 40k factions, and also “the massive amount of swarm that they provide”.
The bulk of the conversion work to give them the “garden theme” was accomplished using “a box of plastic flowers and grass that I cut apart then hot glued onto my models”. The conversions for each swarm of ‘nids are inspired by various plants ranging from Balga Grass Plant to Poppies.
The Norn Emissary was “absolutely the most difficult model to put together”, Nathaniel says. It’s inspired by an Orchid Mantis. There’s a wrecked Redemptor class Space Marine Dreadnought on its base, “painted in a faded version of my housemate’s Salamanders theme”. You can find some work-in-progress photos of this beast on Reddit.
The Norn is holding a Space Marine body “to represent the body inside of the dreadnought”, and has eaten its head, in true Orchid Mantis fashion. “The blood was then made with red hot glue”, he adds.
Grisly stuff, but very appropriate for the Tyranids. Nathaniel has developed a taste for conversions: “I intend to start creating an Adeptus Mechanicus army themed around the game Borderlands”, he says.
The combination of Tyranids and flowers reminds us both of classic DIY Tyranids terrain made using lotus seed pods to represent gnarly spawning chambers, and the massive Tyranid model that appeared at a Spanish carnival in February accompanied by hundreds of dancing, plant-like ‘parasites’.
Nathaniel’s work just goes to show you don’t have to have a lot of experience to make something truly eye-opening. We have a handy guide on painting miniatures if you’re similarly new and want to get cracking.