Warhammer 40,000 – Leviathan Tyranid HQ and Elites

We have covered the Space Marines from the Leviathan boxed set and the general unboxing, now in the next step, we take a closer look on some of the unique HQ and Elite units of the Tyranids.

There's quite a bunch of unique models in this box, Winged Tyranid Prime, Carnifex Screamer-Killer, Neurotyrant and Psychophage. These are push-fit models as the rest of the boxed set and are partially on their own or in mixed sprues, more on that further below. As the Space Marines are shown in the colours of the Ultramarines, the Tyranids are painted in the colours of Hive Swarm Leviathan, giving the boxed set its name.

The biggest advantage the Tyranids have with new units and alterations - they are a living weapons and they adapt to the circumstances they have to deal with. Mutations and Biomorphs are a valid and legitimate way to introduce new weapons, units and models to this army, without bigger problems of retconing.

Let us start with the Winged Tyranid Prime, the apex of the Tyranid Warrior strain. Tyranid Warriors are large creatures, smaller than the Hive Tyrants and the Prime take over the role of a leader of the swarm, when the Tyrants are not around. They adapt to certain needs on the battlefield and have over 200 variants, covering an incredible amount of different biomorphs, in this case razor-sharp talons and wings.

The Prime comes in a small sprue with no variants and a 50mm round base.

The pose is very dynamic and cleverly cut. It uses multiple layers and the arms / wings are connected in a way, that you would have the option to convert them using bits from your other tyranid kits. Yet, the Prime is a bit slender than the older range, so not every options would fit. You build the body and add the extremities to the sides.

Compared to other winged models, the Prime keeps them close to his body. This makes him more playable and easier to store in both the shelf and army case.

There's a huge sprue in Leviathan, covering the Carnifex Screamer Killer and Neurotyrant (along with his two Neuroloids).

To build the models from this sprue you'll need the 90mm round base, 40mm round and two 25mm round bases.

A Screamer Killer is a variant of the Carnifex, and in this case one of the biggest. They are named after the sound their bio-plasma blasts create. As you can see from the spread out, they come with four massive deadly talons. Assembly is a bit tricky, as the push-fit on a model this size still left gaps and once you add glue, it is nearly impossible to take the bits apart again. I highly suggest you file down the pins and add glue not to the top, but the sides.

It is a massive model, but the gaps are rather annoying and I'll have to give it a go with Green Stuff or Putty to fill them in. But other than that, well done re-design of the classic model.

The second model from the large sprue is the Neurotyrant. It has a support role and does hover. From the brief introduction notes, we learned that the Neurotyrants are nodes for the hive mind, forwarding the Shadow in the Warp and orchestrating hordes of Tyranids on the battlefield, by relaying a synapse network to the less developed creatures.

The fact that it preys on psychic users is enforced by the head of a Space Marine Librarian on its base, where the tendrils connect the floating body to the base / basetopper. Once again, well use of the possibilites of plastic, a multi-layered design that creates a plasticity for this model, which is quite stunning. Years ago, something like this would only been possible in resin.

The Neuroloids are easy builds, only two parts each and quite stable.

Another huge beast in the Leviathan kit is the Psychophage. It comes in a sprue of its own and has less parts as you migth expect from the beginning. Similar to the Neurotyrant, the Psychophage is a psychic-countering unit, and feeds on the minds of psikers.

It stands on a 120mm oval base and has a huge two piece, hollow body. Had some issues with the fit, as it will need some gap filling afterwards along the spine / centre of the back carapace (you can see that even on the painting videos of Games Workshops Youtube channel). Beyond that, impressive model and a more stable stand on the base, than I would have expected at first. A nice touch is the teeth filled maw and Primaris armour pieces the Psychophage rips apart.

While the Screamer Killer picks up a lot of elements of the old model from the 90s, the Tyranid Warriors have evolved by a lot. They dropped the rather goofy look and by the different design of the heads alone the overall experience improved noticeably. The new range of Tyranids is more slender, you will notice this when you compare the bits. The plastics from 3rd edition onwards are well done, but quite bulky in direct comparison, the newer parts, especially if you compare the winged prime with a regular tyranid warrior, is learner with finer extremities. But overall the design of the new units mixes quite well with the older range, you could use the Neurotyrant next to a Zoanthrope, if you wanted. Between the Bolter and Me covered the evolution of the Zoanthrope in detail.

The size of these models is impressive. The Screamer Killer is as tall as the new Dreadnought, the Winged Prime a bit taller than the new Terminator captain.

And now for the finished models and some angled shows, starting winth the winged Tyranid Prime. If you want to see, what a first conversion looks like, Chris Frosin re-positioned the wings and gave him a more open pose.

As for the Screamer-Killer Carnifex, massive pose, huge upgrade and not just a fan-service.

The Neurotyrant is a stunning looking model and I give you a shot from below, to show you all the details you'd probably have missed.

And last but not least the Psychophage with a close up of its maw.

Conclusion

Stunning looking models, nothing to add. Had some problems with gaps, especially with the Screamer Killer, but now that you know, you can avoid them, by trimming down the push-fit connection and glue it as a regular kit together. From a design point of view, these fit with the army and are great value on their own. The RRP of the boxed set is 200 EUR, and on the second hand market the price for the tyranid part alone is currently settling at around 70 EUR and to be he honest, those four characters are already worth that. For comparison, the RRP of the Psychophage and Neurotyrant would be in approximation to other available Tyranid models probably be 50 and 32,50 EUR. So that is already a discount on regular pricing.

And they are not alone, but come with some swarm units to support. From the first impression, I am a bit surprised about the psyker focus, as two of the four units we've shown today are focussed or countering psi, as I would see that, if they fought Eldar / Aeldari, but it doesn't ring a bell for me in terms of Space Marines. But maybe this question will be answered in the Tyrannic War crusade book.

Beyond that, satisfying release so far and I can see some of the Tyranid model being repurposed as bio-titans, but more on that later.

Warhammer 40.000 is a brand by Games Workshop.

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.