Tyranids are a horde army, so the goal is a striking, cohesive scheme you can apply quickly across dozens of models. The classic split is a hard carapace colour against a contrasting softer skin/flesh, and contrast paints make both fast.
The signature look
A hive fleet scheme is built from two or three colours: a carapace (the hard plates), a skin/flesh (the muscle and limbs), and claws/teeth (bone). Hive Fleet Leviathan, for example, pairs a purple carapace with pale bone skin. Pick a carapace and a complementary skin and you have an instantly recognisable fleet.
Painting a horde fast
- Carapace - the recipe above gives the ramp; a contrast paint over the right undercoat does it in one pass on small models.
- Skin - a flesh or bone contrast over a light undercoat, shaded automatically.
- Claws and teeth - bone basecoat, brown wash, light drybrush.
A zenithal undercoat (dark up to light) under contrast paints does most of the shading for you - ideal for getting a hundred gaunts painted.
Hive fleet variations
Swap the two main colours to invent your own fleet, or follow the classics: Leviathan (purple/bone), Hive Fleet Kraken (purple/cream), Behemoth (red/bone), Gorgon (green/purple).
Tips and common mistakes
- Two colours, applied well, beats five rushed ones. Keep the scheme simple for a horde.
- Use contrast paints. They are made for organic, textured models like these.
- Batch ruthlessly. Do every model's carapace, then every model's skin - never one model at a time.