How to Paint Hive Fleet Gorgon - TheChirurgeon's Method

This article is part of a larger series on How to Paint Tyranids. To return to that series, click here.

Hive Fleet Gorgon are a splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Behemoth which were known for their extreme adaptability and the ability to rapidly change to overcome foes and tactics, something which served them well during their war with the T'au. Unfortunately this was a double-edged sword, as staying more adaptable meant relying more on smaller bioforms which could be produced more rapidly.

Color-wise, Gorgon are one of the easiest hive fleets to paint, as they really only have two colors to their scheme: green skin and bone-colored chitin.

Step 1. Basecoat and Wash

I started by basecoating the model with Grey Seer, since these Tyranids call for a much lighter color scheme. Once that was dry, I painted the skin with Death World Forest, though Death Guard would also work for this. After that I washed the whole thing with Coelia Gardenshade.

Step 2. Highlight + Drybrush

I came back and highlighted the model with Death World Forest and a mix of Death World Forest and Ogryn Camo before doing final highlights by drybrushing the model with Ogryn Camo and doing some edge highlighting around the pores.

Step 3. Chitinous Plates

I plainted the Chitinous Plates, talons, and hooves with Rakarth Flesh, then washed that with Agrax Earthshade. I then came back and hit that with Rakarth Flesh again, this time painting the stripes along the back of the armor plates similar to the process used in our Chitnous Plates tutorial in the main How to Paint Tyranids article.

Step 4. Final Details

One more pass highlighting the plates, this time with Reaper Polished Bone. The eyes got a spot of Reaper Pure White whlie the tongue is Bugman's Glow highlighted up to Emperor's Children.

This is one of the easiest models I've painted - it went pretty fast and the scheme itself is pretty lenient - it's easy to do with contrast if you prefer and if you go that route I'd recommend starting with Wraithbone instead of Grey Seer for your primer.