Having only recently (and quite belatedly) finished painting the last Hormagaunt, my Hive Fleet Kraken Kill Team is now finally complete. This is several years after the current edition of Kill Team came out, which doesn’t even include Compendium Kill Teams anymore. I know. Still, I wanted to take the opportunity to shoot some atmospheric group photos for you in front of my Gallowdark terrain, so please enjoy.

Hive Fleet Kraken – the lore

Hive Fleet Kraken was the second major Tyranid incursion into the galaxy, striking in 993.M41 with terrifying speed and coordination. Unlike the brute-force assault of Hive Fleet Behemoth, Kraken advanced in multiple tendrils. Perhaps their most infamous conquest was the assault on the craftworld Iyanden in 995.M41. After devastating swathes of the Eastern Fringe, one of Kraken’s tendrils descended upon the Eldar world with overwhelming numbers.

Cinematic shot of three Tyranid Warriors, painted in the bone and red of Hive Fleet Kraken, in a Gallowdark Space Hulk environment lit with red and green light
Most of the models in this post have been kindly provided to me free of charge by Games Workshop. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Iyanden’s forces fought valiantly, deploying Wraithguard and Wraithlords animated by the souls of their dead, but the sheer scale of the Tyranid swarm breached even the craftworld’s defences. Though the Aeldari ultimately drove Kraken’s tendril away, their victory came at a horrific cost – half the craftworld’s population was slain, leaving the once-proud Iyanden a shadow of its former self.

My inspiration

In my long hobby career, I had always wanted to paint Tyranids but never found the right opportunity. With the release of the Leviathan box and the revamp of the Tyranid range, there really was no excuse left. I started with a few Termagants as test models, followed by Tyranid Warriors and Hormagaunts to form a Hive Fleet Kill Team for the previous edition of Kill Team.

Five Hormagaunt and two Termagant models painted in Hive Fleet Kraken colours by Stahly, arranged on a white background
Gaunts Fire Team with a variety of Hormagaunts and Termagants
Group of 3 Hive Fleet Kraken Tyranid Warriors on white background, painted by Stahly
Tyranid Warriors Fire Team

When it came to choosing a Hive Fleet, Kraken was the obvious choice – as an Aeldari fan, their histories are inseparably linked in my mind. In one of the older editions of the Tyranid Codex, the ’Eavy Metal section featured a Hive Fleet Kraken Hive Guard with very pale skin, which inspired my colour scheme: extremely light, desaturated flesh tones paired with a rich, scarlet red for the chitin armour.

Cinematic shot of a horde of Hormagaunts and Termagants running down the corridor of a Gallowdark Space Hulk, lit with green and red light
Gaunts stalking the corridors of a long-lost Gallowdark Space Hulk

How I painted the Hive Fleet Kraken Kill Team

For the painting, I went with a combination of a zenithal undercoat and one coat paints like Citadel Contrast and Speedpaint. I actually left the flesh without further highlights and invested the extra time to make the red chitin plates stand out. You can find all the details in my free Kraken painting tutorial:

Tutorial: How to paint Hivefleet Kraken Tyranids from Leviathan

Final thoughts

Sadly, the Hive Fleet Kill Team is no longer playable in the current edition, but that doesn’t matter much to me. As I always say: rules come and go, cool models stay. I’m glad I finished the team regardless, and I’ve had some great games with the Hive Fleet crew. In fact, they were able to hold their own against many of the newer Kill Teams. And the models can still be used as NPCs.

Cinematic shot of a Hive Fleet Kraken Kill Team, painted in the bone and red of Hive Fleet Kraken, in a Gallowdark Space Hulk environment lit with red and green light
The entire Hive Fleet Kill Team on my Gallowdark board

The Raveners from Kill Team: Typhon, which I recently reviewed here, are now also very tempting to paint. However, Kill Team: Tomb World has already been released, and I’ve been itching to paint some Necrons again… choices! What would you like to see next?

Feel free to leave a reaction, or drop a comment below, I’m also happy to answer any questions on our friendly hobby Discord server. Thanks a lot, and happy hobbying!

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