Attack Shoggoths

Most fans of H.P.Lovecraft works know the Shoggoths as bubbling masses of proto-meat with infinite limbs and organs sprouting and melting (more or less like Tetsuo from the Akira animated movie...) all the time... But the cool catch is that these description is for the shoggoths that are insane, lost and seem to be unable to keep a constant shape...

In Lovecraft stories the alien race of the Old Ones developed their technology based on genetic manipulation of living creatures, so they used to "make" organic objects and machines, from the ones to work on construction to others used as entertainment. At their earthly colony some of these organic machines (i.e. Shoggoths) developed enough intelligence to behave as independent creatures, and went all "Terminator" (organic Terminators) on their creators. After this "rise of the machines organic" the Shoggoths spent some time evolving themselves into the shape of the Old Ones, but ended up mad and completely incapable of maintaining any stable shape. 

So I got the idea of making an army of Old Ones for miniature wargames (I intent to use them as Tyranid in W40k), and this guys are my prototypes for the most numerous fighters of their army. Basically the Olds don't have much feelings about their Shoggoths, and use them as "drones" and "shocktroopers", unleashing endless hordes of creatures built to combine the best characteristics of the most successful living entities found in the enemy planets. These war drones have only one thing in mind, to obey the Old One's orders and devour their enemy, using their hidrocarbonic bodies to fuel their own. 

These attack shoggoths are built to combine the most successful adaptations of insects, mammals, reptiles, fish and arachnids, they have the exoskeleton, body shape and strength of beetles, but with the mass, internal organs, metabolism and size of carnivore mammals like tigers and cheetahs. Instead of eyes, that can work as a weak point at the very front of the creature, they have special organs capable of detecting electricity (like sharks), six ears capable of detecting a broad band of vibrations, heat detector (like some snakes) and a bald leaf-like segmented head that works as a bat sonar. They have six legs but need just four to run, and their chest, leaf-shaped head, shoulder bones and bowl bone work as shark fins, giving great stability for running and swimming, while the tail can work as a rudder, like crocodiles do while underwater. The attack shoggoths usually take energy from other organic lifeforms eaten and oxigen, but can breath anaerobically or "burn" their own muscles for energy if deprived of the usual energy source.  

The "melee" version have two scythe-shaped blades at the attack limbs and a sickle-shaped one at the end of the tail, and their tactics are usually to run against the enemy lines, with blades extended, and let their own speed and weight press the targets against the edge of the blades, cutting limbs and opening flesh until the shoggoth is killed or there are no more living targets. If some other tactic is required, like guerrilla action or wolf-pack hunt, the shoggoth can be ordered by the Old One to change his blades into claws, pincers or other kind of organic weapon. 

The "ranged" version had their talons mutated into extra mouths, connected to oversized acid-producing glands. Powerful muscles crisscross each gland, and one fast and absurdly strong "squeeze" can propel a line of organic acid at several hundred kilometers. Usually these shoggoths have one "organic cannon" at each shoulder and another one at the tip of the tail, allowing it to shoot in 360º. At melee the extra mouths can grab and bite enemies, but they lack the reach and speed of attack the blades of melee shoggoths have. Usually these ranged monsters operate as "cover fire" to the melee ones, shooting survivors or enemies that escaped the fury of running talons and letting their acid liquefy them.   

About the aesthetics, it's pretty clear that I took inspiration from H. R. Giger biomecanoids