Remember that post I did on the new Tervigon? I may have over-reacted a little bit *cheeky grin* and I certainly think the message I had set out to write got lost somewhere in my mind. No I still cannot find it, crazy maze of a place it is. For this, you have my apologies.
So, I had the joy of being able to handle a full assembled and beautifully half-painted Tervigon the past week. Being the crazy man I am, I rush to get a tape measure and some other Tyranid models rather than admire the paint work... Hopefully I'll get to see it again in its final glory but to the point and some math!
The Tervigon is 4.5" tall on a base, 4" if we exclude the fume pipe thingies on the top. A Hive Guard is just over 2" tall. Assuming we don't include the spines (which are not part of the main body and as many people indicated in the comments from the previous post, this is outlined in the rulebook), your stock standard Tyranid wall of Termagants (or little gribblies), Hive Guard (or medium gribblies) and Tervigons (or big beasties) still works to give layered cover assuming Termagants manufacture their own somehow (not hard). Not sure about the Tyrannofexes though as without the egg sac, less of the model's actual mass is actually below that 2" mark though it's still technically 50% in absolute terms.
In terms of converted models, I've found your average converted Tervigon seems to be around 3.2-4" tall including the spines so in terms of actual height size compared to the new model isn't too different when the excess spines are excluded. Given that the new model is still getting cover from anything over 2" tall (i.e. Hive Guard), this shouldn't be much of an issue as long as you based your Tervigon off something at least as large as a plastic Carnifex. A good suggestion repeated in the comments as well was to simply buff up the base the model is standing on an extra inch or so and make sure you impress upon your opponent it counts as part of the model. Considering some Tervigons (mine included) were put on normal MC bases, attaching one of the extra large oval bases to the bottom of such a base and building them up to the old base is likely going to be a pretty easy way of getting that extra half inch of height.
So game-wise impact with the new model... there really is none. Venomthropes aren't the must have choice now to ensure cover though they are still an excellent buy if you can withstand not having three squads of Hive Guard and more often than not, if you were getting cover with your converted Tervigons you'll still be getting them with the new models, just a little bit less so from terrain if you were using actual model height.
I'll probably end up getting a couple of the kits to replace my Tyrannofexes (turning them back into Dakkafexes or the like) since they are so small and continuously pointing out they are actually yay (4") tall is tedious ^^. Not a huge fan of the models but a sight better than mine I think :P. I'll try and get some pictures of the painted Tervigon from the local guy as well - it was pretty cool and if he has any Hive Guard, etc., we'll get some comparison pics posted up.
