Kings of War A Veteran Wargamer's Newbie Guide

I’ve got both Lesser and Greater Obsidian Golems in my army and the scenery items I’ve chosen I also want to paint with an obsidian theme.  This is because black volcanic glass is cool being the sharpest thing on any world.  My Abyssal Dwarfs are luck enough to have taken a hold where there were deposits of obsidian and they make use of it in many ways – not the least being to make Golems.

I’m not a fan of the Mantic house paint scheme.  They have the glowing, still molten inside which isn’t interesting enough for me.  They are also matt which is better for photography but fails to capture the essential glassiness of obsidian for me.  Mine will be super glossy.  This is a risk – gloss finishes can make miniatures look toy soldier like.  We’ll see how it turns out.

First it is a zenital highlight and then Grim Black and Talos Bronze Speedpaint for the base layer.

Next the whole miniature gets a coat of Dark Tone dip.  This has the darkest pigment of this range and won’t tint the miniature brown.

The “skin” is now finished.  Back to the metal parts to kill the shine a bit and add some depth of tone.  Very similar process to that already described for the Abyssal Dwarfs armour.  I added an extra top highlight to the very top tips and upper edges with a 1 part Vallejo Pale Burnt Metal to 2 Parts Vallejo Metal Copper blend.

That’s them done.  These guys are the rear row of the regiment and the space in the middle gets filled with a terrain piece with a formation of obsidian columns.

Here are all of the Obsidian Golems.  The Greater Golem is a Runewars Runic Golem.  I liked his twin swords and dynamic pose which I tried to enhance by giving him foot on rock, well not so much rock as lump of scrap iron.  He was also very cheap, less than a tenner as compared to over £40 for the Mantic one.  The scenery item is another one from Scotia Grendel.