Reaper Bones: Stone Golem

The figure for this week's Monday Miniatures is 77171 Stone Golem (which finishes up the Golem set from the Bones I Kickstarter):

I am very pleased with how this one turned out!  This was my first attempt at a more complex stone technique (granite, in this case).  Previously, almost all "stones" I have painted have been a simple gray basecoat with a lighter gray highlight.  That's both quick and effective, but somewhat bland for large stone surfaces.  Since the majority of this figure is stone, I wanted to provide a little more texture.  I started with a light-medium gray, and then stippled various grays in multiple passes to emulate the varied colors and random pattern of granite.

Since it's a stone statue, I decided not to paint the adornments separate (I envisioned them as being sculpted directly on the statue).  I thought about attempting a "glow" effect for the eyes, but I decided I wanted to emulate the look of the statue of Belial from the old computer game, "Legends of Lore: Guardians of Destiny".  In the game, the statue becomes animated but has no outward signs of magic (until it gets into combat), and I think that makes it a little more disturbing as a result.

That decided, I chose to paint the gemstones around the crown of the head to provide extra interest and draw attention toward the face.  I used an old technique that I remembered from back when I played Warhammer Fantasy (it involves painting dark, medium, and light zones and then using a white highlight to create a "gemstone" effect).  Considering this was only my second time attempting it, I thought it turned out amazingly well.  I think it goes to show how a high-quality brush with a good point can really help!

The base is pretty simple (and I'm terrible about making bases more interesting); I decided to go with an earthen brown rather than a stone gray, to prevent the miniature from blending in with the base.  I didn't want him to move like the Army Men from "Toy Story"!

Overall a rather simple miniature, but one that presented the opportunity to try a couple of techniques that I have rarely (or never) used.  If my favorite part of Monday Miniatures is seeing all different ways that people paint the same figure, my second favorite part is the challenge of painting a figure I might not have gotten to otherwise.

Next week's miniature is 77137 Sarcophagus.

- M:M