A Summer of Citadel: Imperial Dwarf Grum

 

My next figure is this lovely old school dwarf. He was a bit of an unfinishable as I started work on him at the beginning of the year. I just couldn't get that chainmail to look the part. As I've said before, I want my painting style to be in the vein of the design studio in the late 1980s, just before Mike McVey's glorious blending took over the scene (I'll never be as good with the hairy wand as him). 

In the end it was a decent black ink wash over a dry-brushed Mithril Silver base that achieved the look I was seeking. Once it was dry, I dusted back over the top of the mail with silver once more. Then adding thin lines of black ink around the creases and folds of the armour and where the equipment joined. I've started to mix Blood Red, Foundry Brown Oche (thanks Ian) and Bleached bone to create a leather colour and I'm keen to explore what that mix can do. 

As you might guess, I am VERY pleased with the way the face came out. Flesh is one of my targets for improvement and here my colour mix worked well. Bronzed Flesh with a little Red Gore added, then the highlights built up by adding Bleached Bone. A nice rich tone. I left the eyes on this one and his grunting, squished face looked quite characterful, even for a dwarf.

I used Blood Red and Sunburst Yellow as a spot colour on the decoration around the top of his chainmail cap and on his shield. I used one of my greenstuff copied shields and matched these tones on it. I wanted a battered and well worn look (as my greenstuff casting had a lot to be desired) so stuck to a simple geometric pattern which fits the historical feel this figure has. Being a Perry sculpt, the rich historical vibes are no surprise. 

Though hard to see in this photograph I was also pleased with the gold colour I mixed up here. I used shining gold mixed with a little Blood Angels orange and the result was nice a rich. A brown ink wash helped provide depth over the top. More work is needed here to and I think my ogre model will be a great opportunity to play around with this. 

As is becoming traditional with the project, I'll delve a little into the history of this figure. He is one of the Imperial Dwarfs from 1985. This is an excellent range of figures who appeared in many later 1980s publications and dioramas. Looking at these models now I regret not paying more attention to them in my collecting days. They are characterful and varied which is just what we like here at RoC80s. 

I'm sure many of you have enjoyed painting up or pushing around these little chaps over the last 40 years. I suspect that isn't going to change any time soon for those of us lucky enough to have any of these fine models. 

Orlygg