Animated Dwarf Statue of Ancient Times

At long last, this miniature is released! Order your statue on Warseer or Chaos Dwarfs Online. Priced at €8,5 plus postage, this whitemetal model is the work of a green amateur sculptor. As such, details are not very sharp and the size of the statue is larger than for a normal dwarf in the 28mm range. Some casts may have a yellow tint. There is a slight mould mismatch on one side of the hat requiring cleaning. I found it simple to fix with a hobby knife:

This multi-part kit contains one 25 mm square base, and one miniature of an animated Dwarf statue, allowing you to equip the statue with fire, or having him maim and strangle a lowly Goblin:

Scale shot:

Now how difficult and fun could a statue be to paint? Is it just drybrush 'n' done? It could be, but it's really as complex as you want to make it! To name but a few possibilities, one could...

paint it plain grey, or strike out for granite, diorite, obsidian, marble, sandstone, jade, crystal...
paint golden details and possibly other areas as metal.
paint glowing eyes to give the statue more life.
go to town with off-source lightning effects for the firebull variant.
give the impression of an old paint-layer flaking off (based on how statues were generally painted in historical antiquity)
paint it as a living Dwarf afflicted by sorcerous fiery cracks.
paint spots of moss growth and stains from bird droppings, as found on most statues.
or do something else entirely!

Up in the rocky hills, a tiny creature climbed a steep cliff with his bare hands and feet, and nothing else to aid him. Whirling dust and the heat of the sun dried out Grozlob's throat and pinched his sore eyeballs, yet still the Goblin pressed on.

"Scumlock!" he swore as his feet dislodged yet another crumbling sun-dried brick and sent it tumbling down the precipice with resounding thwacks. He kicked out with his feet and somehow found a foothold in the cliff face. If he hadn't, that falling brick could as well have been him.

Bricks! Why were there bricks in the cliff face? The whole hill looked like it was made up of packed dirt and layers upon layers of bricks, as though they had amassed on top of one another throughout many centuries. Was the whole hill a ruin? Or had the bricks been piled high in the wilderness by demons stealing away building materials from the mortal folk when they didn't set their charms correctly? Grozlob had been but a lowly slave all his life, knowing neither father nor mother nor tribe. He wasn't blessed with a surname, and he sure as hell wasn't blessed with cleverness. Grozlob didn't care.

"Gotcha," he panted as he clambered over the top of the cliff face, rolling onto the flat top of the hill to gather his breath while he stared into the sky. Up there, gods dwelt. The Goblin slave couldn't tell one omen from another, yet he decided that the cloudless sky was a favourable portent.

Grozlob got on his feet and started searching amid scattered bones and the brick piles of toppled walls, searching for that thing his master had told him to fetch. Damn it. Where was it...? There!

"Hi, buddy!" he cheered at the statue which still stood up amid the rubble. The stone Dwarf didn't answer. It was cracked and weather-beaten. It looked like a priest, with a high hat and curly beard. And with a stone staff in one hand, the staff which Grozlob's master Urzhalik, son of Harrnippur, wanted for himself. It looked expensive.

"Care to lend me a hand?" Grozlob said to the statue, and drew his rusty tools. He then started to saw and hammer off the thick hand holding the staff, whistling as he went. It was tough work, but still the Goblin enjoyed it. When else would he have a chance to cut off the hand of a Dwarf master? A hand which had beaten slaves like him countless times. A hand which had held whips and blades. Time for some payback.

Grozlob attacked the granite hand with renewed vigour. He hadn't done more than chip it in all this time, but it was fine. He could stand out here all day, away from his cruel owner. He had even found a rat to eat. Life couldn't be much better.

The Goblin lifted his tunic and relieved himself on the Dwarf after a couple of hours' labour. He grinned and aimed for the beard. Served 'em right, the fat swines! At least here was a blockbeard who couldn't defend himself...

The statue creaked as a thick stone hand gripped Grozlob by his right arm and ripped it from his feeble body in one brutal motion. What the hell! Pain flared up in the Goblin's head. Blood gushed from the severed limb. He screamed and fell to the ground.

The stone dwarf proceeded to bow down and break the slave's left foot with a crunching sound. The pain! The unbearable pain! Grozlob howled, and could do nothing when the statue twisted his foot and tore it from the leg with unbelievable strength.

"Aaah! Nyeeh... Gods!" screamed the Goblin. His mind was on feverish fire and throbbed all over with acute pain. He was bleeding dry fast. He could feel his lifeblood flowing away into the sand. No...

The stone fist seized Grozlob by his scrawny throat and lifted him up into the air. The slave's remaining foot pumped without finding ground. He beat the thick stone arm weakly with his only hand. It didn't help at all. It was like punching granite.

"I will break your bones and curse your soul," said a gravelly voice. The statue's voice, Grozlob realized through the agony. He stared into the glowing eyes of a stone demon. "I will throttle you dead and bar the gate into the afterlife. I will tear your corpse asunder and cast the pieces into the river, and even vultures will spurn you."

There was no mercy in those eyes. The fist of stone squeezed harder, and Grozlob shook. The Goblin slave tried to protest, tried to writhe out of the stranglehold, tried to scream. To no avail. He couldn't breathe... He couldn't breathe! He couldn't brea-

Darkness seized him.

And the statue fulfilled its promise.