Ok, ok, I know I said I might not do more of these - but the Jade Obelisk are simply too cool not to, especially as I picked up the Sundered Fate box just before Christmas and have a Jade Obelisk warband assembled and awaiting paint so this would be a good chance to paint a test miniature for them.
Before we take up hammers and chisels though, I'll just mention that as with my other Miniature of the Month Masterclasses, this isn't a step by step tutorial. Rather than having photos of each and every stage of the process, there are only pictures of the finished miniature; although I try and plan out painting projects in advance of picking up brushes, there can be quite a lot of jumping between the various elements of the miniature to build things up so it's a bit tricky doing a full step by step guide. However, I will go through how everything on the miniature was painted in detail and all of the colours used are highlighted in bold.
To get best use out of this guide, you'll need to have a little bit of painting knowledge already as it makes use of a couple of more advanced techniques, but as a quick note; glazing is using a diluted paint to apply a tint to an existing colour. Stippling is using the brush to apply paint in a 'stabbing' motion so as to create or accentuate texture and feathering is using the same brush as you've just applied paint to the miniature with—without reloading paint—to drag the paint out and over the existing colour. This spreads the new paint, thinning it and blending it in with the rest of the area.
Born of the great cavern city of Vexothskol, the tribes who would become the Jade Obelisk were once renowned as some of the finest sculptors of stone in all of the realm of Ghur. When the Age of Chaos swept across the realms though, their skills were sadly insufficient to stem the tide when the followers of the Dark Gods descended upon the great continent of Thondia. Abandoned by the God-king Sigmar, the peoples of the cavern-cities were all but wiped out in less than a decade, until at the last, only the stronghold of Nephricar remained unassailed by the hordes.
The denizens of the city prepared to sell their lives as dearly as they could, but fate had other plans for them and in their darkest hour they would be spared one terrible fate only to be damned to another as they bargained with a mysterious entity that they would come to know as the Speaker in the Stone. In return for blood sacrifices, the Speaker gifted the people of Nephricar with great fortitude and prodigious strength such that when the final assault of the daemonic hordes of Chaos struck at the city they were able to repulse it with ease.
It would not be until later that the warrior-masons of the Jade Obelisk as they now called themselves found how horribly they had been deceived. For though they had been granted resilience far beyond that of normal human beings, with each passing day, their hardened flesh became more brittle, their bones creaking and cracking painfully until even the most delicate of movements was painful. Their faces began to crumble and splinter, forcing them to constantly wear masks to hold their features together and the Speaker in the Stone would only delay their petrification if placated with a stream of constant sacrifices.
So it is that the Jade Obelisk now stride forth into the realm of Thondia as iconoclasts, for they have lost none of their skill with stone, though now they use it not to shape but to shatter, for the Speaker in the Stone has decreed that no monuments may stand but those raised up in its honour. And for all that they may have damned their souls in willingly embracing the Chaos, they are becoming known throughout Thondia as a force to be reckoned with.
Nations and Peoples of Thondia: The Fall of Vexothskol
Assembly
Like the Rotmire Creed Mirefolk Outcast, Leagues of Votann Hearthkyn and Cadian Shock Trooper, the Defacer comes on a small sprue with a 28mm base and has parts that will allow you to assemble her with an Antithete Bow. However, because I already have some Defacers with bows in my Jade Obelsk warband though I used some spare parts from my bits box to assemble the miniature with Stonecutter Tools instead.
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The actual build itself is incredibly easy and the miniature goes together in such a way as to disguise a lot of the joins between the parts so there is minimal risk of unsightly gaps between components.
As usual, once the miniature was assembled and glued to the base, I added a little extra detail using some bits of slate and a skull from the Citadel Skulls kit before adding texture paint to the base.
Painting
Although the miniature isn't overly complex, I've divided the rest of this guide into four sections to so that it's a bit easier to follow along: Clothing, Armour, Details and finally, the Base.
I've also included a short Battle Ready Painting Guide at the end, so if you're looking to get your warriors of the Jade Obelisk painted up and on the table as quickly as possible, then feel free to skip to the bottom of the page and check it out.
Clothing
Robe and Hood
For the deep, rich purple of the fabric I began with a basecoat of Barak-Nar Burgundy - I've not really used this paint before, but it's been a real joy to play with so I'll definitely be trying to use it more in the future. Once I had established a nice even base, I shaded it with Nuln Oil being careful not to let it pool heavily on any of the flat areas. After this had thoroughly dried, I layered on a thinned Barak-Nar Burgundy to bring back some of the richness of the purple and help sketch out where I'd be applying the highlights. Speaking of highlights, initial highlights were added using Pink Horror which was thinned down a little to get a smoother consistency before being refined with Slaanesh Grey.
Boots and Belts
The dark brown leather of the boots and belts started out with a basecoat of Dryad Bark which was shaded with Agrax Earthshade and then once this was dry shaded again with Nuln Oil. From there, I used some thinned Dryad Bark to add some rough initial highlights to the edges and folds of the leather before using Gorthor Brown for a finer highlight. I kept the scuffs and scrapes to a minimum as I imagine that being craftsmen and women the Jade Obelisk take quite good care of their wargear, but to help finish things off, I added a very sparing extreme highlight of Baneblade Brown to areas such as the toes of the boots and the nick in the shoulder strap on the Defacer's back.
To contrast the dark tone of the boots, I used a brighter tan colour to pick out the laces which began with a basecoat of Mournfang Brown, which I shaded with Agrax Earthshade. Skrag Brown was then used to apply an initial highlight before I picked out the most prominent areas such as the knots and ends of the laces with an extreme highlight of Deathclaw Brown.
Armour
Plate Armour
The bright silver of the heavy armour plate that the Jade Obelisk wear is such a prominent aspect of the miniatures that I thought it was worthwhile spending a little longer to get a nice clean finish while still retaining a depth of contrast where light interacts with them.
Segmented Armour
To get the bright brassy look for the segmented armour the Defacer wears over her head and shoulders, I began by painting the segments with a basecoat of Runelord Brass. Despite being a 'Base' paint, this colour is quite thin, so it takes a few thinned layers to get consistent coverage. Once I was happy with the basecoat, I shaded the segments with Agrax Earthshade before picking out the edges of each individual piece of armour with Canoptek Alloy. To finish things off, I used a little Stormhost Silver to apply an extreme highlight to the uppermost edges of the segments as well as the central vertices as they would catch the most light.
Details
Weapons and Tools
To distinguish the chisels and hammer from the cleaner steel of the Defacer's armour plate, I decided to paint them to look like they were forged of wrought iron - this also felt in keeping with the Jade Obelisk's origins as master stonemasons turning their tools to destruction rather than artistry. To get the dark iron finish for the chisels and the furniture of the hammer, I started out with a basecoat of Iron Warriors which I shaded firstly with Agrax Earthshade and then with Nuln Oil to get a nice dulled down, almost blackened look. Once the shades had completely dried, I used Ironbreaker to pick out the hard edges of the tools before going back and adding some scrapes and scratches in a few places to help give them a used appearance. I kept these fairly light though as less is more with weathering and I wanted them to look used rather than damaged.
I wanted the wooden haft of the hammer to contrast the dark iron of the furniture holding the head in place, so opted to paint it in a Maplewood tone. Beginning with a basecoat of Steel Legion Drab which was shaded with Agrax Earthshade. I then went back and feathered some Steel Legion Drab thinned with a little water onto the edges of the haft so that the jump to the highlights wouldn't be as stark. Once I was happy with how this looked, I used Tallarn Sand as a first edge highlight which I refined with a little Karak Stone.
The head of the hammer is formed from a block of stone - presumably taken from some sacred site that the Defacer reduced to rubble in the past. The Quartzite stone started out with a basecoat of Dawnstone which was shaded with Agrax Earthshade. I then went back and highlighted all of the edges of the block with Dawnstone before thinning some down to about the consistency of milk and feathering it onto the stone to create a gradual transition from darker grey in the centre to lighter grey at the ends. Once I was happy with this, I highlighted all of the edges of the stone with Administratum Grey and then used Grey Seer to pick out some extreme highlights.
To finish the tools off, I painted the leather thong fastening the pair of smaller chisels to the Defacer's belt in the same way as the laces of her boots.
Skin
The Defacer's skin was basecoated with Catachan Flesh which I shaded with Reikland Flesh. From here, I used some thinned Catachan Flesh to sketch in some initial highlights with I refined first with Bloodreaver Flesh and then with Knight-Questor Flesh.
Mask
As the masks worn by the Jade Obelisk rare such a critical focal point, I wanted to keep it clean and bright without overwhelming the rest of the model, so I decided I'd go with an off-white tone with purer white highlights. I started off with a basecoat of Celestra Grey which I applied using a few thinned layers to get a smooth finish. With this in place, I shaded around the nose and under the brow of the mask using Nihilakh Oxide thinned with a little water. Once this was dry, I then painted undiluted Nihilakh Oxide directly into the eyes and the cracks in the mask. After tidying up a with a little Celestra Grey I used Ulthuan Grey to add some initial highlights, before using White Scar to add a final extreme highlight to the most prominent areas like the nose and eyes.
Jade Icons
To show her loyalty to the Speaker in the Stone, the Defacer has adorned her armour with both the icon of the Jade Obelisk and a votive fetish in the shape of a bird's skull. The skull and the gem at the centre of the icon on her cuirass were both painted in the same way, starting with a basecoat of Stegadon Scale Green. After shading this with Nuln Oil, I used a little Stegadon Scale Green to add an initial layer of colour back in. For the skull, this was done by picking out the raised areas of detail, while for the icon on the cuirass this was focused on the lower right two thirds of the disk of jade. I then applied highlights using Sotek Green, followed by Temple Guard Blue and finally, very sparingly Fenrisian Grey.
To finish the disk on the cuirass off, I thinned down some Pallid Wych Flesh and applied a wee dot to the upper left corner create the impression of light reflecting off of it. The remainder of the Jade Obelisk symbol as well as the bracers the Defacer is wearing were painted using the same colours as the segmented armour.
The base
Sand
The sandy area of the base was painted using the standard Games Workshop 'desert base' method, beginning with a basecoat of Mournfang Brown which was then drybrushed with Zamesi Desert, then Ushabti Bone. I added a light dusting of Screaming Skull to this to finish it off.
Skull
After applying a basecoat of Morghast Bone to the skull, the eye sockets and nasal cavity of the skull were shaded with Agrax Earth. Once this was dry, everywhere but the previously mentioned areas was shaded with Seraphim Sepia. Thinned Morghast Bone was then layered onto the skull leaving the shading showing in the recesses. The brow, eyesockets, cheekbones and nose were then highlighted with Ushabti Bone and finished off with a finer highlight of Screaming Skull on the most prominent parts.
Stone
I began with a basecoat of Dawnstone which was shaded with Agrax Earth. I then highlighted all of the edges with some Dawnstone thinned to about the consistency of milk, before thinning it further until it was almost a glaze and painting it onto the upper surfaces of the stone.
Once this was completely dry, I applied some edge highlights of Administratum Grey and then used Grey Seer to pick out areas like the corners and add some light scratches and scuffs in a few places as well. Finally, I thinned some Mortarion Grime into a glaze with a little water and applied it to some random areas of the stone to help break up the uniformity a bit and make it look like it's been at the mercy of the elements for some time.
To help tie the stones and skull into the base, I thinned some Mournfang Brown with a little water and then painted it along where they meet the sand as well as into some of their recesses so it looks like sand and dirt have built up around them.
Battle Ready Guide
If you're looking to get your followers of the Speaker in the Stone battle ready and on the table as quickly as possible, then you can follow these quick steps:
- Paint the robe and hood Barak-Nar Burgundy
- Paint the boots and belt(s) Dryad Bark
- Paint the armour plates Leadbelcher
- Paint the segmented armour, Jade Obelisk icon and the bird skull totem Runelord Brass
- Paint the hammer and chisels Iron Warriors
- Paint the mask Celestra Grey
- Paint the hands, arms and legs with either Rakarth Flesh, Bloodreaver Flesh or Cadian Fleshtone
- Apply a texture paint like Stirland Mud, Astrogranite Debris or Agrellan Badlands to the base
- Shade the whole model, including the base with Agrax Earthshade
- Paint the base rim with either Abaddon Black or Steel Legion
If your miniature has an Antithete Bow and arrow, you could paint the wooden parts of them with Dryad Bark or Abaddon Black and the bow string with Steel Legion Drab. Pick out the flights of the arrows with Celestra Grey and paint the quiver either Abaddon Black or Dryad Bark.
This method is particularly suited for batch painting so would be perfect if you wanted to get a a full warband painted up to a good basic standard quite quickly and of course you could always go back and add some highlights to the models at a later date if you wanted to.
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Whether you draw inspiration from the Masterclass or the Battle Ready Guide, I hope you find them useful and if you give either of them a try, I'd love to hear how you get on. Until next time though, thanks for reading and happy hobbying.
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