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Looking for some cool monster minis that are versatile and varied? Want minis that are cool to paint? Why not take a look at the Nolzur’s range of fantasy miniatures? Here you’ll find a superb variety of miniatures suitable for all your fantasy tabletop gaming needs. This is epitomised in the flesh golems available. In the Nolzur’s wave 6 pack, there are two different versions of the classic monster, the flesh golem, each with a distinctive pose.
I’ll start off by looking at the quality of the minis. There is a good amount of detail, which is not only a great aid to painting, but it also helps add character and distinctiveness to the monster. Part of the reason in using miniatures in the first place is to enhance that visual experience in gameplay. You can see the attention to detail bringing out muscle mass and tendons and even some stitching as body parts have been fused together.
For the painting, it helps influence everything from my choice of colour scheme to shading and highlights. With the detail it is great for visual impact in game, adding a sense of the dramatic, especially on initial deployment! Flesh golems can be tough for inexperienced characters, so why not enhance the drama and challenge in tabletop gaming by adding these figures to tactical encounters.
The miniatures in the Nolzur range are pre-primed which is very handy, so when painting my miniatures, I started off by thinking about the colour scheme. I decided I would deliberately paint different body parts in different shades of flesh. This would represent the idea that the creator of these constructs sourced the body parts from wherever he or she could, without too much discrimination, buying into the theme and flavour behind them. It also adds to the character of the figures. The detail in the miniatures then helps this process and you can see muscles and ribs stand out and by using different layers and highlights these are further ‘fleshed’ out. I know, groan if you like! This is also enhanced further with the painting scheme and use of washes and layers overall, and in this case, I used Citadel’s Reikland Fleshshade.
Using Citadel paints for flesh, namely Kislev and Eldar variants, mixed in with varied shades of brown for the darker skin, I created several distinct skin tones. Starting with the darker shades I added layers to create the muscular look with a sense that the golem is still a crude monster nevertheless with flesh being fused together.
I added the Reikland Fleshshade to seep into the cuts and then I added a lighter touch of flesh in some areas to help bring the miniatures to life. The final product is for me a pair of monsters that look crude enough to convey their monstrous identity, whilst utilising the figures detail to add the needed sense of realism so useful for tabletop gaming. The miniatures are robust too and well made so this helps when the figures may be frequently used.
Whilst it can be nice to have a set of uniform miniatures to represent, for example, guards, minions, etc, it is nice to have two different poses in this pack. The Nolzur’s range do a great job in offering this variety and the flesh golems reflect this.
One of the other key reasons why I like these miniatures so much is that whilst I am building a collection of different monsters, these golems can be used in a pinch to represent generic golems or other constructs. In addition, golems are creatures in legend that can appear in non-fantasy settings such as our own world, whether medieval, the Victorian era or even modern day in a horror roleplaying setting as the golem from legend or like Frankenstein’s monster. Although the Nolzur’s range is marketed as applicable for playing Dungeons and Dragons, they are suitable for any fantasy or horror setting or system such as Pathfinder 2e or Cthulhu.
Final Thoughts
When players see the miniatures, they instinctively have an idea of what the monster is, even if the characters may not, and so cultivate a sense of dread depending on expectations and character competence.
It is old school to use miniatures and whilst playing online has key advantages, for many you can’t beat face-to-face gaming for the social event and visual and tactile play. Miniatures enhance this when using tactical battle maps and the flesh golem is a wonderful addition to the Nolzur’s range of fantasy miniatures. Despite a limited range of flesh related colours and shades, these miniatures are nevertheless a distinct pair that will stand out in a mass of figures on the tabletop.