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Volfyirion, the competitive and fast-paced deck-building game produced by Tabula Games, requires you to either gain control of a dragon and wield its power against your enemies or defeat the dragon and use its valuable hoard to achieve victory. During the crowdfunding campaign for Tabula’s previous game, Mysthea, a model of the dragon was one of the most requested add-ons, so the team developed Volfyirion with this in mind. Driven by their community’s enthusiasm, they decided to set Volfyirion in the same universe as Mysthea, offering the dragon as an optional component. The Volfyirion model is available as a standalone purchase and can be utilized in a number of ways. Use it as an upgrade for the wooden dragon token provided with the card game, or an expansion for Mysthea and Tabula’s other game Icaion (it comes with five detachable Qoam Crystals, which offer additional mechanics for these games). For miniature painters like myself, it’s also a great model to simply paint and add to your collection.
Big Mini
‘Miniature’ feels like the wrong word to describe this Volfyirion model. It stands 120mm tall and has a dynamic pose with the menacing dragon’s body twisting upwards, its mouth gaping open, and its sharp claws ready to strike. The design of the sculpt is stunning and the details are impressive. The dragon’s scaly body contrasts with the smoothness of the crystals it guards. I also like that the removable crystals scattered around the base seamlessly blend in with the rest of the model, while also serving a use in the game. I was excited to get painting this dragon, so read on for my painting guide (using Citadel paints unless specified otherwise)! It’s a relatively speedy method that makes use of a few different painting techniques.
Let’s Paint!
After priming the miniature using Grey Seer spray, I used a number of Contrast Paints to basecoat each section, as the level of detail made these perfect for the job.
For the Qoam Crystals, I first applied a generous coat of Baal Red. Then I shaded into the recesses with Carroburg Crimson, glazed the upwards facing surfaces with thinned down Evil SunzScarlet, and highlighted the sharp edges with Wild Rider Red. Finally, I added a dot of Fire Dragon Bright to the points where each edge meets and glossed over the whole area using Ardcoat varnish to make the crystals shine.
For the base of the model, I used a mixture of Ultramarines Blue and Basilicanum Grey (1:3 ratio) to get a nice deep blue tone and then drybrushed it with Russ Grey.
The box art for Volfyirion features lots of interesting splashes of colour on the dragon. I started off with a 5:1 mix of Apothecary White and Aggaros Dunes, adding in a drop of BasilicanumGrey as I got closer to the tip of the tail. I applied Shyish Purple to the scales on the dragon’s back, then watered down some Reikland Fleshshade and used this all over the dragon to subtly blend the colours on its back and belly. To create the inner glow effect, I started with Teclis Blue in the recesses, under the scales, inside the mouth and the eyes. Then I used Baharroth Blue to really make it pop. I applied Screamer Pink to the tongue, followed by a highlight of Pink Horror, and painted the teeth with Screaming Skull. For the colourful splotches on Volfyirion’s body, I used a small sponge to apply Squig Orange, Moot Green, and Genestealer Purple. To tie everything together, the final step was to drybrush all over the dragon using DeepkinFlesh. And there you have it! One awesomely menacing dragon miniature to add to your tabletop or display on your shelf.
This model was kindly provided for review. Message us on social media @ZatuGames to show us what board games you’ve been playing recently.