"Steel for gold, or gold from steel..." Horatius Fulminator from Famous By Our Swords

"...Of anger and love I sing, of rage and pity, of ruin and rebirth, of life and death." 

attr. Illius, Poet of the Polities,

 XI Ab Companio Condita

Back in January, I stopped to grab a bite to eat on the way to one of the local gaming clubs. Casually browsing through Instagram while consuming said bite to eat, I  came across a post showcasing a newly released, limited edition mini I'd never seen before but instantly knew I wanted to paint. Without further ado, I sent a message to the author of the post and mere minutes later had managed to secure one.

The miniature was sculpted by Talos Miniatures and based on designs by Eoin McCormack, the creator of Famous By Our Swords, a 28mm scale tabletop miniatures game that combines fantasy, roleplay and skirmish battle elements with a heady mix of Celtic inspired lore. Set in Túath a land riven by disaster in the aftermath of a cataclysmic war between the Gods, players are invited to create warbands to join The Company, the only military force that now remains between the peoples of Túath and the encroaching darkness of the dread tribes of the Formoraic, the revenants of the Sídhe and the monstrous Fir Bolg.

The game is miniatures agnostic and along with all of the rules to get started playing Famous By Our Swords, the rulebook also includes a fantastic background section on some of the factions that inhabit Túath, along with suggestions of miniature ranges you could use to represent them. 

If you like historical fantasy settings and kitbashing miniatures, then I'd recommend taking a look!

Warrior of the Storm

Horatius Fulminator is the first 'named character' Eoin has created for Famous By Our Swords. With a demeanour as cold as the blade with which he plies his bloody trade, he is a mercenary of no small renown in the lands of Túath. Indeed, Horatius' outlook upon life embodies the very credo of The Company for he believes adamantly in the principle of 'steel for gold or gold from steel'.

In design, the miniature combines numerous elements of antiquity, giving Horatius a truly unique appearance that remains entirely in keeping with the historical fantasy setting of the game. To try and emphasise a little of the practicality I was feeling from Horatius, I kept his wargear relatively austere in appearance, though I've seen some versions of him that have achieved some really striking results using white for the pteruges of his armour.

As a little nod to ostentatiousness though, and to contrast the warm colours of his cloak and leather and lorica armour, I painted the band at his waist to look as though it's inset with small panels of jade

To help distinguish the bronze and gold details, I also went a little brighter with the gold than I might usually do, though t help increase the contrast, I kept the shading to a warmer tone while the highlights were done with a cold silver.

As well as being a firm, but very welcome departure from the what I usually work on, painting up Horatius offered a chance to practice painting some different skintones, so that the severed heads of his foes looked suitably different in appearance, but also in mixing and painting 'realistic-ish' looking clotted blood - something I've not done on a miniature for a long time. After a bit of research, this was eventually achieved by mixing Blood for the Blood God and Typhus Corrosion which created a wonderfully dark crimson that was thick and gloopy in consistency, perfect for drying blood! 

Although Horatius Fulminator is the first character for Famous By Our Swords, I'm hoping he won't be the last as it's always brilliant to be able to paint up something a little different and try out techniques or colour schemes that are a little out of the ordinary. Until next time, thanks for reading and happy hobbying!