In this edition of Staff’s Favourite Figures, I collared Design Studio Painter Andrés Amián Fernández to chat about his all-time favourite Warlord Games miniature. Many people will recognise Andrés’ painting from his work on many of our ranges, and his favourite figure comes from a range of which he painted the majority – Sláine! Over to you, Andrés!
AAF – So, my favourite figure is Balor of the Evil Eye, from the Sláine range. Marco Sano, Design Studio Sculptor, did a fantastic job with the model, taking inspiration from the Horned God graphic novel (which I really enjoy) and creating a miniature which really captures the character of this iconic baddie. I’ve liked Sláine since I was a teenager, particularly the [Simon] Bisley run of the character, and this was a really exciting model to be asked to paint! It’s a really ‘clean’ figure, by which I mean it’s not covered in pouches or assorted gubbins, but still has plenty of varied textures, which means it lends itself really well to things like washes and Army Painter Speedpaints (particularly the elk steed). The fact that the Sláine range is a more ‘heroic’ scale than our historical ranges also means there’s more room for techniques like blending, and makes the painting process feel really comfortable and easy – you never feel ‘cramped’ working on the model.
Whilst I painted the Studio’s Balor miniature, I’m also slowly working through the entire Fomorian range as a personal project, in a slightly different colour scheme (look out for some articles on this in the future!). Interestingly, painting a miniature from a comic series is a lot like painting historical figures in some regards – there’s plenty of research of reference images to get things looking right, which is a great excuse to re-read a few classic stories!
Possessed of a deadly, baleful gaze that scorched all before it, Balor was the warchief leading the Fomorian Sea Demons against their enemies in Tir Nan Og, the Earth Tribes. Often seen sat atop a ferocious war elk, Balor proved a fearsome enemy for the people of the Earth Tribes. Laying waste to the Land of the Young as they swarmed south from the icy waters of their home in Lochlann the Fomorians also allied with the Drunes against Sláine’s people.
