A blog about all things undead, especially vampires and zombies, with an emphasis on miniature figures and gaming. Left click on any picture for a closer view.
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Wednesday, 29 July 2009
WWG Semi-detached Houses
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Rezolution Zombies
The figure at the far left has been painted as one of my toxic zombies. All of my toxic zombies get painted with GW's Rotting Flesh and have a distinct greenish tinge to them. This bald-headed gent has had his throat ripped out and his left hand is missing. His most obvious wound is of course, his stomach, which has been eviscerated. I particularly like the really evil expression on his face. It just screams menace and danger!
In the centre of the group is my favourite figure from this range. Any figure that tells a story is worth having and what a story this guy could tell! You actually get two figures here - the walking zombie SWAT trooper and his colleague whom he is dragging behind him. The set comes in three pieces - main zombie, his left arm and rifle and the zombie victim. When I first saw them in the flesh I was dubious about whether they'd fit on a 25mm diameter slotta-base... but they do! Full marks to the sculptor for getting them to fit so well. The level of detail on the pair is amazing, especially on the victim, whose wounds are just gross! Being near future figures I don't recognise the trooper's rifle but it looks like a souped version of the CAR-15. Whatever it is, it looks good and is well detailed. The walking zombie does not appear to be too badly wounded. He has a few rips and tears in his uniform. However, one look at his face and you couldn't mistake him for a normal human. This guy is definitely a zombie. As for his colleague, I'm not sure if he's still a zombie or just a corpse. A zombie could survive having both legs and his right arm ripped off, as this man has. His head is twisted too far to the left to be natural, but again, that wouldn't kill a zombie. Neither would having your left eye plucked out, as he has. However, what does make me question whether he's undead or truly dead is the hole in the back of his skull. I think it's a bullet hole - and that would kill him outright. If so, why is his colleague still dragging him along? Is it a vestige of loyalty, in that you don't abandon your brothers in arms? I don't know the answer but this set of figures is crying out for a backstory. They are a sublime sculpt!
The final figure out of this group is certainly the least useful to any collector of contemporary zombies as he is part (or perhaps wholly) android. Think Terminator robots and that's what you have here. He has been ripped in half but instead of trailing bloody entrails he shows the lower part of his clearly metallic spine. His left arm has been stripped of all flesh to reveal that it too is metallic. Finally, there is a metal plate atop his skull. It is a well sculpted figure and I will use it in my games. I'm always after zombie draggers, especially as they feature so prominently in the rules I'm playtesting. Let's be honest, if you place this figure in with your zombie horde, most people won't even notice that he's not fully human.
The final figure out of this group is certainly the least useful to any collector of contemporary zombies as he is part (or perhaps wholly) android. Think Terminator robots and that's what you have here. He has been ripped in half but instead of trailing bloody entrails he shows the lower part of his clearly metallic spine. His left arm has been stripped of all flesh to reveal that it too is metallic. Finally, there is a metal plate atop his skull. It is a well sculpted figure and I will use it in my games. I'm always after zombie draggers, especially as they feature so prominently in the rules I'm playtesting. Let's be honest, if you place this figure in with your zombie horde, most people won't even notice that he's not fully human.
The fat zombie in the centre is covered in large blisters that suggest he is some kind of plague carrier, as if being a zombie wasn't bad enough! His right arm has been ripped off just above the elbow and the resulting wound has been impressively sculpted. Once again, I like the way his face has been sculpted. These zombies really do look mean and angry. I've smeared blood around his mouth to suggest that he's recently fed.
Finally, we come to the only female of the group. She appears to be quite tall but look closer at her feet and you'll see she has platforms on the soles of her shoes. That might explain why she appears to be tottering forward as if off balance. I'm all for more female zombies. There aren't enough of them being made. This one, I like a lot. From her costume, I'm guessing she was a cheerleader or perhaps a dancer in her former life. She sports a very unusual hairstyle, which just adds to her uniqueness. As for her wounds, they are suitably gory with bites to the right lower arm, left arm and left thigh and a huge stomach wound from which her intestines are spilling out. Grisly but great fun to paint.
These 28mm scale figures are worth seeking out. Even if you have no use for the android zombie that set is worth buying just for the two SWAT troopers alone. It may well be a small range but it's a darned good range. Prices are $12.99 for pack 1 and $11.99 for pack 2. I ordered mine from an English distributor for roughly £7 per pack. It might pay you to search the Interweb for a local distributor
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
WWG Mayhem Garage
I did exactly the same with the ladders, fan, clock and tool-board that you can see on this far wall. At first glance this looks like it should be an easy model to make and for most people it will be. I can't imagine that many folk will want to go to the same amount of time and effort that I took to complete my model, but, hey, I enjoyed the challenge and I think the results are outstanding.
Saturday, 18 July 2009
RAFM Zombies
I only got round to buying them two months ago and as it is my mission to review every undead figure I own I thought I'd feature them now in my latest review.
First in line is the only female of the group. She is dressed in a skimpy slip and is bare-footed. The first thing I noticed about her was she had an enormous backside ("Does my bum look big in this?" "Oh, yes!") and her boobs are threatening to spill out if she bends forward any more. She has more curves than a Formula One race track! She might have been a beautiful woman in life but not now. Her right eye appears to have popped out of its socket. A bite has been made to her left thigh and the flesh has been stripped from her right knee, revealing bone. She holds the arm of a victim in her left hand and is chewing away at the fingers. This could have been a very good figure but it is let down by the right arm, which appears to be too long and far too muscular. It is way out of proportion for the rest of the body.
Next to her, is what appears to be a constuction worker and he is huge! He measures 36mm from base of feet to the top of his head. This does not bother me as it seems fitting that he should be the tallest of the group and I don't like to see every miniature the same size, so I'm happy to mix and match scales as long as they are roughly equal in height. The way his head is bent at an angle hints that his neck has been broken. Likewise with his left arm, which isn't hanging naturally. A large piece of his lower right arm has been chewed off, revealing the radius and ulna bones. Look carefully at the fingers of his right hand and you can see that some have been bent out of place.
Next to her, is what appears to be a constuction worker and he is huge! He measures 36mm from base of feet to the top of his head. This does not bother me as it seems fitting that he should be the tallest of the group and I don't like to see every miniature the same size, so I'm happy to mix and match scales as long as they are roughly equal in height. The way his head is bent at an angle hints that his neck has been broken. Likewise with his left arm, which isn't hanging naturally. A large piece of his lower right arm has been chewed off, revealing the radius and ulna bones. Look carefully at the fingers of his right hand and you can see that some have been bent out of place.
Shuffling along next to him is the old man of the group. I like the way his head protrudes from his body and his baseball cap has been knocked off centre, which is a nice touch. The left side of his face has been torn apart. Note the tongue sticking out of his mouth. His most obvious wound is the right arm, which has been pulled off at the shoulder and which he carries in his left hand. The right hand still grips a stop sign. The word "STOP" is actually sculpted onto the sign. He has been bitten in the calves of both legs. I really like this figure, although there is something dangling between his legs that I'm not sure of. Oi, you at the back, stop sniggering! It looks like a backpack or a bag of some sort but what is it doing there? And how is it there, as I can't see what's keeping it in place. Whatever it is, he isn't holding it in either of his hands and it doesn't appear to have a strap to attach it to his belt, for example. Curious!
The final figure of the group is the little boy zombie. I've noticed that a lot of sculptors don't depict many (or indeed, any) wounds on children. It's as if it is bad enough to have zombie kids but to show wounds on them is step too far. Well, not in this case. This poor lad has had his stomach ripped open and his intestines are dribbling down his left leg. In the fight with whoever killed him he lost his right shoe and sock. Because of his diminutive size he will fit in with any zombie horde. The sculptor has cleverly captured the vacant expression of his face. He's an absolute gem of figure.
There is an amazing amount of detail on these four figures and I'm very pleased to have them in my collection. From a size point of view, they'd fit in well alongside the Griffin Miniatures zombies and the slightly taller Horrorclix range. The pack of four figures costs $9.95 on the RAFM website. If you live outside of Canada it may pay you to look for a local distributor to buy them from. I wish I had, as I was unfortunate in that I had to pay customs charges for my set - the only time this has ever happened to me when ordering figures from abroad.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
WWG Mayhem Armoury
Okay, enough background info, let's take a closer look at the building itself. The billboard on the roof was an optional detail that I decided to add and it seems both appropriate and in keeping. Shown above is an overhead view of the ground floor interior. Everything in here comes from the Mayhem Armoury set. I love the textures of WWG models and the little details they add. Note the muddy footprints on the floor and all of the spent cartridge casings.
Here is an overhead view of the upper floor of the shop and it is here that I deviated from the WWG instructions to come up with something totally original. This floor is split in two, with a storeroom for guns, ammo and accessories and the living quarters of the owner, whom I see as being a single ex-military man. He has a combined kitchen/lounge as well as a toilet/shower room and a small bedroom.
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