Griffin Miniatures Survivor: The Walking Dead

Survivor: The Walking Dead is the name given to a new set of 32mm scale figures from Griffin Miniatures that includes 5 survivors and 15 zombies. These are exceptional figures. Although slightly taller than other 28mm scale figures I don't mind that. After all, in real life people come in different heights so I have no problem in using these figures with other smaller scale zombies and adventurers.

The survivors shown above are from left to right a garage mechanic armed with a huge Magnum revolver and a wrench. He has a real "don't mess with me!" attitude about him that I like. The priest is breaking open a double barrelled shotgun to reload it. A nice touch! With his cool shades he reminds me of Samuel L. Jackson. The female cop holds her pistol at the ready and has a very professional look to her. I can't see her scaring easily. The fireman has clearly been included due to the success of the Rec and Quarantine films. Nothing wrong with that as they're both great movies. Finally, the Goth girl may be armed with only a baseball bat but she looks like she knows how to use it. These would make a great party of survivors to use in the likes of ATZ.

Now we come to the real meat in the package - the zombies. There isn't a bad figure amongst them. These are high quality sculptings. Of particular note is the level of violence that has been dished out to some of these zeds. Check out the zombie second from the left. He has a hole going through his chest that is incredibly wide. What kind of weapon could cause that big a hole in him? A tank shell that didn't explode but just punched straight through him, perhaps? The guy at the far right has had his right arm broken so badly that the bone is sticking out of the wound. Grisly!

Continuing the theme of massive exit wounds, check out the zombie at the far left here. He has two very big holes in his back and one in his right thigh. Didn't anyone tell the person who shot him you have to go for head shots to stop them? The fatty standing next to him has had his left arm ripped off. Again, you can see the bone sticking out of the wound. I like the fact that the school crossing warden has been impaled with his own "lollipop!" Finally, amongst this group, a nun is an unusual but welcome addition.

This group of females have suffered just as badly as their male counterparts. The nurse is crawling on one leg because her other leg has gone - chewed off, perhaps. The zombie in the red miniskirt reminds me of Vampirella. She has a similar haircut and dress to my favourite vampire but I can't imagine Vampi ever ending up in her state. Most of her face has been bitten off, her right arm has been ripped off and her entrails are dangling down her right leg, threatening to trip her up. It's fair to say that she didn't die a pleasant death! The rollerskating teen is very animated for a zombie but does not look too steady on her feet. I bet she spends more time falling over and standing back up than skating.

These 20 figures are sold as a set for the reasonable price of £35.00. I highly recommend them. I just love the over the top wounds on some of the zombies. However, beware of their size if you only collect 28mm scale figures. There were two negative points about this set that I must mention. First, the figures came with a lot of "flash" so be prepared to do some filing and cutting to make them presentable. Secondly, for reasons known only to Griffin, they were not supplied with any slotta-bases even though they all have slotta-tabs. It was not much of a problem for me as I have loads of spare slottabases but it just might piss off some purchasers.