Hasslefree Zombies 02

These five 28mm scale contemporary zombies were unveiled by Hasslefree Miniatures earlier this year. These are not sculpted by the awesome Kevin White but by Matt Lord. You can tell that they lack Kev's style and finesse but that doesn't make them poor figures. Far from it in fact. Hasslefree are a company I have a great deal of time and respect for and it's always a pleasure to receive a parcel of figures from them, as Sally (or Kate) usually includes sweets, and if you're really nice, extra goodies. Their template for running a company is one which all companies should follow - be nice to your customers and they'll be nice to you.

So, let's look at the figures in turn. Moving from left to right, we start off with a negro zombie (HFW207). I'm all for more ethnic diversity amongst the hordes of zombies, so I was delighted to see this character. His corn-row hairstyle marked him out as one of the "boyz from da hood." Add in his distinctive clothing, so reminiscent of the youth of today and he simply has to be an undead gangsta. His cause of death is down to three bullet wounds to his chest. He is the only figure out of the group who is not a one-piece casting. His right arm is a separate piece that must be glued in place.

Next up is a yuppie businessman (HFW208). I see him as young banker who has got his just desserts for causing so much mayhem in the financial industry. His left arm has been ripped off and a large chunk of his left side is missing, revealing part of his rib cage and internal organs. Serves him right!

As soon as I saw the overweight guy (HFW206) in the middle of the group I knew what logo I'd be painting on his T-shirt. FoD stands for the Forum of Doom, my favourite internet forum, which is the home of four small independant figure companies - Black Scorpion, Eolith, Hasslefree and Heresy. Yes, I know that the "F" is back to front - that's just the way it appears on the logo. Injury-wise, this guy is suffering from a huge bite out of his left thigh and has had a chunk taken out of his lower right arm.

Next up is another businessman, (HFW205) although he looks older than the yuppie. He retains his shirt and tie and suit. Note his well-groomed hair. He too has been bitten in the lower right arm. I smeared his mouth and chin with blood to indicate that he has been feasting on some poor unfortunate victim.

Finally is another young man (HFW204) this time wearing a shirt, not tucked into his trousers, and minus a tie. Apart from a few holes in his clothing and his ragged shirt sleeves there is nothing to indicate his cause of death, which is perfectly fine. Not all zombies should sport gaping wounds or missing limbs. Nonetheless, I decided to show that he too had been feasting, only this time I went over the top with the blood as it covers his mouth, chin, neck and most of the front of his shirt and the palms and fingers of his hands.

Matt Lord has done a fine job on these zeds and it is great to see Hasslefree giving freelance sculptors a boost by selling their wares. The figures retail for £3.00 each, although if you order HFW209 Zombie Multipack you get all five figures for £12.00, effectively five figures for the price of four. Although not the best of sculpts, they are far from the worst and are still worth including in anyone's zombie horde.