Wednesday 17 November 2010

Tengu Models Zombies 02

 
Tengu Models continue to add to add to their range of 28mm scale zombies. These finely sculpted figures are from a new range they have introduced called Dark Foam. This range features figures from the 1920's and concentrates on H.P. Lovecroft's Call of the Cthulhu world. This is set DF01 The Great Zedsby, a nice play on The Great Gatsby, and features the three figures shown above.
First up, is a city gent, dressed in a smart three-piece suit and hat. he suffers what could be a bullet wound to the stomach, as well as less severe cuts and/or bites to his right arm, left leg and the cheeks of his face. His pose is nicely animated and slightly off-centre, suggesting he is shuffling forward.
In the centre of the group is an iconic "flapper girl." She, too, is smartly dressed and has accessorised her dress with a pearl necklace. She has suffered cuts to both lower legs and upper right arm, as well as a small wound to her neck and a small bullet hole in her left shoulder blade. I like the way her head is tilted to one side. Note that she has lost her shoes.
The third figure of the group is from the lower class of society, as can be determined by his choice of clothing. He carries a wooden club, but whether he knows how to use it (smart zombie, perhaps?) or is just carrying it around, unaware that he is actually holding it is for you to decide. His wounds are the most extreme of the group. Most of the left side of his torso is exposed. The back of his right arm is just a bloody mess and he has a bloodied right knee. Once again, the sculptor has given him a shuffling pose, so distinctive of slow-moving zombies. He has lost a shoe but kept the other.
Speaking of the sculptor, I mentioned in my first review of the Tengu Models zombies that I'd like to know who he was so that I could credit and praise him here. Shortly after posting that review, he got in touch with me and I can reveal that he is Iain Colwell, one of my blog followers. Iain told me he not only sculpts the figures, he also paints them. As he said, he is a one man band. He is doubly talented in my eyes and a thoroughly nice bloke.
This set of three figures costs a very reasonable £6.00 from the Tengu Models website. I know that these are 1920's style zombies but I have no problem in including them in my horde of contemporary zombies. I highly recommend them.
Finally, speaking of zombie hordes, I said at the start of the year that I hoped to have over 500 fully painted 28mm scale zombies completed by the end of 2010. Cue trumpet fanfare. This week I have passed the 500 mark. My total stands at 525 and there are more zombies on my painting table right now, so who knows what the tally will be come December 31st? In the words of 2000AD's Slaine, I didn't think it too many!

13 comments:

  1. Hi Bryan,
    I've been working my butt off and missing some posts, just finished getting caught up. It is mind boggling how many Zeds you have painted.
    These Zeds put me in mind of the Copplestone gangster minis. I've been drooling over them for ages but so far have held off as I don't need any new projects. Nice minis duuuuuude!

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  2. Bryan,

    525 painted Zombies with more on the bench? You sir are officially on my hate list, LOL. Sad thing about having that many is you probably wont even use 1/4 of them in a game of ATZ, unless its a larger multi-player game. I can't wait to see what else you have in the works.

    You are lucky that you live in the UK, you have easier access to a lot more different figures then we do here in the US, majority of the figures you have, I will have to place an overseas order for (though for the Wargames Factory, Zombiesmith and Mega Mini Zombies you have to place an overseas order here to the US, possibly same if you want any of the Reaper Chronoscope figures). I have noticed a couple of US based online retailers offering a limited selection of figures from Hasselfree and a couple other non-GW manufacturers from over there in the UK and Europe. Its also a shame that you might have figures that are only released as a limited run (the FU:UK Zombies) and only available for a month or two,and by the time you hear about them they are already out of print.



    BTW still waiting for my eM4 order, they just charged my Credit Card yesterday so who knows how long it will for the package to arrive here in the US at my door.

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  3. 500+ plus Zeds !!!! WTF!? nice one Vamp that is an achievement, there is only one thing left to do.... you must create a scenario in which they can all be used ! Hahaha

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  4. Way to go Vampi! 525 zeds ... wow! You are without doubt the Romero of ATZ gaming!

    The Tengu figures do like nice - good job on them as always!

    The only thing I'm worried about now with your horde of hordes ... have you seen 'Field of Dreams'? 'Build it and they will come'? does that apply to zed hordes?!

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  5. Nice stuff as usual,525 is some number and good Slaine reference.

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  6. Thank you all for your kind comments. 525 fully painted zombies is quite an achievement in anyone's book. I'm very proud of my collection. I remember Rogzombie saying his goal was to collect 1000 zombie miniatures. I've never placed a limit on how many I want to collect. As long as companies make them, I'll collect them!

    @Willy. I'd like to get into the 1920's Gangster era as well, but like you, I have enough on my plate as is. Still, if (when?) I do succumb, I'd want zombies in there as well! There's no escaping from them!

    @Doug. It is rare for me to use more than 100 zombies in a game, so you're almost right about how many get used at a time. However, I do like to rotate the zombies I use, so they all get to make an appearance. However, as I've mentioned before I do have a plan to use them all in a single scenario - my cutdown version of the Battle of Yonkers from "World War Z" by Max Brooks. This will feature a company of US Army soldiers taking the fight to the zombies in the heart of Mayhem City. It's going to be HUGE!

    I guess I am lucky living in the UK with most zombie figure manufacturers residing here as well. However, I've still placed orders abroad to America, Canada, Australia and Italy for some of my zeds. So wherever you live, you're still going have to bite the bullet and go further afield if you want a collection as big as mine. By the way, I'm sure you won't have long to wait for your eM4 order. They are a very reliable firm.

    @The Extraodinarii. See my reply to Doug for that mega-scenario I have planned. My fear is that 500+ zombies won't be enough!

    @Colin. I have seen "Field of Dreams" and yes, they will come. I'm a huge fan of The Walking Dead comics and recently there has been mention (and sighting) of a mega-horde of zeds. Not just hundreds of them but thousands, rampaging across the country. Getting back to the Battle of Yonkers, that was also a mega-horde that the US Army faced. I ain't finished yet - there's a lot more to come!

    @The Angry Lurker. That comment by Slaine is one of my favourites. I used it in a different context to Slaine (he uses it to refer to how many enemies he kills) but it seemed appropriate.

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  7. Those look great. Very nice paintjob and again, I love the way you do the eyes.

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  8. @Bryan- If you have out of era zombies (non modern day) you can easily play it off as them being actors who were turned. Maybe your 1920's zombies were part of the cast of play/movie/tv show where a seen was set in the 1920's. If you have zombies in medieval garb they could be Renaissance Festival Re-enactors that were infected. Or possibly the out of era clothed zombies were attendees at a costume party.

    I would love to see more zombies from other eras such as Civil War, Revolutionary War, the Wild West, Victorian, the interwar era (the 20's and 30's), World War II (we need some allied zombies instead of just the Nazi Zombies), even the 50's (Poodle Skirts and Beatniks zombies anyone?). These would open up the opportunity to play them and say they are actors, re-enactors (Civil War, WWII, etc...) and costume party goers. Maybe we will see some from Tengu since they seem to be a miniature company that looks like they would deal in niche miniatures.

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  9. @Luckyjoe. Thanks. Way back in the 1980's when I was painting zombies I used to paint their eyes with the eyeballs rolled up, leaving a strip of white beneath them. It's not an easy technique to pull off. Anyway, I think the totally white eye with no eyeball showing is a lot scarier as it is so unnatural.

    @Doug. You're spot on about using zombies from other periods. When I bought my London zombies from Cold Wars, I theorised that they came from a London-themed fancy dress party. But as you say, they could just as well be actors doing a play or film, who got turned early on in the apocalypse, before they had time to realise what was happening.

    Incidentally, West Wind make American and British zombies for their WWW2 Incursion game and I think they make Russian zombies for Secrets of the Third Reich, so there are Allied zombies available. However, it would be nice to see zombies from many different periods of history.

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  10. @Doug
    Duuuuuuuuuuude! No way man, I guarantee you I can go through 500 Zeds no problemo. Just add three or four 10 year old kids with automatic weapons and shotguns and you will be shaking your Zed box upside down over the table looking for more.

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  11. @LTL Dad:
    You forgot sports cars! 10 year old kids with automatic weapons, shotguns and sports cars!

    @Vampifan:
    525...well, I have finished (this is including matt varnish) one this week. I am catching up, eh?

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  12. Guys, you just crack me up! The mental image of me shaking my zombie boxes (note the plural there!) upside down to look for more had me laughing out loud! To your list I'll add nutters on motorbikes with chainsaws!

    @Oliver. Yep, I'll be nervously looking over my shoulder, mate! Now, go get another one painted before you burn out!

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  13. @Willy- You are a riot, the 10 year old I played with (ok he wasn't 10 he was 9) was actually a pretty decent player once he learned that gun fire attracts the zombies and my generate more he played it smart and tried to melee (baseball bat two handed) when ever he could get into one on one with a zombie, if he couldn't be backed off, that is until he found a crossbow then he went back to ranged combat before meleeing. Said next time he plays if he creates a new character he is starting off with the Bow or Crossbow, they work a lot better then firearms (didnt have the heart to tell him that sometimes a firearm in the game might just be silenced). If I get another game going with him I might just let him come across a character (mine, hehehehe) a silenced SMG or Assault Rifle

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