Sunday 15 July 2012

A Zombiesmith Assortment

And so it's down to earth and back to normality after the past two action-packed, fun-filled weeks. I'm going to review five Zombiesmith 28mm scale figures that I've grouped together for the purpose of this review, even though they have little in common with each other.
At the far left of the photos directly above and below is Bard Amy, clearly a reference to the singer, Amy Winehouse. I was never a fan of her or her music but I rather like this figure. In ATZ terms, I'd class her as a Survivor. The pistol in her left hand shows that she can probably take care of herself. She has her guitar slung over right shoulder and resting against her back. Amy's iconic bee-hive hair-do has been well captured by sculptor, C.J. I find Bard Amy quite cute and she could be very useful for boosting the morale of a group of Survivors... if they like her music!
Next up are two Gangers, Michael and Inmate! That's how they're described on the ZS webstore, including the exclamation mark after the word "inmate." No, I don't know why either. Michael would appear to be based on the character, Dexter, from the TV series of the same name. Seeing as Dexter is played by Michael C. Hall, the connection is obvious. For those who don't know who Dexter is, he's a police forensics expert who moonlights as a serial killer. I should point out that all the blood you see on my figure is from one of Michael's victims. It almost looks like he's stabbed himself in the groin but that's not the case. This is a superbly sculpted figure and I like how pensive he looks.
I'm not too sure about the anatomy of the Inmate! figure. Can anyone run that low to the ground? To me, it looks strange. Apart from the dubious pose he is well sculpted. His right arm has come free of his straitjacket and he holds a meat cleaver in his right hand. His face is full of rage. I think it's safe to assume that this guy was not locked up for tax evasion! I'm not aware of many prison inmate figures that are available, so for that reason alone he's a welcome addition.
Moving away from the humans we come to the Zombie Smith and Wolfboy. When I ordered the Zombiesmith mega-horde, I was hoping I'd get the Zombie Smith figure thrown in as part of the deal. Sadly, he wasn't but I did get another freebie figure (Doctor Strange). For a few years it bugged me that I was missing only one zombie from the ZS zombie range. So earlier this year I decided to put that right and I placed a fair-sized order with ZS. The Zombie Smith was the first figure on my list. I have no idea who or what the Zombie Smith is. Is he a child or a dwarf? Does he have special powers? My friend, Doug, said he was going to use this figure as a Smart Zombie in his ATZ campaign. I can see why that'd be a good idea. Note that there isn't a drop of blood on my figure. Sometimes it pays to leave off the gore and seeing as he has no obvious wounds I could find no logical reason to add any to him.
Wolfboy is depicted crouching down, which does have the effect of making him look very small. He looks like he has only partially transformed into his full werewolf form. He is mostly human although his face has undergone the biggest transformation and no longer looks human. I deliberately chose a darker skin tone for him than normal, to suggest he spends all of his life outdoors. Figures of werewolf children are extremely rare. I have one other, made by Horrorclix.
So, a mixed bag of figures here. All are useful and are well sculpted but are any of them your cup of tea? Each figure costs $3.00 on the ZS webstore.

26 comments:

  1. As usual, excellent work. Love the wolfboy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting figures. I like the Zombiesmith, especially the way you have painted him. He comes across as creepy and menacing. Nice job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think "creepy and menacing" is a good description of the Zombie Smith, Joe.

      Delete
  3. Nice painting as always, took me a while to work oput what Amy had on her back and yes it does look like "Michael" is stabbiong himself in the groin !
    With a slightly different paint-job Wolfboy could get a role in the Wizard of OZ !
    The Zombiesmith is my favourite out of all of them, a simple figure and very effective

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your input, Joe. Wolfboy in the Wizard of Oz, now there's a thought! The Zombie Smith is my favourite figure out of this bunch, as well.

      Delete
  4. Excellent work Bryan, the zombiesmith smart zombie is the best.....sinister fecker!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hee, hee, Fran. He is a sinister fecker, Isn't he?

      Delete
  5. Excellent work, as usual. I need to look into getting some of these figures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Give them a try, Ironmonk. Be warned however, I had to wait quite a while before I received my order, but to be fair, I was informed that there would be a delay. Hopefully ZS will have sorted that out by now. I remember when I ordered the zombie horde a few years ago I was surprised at how quickly it turned up, bearing in mind that I live in England.

      Delete
  6. Great figures, I like the Amy figure best!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the figure, but not the person she's based on, Ray.

      Delete
  7. Definitely some unique figures there, and you've painted them up nicely.
    I agree with those that like the Zombiesmith best.
    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Adam. They are an interesting and eclectic group of figures.

      Delete
  8. Nice painting Vamp!

    I'd be as annoyed as michael if I'd stabbed myself in the testicles. Makes running away from zombies that tad more awkward

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It'd bring tears to the eyes, that's for sure!

      Delete
  9. Another clear example of what the figs look like, the good and bad. Thank you. A couple I will add, sooner or later, and I will pass on a couple for now. Thanks for the input. So much better than peering myopically at my screen for a grainy pic of an unpainted model. Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charles, one of the things that bugs me is seeing unpainted figures in a firm's webstore. It's not a good advert for the company. I'm glad you appreciate my efforts - the good and the bad.

      Delete
  10. Very nice. Sometimes these odds & ends minis are just perfect for that non standard character, and you have some pretty great stuff here to choose from.

    As always, the paint looks great as well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean about the non-standard characters, Varangian. Quite often, they're the hardest ones to find, simply because they are non-standard.

      Delete
  11. Great work Bryan on some interesting figures

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Simon. I was hoping that with such a mixed bag of figures, there'd be at least one figure in the group that you might like.

      Delete
  12. Replies
    1. Thanks, and welcome to my blog, Danny. It's great to have you on board.

      Delete
  13. Bryan these are some strange figures indeed, don't know if I like them or dislike them, either way they are yours, and your paint job is as good as usual.

    ReplyDelete