Recreational Conflict 4-of-1 Figures 01

Over two years ago I reviewed a set of 16 Recreational Conflict 28mm scale humans, featuring 8 civilians and their 8 survivor counterparts. I really raved about these figures and the whole concept of making "before and after" figures for a zombie apocalypse game just appealed to me so much. I made a plea with Richard Brooks, the head of Recreational Conflict, to extend this range further and add zombie and corpse versions of the 8 figures. Well, to my absolute delight he took my suggestion on board and late last year he very kindly sent me the new figures free of charge to review on my blog. My heartfelt thanks go out to Richard and I can only apologise for taking so long to getting round to reviewing them. In this post I shall review the male figures and on Sunday, I'll showcase the females.

Although I have already reviewed the civilian and survivor types I felt it just made sense to show all four variants together so you can see a natural progression. I start off with the basketball player. as befits such an athlete, he is the tallest figure in the range. He has his basketball tucked under his right arm and in his left hand he holds a bottled energy drink.
The survivor version sees him armed with a 9mm Ingram MAC11 Sub-Machine Gun with fitted suppressor. Joe and I recently had a discussion about how the word "silencer" is a misnomer. It does not silence a gun, it merely minimalises the sound.

I wasn't too sure if the zombie version should come before the corpse version as a person has to die before they become a zombie but from an aesthetic point of view it looks better to have the three standing figures grouped together, followed by the prone figure. Here, the zombie version keeps a hold of the energy drink in his left hand. However, he has lost his right hand, so I think we can assume he bled to death from that wound.
The corpse, however, is intact and shows no obvious signs of wounding. Hey, it's not unheard of. He might have suffered a sudden heart attack or a blow to the head.

Moving on, we have another young African/American, only this time he is a skate-boarder. He is quite tall, as well. Note the silver chain hanging on his right thigh.
The survivor version is armed with a 12 Gauge Double-Barrelled Sawn-Off Shotgun that has had both barrel and shoulder stock cut down, making it more like a big pistol.

The zombie version has certainly suffered. He has lost his left arm and the lower half of his face has been bitten off, although his jawbone is still intact and in place.
The corpse version is curled up as he has suffered a gaping wound to the stomach.

 With so many ethnic minorities in this range of figures I was able to make full use of my extensive range of Foundry flesh colours. The business man shown here is another African/American and although he is darker skinned than the skateboarder, he is not as dark as the basketball player. All three are brown skinned but not the same shade of brown. The civilian version is depicted talking on his mobile phone whilst holding a briefcase in his other hand.
The survivor version is armed with a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5 Sub-Machine Gun and a baseball bat. Rather foolishly, he looks like he is about to fire the MP5 one-handed. All I can say is, "recoil!"

The zombie version retains the baseball bat, but because of the way he is dragging it behind him is probably unaware he is still holding it let alone realise it can be used as a weapon! The MP5 has gone along with his right arm.
The corpse version clutches his stomach in a vain attempt to stem the flow of blood from either being shot or stabbed.

Finally, we have a Caucasian figure, although he is nicely tanned. The civilian version shows him as a cameraman. Given that he is wearing a multi-pocketed waistcoat for storing lenses, he is most likely a professional. He must be filming somewhere hot seeing as he is wearing T-shirt, shorts and a sweatband on his head.
He is probably used to "shooting" people at long range, which would explain the choice of weapon for the survivor type - a .50 Calibre RAI Model 500 Sniper Rifle with Scopesight.

The zombie version has lost the waistcoat and both arms. I'll resist making the joke about him being 'armless. Oops, sorry, it just slipped out! The front of his T-shirt is almost black from the congealed blood that came from him having his jaw ripped off. Note that his tongue is still intact. Actually, with no arms and no jaw, he can't be that much of a threat, can he?
The corpse version is still whole but he has been cut across the neck and has obviously bled to death.

And finally, here is a better view of the four corpses. I mentioned in my last Monthly Musings post that I was going to review what I thought were the best zombie apocalypse figures currently on the market. Well, that accolade goes to these sets of  figures. From a narrative point of view you have everything you need to play a campaign here - civilians, survivors, zombies and corpses. Now I have painted each group of four with the same colour schemes but there is no reason not to paint all 32 figures in the range as separate individuals. This would give you more bang for your buck.
I'll give you the details of their prices and reference codes next time, when I review the 16 females of the range. All I can say now is that I give these figures my highest recommendation. Once again, a HUGE THANK YOU to Richard for not only producing this range but for sending me the figures soon after I returned home from hospital. That gave me a massive boost.