Wednesday 27 August 2014

Zombicide Season 2 Survivors and Zombivors 07

I'm almost at the end of my reviews of the Zombicide season 2 survivors and zombivors. After this review there will be just one more to show, but that will have to wait until I photograph them. This lot features three characters from the "Moustache Pack" set (Don, Frank and Rob). Smith came from the Survivors and Zombivors Set #3. Two of these (Smith and Rob) are based on characters from films and the other two (Frank and Don) are based on characters from TV shows.
First in line is Kurt Smith the dog of war (I think they mean mercenary), who should be recognisable to most of you as Bob "Snake" Plissken, played by Kurt Russell in the post apocalypse films, Escape From New York and Escape From L.A. Smith mustered out of the special forces straight into private "security" working all over the world for the highest bidder. Specialising in wetwork and asking no questions, Smith was in town for a contract when all hell broke loose. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for the zombies, he had his arsenal stashed away nearby. Though used to working alone, even Smith knows he doesn't have enough bullets to take on the zombie hordes by himself. Forced to co-operate with other survivors, he's finding it hard on his limited social skills. Survivor Smith is armed with a 5.56mm Colt Commando assault rifle and a .44 Magnum revolver. Zombivor Smith is armed with a pair of .44 Magnum revolvers. He starts the game with the +1 Free Combat Action skill, which gives him an extra combat action per Turn, which he can use for Melee or Ranged Combat.
Another military type is Rob Connery the security expert, who is based on Sean Connery's character, John Mason from the film, The Rock. After decades as an anti-intrusion expert, testing security systems the world over, Rob reluctantly retired to a life of idyll on a sunny beach. The boredom was just getting to him when the zombies appeared. This was exactly what he needed to make a new start. Rob doesn't feel old at all. With a gun in each hand, he'll prove it, anywhere, anytime. Survivor Rob holds a 9mm Uzi sub-machine gun in each hand but his zombivor counterpart only holds one Uzi. Rob starts the game with the Break-in skill, which means he does not need any equipment to open doors. He also does not make any noise when using this skill. However, other prerequisites are still mandatory (such as taking a designated objective). Moreover, Rob has one extra free door opening action, which can only be used for opening doors.
Moving on, we come to Frank Selleck the repo man, and he's based on Tom Selleck's detective character, Thomas Magnum, from the TV series, Magnum P.I. Frank is a laid back guy who used to repossess stuff that folks didn't make their payments on. In his case, his specialty was cars, usually getting into them and driving off before the previous owners even realised what was going on. Not usually a dangerous job, Frank still found it best to carry some protection with him when on a job - his handy baseball bat has since saved him countless times. He's got a fondness for loud Hawaiian shirts and may make small side trips into stores looking for fresh ones to add to his wardrobe. Both survivor and zombivor Frank are armed with a baseball bat. As you'd expect, he starts the game with the Starts With a Baseball Bat skill.
And finally, is Don Cleese the civil servant, who is a dead ringer for John Cleese's bumbling hotel owner, Basil Fawlty, from the classic British comedy TV series, Fawlty Towers. Good old reliable Donald was until recently an under-secretary at an obscure ministry. Pushing papers his entire career, Donald enjoyed his calm, ordered life. Governments might come and go, but whoever happened to be in power always needed the civil bureaucracy. Of course, Don noticed things were amiss when, instead of nodding off while he gave his daily briefing, his Minister tried to have him as a light snack. This was terribly impolite and improper, and so, with some reluctance, he stove her head in with a bust of Winston Churchill. Now the weighty responsibility of organising a new society rests on Don's shoulders. Things have to be done properly of course - ammo requisition, food rationing, sleeping arrangements and the like. He does quite enjoy executing the unruly zombie constituents, though. Both survivor and zombivor Don are armed with a double-barreled shotgun. Don starts the game with the Born Leader skill, which allows him to give one free action to another survivor to use as he or she pleases. This action must be used during the recipient's next turn or it is lost.
Well, this is certainly an eclectic group of characters. I was surprised to see the not-Basil Fawlty lookalike character included but actually, he's quite a useful chap. He is certainly NOT Basil Fawlty! All of them would make fine additions to any party of survivors.

22 comments:

  1. nicely done with this set. I like the Magnum and Plisken figures best. Which probably explains enough of my youth with out need for further comment!

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    1. I hear you, Clint. No further comment indeed.

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  2. Lovely job again Dude!
    Sheldon managed to get himself these you may have seen some of them in one of my posts. That means the WNI has been able to use them in anger. They all have their uses, depending on the situation, of course. My personal favourites are Snake and Basil, as well as being iconic they are bloody handy in a fight.

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    1. Thanks, Bob. I always like to hear how good or how bad these characters are as I have only ever used the six survivors from the season 1 boxed set. I need to play more games with more survivors and try out some zombivors.

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  3. Great job Bryan, I really like this version of Pliskin with a slightly small magnum he'd be perfect

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    1. It would be very easy to cut down the Magnum's barrel, Simon. He is a great figure.

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  4. Kurt Russell, Sean Connery - action heroes: check. Tom Selleck - OK, at a pinch. But John Cleese?! As a survivor, yes - maybe. But an action hero? I don't think so!

    Anyway, nice models!

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    1. I agree with you, Hugh. However, Don is a very good character in Zombicide. He just happens to look like John Cleese, whom no one would mistake as an action hero.

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  5. I love them! Connery being a big idol of mine, Plissken may have been the one who fanned the spark of POST APOC in me. (Right behind Mad Max).

    Well painted too!

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    1. Thanks, Johnny. Snake Plissken and Mad Max also fueled my own interest in the post apocalypse genre.

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  6. Good bunch of characters, but I'm tiring of seeing figures with two guns, a thing hollywood has thrust upon us. If it were a viable option then I think the armed forces , police, gangsters and the like would avila themselves of it, but I guess as it's "only a game" anything oes. *sigh
    "Magnum" is probably the most useful, whilst "Cleese" i thought to be Magnum's "oh so English" pal/firend/butler (?).

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    1. Interesting comments, Joe. Once again you confuse real life with gaming effects. In Zombicide, having two guns at once (if they can normally be fired one-handed, like pistols and sub-machine guns) is a perfectly viable option. I know you wouldn't want to use a chainsaw or a flamethrower in real life but in this game they are great zombie killing weapons. Just go with the flow and accept it is only a game. And if you can't then don't play the game. Your choice... and I think I know what you'll choose!

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  7. Now we're talking Magnum P.I. zombie hunter!!! I like all of these characters.

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    1. They're not a bad bunch, are they, Robert? I like them all as well.

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  8. As always nice painting/minis.

    I am really surprised that they can get away with making "Not" miniatures, and that no one has caused any IP issues, after so much publicity that not one of these "stars" has caused any trouble or raised a C&D issue.

    Just a thought!!

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    1. I think they can get away with it by not calling them their actual character names. It is quite common for companies to do this, Toni, and if you look around the miniature figures' websites you can find lots of examples. Here's just a few from the top of my head - Hasslefree with their not-Scooby gang, Heresy with their not-Doctor Who minis, Ditto, Crooked Dice, who make LOTS of "not" miniatures. It seems if you call a figure that looks a lot like someone in the public eye you can get away with it by calling them a different name. Go figure!

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  9. Ha, those are nice. I am really fond of the Rock one - it's Indiana Jones' dad!

    Not that I am particularly bothered, but somehow I noticed that Magnum's shirt is not tucked in when he is a survivor, but it gets all tidy in his zombivor version. I notice all the wrong things lately! :D

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    1. You're not wrong about Indy's dad, Mathyoo. :)
      That's a sharp-eyed spot regarding Magnum's shirt. I hadn't noticed that - not even when I was painting him! D'oh!

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    2. Ha, ha, laughing my ass off, Robert!

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  10. Fantastic Bryan. I think 'Not' Snake is my favourite of these ones, although Rob comes a close second. I rather enjoyed The Rock and the soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer is rather cool too

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    1. I'd have to agree with you, Adam. I like most of the music Hans Zimmer composes.

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