Wednesday 13 January 2016

Studio Miniatures' Survivors 05

I have just recently painted the first four Survivor figures from the Studio Miniatures Z-Clips Outbreak Kickstarter parcel I received late last year. Any zombie fan should instantly recognise them as the four heroes from George A. Romero's classic 1978 film, Dawn of the Dead.
First in line are the two WGON television staff members, Francine and Stephen. What is immediately apparent about the figure of Francine Parker (as played by Gaylen Ross) is just how small she is. This is not meant as a criticism, just an observation. Francine works in administration and is the girlfriend of Stephen, from whom she learns how to pilot a helicopter just in case anything untoward happens to him. Note, it does! She is a strong-willed character and is armed with a Bolt Action Rifle.
Stephen Andrews (played by David Emge) is a helicopter pilot, who earns the nickname "Flyboy" in the film. He is often rash and prone to acting first before thinking of the consequences. When the zombie apocalypse kicks off he plans to fly Francine, himself and their friend, Roger, away from Philadelphia to somewhere safer. Haven turns out to be a huge shopping mall located in Monroeville. He is armed with a six-shot revolver.
Next up are the two SWAT Troopers, Peter and Roger. Roger DeMarco (played by Scott Reiniger) is a close friend of Stephen and Francine. For the most part, Roger acts very professionally but when on a zombie clearing mission outside the Monroeville Mall, he gets overconfident and suffers a zombie bite, which inevitably, proves fatal. He is armed with a 9mm Pistol (held in a two-handed grip) and a 5.56mm Colt AR-15 Assault Carbine.
Peter Washington (played by Ken Foree) teamed up with Roger when they were part of a SWAT team tasked to clearing out an apartment block whose residents were defying martial law by refusing to hand over their dead to the National Guard. Afterwards, Roger invited Peter to join his trio to flee in Stephen's helicopter. Peter more than proved himself capable and was the most level-headed of the group. He is armed exactly the same as Roger.
Of all the survivor figures made for a zombie apocalypse game these are the four I have been waiting for the longest. I was just 21 when I first saw Dawn of the Dead in the cinema way back in early 1979. No other film since has made such a lasting impression on me as that one! It totally blew me away and so began my lifelong love affair with all things zombie-related. Even today, Dawn of the Dead remains my all-time favourite zombie movie. Studio Miniatures are renowned for making arguably the best sculpted zombie miniatures on the market and these four survivors are just first rate. The likenesses to their on screen characters are amazing. I am dying to use them in a game of Zombicide set in a shopping mall, of course!
I leave you with a couple of photos taken from the film, showing all four survivors together.
Fran, Stephen, Peter and Roger take a well earned break from killing zombies in the Monroeville shopping mall.
Ready for action. Roger may be down but he's not out of the fight just yet. Now let's kill some zombies!

21 comments:

  1. I love this film and have seen it loads of times! Probably the first zombie film I ever saw, although not in 1979 (I was 6!) when we got our first Vhs recorder in the 80's this was one of the first films my parents rented. Like you Bryan it stuck with me and is still v watchable. The models are great, v good likenesses

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    1. Ooh and the Evil Dead, awesome era for scary movies (the 80's)

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    2. Ha, yes, you probably were too young to see "Dawn of the Dead" when it was first released. It is still every bit as relevant today as it was back then and its influence on the whole genre cannot be overstressed.

      The Evil Dead was, and still is, a classic horror film. Bear in mind there was no CGI special effects in the 1980's.

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    3. That's what I love though, everything lovingly hand crafted in so much cool detail and thought behind it!

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    4. I totally agree with you, Andy.

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  2. Excellent, love the figures! Love the film as well, its a little dtaed compared to new Zombie films, but its still a great film. I know plenty of people who'd love to have these figures!!

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    1. Thanks, Ray. I'm sure there are many fans of the film and the figures.

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  3. Another cracking posting Bryan, with some great looking minis, paint-jobs and backstory as to just why these minis are already some of your very much beloved. I too have seen this film, and will undoubtedly be damned by saying I thought the modern day remake was good, and different, as well. Once again however you've cause my wallet some pain as I'm going to have to pick this set of minis up from "Studio Miniatures" if they're available at Salute!!

    I was someone surprised though that as you mention "Classic" horror films, you failed to mention the zombie flick we both love to bits called "World War Z"; an oversight on your part perhaps? ;-)

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    1. You crack me up, Simon! World War Z is indeed a classic - a classic example of how not to make a zombie movie! LOL!
      The remake of Dawn of the Dead was competent but not a patch on the original. In SFX's poll of the top 100 zombie movies of all time the original Dawn of the Dead came top. Nuff said!

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  4. Great post Bryan. Has to be the movie that set me on the road to loving zombie movies. I love how you have brought these figures to life. They weren't part of my KS package but I hope to amend that at some point and pick them up! Keep up the good work sir!

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    1. Thanks, Simon, and I hope you do manage to acquire these four figures later on.

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  5. Nice figures and paint jobs, Bryan. I have to admit that I've not seen either the original or the remake! For some reason whilst I've watched a lot of shlocky 80s horror, zombie movies did not feature very much...

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    1. Sacre bleu, mon ami! Wow, I suddenly turned French. When you do get round to watching the original (you can easily ignore the remake), which I sincerely hope you do, you are in for a right treat.

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    2. Watch both the more zombie movies the better!

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  6. Like Carrion Crow, I don't think I've ever seen this movie either (and that despite my ever-growing collection of zombie movies on DVD). I can still appreciate the model, though!

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    1. See my reply to Carrion Crow. :-) You are right, however, you don't have to have seen the film to appreciate the figures.

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  7. Very nice figures and a good tribute to the film.

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  8. I love these four guys..... I`m so jealous. I wish I had them. Stephen (my name sake) is a pain throughout most of the movie, but I dunno, somehow I really liked the part he played and especially the acting.

    Finally, after a long Christmas and New Year, with family staying right through the duration... then a bad storm which wiped out my router; a week`s rest to recover from the rigours of playing host to so many, and I`m finally almost back on track. Expect email from me soon Bryan.

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    1. Thanks as always, Steve. To be honest, I thought all four leads acted very well and they made me care about each one.

      I've missed our chats these past few weeks so I look forward to hearing from you and of course, writing to you. Take care, mate!

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