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!

Vampifan's Views 65 - Monthly Musings 43

Miss Vampirella June 2015 - Kitana Baker

I start this month's musings with another of my favourite Vampirella models - Kitana Baker. She was born in 1977 as Christi Michell Josenhans in Anaheim, California. Keen to get into show business, Kitana began working as a showgirl in local clubs, eventually winning Local Showgirl of the Year 1998 and National Showgirl of the Year 1999 awards along the way. She also began modeling, posing for various magazines and web sites, and caught the attention of Playboy magazine in February 2001. Playboy hired Kitana to work on their network, and she has been a feature of the Playboy empire ever since. She was hired by Harris Comics in 2003 and appeared on the cover of numerous Vampirella magazines between 2003 and 2004. She certainly fills Vampirella's red costume magnificently, which I'm pleased to see that Harris have altered for the better. The costume is perfect and whilst I have absolutely nothing against the gorgeous Kitana, she is just far too busty to be Vampirella. That does not mean that I don't lust after her! She's welcome at my home any time!

This month's gaming news is exciting... well, it is to me! First, I have backed the Zombicide: Black Plague Kickstarter project. That was a no-brainer, obviously. There is still over a week for it to run and it most definitely is going from strength to strength with nearly $2.5 million already pledged. Will it reach $3 million? I hope so.
My second piece of gaming news is that a few days ago I received a small parcel from Studio Miniatures, containing the Survivor and Zombie figures I ordered in their Z-Clipz: Outbreak Kickstarter project. Obviously, with these being Studio Miniatures, they are superbly sculpted. I received about 50 figures and a resin cast wrecked car. The figures are primarily based on characters from popular films and TV series, especially The Walking Dead and George A. Romero's classic zombie film, Dawn of the Dead. Ever since I first saw Dawn of the Dead way back in 1979, I have been waiting for someone to make the four heroes of the film. My patience was finally rewarded when this Kickstarter was launched. Sorry I have no preview photos to show you of the figures I received but they are high on my painting list and I hope to review them soon.

I have been adding to my collection of Zombicide Season 3 stuff by buying a few sets I missed out when I made my initial pledge last year. First up is this boxed set of a Murder of Crowz. It contains 15 stands with each stand containing 6 zombie crows. Anyone who has seen the film, Resident Evil: Extinction will know about zombie crows! I must admit that these figures will be an absolute doddle to paint. Although I received a few of these Crowz with my Kickstarter package, I didn't get any rules or spawn cards for them. Now I do have  them.

I bought all of the Special Guest Sculptor boxed sets of figures that were offered in the Season 3 Kickstarter launch except one. That one was the set you see here to the left. It features four characters from John Kovalic's popular Dork Tower comic series. This series has been running since 1997 and features a group of nerdish gamers whom most of us will recognise from our own gaming groups. I passed on this set because the figures are so cartoonish. I didn't see how I could use them in any realistic game, especially one as dark in tone as Zombicide. But the more I looked at them, the more I realised I wanted them. Yes, I am a Zombicide fanboy. I admit it! It did bug me that I was missing a set. So, when I saw them on offer on eBay with the Buy Now option my willpower collapsed and I bought them. I am now a happy bunny. I already have a few scenarios in mind that should be ideal for them. I see no reason not to inject a bit of fun into the game.

Now some of you might be thinking I bought them because they look like Chibi miniatures. Wrong! They may be cartoon characters but they most definitely are NOT Chibi characters. John Kovalic has placed a huge backlog of Dork Tower cartoon strips on his website here - http://www.dorktower.com/ which I have thoroughly enjoyed going through. Yep, I read them all... although not in one sitting! I happen to know that John does a lot of work for Steve Jackson Games so I did a search to see just exactly what he had done. I saw that there was a Dork Tower boardgame, which didn't interest me, and set of 28mm scale metal figures to go with the game, which did interest me. Sadly, the figures were out of stock and out of production, but a quick search on eBay revealed a seller living just a couple of miles away from where I live with a set for sale at the ridiculously low price of £6.95. What a bargain! I leapt on it. This time the characters are dressed in fantasy garb and I plan to use them in an offbeat game of Zombicide: Black Plague sometime in 2016. As soon as I get both sets painted up I'll review them.

Vampifan's Views 63 - Monthly Musings 41

Miss Vampirella April 2015 - Jade Starr

This month's featured Vampirella model is Jade Starr, a go-go dancer, glamour model and actress who has done a lot of work in the pornography business, appearing in nearly 30 hardcore films. She is part Cherokee and part Irish - an interesting and unusual combination. This photo was taken from a photo shoot that contains some very NSFW pics of her. She is slimmer and less busty than most Vampirella models, which is in no way meant as a criticism. I particularly like her eyes and lips. She looks so sultry in this photo. Her costume is great (it leaves little to the imagination!) apart from those hideous boots. How on earth she can even stand up in them let alone walk in them is beyond me. I think she is ravishingly beautiful and she just oozes sex appeal.

By now I am fully immersed in Zombicide. I have just finished painting the boxed set of 6 Ultimate Survivors that was part of my recent Season 3 package. Expect a review of them very soon. I have also finished painting 20 Toxic Zombies from the Season 2 Toxic City Mall expansion set and I have another 20 on my painting table right now. What has really rekindled my passion for this superb board-game is that I have began playing it again after a two year absence. I am working my way through the Season 1 scenarios, including those from the Zombicide Compendium volume 1. One thing I have always meant to do is to post a Zombicide batrep. This will happen very soon (next post, hopefully!) and should appeal to newbies and veterans alike. It will be rules heavy as I show how the game plays and so will be similar in style to my ATZ batreps. I just need to finish editing the photos and then do the write-up, both of which are very time consuming.

Studio Miniatures have just launched a new Kickstarter project called Medieval Mayhem. Here's the blurb describing it - "ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A KINGDOM RULED BY A WISE AND POWERFUL KING...well actually it was run by a large uncaring corporation, filled with children celebrating birthdays, adults just trying not to go crazy and staffed by slackers, stoners and students!
Medieval World Funfair and Theme Park to give it is full name was regarded by it's employees as the worst place in the world to work BUT that was before the Zombie Apocalypse!!!
Our aim is to release a new expansion range for our popular Z-Clipz zombie range with four new Survivors then add to this first wave with further Stretch Goals and Free Miniatures along with Downloadable Colour Artwork and Resin Scenery/Terrain Items.Although these new miniatures are medieval themed they are still fully compatible with our existing modern zombies and survivors, so even if you want to mix them together for some modern madness or fight it out old school, either way you are going to love....Medieval Mayhem!
So don your helmet, take up your sword and mount thy trusty steed....it's time to get Medieval on their asses!!!"
You can check it out here -  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/687110463/medieval-mayhem-28mm-knights-versus-zombies-miniat
The figures are very heavily influenced by the film, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Although I do love pretty much everything that Studio Miniatures have produced, I will not be backing this project. I simply can't afford it, plus there are too many figures in this range which do not appeal to me. However, I thought it worth mentioning in case it tickles your fancy.

Vampifan's Views 56 - Monthly Musings 34

Vampirella Summoning by Michael Kaluta

It has been yet another very busy month for me and I have a lot to report, so let's get on with it. I am well on the way to finishing my painting of the last 15 of the Zombicide season 1 zombies. Yay me! These have all been converted. The conversions were simple but very effective. I'll explain just what I did when I post my review of them, which should be soon.

I have made five Stoelzel's Structures 28mm scale SUVs from Carl's Auto Park set. These are the first Stoelzel's vehicles I have ever made and they fit in well with my other card vehicles. Once again, a review of them will follow very soon.
Incidentally, fans of the Stoelzel's Structures forum will know that it has been off-line for the past couple of weeks. Carl had problems with the old host but thankfully, has now found a new host and the forum is now back on-line. Currently, Carl and I are the only two members. You can check it out here -
http://stoelzelsstructures.proboards.com/
The bad news is that all of the old stuff from the previous forum is gone but looking on the bright side, the new site should be a lot more reliable. All fans of Carl's works (of which I know there are many) should join the new forum.

Studio Miniatures have launched their Kickstarter project and I have backed it at the £30.00 level but I can see me spending much more than that when/if all the stretch goals are reached. Characters from The Walking Dead TV series are prominently featured with new sculpts for Rick, Carl, Daryl and Michonne. In addition, Glenn, Maggie, Tyreese and his sister Sasha will appear, along with a couple of notable zombies from the very first episode - zombie little girl and zombie crawler. What has got me very excited about this project is that the four heroes from George A. Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead film are planned for release. As you should know, the original Dawn of the Dead is my all time favourite zombie film and I look forward to owning miniature figures of Fran, Peter, Roger and Stephen. This will be a very popular Kickstarter project. It reached its target goal within two hours of its launch! If you haven't backed it yet there is still time to do so. Here's the link to the home page of the project -
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/687110463/z-clipz-outbreak-28mm-zombie-and-survivor-miniatur

From left to right are Studio Mini's versions of Fran, Stephen, Peter and Roger from "Dawn of the Dead"

Regular readers of my blog will know of my love for GURPS and that I plan on running a GURPS Zombies campaign. Well, a couple of weeks ago I began my prep work for this new venture. I have been working on artwork to use as portraits on my PC and NPC character record sheets. I have done quite a few survivors and different types of zombies. Most of the zombies in my campaign will be of the clumsy, slow-moving, stupid variety - your standard zombie walkers. However, I will be adding some other types, but they will be both rare and few in numbers. I have worked out the stats for a standard male and female zombie walker and both cost -326 points. It's a good start but I still have loads of prep work to do so don't expect to see any action soon. This is very much a long term project but one that I am very enthusiastic about. I do love ATZ but I want more detail and more of a role-playing element from my campaign so eventually I will switch over to GURPS. Fortunately, it won't be too difficult to convert my ATZ material over to GURPS. I will certainly be using ATZ for many of my campaign ideas and scenarios.

Speaking of ATZ, there are more supplements in the pipeline. I received a preview copy of the latest supplement, "Tales of Dread" from Ed because of an idea I suggested when I reviewed "Hospital 911." I mentioned that a good idea to use this supplement without restarting an existing campaign would be to slot in some or all of the encounters as flashbacks. "Tales of Dread" can be played as either one off adventures, as part of a campaign or as flashbacks. It consists of 13 new scenarios along with new rules, which include lots more zombie types and even has an option for playing zombies as player characters. Zombie stars are just one frightening option. I haven't read all the scenarios yet but one stood out for me - Bloody Big Top. Yes, the circus is in town and not only does that mean clowns but zombie clowns and zombie circus folk. Giggles the Clown is especially mean! This supplement hasn't been released yet but it should be available soon.
I mentioned that there are more ATZ supplements due. Note the word "supplements" - plural. Ed and I have been chatting about an ATZ supplement set two to three years after the initial outbreak. According to Ed, it won't be like ATH. I can tell you that it will be called "Brand New World." Once again, Ed has sent me a preview copy of the supplement but I've been sworn to secrecy about its contents. I'll pass on more info about this product when it's due to published. Funnily enough, Ed and I share very similar views on how the zombie apocalypse will develop. Feel free to share your own views on how a zombie apocalypse may pan out. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Studio Miniatures Firemen 01

The one group of figures that are very poorly represented by figure companies in a contemporary setting are firemen. Yes, I know that Mega Minis made a set of 8 firemen, but quite frankly, they were very poorly sculpted. I didn't buy them. The best fireman figure I've ever seen came from Griffin Miniatures (see picture to the left), but alas, he is no longer available.
After chatting with my good friends Joe and Mathyoo, it was decided that the best option to fill this gap would be to convert an existing set of figures. And so Mathyoo bravely offered to step up to the plate. He converted three Studio Minis 28mm scale plastic zombies into human firemen. The heads came from plastic WW2 German infantrymen. Sorry, but I forget who made them. It could be Wargames Factory. When Mathyoo visited England a couple of months ago to stay with Joe and me he presented me with the three figures he'd converted. Here they are.

On the whole I was delighted with them but a few things about them bothered me. And so I made a few changes. First up was the helmets which looked too much like German WW2 helmets. No surprise there, really, given their origins. However, by adding a large badge to the front of the helmets I totally altered their appearance. I could have added a big rim around the helmets but ultimately decided against it.
I was not happy with the length of their coats. Mathyoo's ended at the top of the lower yellow hoop. I extended the coats by a couple of millimetres, which made a huge difference.

The two firemen with the gas-masks and oxygen tanks originally had scarves wrapped around their faces. This was something else that I wasn't happy about. So I added the gas-masks and oxygen tanks. This was my biggest change to Mathyoo's work but one that I think vastly improves them.
One final change I made was to give them all gloves. After looking at many photos of firemen in action I discovered that most wore gloves when out in the field. It makes sense really. Incidentally they armed with, from left to right, a tyre iron, an axe and a large hammer - all useful weapons to use against zombies.
It is always nice to have unique figures and these guys certainly fill a niche that needed filling. It just goes to show what can be done with a bit of imagination. By the way, Mathyoo thoroughly approved of my changes and I kept him well informed of my plans and work. I should point out that Mathyoo's conversions were unpainted. Given the changes I made to them this was probably a good thing.

Studio Miniatures' Zombies 19 - Clowns

Followers of my blog will know that I have a large collection of figures of 28mm scale clowns. Most are human and some are zombies. Sunny the Killer Klown, who was responsible for wiping out Team Vampifan in my ATZ Better Dead Than Zed campaign was a demon from Hell. Killer Klowns are evil and most normal clowns are quite scary. But zombie clowns are both evil and scary. Studio Miniatures recently released a set of four zombie clowns and here they are.

At the far left is Chuckles in his bright orange and blue costume. He isn't smiling much now, is he? he doesn't show any obvious signs of wounding but there is a lot of blood around his neck, which could have come from a victim he was feeding on. I think he looks totally evil.
Crouching next to him is Giuseppi. This figure should have had a hook in place of his right hand but when I received my figure the hook had snapped off. No big deal, Rather than trying to glue it back on, I simply left his arm as ending in a stump. This was his obvious cause of death. In his left hand he holds a bloody internal organ, possibly a heart or a liver. Mmmm, feeding time! By the way, painting the stars on his jacket was not an easy task. Some look good but others are not so good.

Moving on, we come to Mr. Jolly, a fat clown who even in death, is smiling, despite the fact that half of his face has been chewed off. He is holding a ridiculously small umbrella and he wears a bowler hat that is far too small for him. Mr. Jolly has a massive wound to his stomach and his intestines are struggling to remain in place. Gross!
Finally we come to a clown whom I'm sure many of you will recognise. Yes, he is Ronald McDonald, the mascot of the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants. I'm not sure how Studio Minis got away with making such an easily recognisable figure but perhaps because he is a zombie and not a human that's okay. Again, he shows no signs of injury but by his bloodstained mouth, chin and neck he has clearly been feeding.
I think this is a fantastic set of figures. I like clowns and I like zombies. Put them together, and for me, you have a winning combination. Sunny will definitely be recruiting these four to his gang of Killer Klowns.
This set called Die Laughing costs £12.99 From the Studio Miniatures webstore. I can highly recommend them. The sculpting is up to the usual high standard we have all come to expect from this company.

Zombicide Figures Size Comparison

When I was photographing my Zombicide figures I knew that I'd be asked for a size comparison photo. So I took one with the four zombie types from the Zombicide board-game alongside survivor types from an assortment of figure companies. If you are wondering about the Zombicide survivors, they are the same size as the zombie Walker. Do bear in mind that the Zombicide figures are not mounted on circular plastic slottabases so they appear to be a couple of millimetres smaller than the others.

Moving from left to right we have -
Copplestone Castings Dark Future Militia Trooper, or as we all know him - Vampifan.
Zombicide zombie Walker.
Foundry Figures Wrecking Crew gang member with crowbar.
Zombicide zombie Fattie.
Hasslefree Adventurer - Grant
Zombicide zombie Runner.
RAFM USX Survivor - Hanna, or as I call her, Hannah Vaughn.
Zombicide zombie Abomination.
Studio Miniatures Survivor - Ohio.
I think you'll agree that they match up well with all of the figures I've featured. This photo also gives you a good indication of just how tall the Abomination is.
What I did not anticipate were requests for a group shot of all of my Zombicide figures. The best I can do is show you this in game shot from one of the (many) scenarios that Mathyoo and I played.

Five of the six survivors are grouped together in the road square with the black and yellow triangular Noise Marker. Doug is on his own in the room at the top right hand corner, collecting one of the objectives for the scenario. At this point it looks pretty grim for the heroes but most of them made it to the end. Wendy was their only casualty, swarmed by zombies when the Walkers got an extra turn.

Studio Minis 18 - Limited Edition Freebies

The three Studio Miniatures 28mm scale zombies that I'm reviewing today were part of the stretch goals offered when they ran their Indiegogo project for their plastic zombie sets. I managed to get two of each, thanks to the generosity of Stuart at SM. I gave away one of my Shaun of the Dead zombies to one of my followers (David aka Darkoath) who asked if anyone had a spare copy to donate. The other freebie zombie in the deal was the George Romero zed, and seeing as I already owned him the two that I received went to deserving homes.

At the far left of the trio is the Shaun of the Dead zombie I mentioned above. First Hasslefree, then Studio Minis and currently, Guillotine Games (for their Zombicide Season 2 project) have made zombified versions of Simon Pegg aka Shaun from Shaun of the Dead, Now anyone who has seen this wonderful film will know that Shaun survived and was never turned into a zombie. This makes me wonder why figure companies make zombified Shauns but no one has made a zombified version of Shaun's best mate, Ed (played by Nick Frost) who was turned into a zombie? Anyhow, that's just me idly speculating. This is a very nicely sculpted figure with a decent resemblance to Shaun, if he was zombified. I have given him a neck wound to add to the red that was on his shirt (movie reference alert!). Although he is carrying his cricket bat I would not class him as an armed zombie. He appears to be nothing more than an ordinary zombie who kept a hold of the bat when he died. He drags it along with him because he lacks the intelligence to let go of it. Zombies are dumb like that!

Next up is the first of my two skeletal zombies. These are so old that their skin is stretched tight over their bones, giving them a look that can best be described as skeletal. Their clothes hang in tatters. The flesh has been stripped from the front of his torso, revealing his rib cage. His intestines are spilling from a massive wound to his stomach.
The zombie at the far right of the photos is a conversion of the previous figure. I simply repositioned his arms and gave him a totally different paint scheme so that the two figures look different. He has a darker skin tone, denoting that he is of African/American origin. I have applied far more gore to him than I normally do. It almost looks like he has been showering in blood. He looks delightfully disgusting!
It is at this point that I'd tell you how much these figures cost but none of them are for sale on the SM webstore. Sadly, they were only made available to those who backed the plastic zombies Indiegogo project. I like these limited edition figures, but then I have always been a huge fan of Studio Miniatures' zombie figures.

Studio Miniatures' Survivors 04 and Zombies 17

It's time for a look at some more astounding figures from Studio Miniatures as I review their latest batch of 28mm scale survivors and zombies. I'll start with looking at the survivors, Michelle, Mel and Dixon.

At the far left of this group is Michelle, aka Michonne from The Walking Dead comics and TV series. As an avid reader of the graphic novels I have to say that Michonne is my favourite character from the series. Before the Outbreak she was an attorney and one of her hobbies was kendo, which stood her in good stead when all hell broke loose. She is a natural fighter with her katana. Studio's sculptor has depicted her as she first appears in both the comics and the TV series, dressed in a hooded poncho with a pair of armless and jawless zombies in tow. Read on to see her two zombie followers.
In the centre of this group is Mel, who is unmistakably "Mad Max" Rockatansky as he appeared in the film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. A number of figure companies have made their own versions of this iconic, post apocalyptic survivor but none have captured his likeness as well as Studio Minis have! This really is a superb figure. He is armed with his double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun. Note the spanner and binoculars hanging from his jacket. The leg brace on his left leg has been accurately sculpted. I have done far more dry-brushing on his leather clothing than I'd normally do, but it has certainly paid off. He just is Mad Max!

At the far left of this trio is Dixon aka Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead TV series. Daryl is a new character created for the TV series. He does not appear in any of the comics. I have become a big fan of Daryl due to his no-nonsense attitude. He is an outdoors man with excellent survival skills. His favoured weapon of choice is a crossbow, which is perfect for killing zombies from a distance because it is silent. For close in kills, he uses a knife (you can see it on his right hip). There is a dead animal, which I have painted as a grey squirrel hanging from his belt on his left hip. Note that his spare quivers for his crossbow are held in place underneath the front of the weapon. That has to make it easier to reload.

Moving on, here are Studio's latest zombie figures. The two at the left of my photos are from a set called Fat Man and Little Boy. I can't argue with the description of the Fat Man but Little Boy? He's not that little. You can usually rely on Studio to make perfectly scaled 28mm scale figures but for some unknown reason, they have made Fat Man huge. He stands 40mm tall from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Is he based on a computer game character? I wouldn't know because my knowledge of computer games is very basic. He is, as you can see, totally nude, although I'm not sure what has happened to his genitalia. Are they hidden under his enormous belly or have they been bitten off? I've hedged my bets by painting gore on his inner thighs. He is grossly obese with numerous wounds covering his body and limbs. I painted him differently to most of my normal zombies. I gave his flesh a mixture of grey and cadaverous green and added subtle patches of green, purple and yellow. I'm very pleased with how he has turned out.
Little Boy appears to be a teenager, not a boy. He wears his hoodie with the hood pulled up and his shirt or T-shirt hangs over the top of his trousers. There are a few holes in his clothing but most prominent is the large hole in the centre of his back, probably an exit wound from a gunshot to his chest. I have smeared his hands with blood.

The two zombies at the far right can be found in the same pack as Michelle from above. They each have a collar around their necks. From these collars, Michonne attached a chain to drag them along behind her, just as a dog owner would use a chain and leash on his dog. To prevent them from attacking her, Michonne hacked off their arms and jaws. As a point of trivia, one of these zombies was Michonne's former boyfriend before he became infected. One of them has punk-style vivid green hair and a gaping wound in his belly, from which his intestines are spilling out. The other one has the beginning of a beer belly and is slightly overweight. Both have cuts to the legs. These have to be the most harmless pair of zombies in existence. With no arms or jaws what can they do to harm you? Perhaps bleed on you? Michonne kept them close to her to mask her smell from other zombies. She was certainly not sentimental about them as the first thing she did when she met Rick Grimes and his group of survivors was to decapitate them with her katana.
Once again, Studio Miniatures have pulled out all the stops to produce another bunch of incredibly well sculpted figures. Fat Man and Little Boy retail at £8.99 for the pair. Michelle and her two zombie followers retails at £7.99, whilst Dixon and Mel cost £3.99 each. Don't baulk at the prices. What you are paying for is quality of the highest standard.

Studio Miniatures' Zombies 16 - U.S. Army Soldiers

Following on from my review of the four Studio Miniatures' zombie cops, I'm now going to review the "Grunts and Screams" set, which contains four 28mm scale US Army soldier zombies. This review ties in with my last one, as I bought and painted both sets at the same time.

When a zombie apocalypse kicks off, it is inevitable that many of the first vistims to be infected will come from the emergency services as they struggle to contain the problem. Soldiers, whether they be from the regular army, special forces or National Guard, will be in the front line and will suffer many casualties. As such, this is a set that I welcome very much. I have painted these guys in the same camo pattern that I used on my Black Scorpion US Army troops (I haven't got round to reviewing them... yet). It is my interpretation of the current digital camouflage scheme used today in the US Army. It's not the easiest camo pattern to paint in 28mm scale but I'm happy with it and to be honest, that's all that counts.

At the far left of the two photos above is a soldier whose left arm has had most of the flesh stripped from it. You can see bone showing through from his shoulder to his wrist. Oddly, his left hand hasn't been touched. He is holding on to his pistol holster in his right hand. He is one of two soldiers wearing a helmet.
The second helmet-wearing grunt is lurching forward with his left arm stretched out. Note all the ammo pouches that he has on his chest. Other than the holstered pistol on the previous figure, these are all unarmed. But being zombies, they have no need for weapons.
The third zombie in line is clutching something to his chest but I wasn't sure what it was. Just as I'm not sure what the cylinder on his back is for. Are the two related? Is it a gasmask and oxygen cylinder? There is a tube leading from the bottom of the cylinder to his front. I decided to smear his hands in lots of blood, which has covered his front to help obscure whatever it is in his hands. Heck, it could be an internal organ, like a heart from some victim!
The figure last in line was one of the walking wounded before he became infected. His right wrist has been bandaged and he he has a bandage wrapped around his chest and back. His jacket is half on and half off, which is a nice touch, and helps to show off his prior injuries. He wears dark sunglasses, which also makes him stand out from the crowd.
Here we have four very well sculpted zombie soldiers. If you feel you don't have a use for them, you could very easily paint them up as SWAT troopers. This would tie them in with the cops I reviewed last time even more. Inevitably, I like them a lot and I can highly recommend them. Hey, they're by Studio Minis - what's not to like? This set retails at £12.99 from their webstore.

 

EDIT: Here's the  image I found on Google that I used to base my camo scheme on.

Studio Miniatures' Zombies 15 - Cops

Confession time. I have had this batch of figures painted and ready to review for a couple of months but it is only now that I have gotten round to reviewing them. They are the Studio Miniatures "To Kill and Serve" set of four 28mm scale scale zombie cops. I feel guilty about waiting so long to post this review as I love Studio Minis. Incidentally, I finished painting these just after I'd finished playing my Assault on Precinct 13 scenario, which is why they didn't make an appearance there.

The set consists of a sergeant and three patrolmen. At the far left of my two photos is the sergeant and you can see his sergeant's arm stripes better on the reverse view of him. He is slightly overweight, which is a nice touch as he probably spends most of his time behind a desk than out on the streets. Note his senior status is reinforced by the fact that he is the only one out of this group to wear a long-sleeved shirt and a tie. I painted his hair and moustache grey to further show that he is a veteran member of the force. I have painted him with a blood covered right hand. Whether it is his own blood or that of a victim is uncertain.
Next up is undoubtedly the "star" figure of this set. He has a pair of handcuffs, one half of which is tied to his right wrist, whilst the other half is still attached to the hand and lower arm of whoever he had arrested. There is a slight possibility that the arm dangling from the handcuffs may be his own, seeing as his left arm has been severed at the elbow. I find that possibility stretches credibility a bit too far. He is definitely one zombie you won't forget in a hurry.

Third in line is an African/Anerican patrolman shuffling forward with his head bowed. This figure just screams "shambler". It is a simple and rather boring-looking pose, but actually, is very effective. Although he bears no obvious wounds he is still, unmistakably, a zombie. I smeared his mouth, chin and neck with blood to show he had been feeding recently. Some of the blood has dripped down and covered his belt buckle.
Finally, is a zombie staggering along with a serious leg wound, which is particularly noticable when you look at him from behind. His pose perfectly captures the way he is limping unsteadily as if his right leg can barely support his weight. He also has a very long gash in his lower left arm, which is probably a knife wound.
This set is up to Studio Miniatures' usual high standards and they are a must for any zombie horde. Even if your zombie apocalypse isn't centred in America, you could still use these as zombie cops in most countries of the world. I imagine these guys will now be hanging out in the Mayhem City Precinct 13 Police Station.
This set of four figures retails at £12.99 from Studio's webstore. Next time, I'll be reviewing yet more Studio zombie goodness. See you on Sunday.

Studio Miniatures' Zombies 14 - Left4Dead 2

At the beginning of May I reviewed the first four figures from Studio Miniatures' range of 28mm scale "Only The Dead Are Left" zombies. Today, I'm showcasing the second set of figures in this range. As with the first set, these figures are based on different zombie types from the computer game Left 4 Dead (which I'll abbreviate to L4D).

To give them their L4D names we have from left to right, the Charger, the Spitter, the Jockey and the Witch.

As indicated by his name, the Charger likes to charge into melee, grab a victim and either run with him until they hit a wall or if there is none in range, he will slam the victim repeatedly into the ground. What makes him such a threat is his powerful right arm, which is covered in a rocky kind of shell, making it impervious to most damage. I have covered his right hand and lower arm in the blood of one of his victims. Note that he wears a shoe on his right foot but his left foot is bare. Surely that will affect how he runs!
Next in line, is the Spitter, a female zombie with the ability to spit balls of green acid at quite a distance. She is one of the very few zombies capable of ranged combat, which makes her a serious threat. However, once she has spat she must spend the next turn recovering before she can move and/or launch a further attack. This is her Achilles Heel. In ATZ, she'd be classed as Stunned after she makes a spit attack. When she dies, she secretes the acid from her body, leaving a puddle that is deadly to anyone standing in it. The figure sure is an ugly-looking bitch!
The Jockey is a hunch-backed zombie noted for leaping onto a victim's back and clinging on. If he wins a contest of strength, he can force the victim to move in a direction of his choosing, usually somewhere fatal or dangerous, e.g. off a high ledge or close to a Witch. The grip of a Jockey is so strong that it requires another person to prise him free. I have painted mine with a blood-smeared mouth and chin and hands covered in the blood of a victim.
The Witch is one of the most powerful zombies in L4D but is very rarely encountered. If left alone or not otherwise disturbed, then Survivors can avoid her. However, gunfire, torchlight or moving close to her will attract her attention. She will concentrate her attack on the person who disturbed her. If she kills her victim she will run away to find a new hiding place. A Witch (they only ever appear singly) is very hard to kill and will shrug off most damage, including fire. Once again, I have painted her hands and lower arms coated in the blood of one of her victims. This is definitely a running theme of mine with these four figures.

This picture depicts the four types of Infected as they appear in the L4D game. Obviously, these are not all to the same scale. I cut and pasted these together just to show how close the Studio Minis' sculptor has got in creating his versions of them.
If you wanted to use these special types of zombie in games like ATZ or NMRIH, you'll have to devise your own house rules for them. Coupled with the previous set of figures, Studio Minis have covered most of the Special Infected types from the L4D games. I don't play computer games, so whether I'll use these as L4D zombies (unlikely) or just use them as normal or smart zombies in ATZ (most probably) remains to be seen. This set retails for £14.99 from Studio Miniatures. Yes, that does make them expensive, but you are paying for quality and these certainly are not your ordinary run-of-the-mill zombies.

Studio Miniatures' Zombies 13 - Left4Dead 1

Here are another four zombies from my favourite maker of zombie figures - Studio Miniatures. These 28mm scale figures are from their "Only The Dead Are Left" set, an obvious reference to the Left 4 Dead (herafter abbreviated to L4D) computer games. Fans of the game should have no difficulty in identifying the different types of zombies in this set.
From left to right are the Tank, the Boomer, the Smoker and the Hunter, giving them their L4D names.

The Tank is L4D's zombified version of the Incredible Hulk. He has super strength and resiliance and is fully capapble of wiping out a party of survivors on his own. Painting him in Foundry Cadaverous Green 46 was my nod to the Incredible Hulk. He has a few cuts to his left arm and a bullet wound to the left side of his chest, but I doubt if he has even noticed them. Note that I have based him on a 30mm diameter slottabase as I thought he looked way oversized on a 25mm diameter slottabase, even though he would fit on it.

The Boomer has two very nasty abilities. First of all, it can projectile vomit on opponents. The bile will attract any nearby zombies to the victim. His second ability comes into play if the Boomer is killed. At that point he'll explode, covering any one too close to him with more bile that will attract more zombies to them. The way this figure has been sculpted gives you a sense that he is just about to explode. He's my favourite figure out of this set, simply because I like obese zombies and there aren't enough of them on the market.

When you first see the Smoker you'd be forgiven for thinking he's just a normal zombie and he's wearing a pink tie. Big mistake! That's not a tie - it's his tongue. He can use it as a weapon to drag victims close to him. If an opponent does cut the Smoker's tongue off, he will grow another one. Smokers don't moan like other zombies do, instead they cough. So, why is he called a Smoker? Well, when he is killed his body emits a cloud of smoke, which will impair the vision of any human close by, temporarily stunning them.

The Hunter is the most human-looking figure in this set, and is not so much a zombie as an infected person, similar to the infected flesh-eaters in the films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. He is very fast and agile and he uses his hands to rip his victims apart rather than his teeth. In ATZ terms, he is a Rager. However, in L4D, Hunters are a lot easier to kill than ATZ's Ragers. Also, in L4D, Hunters can remain absolutely silent, making them very good ambushers.

I have included this picture taken from one of the L4D websites, showing the concept art for the four types of Infected, and you can see that Studio's sculptor has obviously used these pictures for reference when he was sculpting them.

ATZ does not cater for these types of mutated zombies, although, as I said, the Hunter could double up as a Rager. I may use the Tank as another Rager, and keep the Boomer and the Smoker as normal zombies. For those of you playing No More Room In Hell, there are rules for using all four of these figures under the section, Generating Special Zombies. So, the Tank becomes the Brute, the Boomer becomes the Bloat, the Smoker becomes Dr. Tongue and the Hunter becomes Infected Runner. It looks like the author of NMRIH, Bryan Miley, was a fan of L4D. By the way, in case you're wondering how come I know so much about NMRIH, I recently bought the rulebook. A review of it will appear soon.

This set of four figures retails for £14.99 from the Studio Minis website. I should point out that Studio have just released "Only The Dead are Left II," which contains four more special Infected types from L4D - the Charger, the Jockey, the Spitter and the Witch. I sent away for them a couple of days ago and once I receive them I will paint them up as soon as possible. Look out for a review of them in the very near future, probably sometime next month.

Studio Miniatures Zombies 12 - Halloween Horrors

Here we have yet more zombie goodness from those fine chaps at Studio Miniatures as I take a look at their most recent offering of 28mm scale figures - Halloween Horrors.

This set consists of four figures wearing fancy dress costumes prior to being zombified. When I first saw the guy dressed up as Superman, my first thought was, do I really want to paint him as Superman? The answer was, no. He's not Superman - he's Superzombie! Painting the "Z" on his costume was far easier than painting the "S" I can tell you! Superzombie has had his right hand bitten off and has a light wound to his stomach. He was a lot of fun to paint!
Next to him is Bumble-Beeboy or Waspboy. His costume is rather bulky, suggesting he is based on the bee, but it does have a very pronounced stinger on his tail, so he could be based on a wasp. He has been savagely attacked in the stomach, where his internal organs are threatening to spill out.
Moving on, we come to the Harry Potter lookalike, probably the only one in the group most appropriately dressed for Halloween. I think he's a fantastically well sculpted figure. Yes, he is a very young looking Harry but a lot of Harry Potter fans are of that age so it does make sense. His coat has been holed in a few places but overall, he appears not to have suffered any obvious wound.
Last of all, is my favourite figure out of the group - the Playboy Bunnygirl. She might be a zombie, but she's a damned sexy-looking zombie! Playboy bunnies, mmmm! She has suffered a bite to her upper right thigh. I have coated her mouth, chin and neck in fresh blood to show that she has recently fed.
Speaking of painting, these figures and the wedding party zombie that I posted last time were the first figures that I have painted using the Wargame Foundry acrylic paints. I have switched over to them after becoming increasingly pissed off with Games Workshop's paints. I'll talk at length about this in another post, possibly my end of the month musings but for now I'd just like to say that I've become a huge fan of the Foundry paints.
These are another excellent set of zombies and all of them are perfectly sculpted. My only criticism of them is this - why are they called Halloween Horrors? I don't associate any of their costumes with Halloween, although the Harry Potter lookalike might get away with it. But the others? No way! They're just dressed in fancy dress, so why not call them Fancy Dress Freaks or something similar? For a Halloween set, I'd have expected to see them dressed as vampires, skeletons, werewolves, mummies, ghosts, witches and even zombies. That one would be quite a challenge to pull off - a zombie in a zombie costume!
This set costs £12.95, which is the same price as the Till Death Us Do Part set I reviewed last time, making it not so good value for money. Despite that, I had no hesitation in buying this set, simply because of the quality of the sculpting.
My next post would fall on Sunday, which is Christmas Day, so I'll probably post it on Christmas Eve instead. See you then.

Studio Miniatures Zombies 11 - Wedding Zeds

As a special Christmas treat to you my next two posts are going to concentrate on reviews of the latest Studio Miniatures 28mm scale zombie sets. I know that many of you agree with me that Studio Minis make the best sculpted zombies on the market. These five figures that I'm reviewing here come from their Till Death Us Do Part set.

As the name of the set indicates, what we have here is a zombified wedding party. How tragic! At the far left is the priest or minister who was supposed to marry the happy couple. I painted him as an elderly chap with grey hair. He looks to be fairly intact although I did paint on a small bite wound to his right cheek. The blood splatters on his frock are probably from other victims.

Next in line is the bride. She has a row of scratch marks on her left lower arm, a cut to her right upper arm and a deep cut to her left lower leg. She wears a silver tiara, which keeps her veil in place. There is something very sad looking about her face, but is that really surprising? What should have been the happiest day of her life has turned into her worst nightmare.

The groom has fared far worse. His left eye has been gouged out, leaving him with a bloody eye socket. That's going to spoil his looks for the wedding photographs! Whenever I paint my Studio Miniatures figures I generally copy the colour schemes that they provide on the packaging and their website. For this figure, however, I painted his clothing much darker.

For the pageboy, I totally changed his colour scheme. I painted his trousers in the same light brown as the groom's waistcoat and his shirt in the same lemon as the bridesmaid's dress, just to unify them better. The pageboy doesn't look to be wounded at all, although his head is leaning slightly to one side. I have smeared his mouth, chin and neck with blood to indicate that he has recently fed.

Finally, we come to the young bridesmaid, and again, she doesn't appear to be wounded either. I used the same technique on her as the pageboy by smearing the area around her mouth and neck with blood from one of her victims. She also has blood covering the fingers of her left hand.

This is an unusual subject to chose for a set of zombies but as you'd expect, Studio Minis have pulled it off with aplomb. My favourite figure out of the group is the bride, but to be fair, they have all been beautifully and expertly sculpted. It is always a joy to receive a new set of Studio Minis zombies because I know they are going to be a real treat to paint. So it was with this set.

My only criticism of this set is that I'd have liked to have seen even more figures included in the set; specifically, the best man, the father of the bride, the wedding photographer and maybe more family and guests. bridesmaids and pageboys.There's enough choice there to make at least two more sets.

The Till Death Us Do Part set costs £12.99 and is now only available in white metal. It looks like Studio Minis have stopped making resin versions of their zombies. What can I say about this set other than highly recommended? Next time, I'll review the Halloween Horrors by Studio Minis.

Studio Miniatures Survivors 03

Studio Miniatures latest pack of 28mm scale survivors contains three figures that should be instantly recognisable to most fans of the zombie genre. This is Rich and Family or as we fans of The Walking Dead know them, Rick and Family.

At the far left of my two photos is Sheriff Rick Grimes, the hero of The Walking Dead comics and TV series. The figure of Rick, (sorry but I'm not going to call him Rich - we all know who he really is) comes in two parts. His right hand and shotgun are a separate piece from the rest of the body. I had to drill a hole in his wrist and hand and pin the parts together with a very small piece of wire cut from a paperclip to ensure a good fit. The sculptor has shown Rick with his beard and moustache. I'd have preferred a clean shaven version of him, but that's just me being picky. For most of the time in the comics, Rick is clean shaven. He is firing a large calibre Magnum pistol in his left hand whilst holding his police issue pump action shotgun in his right hand.

In the centre of the group is Rick's wife, Lori. I can't find fault with this sculpt at all. It perfectly captures Lori both in stance and way she's dressed, not to mention, likeness. She is holding a pistol at the ready, alert to any danger to herself and family. 

Third in line is Rick's son Carl. Carl has been sculpted with his dad's police stetson on, so let's not hear any complaints that it looks too big on him. It's meant to. Also, for those of you who say he never wore it in the TV series, he does in the comics and in the comics he looks almost identical to the figure. I say almost because the sculptor has got two details wrong. Carl has never used a revolver. Early on in the series, Rick gave Carl a pistol for self-defence. At first Lori wasn't happy about this decision but she soon came round to seeing the sense of it. So the figure of little Carl should be armed with a pistol. It would be an easy enough conversion to swap weapons. I won't because it's not that big a deal. The second inaccuracy is that the stetson should have a police badge on the front of it. Minor points, I know, but I thought I'd mention them.

Of course, there's no reason why you should use them as Rick Grimes and family. They work perfectly well as an ordinary family of survivors. The thing is though, now that Studio have made Rick, Lori and Carl, I've no doubt that fans of The Walking Dead will be clamouring for more. My personal choices are for Michonne, Andrea, Dale and Glenn. I guess we all have our favourites and it certainly would be nice to see an expansion to this set. If you buy the white metal version of this set, it will cost £11.99, however, the resin version will knock you back £14.99.

Incredible as it seems I've barely mentioned The Walking Dead on my blog. I couldn't review the TV series when it first aired as I don't have access to satellite TV. I finally got to see it when the DVD boxed set was released earlier this year, by which time I'm sure most of you will have already seen it. For what it's worth I think the comics are without doubt the finest zombie series in print. The TV series more than lived up to my expectations, even though it did deviate from the comics. That's perfectly understandable. It does and more importantly, will, follow the main story arc of the comics but it will add a great deal more. That certainly excites me and I look forward with eager anticipation to series two, although the loss of director Frank Darabont does fill me with concern. Series one set such a high standard. I hope series two can maintain that standard. Sadly, for me, I'll have to wait for the release of the DVD boxed set in 2012 to find out.

Studio Miniatures Zombies 10 - Mob 8

As promised, here is my review of Studio Miniatures' 28mm scale Zombie Mob 008, along with the freebie figure you get if you order this set and Zombie Mob 007 together.

 

I'm not sure if the zombie in the yellow polo-neck sweater at the far left of the two photos above should still be standing. From the front it looks like he's just been shot in the chest. But from the back you can see he's had the top of his head sliced off - surely a killing blow if ever there was one. When I first saw this figure I was reminded of the zombie in George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead film who walks into the spinning rotor blades of a helicopter and loses the top of his head. Instant death! Maybe this guy still has enough brain matter to function. Notice the massive exit wound in his back - it's not hard to miss!
The zombie female in the orange dress is quite tall. The rows of bricks behind her give you a good indication of her size as they are spaced 5mm apart. Her once pretty looks have been marred by a chunk of flesh that has been bitten off her right check. She has also suffered a big bite wound to her left arm and there are claw marks on her right thigh.
The zombie female in the blue top and jeans has not been so badly injured. Her right hand is held over a bite wound on her right thigh. Her jumper and jeans have been holed in a few places but, on the whole, she is a relatively intact zombie.
The one thing that I like most about the fourth zombie in line is that she is still holding onto her handbag, even though the shoulder strap has snapped. You can almost hear her brain thinking, "you can kill me but you aren't getting my handbag. It's mine!" She has a small hole in the left knee of her pants and I have smeared blood over her chin and neck, which has got lost in the shadows of my photo. Sorry about that. She is another zombie who looks virtually intact.

  

The balding male at the far left of the next two photos above has suffered a small wound to the chest and forehead and a large bite to his left arm. He is leaning over to one side as if unsteady on his feet. From afar you might mistake him for a drunk but not close up.

Standing next to him, you couldn't mistake this gentlemen in the dishevelled suit for anything but a zombie. His mouth is open wide in an angry snarl. Blood from a bite to his right cheek and from victims he has bitten is pooled around his neck and upper chest. A bite has been taken out of his lower right leg, which explains why his gait is so unnatural.

The zombie in the centre of this group is a bloody mess. His most notable wound is on his right arm, where the flesh has been picked to the bone between his wrist and elbow. He also has bite wounds to his right lower leg (major) and left lower leg (minor). The left side of his his face has had a lot of flesh removed. It's fair to say that he must have suffered before turning into a zombie.

The zombie to his left has also suffered badly. His stomach has been ripped open to reveal his innards, which are spilling out. He has a deep wound to the back of his left thigh. His right hand is covered in blood, most likely his own as he tried to stem the blood from his stomach wound.

Finally, I come to the freebie figure, available only if you buy this set and Zombie Mob 007 together. When Studio Miniatures released Zombie Mobs 003 and 004, the free figure was Bub, the intelligent zombie from Romero's Day of the Dead. I made a plea that the next freebie be Big Daddy, the intelligent zombie from Romero's Land of the Dead film but sadly it was just some jerk from Scrubs. (No, I'm not a fan of Scrubs at all!) Fortunately, this time round, Studio have listened to me and here we have Big Daddy in his garage overalls, with a 5.56mm Steyr AUG Assault Rifle slung over his back. And yes, he does know how to use it. In ATZ, that would make him a Smart Zombie. I just can't fault this figure at all. It is a superb sculpt that perfectly captures Eugene Clark's zombie character. If you are using Smart Zombies in your own games, you just have to get hold of this figure.

This is another set of zombies from SM that shows just why they are at the top of their game. If you want top quality, realistic looking zombies then look no further. Zombie Mob 008 costs £16.99 but do yourself a favour and buy it with the previous mob set, just to get your hands on the sublime Big Daddy figure.

Studio Miniatures Zombies 09 - Mob 7

I was checking my blog archives and I found it hard to believe that I haven't reviewed any Studio Miniatures zombies and survivors this year. That changes now as I review Zombie Mob 007.

 As with all of the Studio Mob sets, you get five male zombies and three female zombies. The two photos above show four of the male zombies, starting at the far left with a crouching zombie who has been shot in the chest by a high calibre bullet. The exit wound in his back is massive. His left knee and shin are all bloody. From a fashion point of view I'm not a fan of his trousers!
Next to him is possibly a former office worker in his shirt and tie. He wears a big chunky, gold watch, which would be a handy item to loot from him. I couldn't find a single wound on him, so perhaps he died of a heart attack.
Moving on, is an overweight zombie dressed in casual clothing and a parka coat with the hood down. When I was painting his hair, I accidentally painted over his left ear. Rather than correct my error, I daubed blood over his ear, which has dribbled down his neck onto his upper chest. That's the beauty of painting zombies - any mistake can be covered up by a spot of gore. He also has two small bullet wounds in his chest and stomach and his right hand is covered in blood.
The fourth zombie in line is a conversion of Studio's "not-Arnie" figure, Dutch. The head has been remodelled and his lower right arm has been bitten off. He has also lost all of the fingers and thunb from his left hand, leaving him with a bloody stump. He makes a fine biker zombie, possibly a Wild Hog. Those of you who remember my last batrep will get that reference!

 

The next pair of photos show the four remaining figures, starting at far left with the last of the males. He has certainly been in the wars. His left wrist and forehead were bandaged prior to him becoming an active member of the undead. His lower right arm has been chewed to the bone and his right hand is missing completely. Nasty! Blood still flows from his two bandaged wounds, indicating they reopened prior to his first death.
Second in line is one of my favourite zombie figures ever. She is just superb and something very different from Studio's normal zombies (if you can call any of them normal). She is a fat chav zombie, very reminiscent of the obnoxious Vicky Pollard character from the UK comedy series Little Britain. She is just grotesque, which for a zombie is definitely a good thing. Half of her face has been ripped off to reveal a grinning skull beneath. Her left eye has been torn from its socket. Her pendulous breasts are almost spilling out of her tracksuit top and if you look closely, her right nipple is exposed from behind a tear in the cloth. The right arm of her tracksuit has been ripped off to reveal a few bite marks. Her upper back has been scratched and clawed and her left knee is all bloody. Finally, to add insult to injury, a bite has been taken out of her bum! What an amazing figure!
Third in line is a one armed zombie, leaning over to her left. Her left arm from the elbow has been torn off. I have smeared blood around her mouth, chin and right hand. She is such a delicately sculpted figure, the complete opposite to the previous female walking corpse.
The final figure in this set is a conversion of the previous figure. If you compare their lower bodies you can tell that this is the case. Still, it is a clever conversion because the upper bodies look very different. She has had her throat torn out. The left sleeve of her coat has been ripped off but her left arm shows no signs of a wound.
I've said all along that my favourite 28mm scale zombie figures are made by Studio Miniatures and this set does nothing but cement their reputation as the best. The female chav zombie in this set is worth the asking price alone. The quality of the sculpting is as good as it gets and I can tell you that painting them was an absolute joy.
The price of Zombie Mob 007 is £16.99 for the white metal version. When I checked the SM website this morning I couldn't find any price for the resin versions. Either it was an oversight or else Studio have stopped making resin versions. Next time I'll be revieweing Zombie Mob 008 along with a free bonus figure you get if you order both sets together.