SOTR German Zombie Horde 02

In this post I'm highlighting the rest of my zombie horde for my Secrets of the Third Reich German army. All of  these zombies are standard infantry that help to bulk out my zombie horde.

Just to reiterate, they have the following special rules, Horror, Tough, Utterly Fearless and Zombie.

I always enjoy painting zombies and painting these were a real labour of love.

I do like the fact that West Wind made all of these figures as individuals.

With the 12 zombies I showed in my last post I have a big horde of 30 figures with no duplication whatsoever.

In SOTR, there is no limit to how big your zombie horde can be, which, as a big fan of zombies, pleases me no end.

 The bigger your horde is, the more dangerous they become, which is a standard trope of zombies.

Note the zombie at the far left is armed with a dagger, making him unique in this horde. Whether he can use it effectively is debatable.

Because I only have a German infantry army from SOTR, it is most unlikely that I'll be playing any scenarios with this rules set. However, I will be using them with the similar Weird World War 2 rules set, Konflict 47 by Warlord Games. I plan on pitching my German army against the American and British armies. It is a project that I'm very keen to get my teeth into.

SOTR German Zombie Horde 01

Vergeltungswaffe 4 or V-Gas is the fourth in a series of Vengeance weapons Germany unleashed to stem the tide of its defeat. It worked exceptionally well. V-Gas kills the living painfully then re-animates their corpses by reacting with the remains of the central nervous system. It also has the effect of raising the recently deceased. Older corpses are not affected ass their nervous systems become too decayed to support the virus.
The Ministry of Special Weapons Development (SWD) has devised a means to weaponise the victims of V-Gas. After all, they are the perfect soldiers. They require nothing: no food, no water, no ammunition, they never run from battle, and the supply of them is virtually unlimited.

I start with the Zombie Officers and at the far right is my only named Zombie. He is SS Standardartenfuhrer (Colonel) Orjan Herzog, the chief villain of the1990 film, Dead Snow. The figure is an exact likeness of him. Second from left is a General who is also a Pinger, as denoted by the aerial sticking out of his back. This always a controller to  make the Pinger go in whatever direction the controller desires. The other zombies in the horde will instinctively follow him instead of shuffling about aimlessly.

Of the other two officers, one has been chewing on a bone and is pointing with it. The other one is standing with his lower right arm blown off.

These next four zombie figures are very unusual in that they are Zombie Bombs. The SWD often strapped explosives to zombies and would detonate them by means of naval mine triggers or radio signals.

Up to four Zombie Bombs may be included in any Zombie Horde. Note they are all carrying different types of explosive but in game turns they all count the same which is they cause a Medium AT/HE blast.

These four figures are the first of my Zombie Infantry Horde. I'll be showing a lot more of them in my next post. In SOTR they have the following special rules, Horror, Tough, Utterly Fearless and Zombie.

These zombie figures are all part of the West Wind Productions Secrets of the Third Reich range but they would fit in equally well in Warlord Game's Konflict 47 range, which I certainly plan on doing. In Konflict 47 the Zombie horde is known as Totenkorps - Death Troops.

Resident Evil 2 Zombies 02

I continue my look at some of the 32mm scale plastic zombie figures produced for the Resident Evil 2 board-game by Steam Forged Games. These 12 figures were part of the expansion sets. Individually, they are not much of a threat with a Move of 1, Health of 1, Threat Level of 1 and they inflict 1 point of damage. They have just one special ability which is Suicide Lunge. With an attack range of 1 instead of their normal attack range of 0 , the zombie performs a move reaction then attacks. This attack cannot be evaded. After resolving the attack, the Zombie is killed.

As with the 12 zombies I showed last time, these come in three different poses made up of four figures.

These four are advancing with their right arm stretched out. The one on the far right of each set has been painted as an African American, hence his darker skin colour. All of them have been given different coloured clothing and hair.

Next up are four more males, casually dressed in T-shirts and shambling forward in search of fresh blood.

Once again, in order to provide some individuality amongst them, I have painted them in different coloured clothing and hair colours.

Finally are more shambling male zombies. To make each one look unique I have varied where their wounds are as well as giving them all different coloured clothing and hair.

Coupled with the 12 zombies I showed in my last post and the final batch left to paint you end up with about three dozen zombies, which is a decent sized horde. I have no criticism to make of the sculpts but I do wish there were more female zombies in the mix. Just four female zombies out of so many is a poor showing.

Resident Evil 2 Zombies 01

Obviously with a game like Resident Evil 2 you are going to get a lot of zombie figures and I certainly did buying all of the expansion sets when the game was released on Kickstarter. I haven't painted all of them yet but I have painted two dozen of them, which is more than enough for most games. This post covers the 12 zombie figures that came with the starter boxed set.

I start of with four policemen from the Racoon City Police Department who would obviously be in the front-line once the zombie apocalypse began.

The boxed set comes with three sets of four identically posed 32mm scale zombies. I have made these four look unique by simply giving them different hair colours. Also, for each set of four, I have painted one as an African American with darker skin. He or she will be the one at the far right.

The next four males are advancing with their left arms stretched out to grab hold of a victim. "I'm coming to get you, Barbara!"

Because these were once civilians I was able to make them look unique by giving them different coloured clothing and hair.

Finally, we have four female zombies with pageboy hairstyles that covers their left eye. Note that all of these figures are sculpted onto 20mm diameter bases which I have covered with sand and gravel.

Once again, by painting them with different coloured hair and clothing I was able to make each one appear to be a unique model.
Although designed to be used with the Resident Evil 2 board-game, there is no reason why you couldn't use them in any other contemporary or near future zombie apocalypse game. I had a lot of fun painting them. I always enjoy painting zombies.

Black Scorpion Old West Terrors 03

Following on from my last post here are the last five figures from the Tombstone Undead faction produced by Black Scorpion. These zombie figures are all 32mm scale and are sculpted in resin.

At the far left is the Undead Deputy, who is a zombie 7th Cavalry Officer who is armed with a .45 Colt Cavalry revolver and a cavalry sabre. He is sold separately from the others.
Next in line is a female townsfolk who at a distance could pass as a normal human. She still holds on to her shopping bag but in her right hand is a .32 Smith and Wesson revolver.
In the centre of the group is a zombie preacher. He is armed with a .44 Winchester rifle. Note his exceptionally long pointed tongue sticking out of his mouth. Creepy!

Second from the right is a Mexican bandido and hanging victim. He is armed with a .45 Colt Army revolver. The crow feasting on his neck is a gruesome but so cool touch. Note that he also has a long pointed tongue.
Finally is a zombie plains warrior. Although he has a skeleton face I'm assuming the flesh was stripped off by zombies before he died or scavenging animals or birds. He is armed with a .45 Colt Army revolver and tomahawk. He also has a bow and quiver of arrows on his back.
These are a great bunch of figures and are very varied. The detail on them is very crisp, making them a joy to paint. Having more zombies is never a bad thing in my opinion. The zombie deputy costs £4.50 and the other four come as a set costing £9.60.

The Walking Dead Corpses

When I placed my last order with Mantic Games for the Here's Negan board-game, I also ordered a set of The Walking Dead Corpses. This set comprises of six figures - 4 zombie corpses, 1 human corpse and a dying human. All are sculpted on 25mm diameter bases and are made of resin. The detail on them is very good.

At the back is the kneeling human. I painted him with his eyes closed. He would make a good hostage. To his left is the dead human. She hasn't turned yet and bears no obvious wounds. I painted her with a very pale flesh for her skin to show she is still human. The four zombies at the bottom of the photo are very obviously undead. They all have multiple wounds and their faces look very gaunt and emaciated. All of the figures have been cleverly sculpted to fit on their bases with their legs bent.
This is not an essential purchase as they serve no purpose in the game. However, for me, in any zombie apocalypse game, corpses are an essential part of the scenery. Like zombies, you can never have too many corpses, in my opinion. This set costs £14.99 from the Mantic Games webstore, so they're not cheap by any means. Although sold as a The Walking Dead accessory set, they could be used in any zombie apocalypse game.

Zomvember 2018 part 4 - Zombies

This is my final post for my Zomvember challenge and I'm showcasing the last 8 zombies from the wave 1 releases of The Walking Dead skirmish game by Mantic Games.

These four zombies are to be found in the Prelude to Woodbury Solo Starter Set and are all unique sculpts. The female at the far left appears to have been a corporate suit from her attire. She has been bitten in the neck and her right leg is broken. There is a splinter of bone protruding from the wound in her leg.
The male next to her is dressed in casual clothing and has suffered numerous bites all over his body and limbs.

The female in the ochre top has suffered a massive wound to the centre of her torso as well as bites to her legs.
Finally, is a topless male who is feasting on a someone's intestines, which he holds in both hands. I do like to see feasting zombies but they are very rare.

The female at the far left also came from the Prelude to Woodbury Solo Starter Set. Her lower jaw has been removed so that is going to make it impossible for her to bite a victim. However, she can still make claw attacks with her hands.
The female in the pale blue night dress is the zombie figure you get with the Morgan Booster Set. She has been bitten in her neck.

The male zombie wearing the jeans and white vest is from the Rick on Horse Booster Set. He has suffered numerous cuts and bites.
Last of all is a swap of the zombie crawler from the starter boxed set. I repositioned his left arm and gave him black hair to make him look slightly different to the original figure who had brown hair. His wounds are truly horrific and disgusting.
Once again, these were an absolute pleasure to paint. I haven't played many games of The Walking Dead seeing as I don't really like playing with unpainted figures, but now that I have all of the wave 1 figures painted I can see me playing this game more often. I would like to play all of the campaign scenarios in chronological order. Whether I chronicle them on my blog remains to be seen.

Zomvember 2018 part 3 - Zombies

These 8 zombie figures were part of the Kickstarter boxed set for the wave 1 releases of The Walking Dead game by Mantic Games. Although they did not appear in the top tray of figures that I painted for the Zomtober challenge, they were included in the bottom tray, which also included all the cards and scenery items. Six of them are duplicates of zombies in the top tray and two are unique sculpts.

These four zombies are all duplicates but I have given them different paint jobs and some of them have been converted. The zombie wearing the baseball cap at the far left simply had a different paint job done to him as I painted his clothes in faded denims. He has lost his left arm and his lower torso has been ripped open, so his internal organs are spilling out.
For the female next to him I repositioned her arms by bending them at the elbows by holding her over the flame of a candle for a few seconds to soften the plastic. Once I'd repositioned the arms I dunked her in a glass of cold water to harden the plastic again. Then I painted her in a different colour scheme to the first figure of her. She has had half of her face bitten off.

For the female in the black miniskirt, I took my inspiration for her colour scheme from Clint, when he painted her for his Zomtober challenge. See here - http://clint-anythingbutaone.blogspot.com/2018/10/zombtober-04-18.html
Many thanks, Clint! She has numerous cuts and bites and has lost her right arm.
I cut the left arm of the zombie female at the far right off at the elbow then gave her a new colour scheme. This was a very simple conversion.

For the zombie at the far left, I modelled a gaping hole in his stomach and added the intestines spilling out from thin sausages of Milliput. Once painted it looks very effective and is a really simple conversion to do.
The zombie next to him was also converted. I simply cut his left hand off with a scalpel. Cutting limbs off zombies is the easiest way to convert them. His gaping stomach wound with spilling intestines was a part of the original figure.

Finally, we come to the two non-duplicate figures and they're both females. For the one second from the right, I painted her in a pastel green hospital gown. Note the bandage around her left hand. I reckon she must have been killed whilst in hospital and then reanimated. Her left cheek has been bitten off.
Last up is a zombie lurching forward rather awkwardly. Her face is very emaciated, suggesting she's been dead for quite some time. She has a couple of bullet wounds in her back but no exit wounds in her chest, so they were probably low calibre bullets that hit her.
I really had a lot of fun painting these and I have another eight zombies to show in my next post.

Zomvember 2018 part 1 - The Walking Dead Exclusive Figures

Yes, I know that Zomvember is not an actual thing, but seeing as I enjoyed the Zomtober challenge so much, I'm carrying on painting my wave 1 The Walking Dead figures by Mantic Games. I have another 20 figures that were produced for wave 1 of the game on my painting table right now and they should be finished soon. For this post I'm showcasing the four exclusive figures that were stretch goals for those who bought the starter boxed set from Kickstarter.

At the far left is Michonne, wielding her katana. She is a fan favourite in both the comic and TV series, and I love her. A former defence lawyer, she is introduced as a mysterious stranger towing two armless and jawless zombies behind her (they were her ex-boyfriend and his best friend). She joins the group of survivors led by Rick Grimes and quickly proves to be a valuable asset. She is truly remarkable at killing zombies with her katana.
Next up is Abraham Ford. In both mediums Abraham travelled the country with his girlfriend Rosita Espinosa to escort Dr. Eugene Porter to Washington, D.C. where the supposed cure for the outbreak is located, eventually recruiting Rick Grime's group to accompany them. Though tough, and a skilled shooter, Abraham displays aggressive outbursts and has volatile tendencies towards the other group members, but over time he gains a strong sense of respect for Rick and becomes one of his right-hand men. He is also displayed as being emotionally broken from the pain he endured due to his family being killed by zombies. His figure is armed with an AK47 assault rifle and he rests his left foot on the corpse of a zombie crawler.

Bad guy Negan is the leader of a group of roughly 1,000 survivors in the Sanctuary, called the Saviours, a group that oppresses other survivor communities and forces them to pay tribute to him. He is known for his brutality and foul mouth. His favoured weapon is a baseball bat with barbed wire wrapped around it. He calls it Lucille, the name of his dead wife. His figure is armed with his trusty baseball bat, a knife and three hand grenades.
Finally, is Walker Ronnie. I admit I have no idea who Ronnie is. I don't recall seeing him in any of the comics or the TV series. Still, he's not a bad figure, and he has been shot in the chest and his right leg appears to be broken, given how he is dragging his foot behind him.
These figures are currently available on the Mantic Games webstore as part of their Mantic Points offers. You can get Walker Ronnie for 10 Mantic points and the other three cost 15 Mantic Points each.

Zomtober 2018 part 4 - The Walking Dead Zombies

Here are another eight 32mm scale zombie figures from the wave 1 boxed starter set of The Walking Dead by Mantic Games that I painted up for the Zomtober 2018 challenge.

First up is the zombie crawler that Rick Grimes encountered in episode #1 of series #1 of the TV series. This zombie has been ripped in half and has lost the flesh from the left half of his body.
Next in line is the zombie version of Deputy Sheriff Shane Walsh, the former partner of Rick Grimes. The two had a major falling out which resulted in Rick killing Shane by stabbing him in the stomach. When Shane came back to life as a zombie, Carl Grimes shot him in the head, finally laying him to rest. Shane was a major arsehole and deserved to die.

The third zombie in line closely resembles Reggie, one of the gangers from Atlanta. I don't know if this was intentional or not by Mantic Games, but I painted him in the same colour scheme as Reggie, whom I'll show in my next post. Zombie Reggie has a massive stomach wound from which his intestines are spilling out.
Last in line is a female zombie who has fed recently as her hands and chin are coated in fresh blood. Tamiya Clear Red is the perfect paint for fresh blood.

At the far left of this next group is a former business woman wearing a two-piece suit and shirt. She has suffered numerous cuts and bullet wounds.
The guy standing next to her has long dreadlocks, so I painted his skin tones darker to suggest he was from Jamaica, where Rastafarianism is popular. I didn't want him to have a plain coloured T-shirt, so I painted the Smiley face on it, which I copied from a photo I'd seen. His left arm has been torn off and his right foot is only just attached to his leg by a few slivers of flesh and muscle.

The male zombie, second from the right has been shot in the right side of his chest and the bullet has left a huge exit wound in the centre of his back.
Finally is an elderly gentleman who has been shot repeatedly in the body and legs.
I had so much fun painting these and I'm pleased to announce that I completed my mission to paint all of the figures from the top tray of the starter boxed set of The Walking Dead. That's 38 figures painted in just over three weeks! I'm very pleased with that result. I'll show the rest of the figures in my next few posts.

Zomtober 2018 part 1 - The Walking Dead Zombies

This post is a bit late but that's only to be expected when I'm painting two batches of 20 figures this month for the annual Zomtober challenge. I've just finished painting the first batch and am about to start the second, so I'm way ahead of schedule. I am working on getting all of the figures completed from the Kickstarter wave 1 box of Mantic Games' The Walking Dead skirmish game. What better a way to start than with a bunch of zombies? It has been such a long time since I have painted any contemporary zombie figures, so it was nice to return to them as I always enjoy painting them.

At the far left is a severely wounded old man. His chest bears a pair of large cuts forming a cross and his stomach has been ripped open.
Next to him is a young punk with a Mohican haircut. He sports numerous cuts and wounds.

Second from the right is a young female whose left arm has been bitten off or ripped off.
At the far left is a police patrol-woman who has been shot, stabbed and bitten. The blood on her hands is still fresh, so most likely came from a victim she has recently fed upon.

In this next batch is a young man in a baseball cap who has lost his left arm just above the elbow. There is also a gaping hole in his stomach. The zombies fed well on him!
The guy in the yellow T-shirt appears to have died from a single gunshot to the heart. The entry wound is in his back and the exit wound in his chest. A nice clean kill... for a human!

The skinny-looking female second from the right has had half of her face bitten off.
The female at the far right appears to have been a shop assistant, judging by her clothing. She has been shot just below her right breast and there is a massive exit wound in her back. Also, her left arm has been broken and hangs at an odd angle, with bone showing through.
These were an absolute joy to paint. They were the first figures I've painted from this range and I like that they are made of hard plastic and that they are superbly detailed. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get round to painting them but I'm glad I've made a start on them. Lots more to follow!

Shadows of Brimstone Undead Outlaws

As soon as I saw that Flying Frog Productions were bringing out a new boxed set of figures called Undead Outlaws for Shadows of Brimstone I knew I wanted them. I bought my set from an eBay seller for a much cheaper price than buying them direct from the Flying Frog webstore. Plus postage was free and I had no customs charges to worry about. A win-win deal!
These are actually smart zombies, in that they have retained the memory of how to fire a gun, much like the Smartie Zombies in High Moon.

Outlaws are a common occurrence throughout the region around the ruins of Brimstone. Even before the town blew up and the portals began to open, the gold rush and Dark Stone rush that grew the town out of control also lured in outlaws and bandits by the thousands. Once the devastation occurred and the Darkness came, countless number of these outlaws fell into shadow. Some became mutants, others fell to the curse of the Lycan or began meddling in dark Magiks, and many more began to rise from the grave as Undead. It wasn't long before the Undead Outlaws fell back into their old ways of robbing, rustling and mayhem. Perhaps it was just faint memories of their old lives seeping back in, or maybe they have a cold purpose, with a mind for revenge on the land of the living.
The most famous of all is a dark, rotting figure known only as the Undead Gunslinger. Whoever he was in life, no one can say for sure. But in death, he has become the most cold killer in the land, earning the nickname of the "Fastest Dead in the West". He travels the roads and shadows, challenging any who cross his path to a duel. Few survive to tell the tale. Feared for his quick draw, his cold silence and his sinister stare, the Undead Gunslinger is an unstoppable force, back from Hell and hungry for revenge. As a Legendary Enemy, the Undead Gunslinger is a dangerous foe to face. He is capable of dealing out horrendous amounts of damage with his six-shooters, using special Deadman's Shots bullets to terrorise his opponents.
I think it's safe to say, he is clearly based on Clint Eastwood's "The Man With No Name" from the Dollar trilogy of films. He is a superb sculpt in a very dramatic pose, with his ragged poncho flowing in the wind behind him. With his cheroot clamped in his mouth he just exudes menace as he fires away with both guns blazing.

The other three Undead Outlaws are all the same sculpt. However, they came with separate left arms, so by gluing them on in different positions I was able to make each one look unique. Varied paint jobs helped to differentiate them even further.

Thieves, rustlers and robbers in life, these Undead Outlaws have returned from the grave to bring death to the world of the living. Memories of their past lives have lead them to continue the life of the outlaw, robbing banks and trains, and gunning down any who would stand in their way. Undead Outlaws are predominantly Ranged Enemies that have the Shootout Standard Ability to guide how they move and attack each turn. As Undead, they also have high Defence and are fearsome Enemies to engage in a firefight.

These three figures were all identical one-piece sculpts. The one at the far left is the original sculpt. For the other two, I cut off their left arms and repositioned them so that each outlaw looks unique. I don't like having multiple figures all in exactly the same pose.
Although designed for use in Shadows of Brimstone, I will most certainly be using this set in my High Moon games as well. I am absolutely delighted with this set. The Undead Outlaws boxed set of seven 32mm scale figures costs $39.95 from the Flying Frog webstore plus a minimum $24.00 postage and whatever charges Customs and Excise want to extort you for and you can see why I opted for eBay. There is currently a set on eBay for sale at £34.86 plus free post and packing if any one is interested. It's dearer than what I paid, but still a good price. Better still, Amazon UK have 12 sets in stock for sale at £33.72.