Assorted Werewolves 01

And so back to my reviews of my collection of 28mm scale werewolf figures. These five figures, made by Recreational Conflict, Zombiesmith and Hasslefree Miniatures, have all been sculpted as they are about to transform into their wolf forms, making them part human and part werewolf.

At the far left are two figures made by Recreational Conflict and sculpted by Brian Cooke. Jack, wearing the white shirt and jeans, could almost pass for human. His transformation is only just starting. His head is not quite human at this point. Sensibly he has got rid of his shoes and socks but unless he loses his shirt and jeans very soon they will be ruined if he transforms further.
The second figure in line shows the transformation much further down the line and now he is at the halfway point between being human and being lupine. His head is visibly changing and becoming longer and hairier. His hair has lengthened and he is growing fur on the backs of his arms. He has also grown a bushy tail. I'm not sure why but he has quite a prominent erection. Perhaps he's just excited!
Crouching down in the centre is Zombiesmith's Wolfboy. He is more wolf than human but he hasn't fully transformed. There is something very primitive about this figure. He is very muscular which makes me think he must be a teenager rather than a pre-teen. He was so small that I was able to glue him onto a 20mm diameter slottabase.

The final two figures are unquestionably the best of the bunch. Sculpted by Kevin White for Hasslefree Miniatures they are HFH052 Insane man in Straightjacket and HFH053 Transitional Werewolf. The insane man is fully human but from his pose he is clearly getting ready to transform.
The transitional werewolf is a very dramatic figure, beautifully sculpted and animated. You can almost feel his power as he rips apart his straightjacket to unleash his inner beast. His head is thrown back as he lets out a triumphant howl that says, "I'm free now! You can't hold me captive!" Once again, his transformation has made him sexually aroused as he sports a big hard on. Curious!
The Recreational Conflict figures can be found under the Lead Bones section of their webstore. Wolf 1 and Wolf 2 (Jack) cost $2.50 each or you can buy them both together as set Were 1, which costs $5.00. The Zombiesmith Wolfboy can be found in the Horror section of their webstore under the heading, Breathers. He costs $3.00.The Hasslefree figures are located in their Fantasy Humans range and cost £4.00 for the Insane Human and £4.50 for the Transitional Werewolf.

A Zombiesmith Assortment

And so it's down to earth and back to normality after the past two action-packed, fun-filled weeks. I'm going to review five Zombiesmith 28mm scale figures that I've grouped together for the purpose of this review, even though they have little in common with each other.

At the far left of the photos directly above and below is Bard Amy, clearly a reference to the singer, Amy Winehouse. I was never a fan of her or her music but I rather like this figure. In ATZ terms, I'd class her as a Survivor. The pistol in her left hand shows that she can probably take care of herself. She has her guitar slung over right shoulder and resting against her back. Amy's iconic bee-hive hair-do has been well captured by sculptor, C.J. I find Bard Amy quite cute and she could be very useful for boosting the morale of a group of Survivors... if they like her music!

Next up are two Gangers, Michael and Inmate! That's how they're described on the ZS webstore, including the exclamation mark after the word "inmate." No, I don't know why either. Michael would appear to be based on the character, Dexter, from the TV series of the same name. Seeing as Dexter is played by Michael C. Hall, the connection is obvious. For those who don't know who Dexter is, he's a police forensics expert who moonlights as a serial killer. I should point out that all the blood you see on my figure is from one of Michael's victims. It almost looks like he's stabbed himself in the groin but that's not the case. This is a superbly sculpted figure and I like how pensive he looks.
I'm not too sure about the anatomy of the Inmate! figure. Can anyone run that low to the ground? To me, it looks strange. Apart from the dubious pose he is well sculpted. His right arm has come free of his straitjacket and he holds a meat cleaver in his right hand. His face is full of rage. I think it's safe to assume that this guy was not locked up for tax evasion! I'm not aware of many prison inmate figures that are available, so for that reason alone he's a welcome addition.

Moving away from the humans we come to the Zombie Smith and Wolfboy. When I ordered the Zombiesmith mega-horde, I was hoping I'd get the Zombie Smith figure thrown in as part of the deal. Sadly, he wasn't but I did get another freebie figure (Doctor Strange). For a few years it bugged me that I was missing only one zombie from the ZS zombie range. So earlier this year I decided to put that right and I placed a fair-sized order with ZS. The Zombie Smith was the first figure on my list. I have no idea who or what the Zombie Smith is. Is he a child or a dwarf? Does he have special powers? My friend, Doug, said he was going to use this figure as a Smart Zombie in his ATZ campaign. I can see why that'd be a good idea. Note that there isn't a drop of blood on my figure. Sometimes it pays to leave off the gore and seeing as he has no obvious wounds I could find no logical reason to add any to him.

Wolfboy is depicted crouching down, which does have the effect of making him look very small. He looks like he has only partially transformed into his full werewolf form. He is mostly human although his face has undergone the biggest transformation and no longer looks human. I deliberately chose a darker skin tone for him than normal, to suggest he spends all of his life outdoors. Figures of werewolf children are extremely rare. I have one other, made by Horrorclix.
So, a mixed bag of figures here. All are useful and are well sculpted but are any of them your cup of tea? Each figure costs $3.00 on the ZS webstore.

Zombiesmith Scientists

Just a short review today as I'm in the middle of playing my "Assault on Precinct 13" scenario for my ATZ campaign. When I ordered the ZS Wedding Hunters (shown last time) I also ordered a few other figures from them at the same time. Here, I present the ZS Science! figures. For some strange reason ZS has added an exclamation mark after their name on their webstore. Go figure!
With his hair looking like someone has stuck his finger in an electrical socket, the scientist at the far left of my two photos reminds me of boxing promoter, Don King! Alternatively, if painted as a Caucasian, he could pass for Albert Einstein. He's quite a nice figure with one hand stuffed in his lab coat and the other holding a clipboard, which should have been bigger, in my opinion.
The scientist next to him reminds me of Dr. Beaker from Gerry Anderson's Supercar TV series. I'm really showing my age by mentioning that, as I can remember watching Supercar as a very small child in the early 1960's. He also has one hand stuffed in his lab coat and the other hand holds a computer printout. Note the combover on his balding hair!

The scientist wearing the black gloves has the lower part of his face tucked behind his turned-up collar. Perhaps he's shy... or maybe just cold? He is gripping a test-tube in his right hand. That might explain why he needs to wear the protective gloves.
Finally, at the far right of the photos is a young scientist holding, what I can only assume is some kind of experimental weapon. Your guess is as good as mine regarding what it could be. Whilst two of the scientists are wearing glasses, he is wearing goggles. I have to admit that out of the four he is the weakest sculpt. His anatomy is far too cartoony and just doesn't look realistic.
These are not the best sculpted figures I've seen, but nor are they the worst. They are passable and if you are looking for scientist types, they fill a niche as there aren't that many available. Anyone interested in researching a cure for the zombie disease or wanting to find out how it started could surely find a use for a bunch of scientists. And, of course, for pulp gamers, these are a staple of the genre. This pack of four figures retails for $12.00 from Zombiesmith's webstore.

Brides and Grooms

I thought I'd review a few survivor-type figures that you'd definitely class as "out of the ordinary" - brides and grooms. The first pair (to the left of the two photos below) are made by Black Cat Bases and the second pair by Zombiesmith.

I got the Black Cat Bases couple for free last year, when BCB ran a special promotion over the weekend  of the royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. They had a 20% discount on all orders, plus you got a free armed bride and armed groom figure. I placed quite a big order with them and was delighted with the discount and freebies. It was a while before I got round to painting this set but they will always stick in my mind for one special reason. These two were the first two figures I painted using my new Foundry paints and the Foundry painting method as advocated by Kevin Dallimore. My method of painting is very similar to that recommended by Kevin, although I can't get away with his suggestion of painting the eyes first. I have to paint the rest of the face before I tackle the eyes. I immediately found the Foundry paints far better to use than the Games Workshop paints that I'd previously been using. Foundry works on a triad system whereby each colour is made up of a base colour, a highlight and a shade. I can highly recommend them.
Anyway, this isn't a review of Foundry's paints, so let's take a closer look at the BCB figures to the left of the photos. The groom measures 29mm from the sole of his feet to his eye level. Of course, his top hat makes him appear a lot taller. Even so, this pair are slightly oversized. He is reaching under his coat to draw a pistol from his shoulder holster. I think he looks very smart and my colour scheme works well for him.
The bride is in a much more animated pose, moving at a jog or a run. She has a most impressive rack and not much support. I fear a "wardrobe malfunction" may be on the cards if she runs too fast! She holds her bouquet of white carnations above her head, which again, adds to the height of the figure. She has hiked up her wedding dress in her other hand to reveal a shapely leg and a holstered pistol stuck behind her garter belt. I like her a lot. Both figures were a joy to paint and made me an instant fan of Foundry paints.

The second couple are from U.S. based Zombiesmith and are based on a real life bride and groom.

To the left of here is a photo of Zombiesmith head honcho, Josh Qualtieri and his wife taken on their wedding day in June 2010. Josh had the clever idea of having himself and his bride immortalised in metal. Aaron Brown sculpted the 28mm scale figures and at the wedding reception all of the guests were given a set as a wedding favour. Afterwards, the set was made available to the general public on the ZS webstore. I think they are exquisitely sculpted. Anyone looking for "true" 28mm scale figures should consider purchasing them. The groom holds a large axe in his right hand and a bottle of champagne in his left hand. The bride is armed with a pump-action shotgun. As Josh said, "no bride is complete without a shotgun to go with her bouquet!" Having the photo of the real life couple made painting the miniatures a lot easier, as I had a colour scheme for them, which I stuck to as closely as possible. These two got painted a couple of months ago. I could have reviewed the two sets separately but given the rarity of the subject matter, it made more sense to combine them for one review.
The BCB bride and groom are very well sculpted, whilst the Zombiesmith Wedding Hunters, as they're called on their webstore, are superbly sculpted. I like all four figures. They are something unusual but in all honesty how much use would you have for them in a zombie apocalypse game? For sure, a wedding could take place even if the world has gone to hell. But I can't imagine the happy couple remaining in their wedding outfits for long. And that rather limits their use. On the other hand, if you are playing their wedding on Day One of the outbreak, they may be forced to keep their wedding clothing for far longer than they envisaged. You are going to have to make your own judgement call on whether to add one or both of these sets to your collection.
The Black Cat Bases Bride and Groom costs £5.00 for the pair or you can buy them separately for £3.00 each. The Zombiesmith Wedding hunters costs $8.00 for the pair. You can choose to have them supplied with 25mm diameter slottabases or 30mm diameter slottabases. They are not available separately.

Zombiesmith Zombies 03

And so I come to the third and final part of my review of the Zombiesmith 28mm scale range of zombies - at least until they release more zeds. What makes these figures different from the others reviewed is that they are sold as pairs and not individuals. First up is the Homemaker set, which comes with human mum and zombie mum. The human homemaker is very nicely sculpted, although maybe a bit too tall for a female. That's just a minor quibble and her height does not bother me but it might for some scale purists. Once the zombies got hold of her she clearly went down fighting and refused to let go of her frying pan. Her clothes are badly ripped and torn. She has been bitten in both lower arms, right thigh and left lower leg.

The next pack is called Zombie Children and that's exactly what you get - a young girl and boy. The girl wears a long dress that wouldn't look out of place in medieval times. She appears to be unwounded so could easily double for a human child if you so desired. The boy clutches his teddy bear to his chest and sports the pigeon-toed stance that readily identifies him as a zombie. There are a few holes in his jumper, especially noticable on his back and his shoe and sock are missing from his left foot. Other than that, he is unharmed. Given how few zombie children are available this set is a very welcome addition.

Zombie Hick is the name given to the set shown to the left above. The hick in question typifies the red-necked country bumpkin. With his beer-gut straining his vest, baseball cap and surly expression he probably thought the zombie menace would be no problem for him and his rifle. He'd show 'em who's boss, right? Wrong! Zack made a mess of him. The way his head rests on his right shoulder suggests a broken neck. Both arms suffer extremely large bite wounds and of course, what flesheater could resist such a corpulent stomach? It has been ripped open, exposing his intestines, which are starting to flop out.

The Preacher pair shows that blind faith in the good Lord is not enough to protect you from a horde of flesh-eating zombies. The human preacher clutches his bible to his chest and waves a cross defiantly in the air. Rather curiously for me, he wears a stetson. Perhaps he was a Texan preacher. None of which did him any good when the zombies caught up with him. They tore chunks of flesh from his neck, lower back, stomach and all four limbs. He still keeps hold of his cross but the bible has long gone.

I particularly like all four sets. The idea of having a "before and after" combination of figures is a good one and I wish more companies would take up this idea. I know that Hasslefree do a few combos and Cold War Miniatures have one example but I'm struggling to think of other firms who do this. All four sets retail at $5.50. Zombiesmith offer a three pack deal featuring the homemaker, hick and preacher figures for just $15.00. However, by far their best deal is their Zombapacalypse offer of 28 figures for just $60.00. That includes the 20 figures reviewed in parts 1 and 2 and the 8 figures reviewed above. That's a saving of $17.00 over buying them individually and it's how I purchased them. At just over $2.00 per figure that is a fantastic offer and if you don't already own these fine figures it is the deal I'd recommend you go for.

Zombiesmith Zombies 02

It's part two of my review of the Zombiesmith range of 28mm scale zombies as I look at the next ten figures. As before, the names of the zombies are taken from the Zombiesmith website.

I begin at the far left with Jawbone. Who remembers the opening of Romero's Day of the Dead, in which one of the first zombies we see is a guy who has had his jawbone ripped off? He was a great looking zombie! This figure reminds me of him. He has also had his jawbone removed. That's surely going to make biting victims impossible though! In addition, a large chunk has been taken out of his left upper arm, he has a small bite wound on his right arm and very nastily, his flesh from neck to groin has been removed (eaten?) to expose his rib-cage and intestines. This is one mighty fine zombie.

Standing next to him is the curiously named Dancer. Do zombies dance? Sorry, Michael Jackson's Thriller video does not count! I guess he's so named because he looks like he could be dancing. This guy is an absolute mess, with more wounds than any other Zombiesmith zombie reviewed so far. The right side of his face has been chewed off; all four limbs have been bitten multiple times; and his stomach has been feasted upon, leaving a gory mess behind. Despite his odd pose he's still a good figure.

Hopper stands on one leg in the centre of this group. I admire Hopper's ability to remain upright as most one-legged zombies end up as crawlers or draggers. It's an interesting decision that the sculptor, Drew Williams, made to have him standing. In addition to the obvious loss of limb, he has numerous bite wounds on his good leg and a couple of small bites to his right arm.

Overalls is another curious zombie. He's wearing dungarees and carrying a spanner in his right hand, which perhaps, marked him out as a mechanic in his former life. Now, someone has only gone and twisted his head around 180 degrees. He won't know if he's coming or going! I wonder if he walks backwards, which would be the clever thing to do, or still goes forward on pure instinct. He is another zombie whose stomach has been ripped open. He has lost his left arm at the elbow and all four limbs sport bites of varying sizes. I still can't decide if I like this figure or not. There's nothing wrong with the sculpting but the head twisting does concern me. Is such a feat realistically possible? I dunno.

The final figure out of this batch is Brokenback and it is clear to see why he is so called. His spine has been snapped in two and part of it is visible in a horrendous lower back wound. With his upper body flopping forward he cleverly uses his left hand to lift his head up so he can see where he's going. All four limbs have been bitten with his right arm far and away the worst.

Droopy appears at the far left of the two photos above. No, not the cartoon dog! This Droopy is a nude zombie that I painted in a similar manner to my Eureka Miniatures zombies, i.e. with a green tinge instead of grey flesh. I counted over twenty separate wounds on this unfortunate victim and I have no intention of listing them all. I do like the way his obviously broken right arm hangs loosely by his side. Presumably, that's why he's called Droopy.

To his left is Huggy and the last thing you'd want from him is a hug! The way his intestines are spilling out of his guts is just so gross. I mean that in a good way as I am such a gore hound! He's the second nude zombie in the range but any sign of genitalia is obscured by his intestines. Once more, all four limbs have been bitten, with his left thigh almost completely stripped of flesh!

In the middle of this group is Chubs, the zombie fat guy. I've already stated that I like fat zombies and this figure ticks all the right boxes for me. I think he's a great sculpt. His belly appears to have split open judging by those three wounds. Both arms have been ripped off at the shoulder, with bone showing through the wounds. Some flesheaters have been playing munchies with his fat thighs - plenty of meat there!

Halfy is, well, only half a zombie. Both his legs are missing, forcing him to drag himself along with his hands. Like a lot of this range, his stomach has been ripped open to expose his intestines, which are spilling out around him. His right eye has popped out of its socket and both arms have been chewed on. Zombie draggers are always a welcome addition to my collection.

The final figure in this part of my review is Headless and I know what you're going to say - why is he called Headless when you can clearly see his head, especially in the back view? Well, truth to tell, he is sold as a headless zombie, so fair play to Zombiesmith for calling him that. However, as such, he was the one figure out of their entire range that I really disliked. In certain games or films a headless zombie can exist, especially in those where destroying the brain isn't enough - you have to totally destroy every body part (Evil Dead readily springs to mind). Such games are not my cup of tea. Call me a traditionalist if you want but for me if you decapitate a zombie then it's the final death. So I was stuck with a figure that I didn't particularly like or want - what to do with him? Fortunately, when I bought these zombies I'd just seen Romero's Land of the Dead at the cinema and I remembered an outstanding scene in the film that provided me with inspiration. In the film, a soldier approaches a standing zombie that appears to have no head. As he gets closer the zombie lunges forward and we see that his head was still attached to the back of his neck by a few sinews of flesh. As he grabs the soldier and bends forward his head flips into place and he bites the totally surprised soldier. Absolutely brilliant! So I sculpted a new head onto the back of his neck, just like the zombie in the film. Now he's one of my favourite figures in the range but, and it's a big but, only because of my conversion.

These final five zombies in this part of my review are the grossest out of the bunch, suffering some really over the top wounds. They were an absolute blast to paint! There is a lot of variety in the poses and in my opinion Zombiesmith zombies should be in everyone's 28mm scale zombie horde. As I mentioned in part one of this review the figures retail at $2.75 each or you can buy these ten along with the first ten for just $50.00. It's a good deal but tune in for part three when I review the last batch of figures (both zombies and survivors) in the range and give details or an even better multi-figure deal.

Zombiesmith Zombies 01

If you are collecting a horde of 28mm scale zombies there are certain companies you simply have to buy from. Studio Miniatures would top my list for the sheer quality of their sculpts. Cold War Miniatures (review coming later once I've painted them all - 70 figures is a LOT to paint!) is a serious contender, especially if you want quantity and quality. And when you have a company called Zombiesmith, you have to take notice of them. So, the question is, are their range of zeds an essential purchase? Let's find out in the first of a three part review. I'm splitting this review into three because Zombiesmith produce nearly 30 zombies and survivors, which I felt was too many to look at in one go. Hence, this review comes in nice bite-sized chunks!

So, starting with the figures shown above, Cheerleader (the names used to identify each zombie are taken from Zombiesmith's website to help aid you if you want to order individual figures) is sadly only one of three female zombies that they make. I'd like to see them make a lot more as I'm a strong believer of gender equality. I e-mailed Joshua Qualtieri, the head guy at Zombiesmith, about this oversight and he promised there would be more female zombies in the next batch he makes, so that's something to look forward to. This figure sports an impressive array of wounds - large bites to the left cheek, neck, left breast, right arm, right leg (knee and calf), left thigh and a massive stomach wound. All, I can say is, ouch! Note the cheeky (pun intended!) way her skirt has been partially pulled down to expose a butt cheek!

Next in line is Jacket, a mental patient in a restraining suit, who must have been easy meat when the zombies found him. They took bites out of both thighs and his left upper arm. This is an unusual figure and as far as I know, a totally unique zombie. I don't know anyone else who makes a zombie mental patient. He mightn't be able to grab you but his bite is still lethal.

In the centre of the group is King. Hmm, he does bear an uncanny resemblance to Rob Zombie, musician and film director, which when you think about it is a logical choice for a zombie figure. I applaud his inclusion in the range. Of all the Zombiesmith zombies he appears to be the most intact. There are a few holes in his coat and trousers but no obvious sign of death. There's no reason why you couldn't use him as a male Goth in a group of survivors but to me, Rob Zombie the zombie has a far better ring to it.

Another musician-based zombie stands alongside him - Pop. Yeah, right! We all know it's Michael Jackson from his Thriller video. Let me state that I am neither a fan of Wacko as a man nor as a musician. However, this isn't the place to mock him or praise him. I'm only interested in reviewing miniature figures. That said, I do like this figure. The sculptor has perfectly captured Wacko's iconic look. He also appears to be virtually intact, save for a few small holes in his clothes. I added the severed arm to the base from my bits box to make the figure stand out from the crowd.

Finally, in this group is Yield, a teenage zombie wielding a road sign. If your painting skills are up to it you can have a lot of fun deciding what to paint on the sign. I opted for a "Men at Work" road sign. He's dressed in T-shirt, shorts and running shoes. He is quite muscular, so was obviously fit in the days he enjoyed oxygen. A couple of wounds to his right leg suggest he probably bled to death. Zombies aren't generally renowned for their weapon use, and although he is waving the road sign aggressively, it is probably just a long lost memory of his misspent youth that has resurfaced.

At the far left of the next group is Skater. I think he may be called that for being a skateboard freak before he was turned into a zombie. He certainly looks the part in his T-shirt, shorts, trainers and baseball cap. It is not certain if the arm he is carrying is own or that of a victim. I decided it was his own and painted it accordingly. Apart from having his right arm ripped off, he has numerous wounds to his chest and bites taken out of both legs and lower left arm. The way his right foot is twisted also suggest a dislocated ankle. No more skate-boarding for him!

Standing to his left is the aptly named Gutshot. Something has blown a massive hole all the way through his midriff. You can see daylight through this wound! Whatever caused such horrendous wounds to some of the Griffin Miniatures zombies has obviously affected this guy as well. Personally speaking, I think he is one of the weaker looking sculpts in the range, although I quite like the shocked expression on his face.

In the centre of the group is Cell, so called because he is using a cell phone. Clearly a business-man from his apparel and briefcase, he must have retained some intelligence if he knows how to use a mobile phone. He suffers from a cut to the chest and an even bigger cut to his stomach as his intestines threaten to spill out. In addition, he has had bites taken out of his legs and right arm. Again, he is not one of the better sculpts.

Next in line is Crowbar, and it's clear to see why Zombiesmith called him that. He is holding a crowbar in his right hand, but does he know how to use it? With his bald head, he looks a bit of a hardcase. There is a cut across his upper back. His left arm has been ripped off at the elbow, a large part of his left thigh is missing and he has a few other small cuts and bites. However he died, it wasn't a clean death!

The final figure in this group is Boney, so called for holding a juicy bone in his right hand. When it comes to wounds this guy is an absolute mess, and of the ten figures reviewed so far, the most extreme. Working from top to bottom, he has had the top of his skull removed to expose his brain. Nasty! His right eye is dangling out of its socket. There is a large cut between his shoulder blades Both lower arms have been bitten; more than once in the case of his right arm. The whole of his midriff has been torn away, exposing his innards. Like his arms, both legs have been chewed on more than once. One can only assume that he lost his skullcap after he was turned into a zombie otherwise the flesheaters would have devoured his brain. Altogether now, "BRAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIINS!"

So, to answer my earlier question - are these an essential purchase? I'd say undoubtedly yes! They may lack the quality sculpting of some companies but they are more than a match for a lot of others. Each figure reviewed costs $2.75 but you can buy a horde of them for $50.00, which includes these ten and the ten I'll be reviewing in my next blog entry. Come back soon for part two.