Black Orc Games Zombies 03

In a recent editorial (The Kindness of Bloggers ) I mentioned that I received some free zombie figures from Mikko Merilainen (author of  Dawn of the Lead blog-site) that he'd sculpted for Black Orc Games. I recently finished painting them and so I thought I'd share them with you.

Mikko sculpted two new 28mm scale zombie figures but as you can see there are three figures in the photos I've taken. The figure at the far left is called Joe the Jogging Zombie. When I first saw I him I was rather put off by the fact that his left side was flat. Also, despite his lack of genitals, I could tell that he was meant to be a nude zombie. I mentioned this to Mikko and he told me that due to a mix up with Black Orc Games they had added a slottatab to his figure when it was supposed to be lying down, hence the flat left side. Mikko kindly sent me a second copy of this figure so that I could have one standing and one prone. Clearly, standing Joe needed some work doing on him. I bulked out his left side with modelling putty, redefined his backside and added his meat and two veg between his legs. The figure has some spectacular wounds on him. There is a huge hole where his lower stomach once was. In between his man boobs is another big hole. When I resculpted his left arm, I added a massive bite wound to it. The flesh has been stripped from the shin of his left leg, he has a piece of flesh torn from the back of his skull, and finally he's had a bite taken from his right buttock. Awesome set of wounds, I say!

The figure in the centre of the group is Joe as he was meant to be, lying down and struggling to get back to his feet. It's a very original concept and I applaud Mikko for coming up with the idea. I added his cuffs, collar and waistband so that it looked like he was wearing a track suit to help tie in with the name Black Orc Games gave him - Joe the Jogging Zombie. I toned down the gore content on this figure. The chest and stomach wounds are still present, as is the bite to his bum. There is also a bite to his right leg which I've made more prominent on this figure than on upright Joe.

I took this overhead shot to better show off the third figure in my photos - namely Matt the Crawling Zombie. As you can see, there isn't much of Matt left. Part of his intestines and other pieces of his innards trail behind him as he uses his hands to propel himself forward. I like this figure a lot as I can always find a need for zombie crawlers.

To be fair, these are not the best sculpted figures on the market. Joe's anatomy shows a number of faults. I don't want to be hyper-critical of these figures, especially when  Mikko let me have them for free, but at the same time I do want to give you an honest review. I like the concept of Joe more than the execution, but he isn't a really bad figure. My conversions were fairly minimal and easily done. Matt, on the hand, is a real gem and I have nothing but praise for him. As with all of Black Orc Games' figures these are ridiculously cheap, retailing at a mere $1.00 each.

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.

Copplestone Bikini Babes

I bring my trilogy of reviews of bikini babes to a close with a look at Copplestone Castings' set of 28mm scale Future Wars figures from set FW45 Bodyguards in Bikinis. There are five figures in this set but my photos show six figures. Don't worry, all will be explained later.

 Unlike the Foundry bikini babes, Copplestone does not give their figures names and I haven't got round to naming them yet. So, for identification we'll just call them Babes 1 to 6. Babe 1 at far left of my two photos is an oriental girl, dressed in a light blue bikini and dark blue high heels. She is armed with a deadly katana, which makes a very welcome change from all the firearms these girls have acquired. Note the big dangly ear-ring on her left ear.
Babe 2, with the platinum blonde hair, crimson bikini with white polka dots and red high heeled shoes holds a BA Pistol in her right hand. It looks like an IMI Desert Eagle and could be either .44 or .50 calibre. Either way, it packs a solid punch.
Babe 3 stands out from the rest in that she is the only girl wearing boots. I had the crazy idea that I'd like her to have a rainbow coloured bikini. It's crazy because there is so little material to play with. Still, I eventually came up with a colour scheme that I was happy with. She is armed identically to Babe 2.
Babe 4, in the white bikini and white shoes is armed with a Sub-Machine Gun that closely resembles the 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5. Copplestone makes generic weapons that look similar to certain contemporary weapons without being a direct copy, which is why I say it looks similar to the MP5.
Babe 5 has gone all girly with her costume - dark pink bikini matched with light pink shoes. She is the third babe to be armed with a BA Pistol.
That should have been the end of this review as those are the five figures that you get with this set. However, for some unknown reason, I get two figures of Babe 5 when I ordered them. Lucky me, huh? So, for Babe 6, I clipped off her BA Pistol and remodelled her left hand so that it held an ice cream cone. I also repositioned her lower right arm and hand. A different paintjob (white bikini with pink roses, red shoes and brown hair) makes her look just different enough from Babe 5. She is a unique figure, unless someone else copies my conversion!
These figures seem like they were made to go together with the Foundry Bikini Babes as they complement each other perfectly. I actually like them better than the Foundry Bikini Babes but it is a close call. I particularly like the Babe with katana. Another reason why these score higher than the two Foundry sets is that they are a lot cheaper. This set of five costs, just £8.50, making them £1.50 cheaper than Foundry.