Stoelzel's Billboards

Earlier this year, prior to my stay in hospital, I made three 28mm scale billboards from the Stoelzel's Structures' M.U.C.K.2 set. M.U.C.K. stands for Modular Urban Construction Kit and set 2 offers far more options than the original set. One of those options was to make billboards.

You can stick these on the roofs of buildings, or as I have done, just leave them on the ground. Carl offers a number of pre-designed billboard posters in addition to a blank poster if you wanted to design your own.

The two photos above show the billboards in situ on one of my Undeveloped Real Estate gaming boards.

The photo above shows the first billboard that I made. Carl very kindly designed this poster for me after I told him that the setting for my ATZ campaign was going to be in Springvale, a suburb of Mayhem City. Obviously he couldn't do a "Welcome to Mayhem City" poster as Mayhem City is the name of World Works Games set of contemporary scenery. However, Springvale is a name that I came up with and does not breach any copyright laws. Incidentally, just to remind you, Vampifan lives in Springvale. I'll explain about the Center Of Regenerative Properties Subsequent Expiration below.

 Now the CORPSE poster was something that Carl came up with on his own and I am delighted with it. Carl knows about my zombie campaign and so designed this poster for me to use in my campaign. I will indeed be using CORPSE as a shady corporation who may have possibly started the zombie outbreak. When I get to play the High Rise to Hell scenario I'll probably replace the Prosperity Corporation with CORPSE.

 I made this third poster simply because it is also zombie related. It is an amusing poster for a fictitious brand of coffee, Energize Z.

 This photo above shows the reverse side of the three billboards. All three have identical backs. The billboards were very easy to make. The posters themselves were glued onto pieces of mounting card, whilst the leg supports were glued onto pieces of foam board. There are other poster designs you can chose from but these three were the ones that interested me the most.

Zombie Survival Manual by Sean T. Page

The Zombie Survival Manual by zombie survival expert Sean T. page is a 128 page hard backed book done in the style of a Haynes' car manual. It is fully illustrated throughout in colour by artist Ian Moores. The blurb on the back of the book asks, "what would you do in the event of a zombie apocalypse? Would you know how to protect your family, forage for food and hold your own if confronted by a horde of the walking dead? Packed with vital information about how to prepare yourself and your home for the inevitable, the Zombie Survival Manual includes everything from the latest updates from world leaders in zombiology such as Dr. Khalid Ahmed to unarmed combat techniques and guidlines for zombie-proofing your home."
"With a comprehensive range of illustrations, maps, diagrams and step-by-step instructions, this manual is essential reading for those interested in protecting themselves, their families and society from the zombie menace. It also includes the chance to earn an invaluable zombie survival qualification by completing the examination at the end of the book."
Topics covered by the manual include -

• Zombies explained - what they are and how to deal with them.
• The science of zombiology - the facts that survivalists must know.
• The zombie apocalypse - what is it, when will it happen and why now?
• Zombies in history - the world's first timeline of events.
• Becoming a zombie survivalist - training the body and mind.
• Home preparation and defence - securing the home and a 90-day survival plan.
• Out and about in zombie town - movement, foraging and transportation in a world of the dead.
• A qualification in zombie survival - the chance to become certified.

The manual is written with Sean's trademark humour and wit and is a joy to read. Indeed, no zombie fan should be without this book. I simply can't praise it enough. As a more mature and less able-bodied fan of all things zombie-related, I was pleased to see a section of the book devoted to how the elderly and disabled may cope in a zombie apocalypse. It need not be "game over, man!" after all. We oldies still have a place in an apocalyptic society beyond being zombie fodder.
Adam, aka Zombie Ad, who owns the Zombie Shop recently reviewed the book on his blog here - http://zombieshop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/zombie-survival-owners-apocalypse-manual.html and be sure to check out his competition on Facebook to win a copy of the book. He very kindly supplied me with my copy so that I may review it. Once again, many thanks, Adam. if you wish to purchase the book it costs £16.99, although you can get it considerably cheaper at Amazon.UK, where it retails for £11.99.
I have no hesitation in awarding the book a 10 out of 10 rating. It really is that good!

WWG Mayhem Junkyard Walls

A while ago I made a set of 12 walls from the World Works Games' Mayhem Junkyard set. Each wall measures 6" long by 2" tall and they come in four different flavours. All walls are glued to bases that are 0.5" wide on either side.

The wall at the left of the photo above is a plain blank wall with no markings or graffiti on. I made six of these and two each of the other walls.

The wall at the right of the photo above bears a "Private Property" sign. It also has a very amusing poster that reads "NB Trespassing. Violators will be shot. Survivors will be shot again."

 The wall at the left of the photo above has been spray painted with graffiti.

 The wall at the right of the photo above has has numerous advertising posters stuck on it.

The photos directly above and below show the reverse side of the walls with their support columns.

All reverse sides of the walls are identical. These were incredibly easy to make. The walls and bases are reinforced with mounting card.

Foundry Juno's Crew

Continuing my theme of Wargames Foundry's Street Violence range of 28mm scale gangers here is set SV01/6 Juno's Crew. This set could be used as a smartly dressed criminal gang or they could work for some covert government agency, which is the option I chose when I used this gang in my Feng Shui campaign. Juno was quite a thorn in the sides of my player characters. There is an extra figure that I've added to this group, made by Copplestone Castings and I'll explain why later.

First in line is Juno. Juno may be her real name or more likely, it is an alias. She is one tough cookie. She was born in Hong Kong as a member of the Ascended faction in the Secret War. This made her one of the ruling class of the contemporary era. She is armed with a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistol and a 9mm Glock 17 Pistol. She is equally skilled in gunplay and martial arts.
To her left is Tracy Smith, a skilled assassin. Tracy also wields a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistol. If you removed her pistol she'd make a good civilian.
Malcolm Taylor, known to his friends as Mac is third in line. Mac is armed with a .50 cal. IMI Desert Eagle Big Ass Pistol. Mac is quite a brute and can soak up a lot of punishment.

Fourth in line is Carter Hagget. He, too, is armed with a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistol. Curiously, he has been posed firing his Machine Pistol gangsta-style, which is never a sensible thing to do.
The last figure from this group was called Ace by the Foundry folk, but seeing as he is a dead ringer for John Travolta's hitman character from the film Pulp Fiction, I have called him Vincent Vega. I'm not sure what make of Pistol he's using but no doubt it'll be some form of nine mil.
As fans of Pulp Fiction will know, Vincent was partnered by Jules Winnfield, played by Samuel L. Jackson. As it happens Copplestone Casting make a perfect Jules Winnfield in their Future Wars set FW26 Bad Guys in Suits. So that is the reason I have included this iconic figure with this set. You can't have Vincent without Jules. He, too, is armed with a 9mm Pistol.
Juno's Crew is available for sale for £12.00 from the Wargames Foundry website. As mentioned, the Jules Winnfield figure is part of the FW26 Bad Guys in Suits set and they cost £8.50 for five figures. I'll review the rest of them at a later date.

ATZ FFO supplement - High Rise to Hell

High Rise to Hell (hereafter referred to as HRTH) is the newest supplement for All Things Zombie - Final Fade Out by Two Hours Wargames. It is written by Ed Teixeira, the head honcho of THW.
HRTH is a scenario pack that takes place in the Prosperity Corporation headquarters situated in an urban centre wherever your campaign is set. The goal of the player characters is to search the building in the hope of finding the Cure to the zombie virus that has affected so many. Whether there is a Cure to be found there or not remains to be discovered. If it does exist there, it won't be easy to find.
Each floor of the building is a separate encounter with six storeys above ground and three underground. Access to the upper floors is via stairs or elevator, whilst access to the underground section is restricted to elevator only, and then only with a key card or a computer override.
The scenario features a wide variety of opponents to be dealt with. Most are hostile but some are friendly or neutral. Opposition includes the obvious - Pro Corp security personnel and scientists and of course, the ever present zombies. Smart zombies and Ragers, both of which were first detailed in the I, Zombie supplement, are also present, although their rules have been slightly tweaked to make them fit in with the high rise environment. The oddities that can be found include vampires, werewolves and aliens. The vampires are not of the traditional supernatural kind of legend but are genetically modified humans known as Stage One Vampires and the more powerful but rarer Stage Two Vampires. The aliens include a smattering of races from THW's 5150 universe. I'll say no more, so as to not spoil your surprise. Strictly speaking, the werewolves are also another alien race from the 5150 rulebook - the Lycaons. An important point to remember about Lycaons is that their wolf form is their natural form and they can transform into humans. They are not humans who can transform into wolf-like creatures. Human survivors, gangers and magic users (known as Casters) are also present. Full rules for all opposition are provided along with the option of using any of them beyond this scenario. Indeed, some of them could join your party to aid them in future encounters.
The scenario includes five pre-generated Grunts to be led by your Star, if you want to use them. There are one each of civilian, ganger, military, police and survivor. I'd imagine most folk would want to use their own crew and that's fine. However, by using the pre-generated Grunts, it allows some of their backstories and motivations to come to the fore when they meet certain characters in the high rise.
HRTH opens the world of ATZ to a host of exotic races and creatures, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. Those looking for more variety in their campaign or tougher opposition when their crew are all Rep:5+ will most likely welcome the challenges brought by the fresh blood. However, some of you may decide that there is no place for anything but zombies in a zombie apocalypse. If that is the case, then this supplement is not for you. On the other hand, if you can accept the premise of a zombie apocalypse it isn't too big a leap of faith to accept vampires and Lycaons. The way the new races are introduced and presented has a logic to it that makes sense.  My personal opinion on the matter is that I can accept the concept of HRTH as canon in the world of my own ATZ campaign. However, it is not a scenario that I'd want to play until at least one year of campaign time had elapsed. HRTH is not a scenario for starting characters. One of the things that I particularly like about this supplement is that if you do successfully complete the encounters, there is scope for further encounters involving Pro Corp and the aliens.
Another big plus about this supplement is that it addresses what I felt was a major omission from the After The Horsemen rulebook, namely the lack of rules for the likes of vampires and werewolves. I also think it is a good idea introducing some of the races from the 5150 series. They add even more variety to the mix.
A PDF version of HRTH costs $17.00 from the THW webstore, whilst a hard copy costs $20.00. I ordered the hard copy and got the PDF version for free. I'd like to leave by mentioning a new ATZ project that Ed has just launched on Kickstarter. This is for a range of 28mm scale figures, including casters, vampires and werewolves found in HRTH as well as zombies, smart zombies and assorted human types. You can find them here - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1377449800/28mm-all-things-zombies-and-more-miniatures?ref=email
I've already made my pledge for it. The sculpts look very good indeed. Ed's Kickstarter project for the 15mm ATZ figures was a success, so hopefully, this will be too.