Saturday 26 June 2010

Black Orc Games Zombies 02

Here's part two of my review of the Black Orc Games' range of 28mm scale zombies. In part one, the figures were sculpted by four different sculptors. However, these 11 that I'm showcasing here, were all sculpted by the same guy - Darren Greenaway. I think he is exceptionally gifted as a sculptor. Let's take a closer look at his work, starting with the five figures in the two photos above.
At the far left is very spectacular, near naked zombie that the website describes as a Zombie Cheerleader. I dare say she could be, but I see her as a stripper/pole-dancer. I like the way that her mini-skirt has blown up to reveal her bare bum, although she's probably wearing a g-string. You can't fail to notice what an impressive pair of shoulder boulders she has! Her wounds are very interesting. Two fingers have been bitten off her left hand. Much more noticable and far more gruesome is the fact that the flesh has been stripped from her face to reveal her skull. Ouch, nasty! She is quite tall; 33mm from sole of feet to top of head. She costs a mere $1.25. Great value for money for such a beautifully sculpted figure.
Next to her is a zombie nurse whose costume appears to have come straight out of an Anne Summers catalogue. For non-UK readers, Anne Summers is a chain of high street stores specialising in sex aids and sexy lingerie. This is another exquisite sculpt that really shows just how talented Darren is. She only has the one wound but it's a nasty one as her neck has been so savagely bitten thet her head is lolling to one side. She is a perfect 28mm in height and she costs just $1.15.
The last of Darren's female zombies is listed as Female Zombie Teen. My first thought when I saw her was "trailer trash!" followed closely by "my God, she is incredibly skinny!" I added a small amount of modelling putty to her left hip and backside to make her more curvy. The flesh has been almost completely stripped from her left leg and foot. She'd make a great addition to anyone's zombie horde. I like her a lot. She retails for $1.25.
I've lumped the next two males together as they both appear to have shared a similar fate - death in the bathroom. The slightly overweight zombie in the dressing gown and boxer shorts is holding a rolled up towel in his right hand. Most of his intestines are now hanging on the outside instead of inside his stomach. His pose is very static but I really like him. He is listed as Male Zombie 002 and he costs $1.25.
The fifth figure out of this group shown at the far right of the two photos above is listed as Male Zombie 001. It looks the zombies caught him when he was taking a shower or a bath. He is completely naked and only the large towel he grabbed hold of before he died covers his private parts. Just like the previous zed, he has been bitten in the stomach. There aren't enough naked zombies on the market, in my opinion, so I welcome his inclusion in the range. You can buy him for just a dollar, making him exceptional value for money.
This next batch of six zombies, shown in the two photos above are all male and apart from one, perfectly scaled at 28mm. At the far left is someone who probably worked in an IT department. He is well dressed in his suit and tie and he still holds on to his laptop computer. Whether he can still operate it is highly unlikely! His upper left arm has been so badly chewed that all that remains is bone. Awesome! He is listed as Male Zombie 003 and is seriously underpriced at $1.00.
To his left is Dr. Z (Zombie Doctor) still dressed in his surgical scrubs. He is holding what could be a medical chart in his left hand but I painted it up as an x-ray photograph. The blood on his smock could be from a patient or his own. as his lower right arm has been bitten. He'd fit in well with the Studio Miniatures zombie doctors' set. He costs a very reasonable $1.25.
Next up is "Slim" who is perfectly named. He is very thin. This figure did not grab me as much as the rest of the figures that Darren sculpted and I have two criticisms to make of him. First up, his head is far too small. It looks like a child's head on an adult's body. Secondly, his feet are so small you can barely see them. What went wrong, Darren? I have countered both problems by the addition of modelling putty. I bulked his hair out and gave him a pair of training shoes. those two "fixes" improved the figure no end. From the front he looks unharmed but just look at him from behind and you'll see a huge chunk of flesh has been stripped from his back to reveal his spine and ribs. Despite my criticisms, I would still recommend this figure to you. After all, he only costs $1.00.
The fourth figure in line is listed as Male Zombie 004. There is a large wound to his chest and a smaller bite wound to his right lower leg. Once again, his is a static pose, but I can find no faults with him. He's well sculpted and he's ideal as an extra in a zombie horde. He, too, costs no more than a dollar.
The white haired African-American zombie is curiously described as a Lazy Zombie. Huh?! How can a zombie be lazy? Does he refuse to attack anyone because he can't be arsed? You could describe all zombies as lazy, because none of them does a scrap of work! I wonder why Black Orc Games singled this guy out as being lazy? I can think of many adjectives for him but lazy would not be amongst them. Anyway, that aside, he is another great sculpt from Darren. There is a deep wound to his left upper chest and shoulder and his T-shirt hangs in threads. He also costs $1.00.
Last in line at the far right is a zed described as Male Zombie Waving. Yeah, I suppose he could be waving but I think he's more likely to be reaching out to grab hold of a victim. On his T-shirt I painted "I heart MC." The MC stands for Mayhem City, scene of my ongoing ATZ campaign. He is slightly taller than the other figures in this range but not by much. His only wound is a deep and nasty looking bite to his lower right arm. He's another zombie retailing for just $1.00.
I should point out that of the 12 zombies that Darren has sculpted for Black Orc Games that there is one missing from my collection. He is listed as Male Zombie Tough Guy (price $1.00) but he has been sold out for months and months now. Every time that I check on the Black Orc Games' website he is always listed as being sold out. I 'd like to get hold of him just to complete my collection.
Darren Greenaway is undoubtedly a superb sculptor and I have no hesitation in recommending this complete set of figures. I can overlook his one slip-up with Slim the Zombie simply because the rest of his zeds are so good. On top of that, just check out those prices. Ranging from $1.00 to $1.25 where else are you going to find such fine quality white metal zombies? If these sold at four to five dollars each, I'd have still bought them and liked them just as much. But as most of them cost a mere dollar apiece how can you not want to add them to your own horde? They are fantastic value for money in a world of so many overpriced figures.

6 comments:

  1. Bryan, as I've said before, I'm really glad to see someone backing the inexpensive zombie figures. Its a nice option to spending 3-4 bucks a piece to create a horde of zeds. I started out with the cheapest stuff on the market and I think they are all great, fun miniatures.

    Some of these figures are some of my favorites, in the first group, I really love the middle three, the nurse,teenage girl and guy in robe, he has a great head. Very characterful. Next I love the paint jobs you did on these. #4 in the second batch looks like hes mocking someone, it made me smile. Great paint jobs.

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  2. As I said in my review, Roger, cheap price does not mean cheap quality. I'm a big fan of the Mega Minis and Black Orc Games' range of zombies. I know that a lot of gamers are on a limited budget to spend on figures, so hopefully, my reviews will give them options that they might not otherwise have considered. These zombies deserve a place in anyone's horde.

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  3. OK, they're not bad with your paintjobs but it's easy to se they're very simple and not very good sculpts.

    With so many cool zombie miniatures available, I think I would rather use GW or Wargames Factory plastic zombies than these.

    Of course, somebody with such a huge collection of DIFFERENT zombies like you will be looking for more alternatives, so these Black Orc minis may be a reasonable choice.

    For somebody with so few zombies like me, there are still many other options. Black Orc Games have lots of nice concepts, but unfortunately the standard of sculpts doesn't satisfy me :(
    Your paintjobs make them look much better though!

    --
    Mahon
    Chest of Colors: All About Miniature Painting

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  4. @Mahon. Many thanks for you kind comments about my painting. Coming from someone as talented as yourself that really means something.
    I would certainly agree that some of the first batch of Black Orc Games' zombies that I reviewed were as you said "not very good sculpts" but I can't accept that about Darren's work. I think these 11 figures that I've reviewed in the post above are something special. Of course they can't compete pricewise with plastics but what can? I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one, although if money is so tight for you then I'd back your decision to stick with plastics. One thing I would like to add is that I wasn't a big fan of these or the Mega Minis zombies until I actually saw them in the flesh and realised they weren't as bad as I feared. Your mileage may vary.

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  5. Oh, well, you want to make me blush? ;)
    Thank you very much for your kindness, especially that it comes from somebody whose projects and works are among the strongest inspirations for me and for the change of my approach to my painting goals.

    Thanks for your opinion on the Mega Minis' zombies - in fact I would agree about them. I think they're pretty good. It's the Black Orc Games' zombies that I am afraid of. And in my case budget is one issue but not so serious that it would block the project for me. The blocking factor is the time I can devote to the project and to painting in particular. So when I buy a mini I want it to be pretty good, because I know I won't have time for many of them. So my zombie horde will always be a micro-horde only :(

    Probably seeing these Black Orc minis in person might change my opinion but for the moment I am really unsure about their quality. Maybe I've just seen too many poor releases from them?

    --
    Mahon
    Chest of Colors: All About Miniature Painting

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  6. There are various games which are famous only due to zombies.zombie Halloween costumes

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