Sunday 7 November 2010

Size Comparison Photos - Zombies part 1

I hope you will find this post very useful. I'm going to compare the sizes of zombie miniatures from 32 different companies. Most of them are 28mm scale but some are taller and some are smaller.This is something I've wanted to do ever since I started my blog. However, at that time I was missing a lot of zombies from what is available now, plus since then, quite a few new companies have sprung up. A number of my followers have been clamouring for such an article, so don't say I don't deliver!
All of the figures will be photograhed alongside my figure of Vampifan, whom you can see is exactly 28mm tall. You'll notice a slight gap on the chart, below the figures' feet to allow for the height of their bases. I stick all of my figures on circular plastic slottabases. Some figures come with integral metal bases, which raises their height a bit more. Others are fitted with slotta tabs and for these I have inserted small pieces of card under them so that the soles of their feet are at the same level as the other figures. However you base your figures is not important here. What matters is the size of the figure from the soles of their feet to either their eyeline or top of head. There is still a great deal of debate in the gaming community about how to measure the height of figures. I'm not going to say who is right or wrong - I merely want to present you with photographic reference of as many zombie figures as I can. Where possible, I have chosen an upright male zombie from the companies' ranges. They are listed alphabetically from Alpha Forge to Zombiesmith.
From left to right the zombies are from Alpha Forge Games, Black Hat Miniatures, Black Orc Games and Blue Moon Miniatures.
From left to right the zombies are from Citadel (old style with integral base), Citadel (current style with slottatab), Cold War Miniatures and Copplestone Castings. Just note how small the old style Citadel figures were before scale-creep crept in.
From left to right the zombies are from Crocodile Games, East Riding Miniatures, Eureka Miniatures and Fortress Figures (one of the tallest available).
From left to right the zombies are from Four A Miniatures, Frothers UK, Grenadier (now sold by Mirliton) and Griffin Miniatures. The Frothers zombies are no longer available but ocassionally pop up on e-Bay.
From left to right the zombies are from Hasslefree Miniatures, Heresy Miniatures, Horrorclix and Mega Miniatures. Horrorclix are noted for being oversized.
From left to right the zombies are from Musketeer Miniatures, Ral Partha, RAFM, and Rezolution Miniatures. Quite a few of RAFM's USX range of contemporary/near future figures are heroically scaled.
From left to right the zombies are from Spinespur Miniatures, Studio Miniatures, Tengu Models and Twilight Inc. The Twilight Inc. zombie should be 1 or 2mm shorter. The problem for me was, he comes on such a thick integral base it has raised him higher than everyone else. He is close to 25mm in height and the smallest zombie readily available at present.
From left to right the zombies are from Victory Force Miniatures, Wargames Factory, West Wind Productions and Zombiesmith.
There are gaps in this list. Don't worry, I am aware of it. I have zombie figures by Eolith Miniatures and Mantic currently waiting to get painted. I know there are other ranges I've yet to buy. I do intend on buying zombies from every figure manufacturer who produce them in 28mm scale (or thereabouts). Me, obsessed by zombies? Er, I can't honestly deny it! This is why I titled this post part 1, as it's just the start. I definitely plan on doing size comparison photos of vampires and werewolves in the future... plus updates of the zombie ranges. I'm not sure about doing survivors, gangers, cops or military types. If there's a call for them, I will, otherwise I'll just stick with the undead. I've labelled this post "Size Comparison Photos" so that you can easily find it if need be in the future.

27 comments:

  1. Thank you for this unvaluable post (and pictures). It'll save many error for all of us who need zombies but don't want to try all manufacturers. I can't wait for the next.

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  2. This is very helpful. I like the way you adjusted the height for the minis with slotta bases. I am looking forward to seeing more on this and size comps with the Vampires and Werewolves. I'd also like to put in my vote for the Survivor type pics, if you're able, because many times figures from different manufacturers differ in their various ranges.

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  3. Thanks, everyone. I'm glad you found it helpful.

    @Luckyjoe. If you want me to do a similar post with survivor types then I'll do it. I have a feeling this is going to be the start of a very popular series!

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  4. You should definitely do a size comparison of your Survivors, Law Enforcement, Military and Ganger figures. I am sure that there are those out there who would be interested in seeing the Scale differences between manufacturers (and even within the same manufacturer, :cough: Reaper :cough: ). One problem with height scaling is if you have two figures that measure out to be the same height, if one figures legs are spread apart or they are bent at the knees that figure will look shorter then one standing straight up. A good example would be the Spinespur zombie next to the Heresy zombie, they both stand about the same height, but if the Spinespur one was standing straight yup without his legs being spread apart he would be taller then the Heresy one.

    The same goes for some of the Reaper Chronoscape figures I have, the Zombies I have (Policeman, Sleazy Lady {Hooker?} and Businessman Zombies {50038: Urban Zombies}) are taller then the "survivors" I have in the Chronoscape line. While some of the Horrorclix zombies are shorter then others, IIRC the Hardhat Zombie is one of the Horrorclix ones that scale well with other 28mm figures, yet the Patient one seems to tower over 28mm figures.

    I am going to need to set up my light tent and get some photos of my figures, granted the paint job isnt as detailed as yours, I go more for the quick and dirty to get it on the table for games paint job, though occasionally I will take the time and do a nice detailed paint job, though those figures are typically given to friends as gifts, for my personal figures all I care about is that they look good from a few feet away (plus I hate, and I do mean HATE, painting eyes on the figures so most mine have no eyes, LOL).

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  5. Good points, as usual, Doug. Where possible I've tried to use figures in a standing upright pose. Unfortunately this is not possible in every case, so I've went with the next best thing, as with the Spinespur zombie you mentioned. Reaper are another firm that I've yet to purchase from. I remember John doing a review of their zombie dog handler for his blog The Screaming Alpha and criticising it for it's height. Apparently he's over 40mm tall! Now that is taking the piss!

    I see another request for survivor types, and you've added the other human categories I mentioned. Okey, dokey, message received! They WILL appear in their own size comparison photos. I don't mind doing them. I just wanted to know that there was a demand for them first.

    Doug, there's nothing wrong with the quick and dirty method to painting figures. What matters most is if you're happy with them. Neglecting to paint their eyes hardly matters when you're gaming with them. As you rightly say, if they look good from a few feet away then that's fine. I look forward to seeing your work.

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  6. Encyclopedia Zedtannica! Great post Bryan.

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  7. Now that's an encyclopedia I would buy! Cheers, Willy!

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  8. Thats great! and a big thank you!!!

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  9. Great post Vampi! an invaluable service to the Zed-loving (or should that be Zed-hating as most of us try to blow them away all the time!) community!

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  10. Oh wow !this is great Vamp, I'm just about ready to start on the zombie side of my project, I've painted more survivor types than will see action, this will help me a heap, cheers, also you def need to do a survivor comparison

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  11. Once again, many thanks for your comments guys.

    @Colin. We're not zombie haters because we kill so many. Our player characters may be, but we're not. We like zombies because they're cool and the perfect bad guy. If a zombie kills one of our player characters, we don't blame the zombie, we blame the dice and the dice gods for being so fickle! Having said all that, I definitely wouldn't want to be one!

    @The Extraordinarii. I've got the message about survivors loud and clear. Trust me, size comparison photos of them will happen.

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  12. Excellent stuff Bryan! The net needs more posts like this.

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  13. Thanks, Mikko. I can assure you that this is just the beginning. More will follow.

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  14. This is excellent, Bryan and confirms that aside from the dog handler and several other reaper ogre zombies, that most zombies look good together. There is no real reason to worry about height differences. IMO the examples here all look good together.

    Great reference piece.

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  15. That's true, Roger. It is amazing how many companies' zombies work so well together. Even with the ones that are overscale, you still get a variety in heights if as Doug said, some lean forward or have their legs spread apart.

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  16. Another congrat's comment ! Need some zombies to add to my horde, this post will be very helpful to choose them.

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  17. Thanks, Ulu and I'm glad you found the article useful.

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  18. This is excellent!

    It's a bold move to make such an article, since the craving for zombies from even more manufacturers is sure to arise. You had obviously already foreseen this. =)

    It was a good idea to measure from their feet too. I based my Miss Miniatures survivors on thinner bases, since they have so thick integral bases and are already abnormally scale creeped... I wouldn't have used bases at all, but I needed round bases for the sake of balance. At least this made the height of where their feet was somewhat consistent.

    Tengu and Cold War are some of my favorite manufacturers. I've just ordered 40+ from Studio Miniatures (Santa and his helpers, whoot!), so it will be interesting to see how they match up.

    Could you elaborate on the 'Heroic scale' issue? According to a Wikipedia article it's a name for 28mm minis (instead of the commonly used older 25mm size). But I often see it widely used for other sizes as well, such as 34mm for instance. Is it used for everything bigger than 25mm? It's a huuuge difference between 25mm and 34mm... at least for a scale fanatic. =)

    Anyways, great article!

    Cheers

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  19. Wikipedia is right about "heroic scale" but with 28mm now being the norm, I equate the phrase with any figures larger than 28mm scale, like Fortress Figures, Horrorclix or RAFM. Any figures that are 34mm tall would certainly qualify as heroic scale.

    Studio and Tengu make some of the best sculpted zombies available, so you've chose well there, my friend. Have fun painting them!

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  20. Hi Vampifan, excellent post. I'm preparing a special on Zombies for Dadi&Piombo magazine. Please could you contact me at dadiepiombo AT libero DOT it ?

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  21. Brilliant effort, very likely to become an essential read for all future buyers of zombies.

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  22. Hey Vampifan, you should take a look at current TMP news or go directly to Studio Miniatures (if you haven't seen their latest miniatures yet)

    Whiteface / Oliver

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  23. I've just come back from the TMP site. What can I say but WOOT!!!!!!

    For those not in the know, Studio have released a set of three survivors based on Rick's family from the Walking Dead comics/TV series!

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  24. Bryan,

    I seen the Not-The Walking Dead figures over on Lead Adventures Forum, they look sweet, and from what I under stand Not-Ricks shotgun hand is a separate piece so you can have the handless Rick if you want. I would have ordered them if it wasn't for the fact I bought me some more Reaper Chronoscope "survivors" and ordered a bunch (15 or so) of figures from eM4 (finally). I ordered an assortment of the figures, a couple Bikers, a Savage or two, 4 of the NBC Troopers, the Reporter, the Camera Man and some of the scavengers iirc. Don't have the list in front of me at the moment.

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  25. They're high on my shopping list but I think I'll hold back until Studio releases their next of zombies and get them both together. I've got more than enough figures to paint at the moment without adding to my lead (and plastic) mountain. Good to hear about your own order, Doug.

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