Sunday 30 December 2012

Vampifan's Views 32 - Monthly Musings 17

Vampirella by David Michael Beck
So, we reach the end of 2012 and for me, this has been the Year of Vampirella. Previous years were known as the Year of the Zombies (2009 - 2011) and prior to them were the Year of World Works Games (2008) and the Year of the Clowns (2007). These designations are based upon the most amount of money I spend on a particular subject and in 2012 I spent more on Vampirella than anything else. Thanks to the number of Vampirella statues and other merchandise I bought this was always going to be her year. Since I started work on my blog almost four years ago, I have spent a ridiculous amount of money on 28mm scale zombie figures. 2012 was no different to previous years in regards to my expenditure on them but something changed this year. I made a concerted effort to buy large scale, and quite often, expensive, models and statues of Vampirella. I am delighted with my collection but I doubt very much if I'll buy any more next year. That could change if I win the National Lottery but with my luck with money that is highly improbable.

As this is a time of reflection, I'd like to mention five of my heroes of 2012. First up is Ed Teixeira of Two Hour Wargames, who released Final Fade Out - the ultimate version of All Things Zombie, my favourite zombie skirmish game a few months ago. I was honoured to be asked to play test the rules, but even if I hadn't, Ed would still have been one of my heroes just for consistently releasing great skirmish games that can be played with opponents or solo. This latter point is hugely important to me since my gaming group disbanded and scattered to the four winds shortly after 2001. THW has been an absolute godsend to me, allowing me to participate in gaming without an opponent.
2012 saw the emergence of a new card scenery company - Stoelzel's Structures. As followers of my blog will know, I am a huge fan of card scenery, especially the work done by World Works Games. It took me a while to take the plunge and make one of Carl Stoelzel's models (it was the Cottage) but I was well aware from the outset that Carl was going to be a serious rival to WWG. As I got to know Carl through his forum and comments on various blogs, including mine, I realised what a great guy he is. He listens to criticisms and suggestions and acts upon them. I now have no hesitation in saying his card models are the best on the market.
Another newcomer called Carl is Carl Sutherland (aka Rovanite) of Grekwood Miniatures. He also set up shop in 2012 and he is just as friendly as Mr. Stoelzel. I was friends with Carl's brother, Gareth, on the Forum of Doom and was very saddened by his death at a tragically young age. Carl set up his miniature figures company to honour Gareth and I am very heartened to support Carl in this noble venture. The fact that most of Carl's figures are zombie related is a huge plus for me.
One figure company who have been going strong since 2009 is Studio Miniatures. I have said time and time again on my blog that they make the best zombie figures on the market. Earlier this year, they teamed up with Indiegogo to produce a range of plastic zombie miniatures. I was one of the first people to pledge financial support to this project. It easily surpassed its financial target and their plastic zombies are every bit as good as their metal zombies. I received my parcel of 176 plastic zombies, plus extras about a month ago. You can well imagine my surprise when I received a second parcel of 40 plastic zombies plus extras a few weeks later. Stuart, the head of Studio Minis, included a note with the parcel, thanking me for all the positive reviews I had given his company on my blog. This parcel was a thank you gift in appreciation of my kind words. So, I have no hesitation in nominating Stuart as another of my heroes.
A close contender to Studio Miniatures for the title of best zombie miniatures maker is Tengu Models. Their range of zombie figures is much smaller than that of Studio but they are all very high quality. A couple of months ago, Iain at Tengu released a load of new zombie figures, including zombie dogs and zombie aliens. He kindly sent me a few free samples, again for the work I do on my blog. I am currently painting his new stuff now, so expect a full review very soon. Iain gets the nod as my fourth hero of the year.
Last but by no means least is the author Max Brallier. Max wrote the novel Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? a Fighting Fantasy style novel. I loved the book, which I reviewed in March of this year. Max really earned his hero nomination when he suggested I run a competition on my blog so that five of my lucky followers could win a copy of his novel. This was an extremely generous offer of Max's and the competition was a huge success with a large number of entries.

With the new year rapidly approaching this is a good time for making plans and resolutions. However, I have never been a one for making resolutions. As for my plans for 2013, they are the same as my plans for 2012 - paint more figures, make more card scenery, buildings and vehicles and continue my ATZ-FFO campaign. Now that I have finished making my Stoelzel's Warehouse (review coming up early next year) I am undecided on what building to start next. Possibilities include making my Blue Dragon Chinese Restaurant with the exterior based on the Stoelzel's M.U.C.K. set, although I may wait until Carl releases M.U.C.K. 2. I definitely want to make the Stoelzel's Circus for my Killer Klowns. Sunny is demanding I make it next! There are a lot of other Stoelzel's models that I want to make but the big problem is finding the time to make them.

The only film that I have seen at the cinema in December was Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2. Well, I had seen the other four, so I had to see the finale. Actually, it wasn't too bad. Bella (Kirsten Stewart) had annoyed the hell out of me in the previous films for her whiney attitude actually came good in the end, but only because she had been transformed into a vampire. Bella the human = thumbs down. Bella the vampire = thumbs up. I am currently reading The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. This is part two of the Millennium trilogy. Volume 1, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was very slow to get started but really picked up after about 200 pages and got a lot better as it went on. The same is true of Volume 2. I am going to read all three novels before I buy the DVDs.

I hope you all had a great Christmas. As you will have seen from my last post, I certainly did. My Sideshow Collectibles 1/4 scale Vampirella statue is just awesome! The only other undead related stuff that I got were my 2013 calendars for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and True Blood. I'll sign off by wishing you all the very best for 2013. Happy New Year everyone!

Wednesday 26 December 2012

Sideshow Collectibles 2012 Vampirella Statue

A short while ago I placed an on-line order with Amazon for my main Christmas present. My mum very kindly agreed to pay for it. Considering how much it cost this was an extremely generous offer. No, I'm not saying what I paid for it, but it was the most I have ever paid for a figure. For quite some time now I have had my eye on the Sideshow Collectibles 1/4 scale Vampirella statue. As soon as I saw her I fell in love with her and I knew that I had to have her. It is quite simply the best figure of Vampirella I have ever seen and without doubt, the best Christmas present I have ever received, even if she did arrive early.
This is the box that the model came in and it is HUGE! The box measures 26" by 22" by 8" (66cm by 56cm by 20cm) and features this stunning piece of artwork.
And this is what is inside the box - Vampirella sitting on the skull of a dragon, surrounded by human skulls and bones with a rat trying to keep hidden from view. You can just see the rat lurking in between the two human skulls.
At 1/4 scale this statue is tall. The base measures 14.5" by 10" (37cm by 25cm) and Vampirella is 13" (33cm) tall. If she was standing up, you could easily add another 3 or 4 inches to her height. She is cast in heavyweight polystone and weighs 18 pounds or just over 8 kilograms. Believe me, that is some weight!
Vampirella's hair is much longer on this model than how it usually appears in the comics but I am not criticising the sculptor for that because I think it looks gorgeous. It is so full of movement
The model comes in numerous parts. Vampirella's head and arms are attached to her body with powerful magnets. The skulls, bones and rat are attached to the base by means of plugs. They tend to move about if you pick up the model but Vampirella herself and the dragon skull are held firmly in place
The painting of Vampirella is exquisitely done. Just look at her face - it is truly outstanding. Note that her earrings are gold-plated rather than painted. Her skimpy red costume is made of shiny, red leather. Yes, I did what any other male would do and I checked to see if her nipples had been sculpted on. They had been!
The painting of the skulls and bones and the rat is equally impressive. Just check out the amount of shading on this close up. Likewise, notice the shading on the base as well.
I only have one minor criticism to make of the model and you can see here that Vampirella's bat logo is missing from the crotch of her red costume. If I hadn't mentioned it, I very much doubt if any of you would have noticed that. You have to be a big Vampi fan to notice a little detail like that.
I keep most of my Vampirella models and statues in my bedroom/man cave. However, this one has pride of place on our china cabinet in the living room. Even my mum couldn't fail to be impressed by the quality of this sculpt and she was quite happy for me to display it so prominently in our lounge.
I have managed to collect a fair number of Vampirella figures, models and statues over the years but none have had quite the impact as this one on me. This shows Vampirella at her best. She is sexy, confident, playful and stunningly beautiful. Not only has she made this my best Christmas ever, she has made my year. I hope your Christmas was as good as mine!

Sunday 23 December 2012

Sadie Walker is Stranded by Madeleline Roux

Sadie Walker is Stranded by Madeleine Roux is the sequel to the excellent Allison Hewitt is Trapped. To quote the blurb on the back cover of the novel, "In the months since The Outbreak, Seattle has become a walled fortress - the Infected are kept at bay, and the survivors are trying to scrape back a life. But the city is rife with crime, religious cults and black-market dealings. And things are about to get worse.
When a group of frustrated fanatics, the "Repopulationists", destroy part of the wall, zombies start swarming the city. Sadie, devastated by the kidnapping of her young nephew, must find him and get them both out before it's too late. But the only escape is by sea, and she's seen for herself the horrible fate of those who tried that route before..."
Reading that, I thought that a lot of the novel would be taken up with Sadie's search for her nephew and her escape from Seattle but no, that part was all wrapped up in chapter two. Sadie and her nephew, Shane, do escape on a boat with a handful of other survivors. They don't get far before they beach on an a nearby island, where they spend most of the rest of the novel, surviving as best they can.
Sadie is a very different character to Allison Hewitt in that she is not so good in a fight and she has an annoying tendency to act first and think of the consequences later, usually when she realises that what she has done was monumentally stupid. Prior to the zombie apocalypse she used to be an illustrator, so I had some sympathy for her. However, there were times when I felt she needed a good slap to knock some common sense into her. For example, near the end of the novel she takes Shane and they sneak away in a little rowing boat because she was sick of the other survivors and she thought that Shane and her would be better off on their own. Silly woman! She rowed half way around the island before common sense hit her and she was forced to return to the others with her tail between her legs.
Sadie also spends a lot of the novel brooding about whether she is a good enough replacement mother for her young nephew Shane. She copes as best she can but she doesn't always deliver on her promises to him and that frustrates her and annoys Shane. Sadie is the first of the group of survivors from their boat to go off and explore the island. She promises Shane that she'll be back before sundown but when she discovers that the island is not uninhabited and that zombies dwell there it takes her a lot longer to return to Shane and the others.
Although the novel was set in a different part of America to Allison's adventures there was a nice piece of continuity between the two novels, as Sadie used to follow Allison's blog and was a big fan of her. Whenever she got stuck in a tricky situation (a common occurence!) she would often say, "I wonder what Allison would do?"
Sadie Walker is Stranded is certainly an entertaing zombie novel, but is not as good as Allison Hewitt is Trapped in my opinion. Therefore, I'd give it a 6 out of 10 rating.

This will be my last post before Christmas, so I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. Incidentally, my next post will be on Boxing Day and I'll tell you all about my best Christmas present ever! Have fun!

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Vampifan's Sexy Waitresses

My review of my Chinese restaurant staff that I posted last time went down extremely well. So, in a similar vein, here are a collection of five 28mm scale sexy waitresses that I'd sculpted in the 1990's. These were designed to be used in a seedy nightclub for a role-playing scenario. I can't remember which game I originally made them for, but they have seen use in a few different RPGs that I games mastered..
At the far left of the photos is Rachel. I only gave the girls forenames. She is either inviting guests to the club or showing them to their table.
Next to her, Cindie is shown holding a silver serving plate as she makes her way back to the kitchen.
In the centre of the group, Zoe, is cheekily bending down to place her plate of drinks on a guests table. If you look at the rear view of her, you'll see exactly what I meant by "cheekily bending down!" Nice view!
My favourite sculpt of all the girls is Emma, who is fourth in line. I love her smile which has come out perfect. I also love her flirtatious pose as she cheekily hoists the side of her dress up.
Last in line is Debee, who stands in a static pose with her hands on her hips.
The inspiration for the uniforms came from an unlikely source - an old X-Men comic. A couple of the X-Men superheroines infiltrated a Hellfire Club meeting by disguising themselves as waitresses. These figures are inspired by those illustrations. I had a lot of fun sculpting and painting these. I thought that they'd provide a bit of festive cheer to my blog.

Sunday 16 December 2012

Vampifan's Chinese Restaurant Workers

I'd like to show you some of my own 28mm scale figures that I sculpted way back in the 1990's. These are my Chinese restaurant staff, who were sculpted as NPCs for my Feng Shui RPG campaign. Feng Shui was one of my favourite gaming experiences and was a huge amount of fun to play and to games master. Published by Atlas Games, Feng Shui was set in contemporary times and dealt with the Secret War, a global conflict in which various factions sought dominance through the control and acquisition of feng shui sites, places of mystery and power. The heroes of the game were known as the Dragons. They were a minority group of humans, whose numbers had been decimated by the other factions. My campaign was set in Hong Kong, which was the default setting for the game. The player characters' base was the Blue Dragon Restaurant, a minor feng shui site. These six figures that I'm about to review were the staff who were involved in the day to day running of the restaurant. Most of them knew nothing about the Secret War.
Two of my players had characters who owned the Blue Dragon Restaurant and lived in apartments above it. However, they spent a lot of time adventuring and were often away from home, so they hired Lau Yu, seen at the far left of my photos, to be the restaurant manager. Lau Yu was a typical inscrutable Oriental type and he always had a severe look about him. He was in his mid-50's when my campaign started. He came to Hong Kong from Shanghai just after World War 2 ended. He has lived there ever since. He had always been fascinated with sorcery and he collected books of Chinese magic. He knew a few minor spells but he knew nothing about the Secret War.
Su Yin, seen holding a meat cleaver, was the head chef. She was in her 40's, and was fat, cheerful and a superb cook. She previously worked at the famous Floating Jumbo Restaurant in Aberdeen Harbour on Victoria Island, Hong Kong. Su Yin would gossip with anyone who impressed her, regardless of nationality. She knew a lot about the Triad gangs of Hong Kong but never discussed them openly. She knew nothing about the Secret War.
To the right of Su Yin is Tony Zhang, a 17 year old nephew of Lau Yu. The old man hired him to teach him a trade and some discipline. Tony was frequently in trouble at school for fighting and truancy. Since training to be a chef at the Blue Dragon, he settled down under the tutelage of Lau Yu and Su Yin. He, too, knew nothing about the Secret War.
Chun Wang, fourth in line and shown holding a bowl of food, was the head waiter. He was 25 years old and a heavy set man. He was a neighbour of Su Yin, who recommended him to Lau Yu. Previously, he worked as a waiter in one of Wanchai's (a district of Hong Kong Island) seedy nightclubs. He was also a fledgling Sorceror who knew a few Weather spells. Although he knew how to handle himself in a fight, he'd deal with really bad situations by creating a mist to escape in the confusion. He knew nothing about the Secret War.
Yung Wu, shown polishing a glass, was the restaurant's bartender. He was in his early 30's. A good-looking guy, he had a joking manner and was very friendly. Although he was quite a flirt with any beautiful women, he would never betray his wife and three children. He also knew nothing about the Secret War.
Last in line is Li Feng, the only staff member to know anything about the Secret War, although he kept his knowledge well hidden. He was a very introverted person and rarely had anything to say to anyone. He kept his head down and quietly got his waiter job done. He wore his long hair in a ponytail. He proved himself to be good in a fight and his martial arts training saw off more than one intruder or belligerent drunk. He claimed to have come to Hong Kong from mainland China, but he remained very evasive about his past or his original home. In actual fact, he escaped from the Buro future of 2056 into the present day. He spent some time helping the Jammers, an anarchist group from the future, in their fight against the Architects of the Flesh, one of the major factions of the Secret War. However, he decided he didn't like the Jammers either, and left them to lead a quiet life without attracting attention to himself.
These were all minor characters in my campaign and this is reflected in the way that I sculpted them. Most of them were sculpted in very static poses. This was deliberate on my part as they were meant to blend into the background. On the few occasions when a fight did break out in the Blue Dragon Restaurant, these six took a back seat and let the player characters deal with the threat. My group of player characters were more than capable of defending their homebase.
Back in those days, I used 2D floor plans extensively. How my gaming habits have changed nowadays. One of the card modelling projects on my "to do" list is to make a 3D version of the Blue Dragon Restaurant. I envisage a three or four storey building with a minimum 12" square footprint. The ground floor would be the kitchen and food storage area, The first floor would be the restaurant itself and the floor/s above would be the owners' apartments. I have it all planned out in my head. I just need the time to turn my ideas into reality.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Black Cat Bases Hispanic Gangers 02

As promised last time, here is my review of the Black Cat Bases 28mm scale Los Nortenos Hispanic gang, which comprises five male gang members and their canine mascot, Carlos. As with the female gang, Las Chicas, I have named all of the gang members myself, apart from the dog, who was named by the staff of Black Cat Bases.
Starting at the far left is Eduardo Jimenez, one of two bald-headed members of the gang. He is holding his 12 Gauge pump-action shotgun in a casual pose. All of the gang members are dressed very casually and they all wear designer-label training shoes. Eduardo is dressed in a baggy shirt over a white T-shirt and cropped baggy trousers. He also has a rolled up grey bandana tied around his head.
Standing next to him is the figure I have nominated as the gang's leader. This is Guillermo Aquino and he is armed with an Ingram MAC-10 Machine Pistol. Note the sunglasses sitting on top of his head. He is dressed in an identical manner to Eduardo, apart from the bandana. His beard and moustache make him look slightly older than the others, which was one of the reasons that I chose him as the gang leader. Plus, he is wearing a gold wristwatch, gold bracelet and gold-rimmed sunglasses, so he is clearly richer than the others.
Third in line is Oribe de Jesus Torrado, the second bald-headed gang member. At first glance he appears to be armed with nothing more than a metal baseball bat. But if you look at him from the rear you can see he is about to draw a pistol that was tucked into the back of his trousers. Sneaky devil!
Moving on, we come to Ramone de Nigris, the least well armed member of the Los Nortenos. He is armed with nothing more than a knife. Presumably, he must be very good at melee combat for him to shun a firearm. He has a crazed look in his eyes and I'm guessing he is a psycopathic killer.
Javier Lugo is the fifth member of the gang and he is armed with a Big Ass Pistol. He wears a baseball cap, back to front, naturally. The reason that he is bending down is that he is supposed to be holding a leash that is attached to the collar of the dog. I took one look at the leash and decided that I didn't want to use it. I'd rather have the dog and his handler as two separate figures. You may feel differently and the option is there to combine the two figures into one unit.
Speaking of the dog, Carlos is the name given to the gang's mascot. Carlos is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, or as they are often known as, a Staffie. He has been sculpted in an aggressive pose, leaping at someone with his teeth bared menacingly.
One of the reasons that I particularly like this set (and indeed all of the BCB gangs) is that they are not excessively armed, like for example, many of Foundry's Street Violence gangs. Just look at this gang's weapons. They have a shotgun, a machine pistol, two pistols, a baseball bat and a knife. That, I think, reflects the real life of many of the gangs found in the inner cities of America.
You can purchase this set of six figures for £12.00 from the BCB webstore. Alternatively, the figures are all available separately, retailing at £3.00 each, apart from the dog, who only costs £2.00. Finally, a word about the scale of these figures. All of the BCB gang figures are described as being 28mm scale and for once, they are. No sign of "scale creep" here. I highly recommend every one of them.

Sunday 9 December 2012

Black Cat Bases Hispanic Gangers 01

At first glance you'd be forgiven for thinking I'm reviewing more prostitutes with this set, but then you notice that these ladies are all armed and dangerous. This set is the Black Cat Bases 28mm scale Las Chicas gang from their Gangsters range. It comprises five female Hispanic gangers and their mascot dog. The dog's name was taken from the BCB website, but I have come up with the names for the five humans.
At the far left of my two photos is a Yorkshire Terrier dog, whom the ladies have called "Wookie." He has a pink bow tied to his head to show he is a "girlie's dog." He is probably the smallest 28mm scale figure I have ever painted. He is tiny! But if he was any taller, he wouldn't be a Yorkshire Terrier.
The first of the humans, in the red pants and blue top, is Rosita Hernandez. She is armed with a 9mm Micro-Uzi Machine Pistol. Her hair, which she has parted in two, is incredibly long, flowing all the way down to her backside. I painted the lower half of her hair in a reddish brown, which from a distance looks like a fox-skin wrap. Note her high heel shoes with the leopard print colours.
To her left is Salma Alvarez, who is wearing a pair of leather-skin pants over a white bikini. She can't have tied the belt on her pants very tightly, as they are sliding down over her backside, as can be seen from the rear view of her. She is holding her Big Ass Pistol in a two-handed grip.
Carmen Talavera stands in the centre of the group and she certainly stands out from the crowd with her flaming red hair and white mini-dress. Carmen is well-endowed in the breast department and, as can be seen by her backless dress, she is not wearing a bra. Naughty! Is she just a slut or something more sinister? I suspect the latter. She is clearly making full use of her good looks, as she strikes a seductive pose and runs a hand through her long hair. But why has she got her other hand behind her back? From the front she oozes sex appeal but from behind we see she is concealing a revolver. She is quite a honey trap!
Next in line is Azteca Orozca. She is armed with a pair of Big Ass Pistols. I love the way her crop top has slid off one shoulder to reveal her pink bra. That's a nice touch! Her microskirt just barely covers her backside, so she needs to be very careful if she bends over. Then again, she probably doesn't give a damn!
The final figure in the group, Marisol dos Santos, is the person I have nominated to be gang leader. Her pose, as she points an accusing finger, suggests she is a leader figure. She carries a 12 Gauge pump-action shotgun in her right hand. She wears a red basque, denim hot pants and thigh-length leather boots. She has a few red streaks in her hair, which are most likely extensions. She also wears more jewellery than any of the other gang members.
These are a very sexy looking gang and all of them have been beautifully sculpted. Even the dog shows an incredible degree of craftsmanship. A long time passed between me buying them and painting them. I don't know why because they were an absolute joy to paint. But they are done now, and I have another gang to add to the hellhole known as Mayhem City.
You can buy all six figures for £12.00 from the BCB webstore. Alternatively, the figures can be bought separately - £2.00 for Wookie the dog and £3.00 for each of the females. Next time, I'll review the male Hispanic gangers aka Los Nortenos.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Reaper Civilians - Prostitutes

At the same time as I bought the Reaper Children (shown in my last post) I bought this set - 50157 Townsfolk - Ladies of the Night, which is a polite way of saying prostitutes. I believe in calling a spade, a spade, so prostitutes they are. There are three 32mm scale figures in the set, although they are described as being 28mm scale. Yeah, right! We all know about "scale creep," don't we?
At the far left is the blonde bombshell. I like her pose, as she beckons a client to offer him a "good time." It is simple but effective. She wears a fur coat, mini-skirt and thigh length leather boots. Her fur coat was painted in Foundry British Blue Grey 75C. To this I added more Foundry White 33C for successive dry-brush layers until I ended up with pure white for the final dry-brush.
In the centre of the group is a young lady who is just a bit too skinny for my tastes, but that's just my opinion. However, I do like her hairstyle, which I think is very cute. She wears a crop top that covers her boobs but which leaves her midriff bare, and skin-tight leopard print pants. In her right hand she carries a small, pink purse.
At the far right is a hispanic woman, with slightly darker skin than the other two, and long, flowing black hair. She wears a red microskirt and killer red shoes. She also wears a suspender belt and stockings, always a winning combo in my opinion. Her clothing is accessorised with a studded belt and a load of silver bracelets on her left wrist
These are three very nicely sculpted figures and they certainly look the part. Amongst my collection of civilian figures I have an overly high proportion of prostitute figures, some bought and some sculpted by myself. What can I say? I'm a sucker for good looking women in revealing clothing. I have seen this set on one of my follower's blogs and he had converted them so that they were all armed. My apologies for forgetting who had done the conversions but it was quite a while ago. I guess he was thinking that when the apocalypse comes, some streetwalkers would arm themselves for protection. A good example of this is with the Foundry Street Girls sets from their Street Violence range. I'm happy to leave the figures unarmed. This set can be found in the Reaper Chronoscope range and it cost me £5.60 at the Miniature Heroes webstore.

Sunday 2 December 2012

Reaper Civilians - Children

This set from Reaper, 50042 Townsfolk - Modern Children, fills a niche in the market. Very few figure companies make figures of contemporary children. Hasslefree Miniatures is a notable exception. So, I was pleased to see this set in Reaper's excellent Chronoscope range.
The set consists of three 28mm scale schoolchildren. At the far left of the group is a young lass standing in a casual pose with her hands on her hips. I do not like her hairstyle, but that is just a personal opinion. I painted her sweat shirt in Foundry Ochre 4 and her jeans in Foundry Tomb Blue 23. For her blonde hair I used Foundry Canvas 8.
The kid in the middle is in a more animated pose. He could be walking to or from school. His backpack features a portrait of Harry Potter on the back with the Harry Potter logo above it. Fiddly work, I can tell you, but I like how it's come out. His hoodie jacket was painted with Foundry Spearshaft 13 and his jeans with Foundry Night Sky 62.
At the far right is a kid on a skateboard and he is my favourite figure out of the set. He was the easiest out of the trio to paint. I used Foundry Forest Green 26 for his jacket, Foundry White 33 for his T-shirt and trainers, Foundry Bay Brown 42 for his trousers and Foundry Granite 31B for his skateboard.
These are a welcome addition to my collection of civilians, as I don't have many figures of children. This set cost me £4.90 from the Miniature Heroes webstore. I have mentioned them before in previous reviews of Reaper figures. For UK-based customers, they are worth patronising as they pay the postage costs from America, and more importantly, any customs charges. You may have to wait up to three weeks for the figures to arrive from America, but I didn't mind that. The fact that I knew that I didn't have to worry about Customs and Excises ripping me off if I placed too large an order made it well worth the wait.