Wednesday 17 April 2013

John Jenkins Designs Communist Zombies

Today's figure review is something of a rarity. Earlier this year I was sent a parcel of out of production zombies from David aka Darkoath to add to my zombie horde. Amongst the figures he sent me were these five 28mm scale figures from a company called John Jenkins Designs, whom I had never heard of. The figures are classed as Communist Party Zombies and are surely amongst the most unusual zombies I have ever seen.
The zombie at the far left is holding a little book in his right hand and a pamphlet in his left hand. No doubt they are Communist Party propaganda. He has a wound to his lower stomach and blood is spilling from his mouth.
Next in line, this zombie also holds a little black book in his right hand. He has a long cut in his right leg. These zombies are quite intact with none of them showing horrific gaping wounds.
In the centre of the group, this zombie is carrying his little black book in his left hand and he holds an empty bottle in his right hand. He has minor bite wounds to both upper arms and his right leg.
Next up is the most comical zombie of the group. He has managed to wrap a red balloon around his neck and he appears to be choking himself as his tongue is sticking out of his mouth! He has a bullet wound in the centre of his back.
Last in line is the group's accordion player. I couldn't find any obvious wounds on him, so I painted him with half his face chewed off.
These are really off the wall figures that I must admit, I never knew existed until David told me about them. They could be Chinese soldiers or Russian soldiers or who knows what. They are mildly amusing, especially the balloon zombie. Will I use them in my ATZ campaign? Of course I will. If I add them to a large horde, they'll just blend in with the rest. As I said in my introduction, these are out of production figures, so if you do want to get them, I wish you the best of luck in your search.

37 comments:

  1. These are awesome miniatures, very strange but very cool, JJD minis are pretty cool especially there chinese hopping vampires

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    1. Thanks, TE. I know absolutely nothing about JJD. I feel a Google search coming on.

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  2. Huh, I never heard of this company before. They've got some rather nice Darkest Africa boats, though somewhat expensive...

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    1. I'd never heard of them either, Hugh. They have passed under my radar.

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  3. Nicelook minis very generous of Darkoath he's a great guy!

    I like how you've painted them up obviously these have escaped quarintine and are the cause of the Apocalypse.

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    1. So it's all some big Communist plot to bring down the free world, huh? Damn Commies!

      And yes, Darkoath is a great guy!

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  4. As The Extra points out JJD do some excellent hopping vampires.... If only I could find them in production.

    Back to this little group. A nice find and well painted. I know they will fit in well. I know they are supposed to be communist but I think they would look super cool painted as prison inmates. Either in Orange or in Grey and black stripes. So promise me If I find some more and send them to you you'll do that?

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    1. I have sent a PM on the Zombie Bloggers Association. please drop a PM back when you can Cheers Clint

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    2. Yes, I can see them working as prison inmates, Clint. You find them and I'll paint them for you!

      PM sent.

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    3. Figure sent, (2nd Class) on closer look not totally zombie, but as the "NBC" (style) suit has a couple of rips I think you'll find a use for it! I know I won't get round to painting it so best of luck to you and hopefully you'll be able to give it a new home.

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  5. They are very unusual, but as said previously they are an obvious source for the infection !

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    1. Unusual is certainly an understatement, Joe.

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  6. Even Zombies need re-education in the glorious struggle of the proletariat.

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  7. only 5! There's damn thousands of Commie Zombies!

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    1. There's probably millions of the buggers, Bob.

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  8. You lucky, lucky man! I managed to get the last couple of packs of Terracotta Zombies last year but sadly there are no more available, I would have loved these too. Great job Bryan.

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    1. Thanks, Michael. I do feel lucky in receiving these and I'm very grateful to Darkoath for sending me them.

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  9. Had to join and follow your blog, your stuff is really well done and I have to say the work on your buildings is awe-inspiring!!

    I have only just got a copy of the ATZ rules (largely inspired by your blog) and hope to be enjoying the craziness myself very soon!

    I don't think there are any other players near by which is a shame but I may be able to corrupt a couple of my Pathfinder group.

    Keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing it!

    Rob

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    1. Welcome to my blog, Rob. I hope you find much to inspire you in your own games.

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    2. There is certainly plenty to be inspired by. I am kind of at a loss as to where to begin, your table and reports are awesome!

      Have been looking for(and failing to find)local players so I can get an intro game of sorts and get some ideas on where to begin with my town/board.

      I will be back here daily for sure trying to soak in all the great ideas and inspiration for sure!

      Cheers,

      Rob

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    3. Having a group of players is far and away the most ideal solution, But ATZ is designed for solo play, which is a godsend for those of us who don't have a gaming group. My gaming group broke up in the early 2000s when one by one, my players found girlfriends and moved far away. I have been a solo gamer for many years and I must admit that I am very grateful to Ed of THW for producing his rule sets with the solo player in mind. What I'm saying is that many zombie bloggers are solo players, so don't worry too much if you can't find any players to share your gaming fun.

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    4. Had noticed most blogs are solo players, my group are Pathfinder of nothing players and I travel 30 odd miles there and then back to play with them once a week so saving the diesel could be a good idea :)

      Just seems a lot to take in at first but I am sure i will get there in the end.

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    5. If your players aren't interested in zombie gaming your best bet is to go solo. If ever you get stuck there is plenty of help and advice available online, including myself.

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    6. Thank you, I appreciate that.

      Just back from HobbyCraft where they had 3 for £10 on big(A1) sheets of foam board, so I had to grab some :)

      Haven't built terrain in a loooooong time, so this will be fun!

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  10. I have a lot of John Jenkins samurai buildings and used to see them at the shows but never knew they did these, great looking madness:D

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    1. The JJD samurai buildings are very nice, Fran. I used to play Bushido the RPG a lot in the 1980's but there was a scarcity of 3D terrain in those days.

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  11. Fantastic, they look like their holding Moe's little red book.
    I like the guy with the balloon, and i do get the joke they are having a party, a Communist Party

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  12. These look great Bryan! I hope to see them in a Bat Rep some day! The Hopping Vampires and the Terracotta Zombies were really nice too but those seem more in line for a fantasy game. Perhaps it was a Terracotta zombie that infected those communist party members? John Jenkins Designs is based out of Hong Kong. He stopped doing 28mm miniatures to pursue his 54mm French and Indian war painted miniatures. John is a great guy and I was lucky to pick up his 28mm miniatures before he stopped producing them!

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    1. Well, I can only say that I'm very glad you did buy them, David, and I'm even happier that you gifted them to me. They have found a good home here.

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  13. Communist party...LOL! I have to admit these are the kind of jokes I really like.

    Whiteface / Oliver

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