Saturday 5 April 2014

Not Yet Dead Miniatures Survivors 01

Earlier this year, Toni Morey, the talented sculptor behind Not Yet Dead Miniatures, a German-based company, sent me six 28mm scale survivor figures to review. I recently finished painting them and here they are - three females and three males.
The first figure in line at the far left of my photos is my favourite out of the set and as soon as I saw her on the Board of the Living Lead forum I contacted  Toni to see if he would consider making her in 28mm scale. You see, Toni is unique in that he sculpts his zombie apocalypse figures in 1/35th scale. This means more detail on a figure and fortunately for me, Toni scaled down some of his sculpts to produce smaller-sized versions. It surely goes without saying that this schoolgirl survivor will join the ranks of my St. Trinian's schoolgirls. I love her pose with her hockey stick resting on her shoulders behind her head. Slung across her stomach is a 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun - perfect for killing zombies. Incidentally, Toni has sculpted a wicked conversion of her, with a battle standard replacing the hockey stick and a cricket bat replacing the shotgun.
Next up is trailer trash girl, dressed in trademark denim hot-pants and a pink boob tube. She is armed with a pair of very small pistols. I'm not sure what the item is that is sticking out of her shoulder bag. It looks like a wooden club. Her bottle-blonde hair has been tied in a ponytail.
The third female in line is possibly a cosplayer. Most unusually, she wears a respirator mask. She wears a black basque, purple mini-skirt and purple and white hooped stockings. Her most obvious weapon is her machete but notice how she is trying to hide her 9mm Pistol in her right hand behind her back. Crafty!
Moving on to the male survivors, the guy in the pale blue shirt and sandy-coloured trousers is well armed with a 9mm Pistol in his right hand, a machete in his left hand and a 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun slung over his back. He's clearly dressed for summer.
The penultimate figure in line is a young tough guy wearing a hoodie top and combat pants. He has a 12 Gauge Sawn-Off Pump-Action Shotgun in his right hand and resting on his shoulder, whilst in his left hand is a flaming Molotov Cocktail. You don't see many figures brandishing Molotov Cocktails.
Finally, is what I assume to be a military pilot, judging by his overalls and aviator glasses. He is bare-handed but has two nifty weapons slung over his back - a 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun and a katana.
These are all beautifully sculpted. When Toni sent them to me he felt they were a bit too small but I disagree. These are true 28mm sized figures, meaning they will look slightly smaller than a lot of other so-called 28mm scale figures but this has never bothered me before and it doesn't bother me now. Toni told me that he was thinking of scaling them to 30-32mm scale. Whatever he decides, I can highly recommend them. I'm afraid I can't give you any price details or when these will go on sale. I know that Toni is working hard to get his figures on sale as soon as possible. As soon as I know, I'll let you know.

36 comments:

  1. These are some of the best proportioned figures i've seen for quite a while (but what makes a true "28mm sized figure" has always mystified me). The "pilot" could just as easily be utilised for many other roles too, like a mechanic.

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    1. My own definition of a true 28mm sized figure (note, I said sized and not scale as we both know, 28mm is a size not a scale despite being taken as gospel by the whole hobby industry) is a figure that stands 28mm tall from eye level to sole of feet.
      Yes, the pilot could just as easily be a mechanic or, if you give him bright orange coveralls, an escaped prisoner.

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  2. I think I need a new Hockey girl fix! What I really like about these is the slung weapons. These are the best figures I have seen you review for a while. As for size I have friends from 5 feet nothing to 6 feet 4 Inches. So I see no reason to worry about scale creep or in this case lack there of!

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    1. Clint, this is exactly why different sized figures don't bother me. I've known some women who were less than five feet tall and some men who were six and a half feet tall. I don't get the argument why all figures must be the same height.
      Anyway, I'm really glad you liked the figures.

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  3. I like the first girl a lot!

    Not so sure about the respirator and short skirt, though. The model is well enough made, but it seems like a strange combination?

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    1. The schoolgirl survivor is just ace!
      Giving the cosplayer a respirator was a strange choice but given the recent pollution problems here in the UK, perhaps not too surprising after all.

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  4. She is a cracker but they're a damn nice set and of course well painted.

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    1. Many thanks, for the compliment, Fran. And, yes, she is a cracker!

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  5. They look awesome Bryan You've done a fantastic job on painting them up. They really are quite slight in appearance I was looking at some comparison pictures on the Lead Adventure Forums. Love the poses I'm just in two minds about them fitting in with the rest of my collection.

    I shall certainly get one or two of his 1/35 figs for display purposes just need to decide on which ones :)

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    1. Many thanks, Simon. They were a lot of fun to paint.

      I really love what Toni is doing in 1/35th scale but I simply can't justify starting a new sized collection of figures when i have so many 28mm scale figs.

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    2. Yeah I wouldn't have the storage for the buildings let alone the figures but one or two for ornamentation won't hurt at least that's what I'll tell the missus!

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    3. Don't worry, Simon, your secret is safe with me!

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  6. They all look great - wonderful sculpts and your talented brushwork.

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    1. Some figures are just a joy to paint, Dean, and these easily fell into that category.

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  7. They look pretty good to me.

    I like the fact that more people are making proper 28mm miniatures. And these certaintly look the part.

    I will be keeping an eye out for these.

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    1. I really hope it isn't too long before they go on general sale, Johnny. I think they will sell very well.

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  8. They are looking great, indeed. First one is fantastic, and pilot isn't bad either, but I'm not too sure about how his weapons hang.

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    1. Thanks, Mathyoo. And we have another fan of the schoolgirl. She really is something special, isn't she? As for the pilot, perhaps he tied his weapon straps very tight! :)

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  9. These are cracking, Bryan. Any clue on when they are to be released?

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    1. Cheers, Simon. Other than "coming soon" I'm afraid I can't say exactly when. I'm hoping Toni will comment and give us more info.

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  10. These look pretty cool. Its an interesting mix of 'normal' survivors and still some odd ball bits (like the respirator). I like the feel of the figs, I am interested to see when they come to market, I will have to keep an eye out. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I agree about these being "pretty cool," Nobody667. I wish I could tell you more about their release date.

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  11. Nice bunch of survivors Bryan.
    Like the way you painted them too. Talented sculptor, hope these are available to us mere mortals soon.

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    1. Thanks, Bob. If you check out Toni's larger scale figures on the Board of the Living Lead forum, you'll see just how talented he really is.

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  12. He he I need new glasses! I thought the 3rd figure was a cross dresser, with a tu tu skirt and a beard! Nice work Bryan!

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    1. Should have gone to Specsavers, Ray! Sorry, mate, I couldn't resist it!

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  13. These are great figures I commend you for urging Toni to produce them in 28mm. As for lady #3 I think she has a delicate nose thus the respirator. The zombie Apocalypse must be rather rank.

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    1. Robert, your remark about the lass with the respirator made me laugh out loud! But you are right - all those dead bodies and zombies must smell awful.

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  14. quick test to see if I can reply on a blog

    Toni

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  15. and it works .-)

    First off, thank you Bryan for the glowing review :-) and also the comments liking our work.

    It has been a long slog getting these to the stage where I can get them up for sale. Just a few more weeks and the website will be ready and the first 28mm will be ready!!

    I am doing this (with my girlfriend) along side our normal day jobs, we are not professional sculpters and have help from Adam Gayford (UK) and Kevin Kosse (Berlin), and we are financing this from our savings book :-)

    Most of the figures will be in 1/35 scale, but a few (the ones done in 3D) will be available in 28mm. I will not be scaling these up to 32/35mm they will stay the same size as shown here.

    If the 28mm figs sell good then we might expand the range, but time will tell.

    Bryan: the second girl has a baseball bat showing out of her bag. The respirator mask girl is a school girl with a T-shirt (you did a great job of giving her boobs). The last guy is loosly based on "Blade" but can be anything you want.

    Anybody having thoughts about the storage and table size for 1/35, this is no big deal... I only have a dining room table to play on and have to pack everything away after a game, the figures don´t take up more space than the little guys do, cause you don´t need as many.

    I will let you know when I go "live"...

    Take care and survive

    Toni

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    1. Toni, I am delighted you found the time to drop by and leave a comment. Your figures have generated a lot of interest and highly favourable comments. I'm sure they'll sell well.

      You make a good point about storing the figures and terrain but whilst I could find space to store them I know for a fact others would struggle.

      Thanks for identifying the baseball bat. I wasn't far wrong when I said it was a club. Mind you, I got it totally wrong with respirator mask girl. I never thought she was wearing a T-shirt. It looked like a basque to me. :) As for Blade, I would never have made that connection.

      Please do let me know when you go "live" and I'll help promote your business on my blog.

      All the best from Bryan.

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  16. These really are superb Bryan, thanks for sharing

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  17. Just a heads up but you can order these from their website.
    http://www.nyd-miniatures.com/

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    1. I know, but thanks for telling me anyway. I appreciate your heads up. Matt.

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