Assorted Heroines of Western Films 01

I have always been a big fan of Western films and I still am. In recent years I've noticed that more and more Westerns are featuring females in the starring roles, and this is a good thing in my opinion. I have already shown the two heroines from the film, Bandidos in action in my first Six Gun Sound batrep. In this post I want to show the figures I've collected for two more of my favourite Westerns - Bad Girls and The Quick and the Dead.
Bad Girls was made in 1994 and very briefly the film follows four former prostitutes on the run following a justifiable homicide and prison escape, who later encounter difficulties involving a bank robbery, a train robbery and being chased by Pinkerton detectives.

The four Bad Girls who aren't really that bad.

In this still from the film are the four Bad Girls, who are from left to right, Eileen Spenser (played by Andie MacDowell), Anita Crown (played by Mary Stuart Masterson), Cody Zamora (played by Madeleine Stowe) and Lily Laronette (played by Drew Barrymore).

These are the figures I've used to represent the gang and they all came from different companies. At the far left is the gang's leader, Cody Zamora. Cody is based on the Reaper Chronoscope figure, 50111 Diamond Sue Dawson, who costs £5.22 from the Miniature Heroes webstore. Diamond Sue Dawson was far too good a name not to use, so one of my Black Scorpion Tombstone ladies has adopted that name.
Next up is Eileen Spenser and her figure came from the Knuckleduster Gunfighter's Ball range and is GBF37 - Elly. I added her waistcoat, made out of Milliput, which was a really simple conversion. Her figure costs £3.50 from the Caliver Books webstore.

Second from the right is Anita Crown, and she was produced by Black Scorpion as one of four figures in the Tombstone Cowgirls 1 set, which sadly was just withdrawn from sale at the beginning of this month. I suspect that was because the new range of Tombstone Females were released at the same time, but that seems like a strange decision to me. Surely more choice is a good thing? I do wonder if these older figures will ever return? If not, that is a sad thing, but I'm glad I bought mine when I did.
The last figure in line is Lily Laronette produced by Belt Fed Gaming in foot and mounted versions. I've already shown her once before in this post, https://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/2018/05/belt-fed-wild-west-ladies-01.html However, she is worth showing again, only this time with her three cohorts.
I have created stat cards for these four to use in my Six Gun Sound games. I feel a team up with my two ladies from Bandidos would make for a fun game.

Sharon Stone as "The Lady" or Ellen

Another strong female lead who greatly impressed me was Sharon Stone's character known only as "The Lady" or Ellen from the 1995 film, The Quick and the Dead. The story focuses on "The Lady", a gunfighter who rides into the frontier town of Redemption controlled by corrupt mayor John Herod (played by Gene Hackman). She joins a deadly duelling competition in an attempt to exact revenge for the death of her father by Herod.
"The Lady" character is a popular figure for sculptors of Wild West miniatures. I know of three such figures and there may well be more. Probably the most well known of them is the Reaper Chronoscope figure - 50003 Cowgirl Ellen Stone. I do like how they have combined Sharon's surname with the character's first name. The only thing that prevented me from using that figure as "The Lady" was the fact that she was armed with a double-barrelled scattergun, which she never used in the film.

However, the figure I have chosen for my own Ellen Stone (somehow that name is so appropriate for her) is this new release from Black Scorpion. This is the female leader on foot and mounted from the Female Faction of the recent Tombstone Kickstarter range. I backed this project as soon as it was launched last year. As soon as I saw this figure, I knew that I wanted to use her as "The Lady".

I copied her colour scheme from the photo shown above. All of the leaders of the seven factions from the Tombstone skirmish game come in foot and mounted versions, which I do like a lot. This is a fantastic sculpt, very animated and a darned good likeness of Sharon Stone. As I said earlier, the female faction has only just gone on sale at the start of this month and the foot version of the female leader costs £4.50 and the mounted version costs £9.50. Expensive, I know, but they are high quality resin sculpts, full of detail.

Reaper Old West Figures 01

One of my favourite companies for 32mm scale Old West figures is Reaper, specifically their Chronoscope range. Whilst the Chronoscope range is huge, the amount of Old West figures in it is rather small. However, what they lack in quantity, they more than make up in quality. Yes, their figures are expensive but I still think they are worth it as there are some real gems amongst them. In this post I'm going to showcase ten characters (five female and five male), most of whom are named. They feature an assortment of character types - cowboys, gunfighters, outlaws and civilians. So let's get started.

At the far left is 50282 Cowgirl Janey Blenkinship. I have big plans for Janey for my Six Gun Sound campaign. She'll be a main character, riding with her husband, gunfighter Johnny West (I'll show him in another post) in a series of adventures. She is armed with a .44 Winchester Rifle and a pair of Colt .45 Peacemaker Pistols and more than likely I'll make her a gunfighter as well.
Next up is 50003 Cowgirl Ellen Stone. I love this figure but not her name. I can see that Reaper have based her on the character of Ellen, as played by Sharon Stone in the film, The Quick and the Dead, and whilst it is a close match, Ellen never used a Double-Barrelled Scattergun in the film. So, I gave her black hair instead of blonde, and renamed her Helen Hunter. Helen is close to Ellen and I chose Hunter for her surname because I'll be using her a bounty hunter. Regarding Ellen Stone, I have chosen a Black Scorpion figure to represent her and best of all, I have foot and mounted versions of her. Ellen is far too good a character not to appear in my campaign.

In the centre of this group is 50244 Cowgirl Victoria Jacobs. I see nothing wrong with her name so I'm keeping it but she sure won't be a cowgirl. At the moment I'm undecided whether to make her a bounty hunter, a gunfighter or an outlaw. I'm favouring a gunfighter most of all, but I might change that in time. She is armed with a pair of Colt .45 Peacemaker Pistols.
The lady in the long red dress is 50057 Madame Scarlet. I gave her the Christian name of Cynthia. I'll most likely be using her as the owner of a brothel in my campaign. This feisty woman is armed with a Winchester .44 Rifle.
Last up is the female half of set 50334 Old West Kids. I haven't decided on a name for her yet - that will depend on who her parents are. The fact that she is carrying a revolver in her right hand shows she knows how to take care of herself. Whether she's any good with it remains to be seen.

Moving on to the male characters, at the far left is 50050 Mexican Bandido Lobo Sanchez. I said there were some gems amongst this lot and Lobo is certainly one of them. With a pistol in one hand and a whisky bottle in the other, he'd be a good figure, but what elevates him to greatness is that the sculptor has added a chameleon resting on his back and left shoulder. That is just genius and is something I never expected to see. I chose this colour scheme for the chameleon from Google Images, but blimey, there sure is a lot of variety of colour schemes.
Next to Lobo is 50251 Gunslinger Hank Callahan. A good solid sculpt who'd work just as well as an outlaw, although I fancy using him as a Pinkerton Detective. He is armed with a pair of Colt .45 Peacemaker Pistols (one in his left hand and the other in a holster on his right hip). In his right hand is a severely cut-down Scattergun, which could be mistaken for a pistol at first glance.

I'll skip over the next figure in line for the time being and move on to the chap second from the right - 50119 Prospector "Crazy Pete" whom I gave the surname of Kaufman to. This is another outstanding sculpt, so full of life and animation as he jumps for joy having found a nugget of gold which he holds aloft. They may have thought he was crazy but who's laughing now? Yep, old Pete! Most of these figures are one-piece metal castings but Pete came in two parts with his left hand and pick being a separate component.
Finally, is the brother of the young girl from set 50334 Old West Kids. Again, for the same reason, I haven't named him yet. Like his sister, he is also armed, but this time with a Double-Barrelled Scattergun. Now with a Scattergun, you don't have to be too accurate to hit, especially at close range. A kid with a scattergun is a dangerous combination. I was delighted to see that the sculptor had decided to give both kids firearms.

Returning to the guy in the centre of the group of males, he is sold as 50076 Outlaw Jeb Lawson - yeah, right! He is quite clearly the Outlaw Josey Wales as played by Clint Eastwood in the film, The Outlaw Josey Wales. Compare his pose and sculpt to this picture to the left and you can see the sculptor must have copied it. Josey is armed with four Colt .44 Navy Pistols to save time on having to reload one. This was a common tactic in the American Civil War, where Josey took part as a Confederate rebel. Now I mentioned last time that The Outlaw Josey Wales is my favourite Western film of all time and in the comments of that post, John reminded me that the film is chock full of memorable quotes. Here's just a few of my favourites.
Josey - "Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?"

Josey - "When I get to likin' someone, they ain't around long."
Lone Watie - "I notice when you get to dislikin' someone, they ain't around for long neither."

Fletcher - "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining."

Josey - "Dying ain't much of a living, boy."

Terrill - "Not a hard man to track. Leaves dead men wherever he goes."

Jamie - "Ain't we gonna bury 'em?"
Josey - "To hell with those fellas. Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms."

Josey - "I reckon so." 

If you'd like to buy any of these figures and you live in the UK, I'd recommend ordering from the Miniature Heroes webstore, see here - http://miniature-heroes.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=487_501 
You'll save a fortune on post and packing over ordering direct from the USA, plus, you don't have to worry about the dreaded customs charges. If any figure isn't in stock, it will be ordered for you. You may have to wait a while but you will get it. So, lets take a look at prices. All of the figures shown above cost £5.22 each except for the kids who are £5.38 for the pair.

Reaper Zombie Miners

I mentioned last time that I'd had a big session painting zombies to use in my Weird West games - Dracula's America, High Moon and Shadows of Brimstone. The three figures I want to show here were bought very recently and they are set 50317 Zombie Miners from the Reaper Chronoscope range.

At the far left is a bare-headed zombie carrying a pickaxe. Whether he can use it or not is debatable and probably depends upon the rules you're using. In most games, zombies lack the intelligence to use weapons. I couldn't see any obvious wounds on him so he is one of my rare zombies without any gore effects on him.
In the centre of the group is a zombie I decided to paint up as a Negro. He is carrying a spade. He has a bandage around his right wrist which has bled through. That could have been from the fatal bite that transformed him into a zombie.
At the far right is another bearded male miner carrying a pickaxe. He has a slight cut to his left arm. On all of my zombies shown here, after I'd painted them, I gave them a dry-brushing of sandy brown paint for that dirty, dusty look. I did not want these in clean, pristine looking clothes.

The sculpting of these three figures is absolutely first class and they really show up the zombie miners from the Shadows of Brimstone set that I showed last time. They would certainly fit in well with those particular zombies either as replacements or reinforcements.
This set of three figures costs £10.90, which is a bit pricey, but you are paying for top quality sculpts, so I didn't mind. Look out for yet more Weird West zombies next time.

Assorted Sheriff and Deputies

I have shown a lot of police figures in the past, both American and British. They have almost all been of the kind you'd find in urban or suburban environments. Today, I'm concentrating on a small unit of police you'd find in the rural areas of America - the sheriff and his deputies.

These are from a variety of sources. At the left are two figures produced by Reaper as part of their 28mm scale Chronoscope range. At the far left is Sheriff Joe Don Mitchell and next to him is Deputy Wayne Tisdale. These are the names Reaper have assigned to them and I saw no reason to change them. The sheriff is a metal figure but Wayne is one of the plastic figures I got with one of my Reaper Bones Kickstarter sets (I think it was Bones 1). They are both in very similar poses but I think they are full of character. They are just how I'd imagine a sheriff and his deputy to look like.

The next two figures are very old 25mm scale Citadel figures. The fat deputy is called Hoyt Axlebury and his partner is Carl Whiteley (both named by me). Hoyt was designed for the old Paranoia range and Carl is even older as he was part of the 1920's Gangster range, both produced by Games Workshop in the 1980's. Who remembers either of them? The fact that they are 25mm scale doesn't bother me in the least because as I keep on saying, in real life people come in all shapes and sizes. These guys just happen to be on the small size. Hoyt is a fantastic sculpt but Carl is a bit bland.
The final figure is Deputy Jennifer Lewis. I named her and sculpted her. When I made her, way back in the 1980's, female cop figures were unheard of. She was always meant to be a deputy. I made her to partner Carl. I did debate about whether to sculpt her with the Mountie-style hat the other deputies are wearing or give her the more traditional peaked cap. In the end, I went with the peaked cap. She's not a brilliant sculpt but she's not bad either and she serves her purpose well.
Probably the most obvious use for these figures is in All Things Zombies as the cops of a rural setting. But I also think they'd work extremely well in 7TV2e, especially in a Scooby Doo scenario.

Assorted Androids 01

Let me start this post with a question - what is the difference between an android and a robot? It is the issue of free will. An android is self-aware and has rights - a robot does not. In RPG games such as N.E.W. and Starfinder, androids can be player characters. This is another one of my posts that could have appeared on this blog or on my WOIN blog. I'm posting it here simply because it has crossover potential for other systems and isn't limited to just N.E.W.

These five 28mm scale figures come from a variety of companies. At the far left is a very old figure produced by Grenadier Miniatures for Cyberpunk 2020 and/or Shadowrun. He is a cyborg cop, heavily influenced by Robo-cop from the films of the same name. In the few games where I have used him, I've always referred to him as "Robo-cop". I have no idea if this figure is still available for sale or not. I know a lot of old Grenadier figures are still available but I'm uncertain about this particular one.
Next in line is a figure I bought very recently. She is Maria the female android produced by Reaper Miniatures as part of their Chronoscope range. She looks like a female version of C-3PO from Star Wars. However, her name is a dead giveaway on who she is really based on - Maria the Maschinenmensch (German for machine-person) or robot in Fritz Lang's 1927 film of Metropolis. The figure is a very good likeness of her and the sculpting of her is quite exquisite. You'll find her in the Reaper Chronoscope webstore as 50246: Maria - She-Bot where she is priced at £5.22.

In the centre of this group is Narindan, who is an android produced by Space Vixens From Mars. I have been buying quite a few figures from them this year to use in my The Ace of Spades Campaign. I only recently became aware of this company and I have been very impressed by their friendly and swift service... and reasonable prices. This figure is listed as SV36 and costs a very cheap £2.00.
Finally are two androids produced by Alternative Armies for their Ganesha Games sci-fi range. They bear a slight similarity to the B1 Battledroids seen in some of the Star Wars films but they are different. However, it is fair to say that my colour scheme for them was directly influenced by the B1 Battledroid. They are listed as PSY04 Combots and they cost £2.00 each.
Anyone who is following my The Ace of Spades Campaign on my WOIN blog will know that one of the crew of The Ace of Spades is an android. Celeste is the most mysterious of all of my player characters and could well be the most powerful if she really is a Forerunner survivor. That should tell you that I like androids. My main use for these figures will be for N.E.W. but don't be too surprised if some of them appear in my Judge Dredd Miniatures Game campaign.

Reaper Survivors 01

I have no doubt that this post will please many of you as I return to reviewing 28mm scale contemporary survivors and zombies. Sadly, there are no zombies to review today (unless you count a zombie hand!) but don't worry, they'll be appearing soon. Although I have reviewed many Reaper figures in the past (civilians and zombies) I was surprised to discover that I had never reviewed any of their survivor figures. It is time to put that oversight right with a look at five of their Chronoscope range of figures.

At the far left is Bonnie, who is described as a Futuristic Heroine. I don't understand why she's described as "Futuristic" when she is clearly a Contemporary Heroine. She is very well armed with a pair of Sub-Machine Guns in her hands, a pair of Big Ass Pistols in shoulder holsters and two Sawed-Off Shotguns slung over her back. She's a seriously hard ass, ambidextrous killer who would excel at killing zombies. I love her pose, which is very animated. She is one of my all-time favourite survivor figures.
Next up is Beverley, who is correctly described as a Zombie Survivor. She is armed with a Chainsaw. She also has a big Dagger strapped to her right thigh and a Sawn-Off Pump Action Shotgun slung across her back. One little detail on this figure that is so easy to overlook is the severed zombie hand clutching the ankle of her right leg. This is another great figure made all the better by that zombie hand.
In the centre of the group is Denver, another Zombie Survivor. This young man is carrying a Double-Barreled Shotgun and dragging along a suitcase on wheels. He reminds me of Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) from the film, Zombieland, but seeing as I have a much better version of Columbus (by Studio Miniatures) I'll use him as just another Survivor. He only just fitted on a 25mm diameter slottabase. The fact that half his foot hangs over the edge doesn't bother me.

The last two figures in line were part of the original Reaper Bones Kickstarter collection and these are made of plastic instead of metal. The detail on them is not quite as sharp as on the metal versions but you'd hardly notice without close scrutiny. Some folk have complained that they have had difficulties in painting the plastic Bones figures, but I can honestly say, I painted them just as I did with my metal figures with no problem at all. I primed them with Foundry Black acrylic paint, which went on perfectly. Note that the plastic versions of these figures come with integral sculpted bases - wooden floorboards for the deputy and flagstones for Horace. The metal versions come with slottatabs and slottabases. I stuck them on flat plastic 25mm diameter bases and covered them with sand and cat litter so that they blend in with the rest of my collection.
Deputy Wayne Tisdale is shown standing in a relaxed pose with his hands on his hips. He is an unremarkable figure and I have no strong feelings about him. I painted his shirt in Foundry Sand 10 but it looks a bit too bright for me. I don't like it so I'll repaint it in Foundry Drab 12.
Last in line is Horace "Action" Jackson. He's a larger-than-life hero and so required a paint scheme that made him stand out from the crowd, hence his gold shirt (unbuttoned, of course) and purple flaired trousers. With his huge Afro hair-do, it's like he has just stepped out of a 1970's "blaxploitation" movie! He is firing a Six-Shot Snub-Nosed Revolver. I like this figure as he is one cool dude!
50005 Horace "Action" Jackson, 50153 Berkeley the Zombie Survivor, 50199 Denver the Zombie Survivor, 50210 Bonnie the Futuristic Heroine cost £5.22 each and 50267 Deputy Wayne Tisdale costs £5.10. These prices are taken from the Miniature Heroes website. I like to order my Reaper figures from this UK-based company as it saves me ordering from the USA and possibly incurring customs charges.

Reaper Zombies 02

Following on from my last post, here are some more Reaper 28mm scale Chronoscope zombies to look at. This time, all of the zombies are armed with melee weapons. They can be found in set 50066 Urban Zombies (3) and set 50091 Chainsaw Zombie. The first three zombies in my photos remind me of Victorian-era zombies, although there is no reason why they can't be used in contemporary times.
The zombie at the far left of the two photos is holding a mask of a handsome male to hide his ugly face. In his other hand, he holds a blood-stained knife. He sports numerous wounds. Starting from the top and working down is a bite wound to his right cheek, a bite to his right shoulder, a gunshot wound between his shoulder blades and a few bite wounds to his legs.
Standing next to him is a zombie armed with a knife and a meat cleaver. There is something deeply disturbing about his most obvious wound to his stomach. At first, I thought he was wearing an unusual belt buckle, which does stick out a fair bit. Closer inspection revealed it to be a rat's head. It is not a belt buckle at all, but a rat that is burrowing through his stomach to emerge from the front. Now that is just sick, but for a gorehound like me, just way too cool!

The third of the urban zombies carries a large two-handed axe. His coat has been holed in many places, but he doesn't have any major wounds visible. What is disturbing about him is that he has a very cute teddy bear stuffed into the left side pocket of his coat. Does he use that to lure child victims? Possibly.
Finally, is the chainsaw wielding zombie. His chainsaw was made by Stihl, a popular manufacturer of chainsaws. Whenever I paint zombie figures, the last thing I paint on them are the gore effects. Painting the gore on this chap was a lot of fun. I took an old paintbrush with stiff bristles and used my finger to splatter the Tamiya Clear Red onto him and the chainsaw. The effect looks like he is drenched in blood.
I really do like these four figures. There is something inherently evil and disturbing about them. Because they are all wielding weapons and appear to know how to use them, I'm classing them as Smart Zombies, as described in the ATZ supplement I, Zombie.
Two things may put some of you off from purchasing them. First is the fact that they are all armed. I don't mind that as Smart Zombies will become a part of my ATZ-FFO campaign. The second point regards their size. These are definitely heroically scaled. Three of them measure 38mm tall and the zombie with the axe is 42mm tall, although bear in mind he is wearing a top hat. These are all even taller than the last lot of Reaper zombies that I reviewed, so be warned.
The set of three Urban Zombies cost £8.60 and the Chainsaw Zombie cost £4.35 when purchased from the Miniature Heroes webstore.

Reaper Zombies 01

It has been well over a month since I last reviewed any figures, so it's about time I looked at some more zombie miniatures, starting with this bunch from the Reaper 28mm scale Chronoscope range. They are sets 50038 Urban Zombies (3), 50222 Charlie the Zombie and 50223 Linus the Zombie.

At the far left is a zombie cop. His injuries don't appear to be too severe. He is dragging his right foot, so he may have twisted his ankle. There are a couple of holes in his uniform, which could be caused by gunshots. He is bleeding from the head and both hands are smeared with blood, which is probably from a victim.
The female zombie was either a streetwalker or a night-clubber prior to becoming one of the undead. She has small bite wounds to her left shoulder and the back of her lower left leg. The blood around her neck could be her own from a bite wound or that of a victim she has been feeding on. I was going to paint her with blonde hair but one day when I was shopping in Newcastle, I saw a young woman with black hair with a blonde streak running down the middle. That was so unusual that it stuck in my mind. I had to replicate it on a miniature and this female zombie was the perfect choice. Art imitates real life!
In the centre of the group is an elderly male who has suffered appalling injuries. His entire stomach and lower back has been thoroughly ravaged. He has intestines hanging out of the front and back. He also has bite wounds to both legs and he has lost his left sock and shoe. Finally, there is a long gash down the right side of his face.

Next up are the two named zombies, Linus and Charlie. It is unusual for zombies to be given names. Linus is the more static of the two. He has wrapped his jumper/coat around his waist. His tongue is prominently sticking out of his mouth. He has a cut to his forehead and a large wound to his neck. His right arm has been savaged. The bone of his elbow is visible.
Charlie is in a more animated pose, shown walking or shambling. There was a hole in the back of his shirt, which I took to be from a bullet wound. His left knee is badly bloodied and he appears to have scraped both elbows. As zombies go, he is quite intact.
These aren't as well sculpted as the Reaper Zombie Strippers that I reviewed last year but I still like them. The old man is my favourite out of the bunch, purely because of his wounds. Yes, I am a gore-hound!
The three urban zombies are close to 35mm in height, whilst Charlie and Linus are slightly smaller at about 32mm. No way can any of these be described as 28mm scale. This does not bother me but it may be a concern for some of you. I always purchase my Reaper figures from Miniature Heroes and they are selling these at £7.60 for the set of three Urban Zombies and £4.35 each for Charlie and Linus.

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.

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.

Reaper Civilians - Students

As an accompaniment to my review of the Reaper Geeks (see here) here are another three students from college, high school or university - Reaper set 50090 Townsfolk: Jock, Chick, Nerd, which are part of the 28mm scale Chronoscope range.

At the far left of these two photos is the Nerd, a stereotypical character with glasses and below average looks. He has a couple of text books tucked in his right hand. He has tried to dress casually but his lack of fashion sense shows in the way his jeans have been folded up far too much at the bottom of his legs and his socks are clearly visible.
The chick could be friends with the Nerd, as she is also holding a text book or perhaps its her exercise book. She is very pretty with neatly groomed hair and she is smartly dressed. There is nothing slutty about her. She clearly has brains and beauty - a winning combo. I like how I have captured her smile.
Finally, is the Jock. No, he's not a Scotsman! Sports and outdoors activities are his forte. We can see this by the fact that he is holding a football, i.e. from the sport of American football, not soccer. He is also dressed casually, but this time he has got the look just right. He is blond-haired and good-looking, but what is his attitude like? Arrogant, big-headed and a bully? Or is he sociable and friendly?

These three are a perfect match up to the three Reaper Geeks that I mentioned above. Also, if you are looking for more civilians in your game, these are very well sculpted and would be worthy additions. As I keep saying, you can never have too many civilians. After all, the undead need lots of victims to feed upon!
This set cost me £6.35 when I ordered it from Miniature Heroes, a UK-based company who imports Reaper miniatures from the USA. If you live in the UK, they are worth patronising as they save you on postage and the hassle of having to deal with our Customs and Excise robbers.

Reaper Civilian Geeks

Amongst the humans featured in THW's All Things Zombie game I've reviewed figures from the Survivors, Gangers, Cops and Military categories, but never any Civilians. If you're prepared to look around there a lot of figures of civilians out there... and just like zombies, you can never have too many of them! Today I'm going to start off my reviews of civilians by featuring these three from Reaper Miniatures - set 50231 Townsfolk: Geeks.

To some, the word "Geek" is an insult, to others it's a badge of honour. I'm a geek myself and I have no problem in being called such. These three figures, sculpted by Gene Van Horne, represent three types of geek. First up is the pretty one. I've painted her as an Asian student. She is carrying a book in one hand and a laptop computer in the other. Her denim jeans are very tight-fitting and low-slung. The squiggly white writing on her T-shirt is meant to say Mayhem City University but at that size is totally illegible. Hey, I'm a good painter but I'm not that good! She's cute and pretty and probably more interested in her academic studies than dating boys.

Next up is the fat geek. There's always one, isn't there? He also carries a book but in his other hand he holds a bottle of fruit juice/energy drink/magic potion. The goatee beard and ponytail marks him down as such an obvious object of ridicule. Have you seen the excellent movie Shoot 'Em Up? Clive Owen's character, Mr. Smith, echoes my own opinion on men wearing ponytails - "I fucking hate ponytails!" he says as he shoots the offending piece of hair off an unnamed mook. How I wish I could do that! This thoroughly irritating character will undoubtedly be majoring in useless trivia.

Finally, we come to the nerdy geek. This guy is destined to be the next Bill Gates and become a multi-millionaire when he leaves university. However, at present he's still a rabid bookworm. Yes, he too is carrying a book. Just like his other two colleagues in this set, he'll be a virgin, lacking in social skills that allow him to interact with members of the opposite sex. All three geeks will have phenomenally high IQs but this guy will probably match that of Reed Richards. (Note comic book reference to denote my own geekdom!)

These are three excellent figures that perfectly capture their geekdom. Seeing as I'm reviewing them in conjunction with the ATZ game, the question has to be asked, how would they survive a zombie apocalypse? I'd guess, not very well, unless they can team up with a bunch of kick-ass Survivors, although to be honest, they have victim written all over them.

I am indebted to my good friend, Roger (aka Rogzombie) for gifting me these figures. The Reaper website has them listed as costing $9.99.

Reaper Zombie Strippers

It constantly amazes how figure sculptors keep on bringing out zombie figures that you wouldn't expect to see. These three figures from the Reaper 28mm scale set 50213 Zombie Strippers surely fall into that category. Without any further ado, let's have a look at them.

 

I haven't named these figures but I think I ought to. For now, however, I'll identify them by their hair colour. At the far left of my two photos above is the Miss Brunette. She is, in my opinion, the prettiest of the three and the one who could most pass for being human. The mottled dead flesh and wound to her left side is a dead giveaway (pun intended) that she is a zombie. I'm rather pleased with how her stockings have come out. I painted them in zombie flesh, the same as the rest of her flesh but gave her legs a couple of coats of Citadel Gryphonne Sepia ink wash. Note the wad of dollar bills tucked into the stocking top of her right leg. 

In the centre of the group is Miss Blonde and from the absence of black roots in her hair, she seems to be a natural blonde. She has silver nipple tassels, which to me, denotes that she is a regular stripper. Miss Brunette had bronze nipple tassels, making her a rookie stripper. Hey, there's logic in my madness here!  She has ripped a guy's arm off whilst the dead hand still clutches a bunch of dollar bills. Class act, Miss Blonde! More dollar notes have been tucked into the left side of her panties. Her wounds are far more extensive and noticable, particularly on her legs. She has also been bitten in the side of her face.

Finally, is Miss Redhead, the veteran stripper and star of the show, as denoted by her gold nipple tassels. Only the best stripper in the show gets to wear the coveted gold nipple tassels! I love the way how the top of her right boot has curled down to give her legs a lopsided look. Like Miss Blonde, she has stuffed her cash gifts down the side of her panties. From the front, she could almost pass for human, especially in a darkened strip club. But from behind, you can see that a large portion of her back has been chewed away, revealing she is clearly no longer human.

All of the girls come with nipple tassels, of which I'm in two minds about. On the one hand I'd love to see bare boobies and nipples. Hey, I'm a boob man, what can I say? I'm sure if Kevin White had sculpted them for Hasslefree he would not have added the nipple tassels. On the other hand I accept that when it comes to nudity, Americans are more uptight about it than us Brits, and that naked breasts may well affect sales. Whether Reaper would sell more or less is open to debate! Also, I know from empirical research that some strippers do use nipple tassels in their acts, so their appearance can be justified in that sense. I did think about filing the tassels off one girl to give her bare breasts but then decided not to alter her. If I want more raunchy strippers I could always buy a second set to convert.

I have a very high opinion of these figures, even though I am aware that they won't be to everyone's taste. Mind you, considering the subject matter, these have been tastefully sculpted. The sculpting of all three really is of the highest quality. They were a total joy for me to paint and they give me another reason to build my Mayhem City Stripclub/Brothel. They retail for $9.99 from the Reaper website. For a second opinion on these fine figures check out Lord Siwoc/Johnny's review here http://lordsiwoc.blogspot.com/2011/05/warning-adult-content.html

Whilst on the subject of zombie strippers I suppose it would be remiss of me not to mention two films closely related to the subject - Zombie Strippers and Zombies, Zombies, Zombies, aka Strippers vs Zombies. Be warned, both are utter pants! However, I can recommend Zombie Strippers for its humour (Robert Englund, who plays the owner of the stripclub gets all the best lines and is hilarious throughout) and it has fairly decent and gory special effects. The strippers are just okay, apart from the star of the show, Jenna Jameson, whom I found to be a complete turn off. Big plastic boobies - urgh!!! Jenna, put them away! Please!

As for Zombies, Zombies, Zombies, I can find very little to recommend it, other than a rather amusing performance from the black pimp (Anthony Headen). The story, the acting, the girls, the special effects, the dialogue were just too amateurish for my liking. I know its meant to be a tongue in cheek movie but so was Zombie Strippers and that made a much better job of things, even if it wasn't exactly fault free. Buy either film at your peril or if you're easily pleased. I'd rate Zombie Strippers 5 out of 10 and Zombies, Zombies, Zombies 2 out of 10, simply because I have seen worse and the pimp made me smile a few times.