Cold War Survivors

Now for the first set of survivors I’ve bought, these being the “Survivors” set DWW14, from Cold War Miniatures range The Dead Will Walk. A very tasty range available via that Ebay, and rather thoughtfully can be bought as a set for £7 or individually for £1.75. These are their only survivors, the other figures all being zombies.

Although a trifle skinny they’re nicely made, and suit a wide range of painting skills. Yet again the young swine Slug whinged to paint these, but ended up only doing the four above. I’m not sure how efficient the minister with a cross might be against a zombie hoarde, but it should be fun finding out.

The last one is this soon-to-be completed female survivor which is supplied as a two piece casting, which is why I think the boy Slug didn’t want to paint her. If the zombies don’t get her the weather very likely will as she’s barely wearing a thing and she looks like she would benefit from a good meal as well as a jumper.

The rest of the range is enticing, including a lot of very charactorful pieces such as a Zombie Krishna devotee, as seen in the original “Dawn of the Dead”, Zombie Elvis, Zombie British Copper, etc, which aren’t catered for by other makers. I’ll be adding more of them as soon as the pile of WiP has been completed. Meanwhile I recommend them to you.

Shaun but not Forgotten

A serenely delightful pair of figures or, if you like, the same figure in two stages of being. These are both from miniature mongers Hasslefree, for copyright right reasons they’re not Shaun from the zom-com “Shaun of the Dead”. Both very nice pieces, although I smoothly away what I thought was flash from not-Shaun’s shirt only to discover everyone else had spotted it as a piece of his tie flopped over his shoulder. Well mine is smarter looking as a result. Zombie not-Shaun has been given a face rip, on the left side of his face. There’s also a third figure, more dynamic in a hitting-it-for-six pose.

To buy from Hasslefree was indeed free from hassle, they even sent us a badge and a sweet which cherry topped the deal. Price-wise they’re at the more expensive end of the scale, but that’s due more to scale of production and absolute perfection by way of sculpting. There’s a couple more which are work-in-progress, and even another order in the post so expect to see more of them here.  Lastly, but no means least, I had to surrender the painting of these over to a pleading Slug, and he’s done a good job.  What do you think?

Zombie Mob News

At last I’ve completed the Blue Moon zombie set which were my first purchase of zombies and what a pile of fun they’ve proved to be. To see them all together is a joy, and I’m thinking around one hundred zombies would be the best amount to collect to be able to get a good game on. I’m posting many of them in bigger photos with front and rear views, it’s the way Bryan does it over at his blog, but he’s effectively insane when it comes to zombies so I’m not so sure how long I’ll be doing it for.

The chap on the left has been given a full face rip, while the two young ladies are pretty straightforward. The interesting point about all zombie paint jobs is it’s hard to imagine a bad way to paint them. This isn’t a slight on anyone’s painting, more a call to freeform painting, nor is it to say the sculpting is poor as it’s top notch on these, the only mild observation is how many have banana hands.

Nothing special on the rear bar the mucky stringy mess on the foot of the lady in the middle, which is a mix of general purpose adhesive and that Tamiya Clear Red everyone raves about.

A pretty trio, the soldier on the left was painted by the boy slug, and rather smartly I think. The chap on the right has been lucky enough to have some guts added.

Many of these have open hands screaming out for the addition of a few guts, and I’ve tried a few ways of doing it which I’ll share in a later post. What I must mention is how the lack of uniformity to the zombie genre makes them a very good proposition for a group project, Slug’s soldier and the others he’s done fit right in with the ones I’ve done.

A couple of these have featured before, but I think these photos are probably better. I can’t put my finger on it but I find something really funny about a zombie missing a shoe.

A small amount of goop has been added to the ladies charming stump.

Three very good figures, the first another Slug job, the others by me. Plenty of exposed bones on mine plus an added trophy organ.

Missing chunks aplenty, first chaps lost the back of his skull so no more University Challenge for him, middle bloke has a hole in his arse, while the dude on the end has lost a lot of lower leg.

The final three close-ups with lots of wounds all screaming out for a good dab. Typically I’m painting zombies internals pink, brushing that with a red blood and after matt varnishing coming back and high lighting with Tamiya Clear Red, which dries both translucent and high gloss and gives the look of fresh running blood.

This trio waves goodbye as we reach the end of this post. I highly recommend this Blue Moon set of figures, which I haven’t seen mentioned as much as other ranges. Twenty well sculpted figures for around a quid a piece and suitable as addition to any Zombie hoarde or as a starter set.

The Good, the Bad, and the Fugly

This humble blog just passed the 21,000 unique visits mark, which is pretty good for a part-time endeavour started only in April, so it’s probably time for an introspective post which just waffles on about how wonderful we all are. Of course that’s far too metro sexual and hippy like for me to indulge in, especially as I approach an age beyond which I’m expected to only maintain enthusiasm for complaining about things not being as good as they were three decades or so ago. Truth be known I was complaining about just about everything back then, so find myself reduced to complaining about how complaining isn’t what it used to be which is otherwise known as things getting better, and where’s the fun in that?

Neither am I going to thank the Gods, they’ve enough on their plates already and I can’t help thinking how the reason they have apparently stopped listening to us is that we’re dreadfully dull and repetitive in comparison to anything they might think of, and they’re tired of us mere mortals not being able to sort things out between ourselves and holding them accountable for that.

I’m even going to hold back from thanking my readers, whoever they might be, not out of rudeness nor an attempt to reduce my traffic to zero more a healthy disbelief in their existence. Sure I’ve made some chums from this blog, and they know who they are and some slight fawning in their direction is unlikely to effect that beyond sprinkling some embarrassment in their direction. Of course there is a danger that the majority of my traffic is actually one obsessive dress-wearing bearded lunatic with a fetish beyond all understanding other than insane onanism over my meagre words. Sadly the statistics can’t reveal whether this is or isn’t the case, so I’m playing it safe.

Seriously I am grateful to folk who peruse this blog  especially if they find any of it useful, also I’d like to say thanks to those who allow me to repeatedly promote this via their forums, especially as it can come across as mad self-promotion, yet not a word of complaint from anybody.

As the title suggested this post should really address all the good, bad and fugly things I’ve experienced in reaching the Key to the Door mark of 21,000 hits*. The fact is there’s been nothing fugly aside from some of my earlier photography, it’s been almost entirely good, and when it comes to bad there’s just one running grievance, which is how after more than a month a small order from Zombiesmith in the U.S. has yet to turn up. This was my first order ever from abroad and it rates as a disappointment rather than something driven by badness.

If any of this actually encourages you to start blogging I’ve one word of advice – DON’T! Send them to this one instead, I could do with the traffic.

*Yes I know they’re not hits, and hits are something else, but unique visits is too poor a combination to mention twice in a single post.

Sniper’s Nest Games Day

Thanet’s premier game emporium is running their second annual “Red Poppy” games day which raises funds for the Royal British Legion on Sunday 15th November at the Westcliff Cafeteria in Ramsgate. For those not lucky enough to have attended last year this is a fun event packed with participation games for you to enjoy for a humble donation to a top cause. It starts at 10.00 am and finishes around 4.00pm.

Sadly because of a double booking mistake by the venue there won’t be as many games as last year, but don’t let that put you off for a moment, many of Kent’s finest clubs will be there to entertain you. Slug’s favourite last year was the Deal Wargaming Club with their “Saving Private Ryan” game, although you got to play the German’s and the scenario was more about killing Private Ryan. This year they’re back and offering up the gentlemanly sport of Dinosaur Hunting.

Also attending will be the Dover Club who will be playing WW1 in 6mm, the Chatham Club who will be donning tights and all things green for their Robin Hood scenario, while the Sniper’s Nest gang will be all chocks away as they offer a WW1 Bombing Run experience.

Canny gamers should find they’ve time to play each game during the day, it’s all in your timing so get there early. Players are expected to make a donation for each game they play, and quite reasonably so.

The venue is easy to find, even if Google maps does place it across the road and in someone’s back garden. The venue is actually on the left hand side of the circular water feature at the bottom of the map, with free parking along the length of the Royal Esplanade. The venue has a full restaurant and bar, more details here.

Last Minute Update: Unfortunately due to work commitments the Dover club has withdrawn from this event.

Mini Zedtro

I’ve always got an eye out for a cheap option for gaming and 28mm Zombies have proved no exception. Here’s a toy I found in a local pound shop which proved to be almost perfect out of the box, but I’ve done a little work on it to make it fit in better, and the end result is a jolly piece.

The first thing I did was to take it apart, which was easy because it all holds together with a single screw. separated the main components and painted them, created a small scene of carnage in the back seats, dulled down all the silver chrome, and blood splattered the windows on the inside, then matt varnished the lot except for the windows. This model is slightly too large, but I managed to shave 3 to 4mm off the height by resetting the axles so the wheels sat further into the wheel arches.

All in all a very quick bash to make a very usable model and costing less than £2 in total. Magic!

Dead Eyed

Here’s another pair of figures from Blue Moon, they’re well posed and good looking zombies, and fun to paint once you get the hang of them. Expect another sixteen of these to come, the only problem I’m having is more photographic ones. There’s certainly a knack to them which I hope to develop soon. The Tamiya Clear Red works well, and at the moment I’m using it sparingly, almost as a wound highlighter. It’s not that evident where I’m using it in the photos, but as per usual the photo image and what something looks like in real life are eons apart.

Nice couple

Here’s the first pair of finished figures from Blue Moon Manufacturing’s second box of zombies. Due to aging eyes I’ve not painted a 6mm figure for absolutely ages, so it was interesting and fun to have a bash even if it was on massive 28mm ones. It was also my first chance to use TCR or Tamiya Clear Red, as recommended by Vampifan via his blog. It’s a translucent red which dries with a high gloss and so looks like wet blood when dried. Charming stuff and one of the oddest paints I’ve ever used. You might be able to spot where I’ve used it on the miniatures above.

The entrails being devoured by the zombie on the right are an addition, a quick mix of general purpose glue and pink paint, glued into place when dry, and then liberally highlighted with the TCR. A reasonable finished figure I think.

Blight New Project

After just over a year’s effort I’m happy to say my late WW2 project is nearing completion, and although there’s a good few bits and bobs still underway, along with a pile of forthcoming game reports to entertain you over the coming months I have been digging around for my next project for a month now. Now I know I bang on about how wonderful the web is for researching but for a middle-aged bloke who grew up gaming it really is an epihany, not least in how much window shopping you can enjoy.

Briefly I did consider 6mm moderns with an eye on Iraq and Afghanistan, but as I already have a pile of buildings suitable from my colonial collection and rate scratch building as my fave part of the hobby I thought better of it. My actual choice came about more coincidently…

I was wandering around looking for trailers for the recently released film “Zombieland” when I discovered the rather wonderful blog  Dawn of the Lead where Mikko Meriläinen rather handily collects film trailers together if they fit into the zombie or apocalyptic genre. I’ve been an avid viewer of zombie movies since I first saw “Dawn of the Dead” in ‘78, which I found hilarious then as I still do – the mix of schlock horror and increasingly inventive ways of slaughtering zombies, or zeds as the kids call them now, tickles my funny bone.

Of course serving up trailers isn’t all Mikko offers, if it begins with a Z, ends with an E, and has ombi in the middle he’s mentioned it including an amusing range of miniatures and links to other zombie plague infected folk which I followed to discover the following two sites.

The all-singing, all-dancing Screaming Alpha is a well laid out and attractive site which although covering gaming as a whole is obsessed with Zombie miniatures. Even though they’re all 28mm, and therefore heathen, there’s a mouth watering array from a wealth of manufacturers all reviewed in no small detail by John Price as part of his Master Zombie Database. This form of obsession verging on lunacy is exactly what modern gamers enjoy, personally I admire the underlying tone of insanity it’s a true beacon of dedication which words alone can’t express.

Last but most definately by no means least, from Dawn of the Lead I clicked on a link to Vampifan’s World of the Undead, very much a gamer’s personal blog packed with great articles, photos, figure reviews and a handy pile of links collected together by Bryan Scott. There’s no shortage of wordage here, revealing not only enthusiasm but also a communicative and sharing nature. This along with photos aplenty is what makes an outstanding blog as I see it.

Now the astute amongst you may have spotted which direction my new project will be taking, I’m going to do a small Zombie project. This will be shared with the boy Slug, who has become rather sharp with his brush on his 1/76th scale figures. However we’re not overly impressed with the range available for 6mm, the best being Steel Crown Productions’ Edenite Zombie Hoarde above, with some folk also using civilians from Irregular Miniatures. Combined with a distinct lack of modern vehicles and props 6mm rather sadly doesn’t cut it for a zombie project, and I must admit a certain surprise at the lack of manufacturers having a bash at the genre, especially when it’s become quite massive in other gaming scales as well as in popular culture as a whole.

Instead we’ll be sneaking down the road to the stone ring of the 28mm heathens and using miniatures like those produced by the terminally brilliant Studio Miniatures above. I did consider starting an alternative blog to cover this project but there’s little point and it’d just be a distraction from the game in hand.

Sniper’s Nest

Sadly table top gaming shops have become a rarity across the UK, mainly because of the web but also because so much gaming is now console based. Swimming against this current is Sniper’s Nest in Ramsgate and rather successfully so. Unfortunately it doesn’t carry any 6mm stock at all, but it does have a reasonable range of what you might expect to find with a heavy emphasis on 28mm and Flames of War plus all the accessories every gamer needs such as paints and brushes etc. It’s run by Mike an affable chap of the gaming old-school and so perfect for running such a shop and worthy of your custom.

Every inch of wall and counter is festooned with goodies, plus at the rear is an area specialising in movie collectables, but the final string to Mike’s bow lies in the basement. There’s two small-ish, but perfectly formed game tables in seperate rooms. Rather obviously these allow for plenty of playing but unlike a table set up in the sales area they also mean that when a game gets juicy and time is running out it can be left to be resumed at a later date – a nice touch.

Visitors would do well to phone ahead of a visit on 01843 607080 as I’m unsure of his exact hours, plus he’s taking a three day break next week – a much needed luxury for an independent retailer. Another point to bear in mind is how much of the web, including google maps, lists him as being in Harbour Street. He isn’t and hasn’t been for well over a year now. The actual address is 1 Chatham Street, Ramsgate, CT11 7PP, he’s worth paying a visit, tell him I sent you.