No Surrender! - Zomtober Week 5 (unofficial)

Just squeaking in before the end of the month, I have managed to get my first survivors finished for my unofficial Zomtober week 5.  All of these are Rebel Minis 15mm models.  The guy in the middle is an Irish Hitman (don't know what makes him Irish.  Must be a film reference that I'm missing), whilst the other two models are listed as Street Punks.  They may look familiar to you if you've checked out my earlier 15mm Spinespur posts, as they are duplicates of models I used to represent street thugs in that project.

I don't hold out a lot of hope for the Gangsta chap on the left.  Bare skin in a zombie apocalypse doesn't seem like a good strategy to me.  I've painted him in matching dude rag and sport trousers (does the term 'shell suit' still fly, or am I showing my age?), with the waistband of his underpants showing.  He's armed with a sub machine gun of some sort, which he is holding in that impractical manner that is so popular with rappers and such.  I want him to survive, but he is doing everything in his power to prevent that!  I was going to paint his trousers in a silver colour, but chickened out in the end, and before I knew it, I had painted almost a carbon copy of my Spinespur thug.  Bah! C'est la vie.

On the other hand, the fellow in the middle is carrying a total of five visible pistols (three of them are strapped to his chest)!  He certainly seems prepared.  I've painted him with some grey hair at the temples, and will probably make this guy the leader of my survivors.  He just has that sort of vibe about him.

Finally, the guy in the hoodie, unconverted this time (the Spinespur version was converted to carry a molotov), carrying a shotgun.  I like this model.  He looks like an 'early days' survivor to me, in that he has a single, fairly standard weapon, and is not laden down with equipment and fancy combat gear.  Mind you, he also looks like a bank robber...

I've tried to paint the survivors in the sort of colours you would see on passers-by in everyday life for the most part.  Gansta chap offered the opportunity to throw in a splash of colour to break up the group and add a bit of interest.  I'm going to try not to have too many survivors in military/law enforcement equipment, because I want to keep things a bit more low-key.  Also, I want to avoid a proliferation of firearms, so the next few batches of survivors will have hand-to-hand weapons to balance out this trigger-happy trio.

Maybe I'll do one or two molotov conversions for this project too, as they are the sort of thing people could make easily, and could be useful in a scenario.  Anyway, that's it for now.  Hopefully, I'll get to use my Zomtober efforts in a game this weekend, as we'll be having friends over to celebrate my birthday.  I'll try to get pictures for an AAR or just a general report to share next time.

Catch you later!

Jon

They are Legion! - Zomtober Week 4

Well, I know I'm a bit early with this, so my apologies for that. But this is one of those situations where real life is ramping up the pressure (I have an assignment deadline and a job interview, both on Monday), and it just makes sense to get my Zomtober commitment out of the way early, to free up time for the other upcoming events.

The Khurasan zombie on the left looks rather ghoulish, doesn't he?  The range is definitely growing on me.  I just find some of the ragged clothing to be sculpted in a style that doesn't quite 'click' with me.  But I love the sense of movement, and the character in the faces of the Khurasan zombies.

In the middle is a Rebel Miniatures zombie businessman, waving around his briefcase.  I'm toying with the idea of a game in which this particular zombie would be an objective, as the survivors need something in his briefcase.  Maybe it's research on a cure for the zombie virus?   Maybe he has a key card for access to a resrticted part of a lab/office building?  Maybe they just want his sandwiches?  The great thing is that he will stand out in a crowd, despite his rather pedestrian attire, making that sort of scenario a good idea.

Finally, we have a skateboarder zombie (again from Rebel Minis).  Painted myself into a corner with this chap, as apart from his degloved arm, there are no other signs of injury on the model.  So in retrospect the red plaid shirt may have been a mistake, since I couldn't daub blood effects over it.  Still, I think the white t-shirt makes up for that problem...

Well, Zomtober has been a blast!  I will be doing an unofficial week 5 in order to get some survivors on the go.  Thanks to Pulp Citizen for letting me play, and thanks to all of my fellow Zomtober participants:  It's been great scooting around everyone's blogs and feasting on the rotten eye candy you've displayed.  Looking forward to next years event!

Since I'm done (for the time being) with the undead, here's the group shot I promised.  At my wife's request a shiny penny has been added to show the scale of the models.

Say "Cheese!".......Mmmuuurrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!

See you next week!

Jon

The Casualties Are Mounting: Zomtober Week 3

Hello again chaps!  Another, slightly early Zomtober submission from me.  Maybe a little heavy on the old gore effects this time?  Still, it will all balance out when they are mixed in with their fellows.  Left to Right, we have two Rebel Minis zombies, and a Khurasan zombie.

The leftmost zombie has obviously seen better days, with very little flesh left on him, either he is in an advanced state of decomposition, or he met with a rather grisly end at the hands (mouths?) of a big group of zombies.  I've painted him up as an ice-cream vendor (bet he regrets his invitation to "stop me and buy one" now!).

In the middle is what can only be a zombie erm... Lady of easy virtue.  She seems to have been badly mauled in places, with her left arm completely stripped of flesh, her innards falling out of her abdomen, and some big chunks taken out of her right leg and foot.  I'm not so keen on the fact that she is posed in a way that suggests she is still plying her trade, though.  I'd have thought that the process of zombification would have left her as just another shambler.  I can always classify her as a smart zombie, with residual memories of her old life, I guess.

Finally, a generic chap, who I may well identify as a rage zombie.  He certainly has that look about him.  Looks like his lips were chewed off.  Blech!  I can understand why he would be a bit miffed.

Just realised from looking at the pictures that I have forgotten to put the last layer of drybrushing on the brown part of the bases.  Bah.  I'll have to put that right after publishing this post.

Before I go, thought I'd share my latest shinies with you:

It's a pair of drop pods from the Mcfarlane Halo Micro-Ops range.  Got them in a pack from one of our local discount stores, B&M for £2.99 (the blister also included three ODST troops, but I haven't pictured them).  Both pods can be opened or closed according to preference, which is nice.

I snipped the drag chute off one of the pods, as it made it look a bit naff.  The pack only includes one separate rubble base (as one pod is meant to be in mid-drop), which is a shame, but I can probably make a second rubble base with modelling clay and talus so that I can depict them both as landed.  Although the ODST troops that came with them are about 22mm tall, these should make great objectives/terrain/aerial deployment markers for 15mm sci-fi games.

Anyway, enough of my off-topic rambling.  I'm off to try and get week 4's entries painted up early, so that Zomtober won't clash with my impending Open University assignment deadline.

See you next week!

Jon

Spreading The Contagion: Zomtober Week 2

 

Here's my effort for week 2 of Zomtober.  Another three 15mm zombies, the clown is from Rebel Minis, whilst zombie Elvis (complete with blue suede shoes) and the little girl are from Khurasan Miniatures.  By the way, I don't think zombie Elvis was sculpted to be an Elvis impersonator, but once the idea popped into my head, how could I not follow it through?

As you can see, there is quite a difference in height between the Rebel and Khurasan models, but my reaction is.... meh.  In real life, people are all different heights, and once I get a horde of zombies finished, it won't matter a jot who is taller than who, will it?

While I'm here, I know no-one has asked, but I really can't recommend Winsor & Newton Galleria matt varnish enough.  These guys all got a coat before the Tamiya blood mix (Clear red and smoke) was applied, and it dried to a completely matt finish.

Missed out on the Warmaster Ancients event, as the missus, who was going to drive, has been sick as a dog since yesterday.  But I do get martyr points for looking after her, and when she can stomach more than soup, we'll go out for a nice meal to compensate for missing out on a weekend away.  It's obviously a bit stressful nursing a sick spouse:  I am sleeping with one eye open, and keeping a baseball bat within reach, just in case she turns...

Assuming that I don't have to put any of our zombie preparedness drills into practice, I'll see you all next week!

Jon

It Begins...Zomtober Week 1

Here we go!  Week 1 of Zomtober sees 3 zombies enter the fray.  All 15mm zombies from Rebel Minis, these chaps.  Left to right, a big-boned lass who has now picked up the name "Wilma" (I was aiming for something a bit trailer-trashy with the leopard skin print, but she just seemed more Flintstone than hillbilly), a zombie policeman (I've aped the UK police uniform), and some poor sap who learned the hard way that his hazmat suit was not bite-proof.

One of the new things that I have tried out is the use of Tamiya Clear Red (TCR) mixed with Tamiya Smoke, applied as fresh blood.  On areas with deep wounds like Wilma's leg, I painted a layer of dark red underneath to add depth.  The whole TCR thing looks good up close, but I don't think it really works at gaming distance.  Still, I've committed myself now, so I will continue to use this on the rest of my 15mm zombies.

I have noticed that some people got their week 1 pictures posted nice and early today, and I've been pretty impressed with both the quality and volume of the work on display.  Good work chaps!


Oh, and thanks to everyone who has followed my blog and left comments.  Sorry I didn't respond earlier, I've just gotten used to rattling around here on my lonesome.  But I'll be more active now that I've got some company!

I will be at a Warmaster Ancients event next weekend, so I'll either be making my first mobile blog post, or (if my inner Luddite plays up) putting my week 2 efforts up a bit early.

That's all for now.  See you guys next week!

Jon