Friday, February 24, 2012

25 More Zombies

Hi, folks. Been working on more Zombies. These are hybrids made from Wargames Factory Zombie legs with Mantic Zombies heads, arms, and torsos. I think they are much nicer than just the plain Wargames Factory Zombies. I read about this trick over on the Lead Adventure forums in CDR Vyper's           Urban Zombie Board thread, here. It's a great read with many inspirational pics. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out. I had won an auction on e-bay for a couple of boxes of WGF Zombies, but hadn't put them together, so I went back to e-bay and got some Mantic Zombie Heads and Torsos from the Hoard of Bits store. They're not a perfect match, the WGF hips don't really match the Mantic abdomens, but they look a lot better than the WGF stuff, and, at least the WGF legs have modern pants and shoes.

There's a lot of nice detail on the Mantic bits, and even some good stuff on the WGF legs.
I love the exposed spines on some of the Mantic torsos and the WGF shorts are much better than the long pants,
I only had twelve 30 round bases when I made these guys, I've got another 75 coming from Black Orc Games. I'll rebase the ones without the nicer bases when I get my order.
Once again on these Zombies I used Tamiya clear red over the Reaper reds for the wounds. I think I first saw that done on Shelldrake's blog.
On the guy 2nd from the right I had to use a WGF head. Big difference in size and quality, I think I'll name him Pinhead. One of the things I didn't like about the Mantic bitz was that so many of the right hands are holding a  severed head. Could have done without that. If I want a little head, I don't want it on a Zombie... know what I'm sayin' :)
Last group of 5. These guys will be rebased, soonest. The fence in the background is made from sculptor's mesh I got from Hobby Lobby. I added a few little signs from a variety of sources to the fences.
And there you have it, 25 hybrid Mantic and WGF zeds. Soon I will paint the WGF Zombies. Not really looking forward to them. WGF upper bodies are pretty much the suckness. However, they will make the horde grow. Thanks for looking.


Sunday, February 19, 2012

1 Survivor and 30 Zombies

Hi, everyone. I've been painting this weekend. I did one Survivor, Reaper Minis' Karla Anime Hero from their Chronoscope line.

I decorated her base with a piece of that scrapbook paper I used as flooring in some of the buildings. Sorry for the crappy pics. Lighting is playing hell with me today.

I finished my Victory Force Minis Zombies, today. 30 of them. Been working on them for about 4 days.
Pic above shows some of the ladies. 
A few more ladies with a couple of the guys. I ended up with 8 females out of 30 Zombies. The guy on the left reminds me of the Fonz. 
This group has some interesting minis. I like the gowned patient and the old guy with the hat. The guy on the end looks like the dad from American Chopper to me.
Another cool little group. Nice poses, and characterful minis.
I painted the delivery guy in UPS type livery.
The guy in the middle is my favorite. He has a propeller beanie.
Most of these critters just got a block paint and washes. On this guy I freehanded an anchor tattoo on one arm and a heart on the other. (below)
Beanie guy's hat is divided into quadrants so I painted it red, yellow, green and blue, with a purple rim and golden propeller. 
I got some duplicates in the order, but only a few. I ordered 3 random 10 packs, and ended up with mostly unique minis, but got 2 American Chopper guys, 2 Fonzies, and 2 skinny ho's wearing  a towel. Not too bad. That level of duplication is hardly noticeable. I'm very happy with the variety of poses, and there are lots of really cool little surprises on the minis.

 These minis were fun to paint. They were all block painted and then washed with either devlan mud or a similar colored magic wash. The wounds and blood got a Reaper triad of Bloodstain red, clotted blood, and carnage red. The flesh was Reaper Tanned Shadow and Tanned flesh highlight. Once sealed, I went back over the wounds with Tamiya Clear Red. The bases were covered with sand and painted black to simulate asphalt. About halfway through the basing process I picked up a jar of black sand and didn't have to paint the sand anymore (DOH!). I used a yellow or white paintpen to put lane lines or other markings on the bases, also.

Well, that's it for now. The Horde is growing. I've finished 8 Studio Mini Zombies, and 31 Victory Force Minis Zombies. I already had 14 Last Night On Earth Zombies and 79 other mixed brand zombies (mainly HeroClix). 132 ready, and 60 more in queue for painting. Thanks for looking. 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

1 Survivor, 5 Zombies and 2 Pop Machines

Hi, folks. I got a little painting done today. I finished off the last of my Studio Miniatures Zombies. These are great minis with marvelous detail. I will be getting more and heartily recommend them. If you're in the U.S. and don't want to pay the international shipping, you can order them through SgtMajor Minis. Also painted one of my Hasslefree Minis adventurers, Sadie. A beautiful sculpt, I chose the Sadie with the crossbow and stake. Watching Walking Dead, a crossbow seems like a pretty good choice for Zombie gaming. Plus, I anticipate being able to use her in the upcoming ATZ game, "After the Horsemen", which will feature the usual supernatural opponents with the ATZ mechanics. And, I painted a couple of Ainsty bow-front vending machines I recently got from their new U.S. supplier, Recreational Conflict. Here's some pics:












HassleFree Sadie.


A couple of Studio Miniatures Zeds




















The 3 pics below are of another Studio Miniature Zombie
Pics below are a couple more Studio Miniatures Zombies with the new vending machines.
Pics below of the Ainsty Casting Co. Bow-front vending machines.
These pop machines are a very nice product. They were fun to do. I googled some pics of Coke and Pepsi machine for the graphics. Sized them to fit the models, printed them out and applied them. After painting them I cover them with a few coats of gloss Mod Podge decoupage. 


I'm working on an Ainsty cashpoint machine today, as well as 8 female zombies from Victory Force Miniatures. Thanks for looking. 



Friday, February 10, 2012

Some shots of the finished CityBoard

Hi, folks. Here's a few shots of the "finished" CityBoard. Are these things ever finished? Especially since I just received my order from Recreational Conflict of some Ainsty Vending Machines, an ATM Cashpoint Machine and some swivel office chairs. That was incredibly quick. I placed the order on the evening of the 6th when I saw on TMP that Recreational Conflict is the new US supplier for Ainsty. Came home from work today on the 10th and the order was already here. Excellent service. But now I have a few more things to add to the finished board. Anyway, here's some pics. Not the best lighting, unfortunately. Labels will be referring to the pic above the text label.
One of the backlots. The buildings are the Roche Motel (grey), Medical Clinic (white) and Bank (brown). Scratchbuilt dumpster and Model RR Telephone booth.
Sideview down Main Street. A horde of mostly Hero/Horror Clix Zombies in the intersection. The barriers are plaster cast from Ikea ice cube trays.  Buildings on right are Downtowner Apartments (brown) Detective Agency/Bailbonds (grey)  and Gunshop in the distance.  Left side are the Bank, Medical Clinic and the fence of the Warehouse is seen in the distance. 
View from behind the Zombie Horde down Maincross Avenue. A thin line of brave Survivors prepare to fend them off. Me, I'd have got the F outa there. :)
Cross-table shot from the warehouse. Maybe those EM4 Mechs will help the Survivors. 
Different angle down Main Street.
This shot is from behind the Gunshop and Pioneer Steakhouse. A bunch of Zombies are awaiting paint in the left foreground.
Looking the opposite way down Maincross. 
Angled shot from the Steakhouse looking toward the Roche Motel and Medical Clinic.
30 nice Victory Force Minis Zombies.
Same 30 VFM Zombies and an additional 60 Zombies. 30 of those are Wargames Factory, the other 30 are WGF legs with Mantic Zombie heads and torsos.

Well, there you have it, the cityboard. Thank you for your interest, comments, and support as I worked on this project. I should also thank you for your inspiration, as well, because I have drawn heavily on the great ideas I've seen on your blogs. 

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Finished The Last 2 Buildings for the Cityboard

Hi, everyone. I finished (? maybe) the last 2 buildings for the Cityboard. One is a Motel and the other is an Apartment building. They are both from the Sarissa Precision 28mm CityBlock line. It has been a lot of fun to work on these buildings. The interiors are finished with WorldWorks Games textures and I made or downloaded signs from the internet for exteriors.
Pic above is the Roche Motel. I found the signage on a model RR shop and really liked it. Minis are an EM4 plastic trooper on the sidewalk and a Heroclix on the roof.
Shot of the rooftop. Made from WWG print-out.
Side view. More model RR signs. The "hotel" sign comes WWG, I mounted it on some Sintra. The mini is from Black Orc games.
Pic above shows rear of building. Model RR sign and a Studio Minis Zombie. I thought the sign was especially appropriate with this mini.
More Model RR Signs and an EM4 plastic ganger.
Interior view of the upstairs of the hotel. Textures on walls and floor are WWG. LNOE mini.
Pic above: Ground floor of the Hotel. I used a WWG door for variety. Floor is a piece of scrapbook paper. Walls and stairs from WWG.
Peekaboo shot into interior. HorrorClix mini, one of my favorites.

Next is the Sarissa Precision Residential Building. I love this one. Beautiful, sturdy detail. I'm using it as an Apartment Building.
An EM4 plastic ganger confronts a HorrorClix Zombie. I added some scratchbuilt trash bags and ruined furniture to the front fenced area. I thought about putting in flower beds but decided that wasn't very Zombie themed.
View of the rooftop. WWG pipe roof. HeroClix SWAT guy. Made the signs myself in Open Office. The "Quarantined" sign plays into one of the joke signs elsewhere.
Side view of the building with a LNOE zombie and a HeroClix SWAT. The "Splint" billboard is from WWG. The Downtowner Billboard is one I made. Googled a cityscape clipart and made the sign in Open Office. I always see those "If you lived here" signs so I used that, but since the building is quarantined, some smart-ass changed "home" to dead. Kind of feeble I know but I'm easily amused. :)
The rear of the building. Signage from MicroTactix Twilight Streets set. HeroClix Swat getting ready to grenade a Reaper prepaint zombie (front) and two Black Orc Games zombies. LuckyJoe making clicking sound as grenade arms. "Eat this, scum suckin freaks". You were right Dangerous Brian. :)
Top floor of the Apartments. I may subdivide it later like the ground floor. The walls are papered with scrapbook "wallpaper". The floor is WWG from Shellendrake Manor. A Black Orc Games Zombie is about to die for good at the hands of a plastic EM4 Trooper.
Close-up shot of the ground floor interior. Walls and doors from WWG, floor from scrapbook paper. Mini is Hasslefree Mini's Gruff. The doors can open and close. In the front of the building there are some scratchbuilt trash bags, a bloody matress and a broken love seat sofa. All made from Sculpie. I added some bloodstains with Tamiya clear acrylic red. 
View of the interior from the side. Doors are open...
View from the rear of the building. Doors are closed. Oooh, I hear you saying. Doors that open and close. :) Sorry cold medicine is kicking in and making me more goofy than usual.

Well, that's it for now. Got nine buildings ready for the table with playable interiors. I can now die happy. Still got a lot of Zombies and Survivors to paint, and I've got some Ainsty Street furnishings coming. Thanks for looking.