Changing Rooms

Filling my very kind Secret Santa gift, I've decided to spruce up the interiors of my wrecked buildings with a few items of suitable furniture.

Neither Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen nor MDF were involved.

All of the pieces I've done are from Mantic Terrain Crates (I think), and so they understandably pair well with the Mars Attacks ruins that are also from Mantic, adding a bit more depth, tragedy and interest to the tabletop.

I do like Terrain Crate scenery except for two things. It's a bit pricey, and longer-thinner sections tend to warp. However, as all these pieces are fairly sturdy and they were essentially free, I'm in a happy place.

The dresser and the drawers were done with Wyldwood contrast paint over Grey Seer, drybrushed with Ushabti Bone, washed with Agrax Earthshade (after the plates were done) and then drybrushed again to give them a dusty look.

Similarly, the sofa set was done in The Fang, with metal springs picked out in Leadbelcher and stuffing painted with Ushabti Bone. Once again, Agrax Earthshade and a final drybrushing finished them off.

The toilet and sink were simply done with White Scar, made dirty with Agrax Earthshade and drybrushed again to bring up the white.

I'm not sure about the basing choice as they kind of get lost, but it totally matches a lot of my other post-apocalyptic terrain, so it's fine.

The walls were done to match the Mars Attacks terrain as much as possible. The bricks done with Ratskin Flesh, the timber done with Wyldwood, the plaster with Ushabti Bone and the rubble with Baneblade Brown. As ever, Agrax Earthshade and a drybrush finished things off.

I'm really pleased with this little set and it will work for all sorts of post-apocalyptic games, including The Walking Dead and  Fallout (although Matt tells me there's not enough skeletons for that), and also wrecked buildings in more modern games. The wooden furniture and walls will fit with older period such as WW2 and even into the Victorian era.

And yes, I'm still very aware I haven't finished counting up my new/old acquisitions.

Acquired: 212
Painted: 299
Lead Mountain: 532

Zomtober: Leading From The Back

As my final Zomtober post of this year I present my final group of Walking Dead: All Out War miniatures.

who should be somewhat more recognisable than much of my recent work as most of them high profile leaders in the comics and the TV series...and one of them is a tiger.

The also represent the last of my backlog for the game, meaning that I've met my main target for the month and cleared a good chunk of miniatures, meaning that getting back into Zomtober has been a roaring success.

First up, and perhaps most familiar is Negan, the big bad of The Walking Dead, leader of the Saviours and played with scenery-chewing gusto by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

As this model is based on the comic version of the character, it's lacking the more familiar moustache and red scarf, but is still weidling the viscous 'Lucille', Negan's barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat.

Interestingly, Negan is to some extent the reason why I gave up on both the TV show and the comics as he represents the point when it stops really being about surviving the zombie apocalypse and becomes about people being vile to one another.

Your mileage may vary but the infamous scene where Negan is introduced was the moment the story lost me. I struggled through one more season of Negan being an indestructible end of level boss.

It's a personal taste thing, but I'm just not keen on cruelty as entertainment.

Next up is the arguably equally famous Michonne, Wandering ronin of the apocalypse and head of the Dora Milaje in Wakanda.

This model is not actually from Mantic Games but is actually a metal sculpt from Hasslefree Miniatures. This is because I got a free game card with Tabletop Gaming Magazine and buying Michonne separately worked out cheaper.

Abraham is the larger than life leader of a small group on a misguided mission that join Rick's group between the prison and Atlanta. In the comics he takes on Tyreese's role as Rick's right-hand man and the group's muscle.

In the TV show he was one of the victims of the introduction of Negan, even though that isn't his fate in the comics, doubling the horror of that scene.

Abraham and Began were available through Mantic Points and so I used bits of card cut off other boxes to send off for them for only the price of postage. I really like the Mantic Points system, it reminds me of how I got the Star Wars figures for Dengar and Nien Nunb when I was a kid.

This is the version of Maggie, eventual leader of the Hilltop Colony, at the prison after she's cut her hair (due to cleanliness) and used prison garb to make clothing.

She's actually the only character I have from the prison releases of the game and so she's less likely to get used than most of the figures unless I start hunting down OOP miniatures for the rest of the game.

I think I have her because she was bought as a gift 

Finally we have Ezekiel, leader of the Kingdom, and his tiger Shiva.

I think Ezekiel might have been part of the same release as Maggie. I'm not sure why he was released so early in the wave schedule well before the character appeared in the narrative, but I suspect it was due to the character turning up on the TV show around that time.

Ezekiel was probably one of my favourite miniatures to paint in the range as it's a very clean and simple sculpt with good definition. I enjoyed adding the stars to his waistcoat.

Shiva was a bit more tricky. Tiger stripes are hard at the best of times but most of this model is smooth with no fur texture to work with. However, one of the benefits of tiger stripes is that they are quite good at camouflaging things (I shouldn't really be surprised at that) and so ultimately it's worked out fine.

So that's Zomtober and another project done. I'm really pleased that I was promoted to rejoin the annual event as it has really given me motivation to get some other projects wrapped up.

Acquired: 90

Painted: 254

Lead Mountain: 437

Zomtober: It's not easy being Greenes

Zomtober continues to push me to complete the remaining unpainted miniatures I have for The Walking Dead: All Out War from Mantic Games.

Most of these miniatures relate to the Miles Behind Us expansion, which focuses on the adventures of Rick's group of survivors after they leave Atlanta but before they get to the prison.

Last week I focused on Tyreese and his family who joined the group before their ill-fated arrival at Wiltshire Estates. This week we encounter another group of survivors: the Greene family.

Prior to the arrival of the Atlanta survivors, the inhabitants of the Greene Family Farm seem to be coping with the apocalypse fairly well. Admittedly, Shawn Greene (who you get to meet in the Tell Tale Games mobile game, which is really good) had been bitten and was currently locked in the barn with other passing zombies, but the Greenes had a system and were surviving.

Until Rick and friends arrive...

Lacey and Arnold Greene are the eldest children of the family and are both sceptical about the wisdom of letting Rick's group stay and are fairly hostile to the Atlanta survivors.

This hostility seems to be justified as the accidental release of the zombies in the barn, caused by the Atlanta groups target practice, cost both of them their lives.

Otis and Patricia are farmhands who sought refuge with the Greenes and turn out to be problematic characters.

Otis accidentally shoots Carl, which is how the group find the farm, and turns out to be more than a little racist. However, he is also the cause of Michonne joining the group.

Patricia, Otis's ex, seems to have a thing for prisoners and ends up siding with them twice, once in really bizarre circumstances where she releases a known killer who has BEHEADED members of the group (more on that later) to stop the group from killing him.

Neither Otis nor Patricia survive the fight with the Woodbury militia when the Governor attacks the prison.

Billy, Rachel and Susie are the youngest members of the family and like Otis and Patricia, meet their ends in the prison, although in very different manners.

Billy turns out to be a very useful and helpful member of the group. He's a very good shot and acts as a sniper in the battle with the Governor, where he is killed.

Susie and Rachel are fairly ancillary to the story until their deaths. You remember I mentioned some members of the group being beheaded?

Yeah...

The decision by Mantic to make them into one model is an interesting one. They are never seen apart in the comic and it seems a good way to include them for completeness without wasting two sculpts on characters who can't do much. It does, however, prevent them being used in many other games.

Maggie and Herschel are they two best known characters from the Greene family.

Herschel is a vet and so has medical knowledge that proves essential in saving Carl's life. He also presents an interesting ideological counter to Rick and the Atlanta group's philosophy. I preferred the version of him in the TV show, but neither version makes it out of the prison, both killed by the Governor.

Maggie is the true survivor of the group and was still alive when I gave up on both the comic and the TV show. She has a genuine character arc and I think qualifies as one of the most significant characters in the franchise.

Now that I've painted the Greenes, I think I might go back to the Miles Behind Us scenarios and play through them as The Walking Dead: All Out War is one of the best solo games I've played.

I've not mentioned how I painted them as it's all pretty much contrast and washes doing the work. Not my best work but I'm just pleased to be getting through a good chunk this week - especially as I've been buying stuff for the next leg of the Quest of the Ringbearer campaign.

Acquired: 86
Painted: 248
Lead Mountain: 439

Zomtober: Survivors?

Given that I'm now out of zombies...erm...I mean 'walkers' for The Walking Dead and turn my attention to some characters who can only loosely be described as survivors: Tyreese, Julie and Chris.

In the comics, Tyreese, his daughter Julie and her boyfriend Chris meet the main group of survivors on their way out of Atlanta and stay with them...well...for the rest of their lives.

SPOILER ALERT: To put it bluntly, the rest of their lives isn't that long as they've all popped their clogs by the time the group leaves the prison.

I've kept all three models quite simple when it comes to painting due to the fact that they are based on the comic books rather than the TV show and so respond quite well to a simple approach.

Julie's death will not be too much of a surprise for those that read my last blog entry given the fact that it featured a zombie version of her.

She dies when whilst alone with her boyfriend, Chris, he shoots prematurely...

...his gun, he shoots his gun you filthy animals.

It's a suicide pact that goes wrong and after killing Julie, Chris then has to shoot her again when she reanimates.

I found painting Julie awkward as there's not really much to get hold of. The way she's clutching her coat made painting her jumper a bit tricky to and her features lack definition. I prefer her as a zombie.

Chris' doesn't last long after the double murder of his girlfriend. Tyreese had never liked the arrogant young man and when he kills Julie twice, Tyreese snaps and strangles Chris to death.

I like this miniature as it has character. The glasses offer a clear difference with most of the other characters and I like the detail that he's still wearing a tie after the world has ended.

Unfortunately, I don't get to paint him twice as there isn't a zombie version of Chris. This is because after being strangled to death, the zombified version of him is brutally mutilated by Tyreese before it can get up and then burned.

Tyreese is a much more significant character and becomes one of the leaders of the survivor group and close friend of Rick. Unfortunately he is beheaded by the Governor's men just before their attack on the prison.

The model seems a bit weirdly bulked out but this is because Tyreese is an ex-NFL Linebacker and is wearing his pads under his coat.

In the TV show Tyreese, who arrives with his sister rather than his daughter, lasts significantly longer than his comic counterpart. However, Tyreese's bravery and capability were significantly downplayed and he was part of the much criticised  one-in-one-out approach the show seemed to have to black male characters.

With Tyreese's group added to my list of short term survivors, I'm going to turn my attention to the next group of soon-to-be-walkers Rick meets, the Greene family.

Acquired: 83
Painted: 241
Lead Mountain: 444

Zomtober: Proper Zombies

 ...well, actually they're 'walkers', apparently.

One of the many reasons I decided to take part in Zomtober again was to make some inroads into the remaining Walking Dead miniatures I have lying around.

Much as The Walking Dead: All Out War is a really good game with a really good miniature line, I fell out of love with the franchise when it became more about people fighting people rather than survival. As such I never really got past wave two of the game and ended up dropping it before Mantic did. 

And so I still have a bunch of wave two miniatures to paint. It's mainly the Greene family and some other notable characters from the series. However, I thought I'd begin with the last few walkers.

This one is actually a named zombie, and the name is Julie.

What do you mean, "who?"

Julie is Tyreese's daughter in the comic and as you can probably guess, doesn't make it. She didn't make it into the TV series either, possibly because of some of the themes surrounding her death being a bit much even for The Walking Dead.

One of the things I really like about the range of zombies for this game is that they are all unique sculpts...except this one.

Mantic had a period of giving out miniatures for this game at events and there were usually only two sculpts available, a male and a female walker.

I've ended up with three of the female zombies and so even though I've made sure they have different skin, hair and clothes, I just need to ensure they never stand together.

The final member of this trip is this gruesome chap. There's not much to say other than I do enjoy slopping the best named paint in the world about: Blood for the Blood God.

I think following this much of my focus for the rest of Zomtober will be on survivors, and given that I've already done dead Julie I think I'll start with Tyreese, Julie and her boyfriend Chris.

Acquired: 83
Painted: 238
Lead Mountain: 447

Zomtober: Telltale Signs Of Infection

A slight change of theme this week. I've jumped ship from my 7TV zombie horde to my Walking Dead zombies and survivors that have been on hold for some time.

As well as two generic zombies, I've completed Lee and Clementine, the main characters from Telltale Games Walking Dead app game, which were show only exclusive models.

I'm really pleased with how Lee has come out, especially his shirt. I was really concerned about whether he would end up looking too much like how I've painted Morgan. However, instead of using a pale blue for his shirt, I simply washed white with Drakenhof Nightshade and it's come out not too dissimilar to a denim shirt effect.

Clementine was the trickiest of the four to paint as the t-shirt lacks definition against the backpack straps and arm. I also probably should have done more with her shoes and sleeves, but I didn't want to ruin it.

I was a bit concerned that I wasn't going to like the finished product until I got to the backpack and cap. The molded details really help to lift the model and give some focus to what could be a very bland paint job.

The two zombies I've done using my usual methods, keeping their outfits really simple. 

The male zombie was put in green overalls as a nod to Shawn Greene (brother of Maggie) who appears in the Telltale game (spoiler alert...it doesn't go well for him).

The old lady is possibly meant to be Herschel's wife, one of the key occupants of 'the barn'. I gave her the sort of random collection of night clothes that an old lady who'd taken to her bed with an infection might wear.

Next week I might jump to yet another game system for my zombie fix, but for now,  that's four more on the painted pile. Things are looking good...

Acquired: 178

Painted: 170

Zomtober: “Oh dear...”

This Zomtober hasn’t exactly been a roaring success for me. The combined factors of work pressures, family commitments and my motivation lying elsewhere has meant that my zombie output hasn’t been what I would have hoped.

And on this final weekend of Zomtober, I found myself with nothing started at about 2 o’clock today. Therefore, with a deadline to meet, I selected the zombie with least amount of base area exposed (simply because I didn’t have time to wait for Agrellan Earth to dry) and set about a quick and dirty, deadline meeting, largely all the same colour palette, final zombie for Zomtober.

This is a zombie that comes in the show exclusive Lee & Clementine booster for Mantic’s Walking Dead: All Out War Game, and he’s a call back to a specific moment on the Telltale Games adventure where Lee stumbles on the zombie out in the woods.

Sat down eating the remains of a deer, it’s more of a diorama than a game piece, however it does have potential as a lurker in rural games.

The fact that it’s eating half a deer does raise a number of questions too. Did it kill the deer or find it? If it found it, why do other zombies regularly ignore the dead? How did the deer get ripped in half? Was it roadkill or the actions of a zombie horde? If it was a zombie horde, where are they now and why did they leave?

So many questions we’ll never know the answer to.

However, one thing we can be certain of is that this is the fastest I’ve ever painted a zombie (deploying a hairdryer after the final wash helped), and it means I’ve at least completed Zomtober with my dignity intact.

Yes, of course the Nazgul count.

As ever, if my offerings have tickled your fancy, The Walking Dead: All Out War can be bought at 20% off rrp at the Outpost. Just follow the link below:

https://www.the-outpost.co.uk/product-category/miniatures/the-walking-dead/aff/37/

Zomtober: The Gang’s All Here

Zomtober has been a bit of a struggle this week. I’ve not been in a painty mood, I’ve been quite busy and the little motivation I have had is coming mainly from Lord of the Rings.

However, I have managed to get a single model done, as per the rules.

Not my best work, but job done.

This is Carlos, one of Derek’s scavengers in the Walking Dead comics. He also adds to the gang that came in the Walking Dead: All Out War starter set.

Here they are as they appear in the comics:

And here’s my version of them:

If you look carefully you’ll see that Liam isn’t in the picture from the comic as he’s dead by then. I’d say it’s a spoiler but the others last about three more pages.

That means there’s one more Scavenger to get at some point.

As ever, if my ropey painting has inspired you to buy the game, it can be found here:

https://www.the-outpost.co.uk/product-category/miniatures/the-walking-dead/aff/37/

Zomtober: Proper Zombies

After last week’s controversy surrounding whether the Nazgul qualify as zombies (hint: they do), I’ve returned to safer groun this week with three zombies from The Walking Dead: All Out War.

I’m now moving on to Wave 2 of the range, which actually feature proportionally less zombies and more new survivors, as the story heads out of Atlanta and culminates at the Greene family farm.

First up is a bike, who appears to have sustained injuries more consistent with coming off his bike rather than being mauled by the undead. Perhaps he crashed as he was fleeing the apocalypse and then was unable to escape pursuit.

The wound on his arm isn’t actually sculpted on the model, but is there to cover an ugly mould line that I somehow didn’t notice until the flesh was painted.

Next up is a chap who has had something rather horrific happen to him whilst at the beach, and has had the flesh torn off half of his body.

What I don’t understand is how he managed to keep flip-flops on his feet whilst his arm was ripped off, when for me, keeping the damn things on my feet whilst simply walking is tricky enough.

Last up is a child zombie. There should be more of these in the genre, especially as almost all survivors we encounter are adults. Where are the children during the apocalypse?

I’ve painted this one to match my Sophia model. Although Sophia doesn’t meet the same fate in the comics as in the TV show, I still like the idea of having her shamble out of Herschel’s barn.

That’s it for this week, but if The Walking Dead has tickled your fancy, it’s at its most affordable from Outpost Miniatures, where I’ve picked up most of my boosters from after my initial Salute binge. Follow the link below...

https://www.the-outpost.co.uk/product-category/miniatures/the-walking-dead/aff/37/

The Walking Dead - Issue #7

So, it’s time for the gang to leave Atlanta, but there’s a herd of Walkers determined to stop them. This was (or so I thought) going to be a big game featuring 13 characters, but would also involve both risks and rewards for the future of the campaign.

In the comics (spoiler alert) this encounter sees the death of Amy and the infection (and ultimately death) of Jim. Therefore, there was the chance that both of these characters could survive and be available later in the campaign. As ever, characters who died would be gone for good, and infected characters that survived to the end of the game would turn out not to have actually been bitten.

However, it is possible to not win the scenario due to not gaining enough victory points, and in this circumstance I would face the following penalties:

• bitten characters who survived the scenario would actually succumb to their wounds,
• Jim would turn out to have been bitten, just like in the comics.

So let’s see how I got on...

Days Gone Bye - Chapter 5

Despite Shane’s opposition, Rick persuades the others that they have to keep moving to stay alive. Unfortunately, the RV needs major repairs before they can pack up camp. While they’re working on repairing the transport, a herd of roamers emerges from the woods...

Well that went wrong!

The game only actually only lasted three turns due to me not remembering that a Walker getting within 3” of the campfire in the End Phase would end the game and being somewhat trigger happy with Andrea in the opening turns, thus overrunning myself. 

I probably should have focused on melee weapons and cleared out the Walkers who got close whilst Jim fixed the RV. This is especially annoying because Jim, armed with the wrench is pretty much a dead cert to fix the RV in four rounds.

To add insult to injury, Allen, who had already survived a lurker, was bitten when overwhelmed by the Walkers drawn to Andrea’s gunfire. According to my own rules, I failed to get the 5 VPs required for victory, and that means that both Allen and Jim end up succumbing to their woulds and joining the Walkers.

On the up side, Amy survived. However, she’s not as good as Allen, and given that Allen makes it all the way to the prison, there are a number of scenarios where I’m going to have to put Amy, or one of the other weaker characters in harm’s way in his place.

In terms of narrative, it works out. Andrea is consumed by guilt for Allen’s death (instead of Amy’s), both Allen and Jim will be left on the outskirts of Atlanta, with a tearful farewell between Allen and his wife Donna, and there has been a serious consequence to Shane’s insistence of staying near Atlanta, further driving a wedge between him and Rick.

And on that subject, the next scenario actually requires an opponent. Shane and Rick will go head to head, and one of them isn’t walking away...well, not until after they’re dead.  

The Walking Dead - Issue #6

I’ve decided that I need some painting motivation, and so I’ve figured out that if I play the remaining Days Gone Bye scenarios, I will need to do some painting before starting on the Miles Behind Us expansion.

This time I was joined by my daughter, who took control of Glenn, and we engaged in a tense mission on the streets of Atlanta.

Days Gone Bye - Chapter 4

Rick and Glenn decide to brave Atlanta once more, and head into the city limits to find vital supplies. Covering themselves in gore from downed Walkers, they try to sneak through the heart of infested territory.

After a very calm start, the end was extremely tense. My daughter actually shrieked when the lurker supply card was drawn. For the second game on a row, I’ve been a single turn away from a significant character death saved only by the fortuitous use of some found meds.

The next game is a big one, and for the first time I’ll actually have the chance to save the lives of some characters, rather than just get them killed.