Zombie Vixens!

...in which I give a realistic look at Wargames Factory's "new" zombie girls, know as Zombie Vixens!
http://wargamesfactory.com/webstore/dark-futures/zombie-vixens

One gripe I have heard in a couple of places is that they are Barbies.  I have a daughter, and 2 sisters, who have 3 daughters between, and one of the daughters has a daughter.  All have or had Barbies.  These figures ain't Barbies.  They are nowhere so developed, nor do they have ultra-tiny waists, incredibly long legs and gigantic heads.  They are all pretty well formed females.

First, let me explain how my zombies are painted.  They are primed in the cheapest grey primer I can get. They get skin painted in Reaper Pro Paint Ghoul grey.  Any exposed bones and teeth are painted in Ceramcoat Ivory.  Clothes are block painted.  Then they are washed with undiluted Windsor Newton Nut Brown ink.  When dry, the eyes are painted a soft yellow. They are dull-coated because the ink is shiny. I have over 100 zombies, and that's how they are all painted.

Why?  Zombies could be replaced in any game with coins, markers, what have you.  They are the mindless enemy; they are all the same, and want only one thing: to tear apart living humans apart, and Braaaiinns!

Now, on to pictures of the creatures themselves.

Here are the first six from the front.  We have the torso (and this head resembles Andrea from The Walking Dead) Suzy Homemaker, the cheerleader, the party girl, the executive, and the waitress.

And from the rear.
And more girls.

Here we have the bridesmaid, the surfer, the crawler, the crawler upright, the slip girl, and the jogger.

The crawler and the crawler upright are the same torso.
And here's the last torso, the one-footed girl.

Now you get 12 torsos per sprue, more heads than you can use, and lots of arms, and partial arms.

What do I like about these figures?  First, of course, the price.  They are well cast, and designed.  You can do a bit of difference by changing the arms and heads, like the following 2 photos.

Their poses are quite dynamic, and the faces are really good.  They come with 10 25mm bases per sprue, so you have to choose who you want to use.  They are not slotted bases.  You glue the feet to the base.  Patience.  The arms are quite thin.  I don't know how they will stand up to hard use.  Some of the arms and torsos and tiny joining areas.  There are a couple of purses (both the same) and 2 arms with shopping bags, and 2 with briefcases.

What don't I like about these figures?  The poses are so dynamic that it is difficult to make 3 figures different enough.  Since the minimum offer is 3 sprues, it could lead to problems.The evening dressed girl can only be a bridesmaid.  Why else would 3 girls be wearing the same strapless gown (lots of fun to watch catching the bouquet!).  By the by, that's why mine have that unflattering color of gown  The girl in the suit has limited applicable arms.

The surfer can be done as a girl in panties and bra; just don't use the arm with the floatie attached.  I would have preferred to have them made like the male zombies that were released a while back; with separate torsos and lower trunks.  I don't like the large bases, necessitated by the wide stance.  I have to use expensive Litko flexible steel bases to add them to my magnetic bases (all of my zombies are mounted on 3/4" washers).

So, overall, what do I think?  They are a good bargain at the price, but limited in their application.  Because I have so many zombies, I can disperse them in the crowd, so their sameness won't be apparent.  And with the same dress, different arms and heads, the bridesmaids can hunt like a pack!

...And a skirmish building!

I play mostly skirmish games, and it occured to me that the rectangular buildings I've been making don't have any nooks and crannies to give cover or concealment.  I mean, you can hide behind a rectangular building and shoot around the corner, but you can't advance from cover to cover.

I was getting gas in Conroe, TX, a few weeks ago, and saw a small office building that gave me an inspiration.

So I delved into Model Builder and came up with a building with a few extra angles.  This was done completely in Model Builder, and any evident mistakes are the fault of this arcitech.

It's a bit larger than I intended, having a footprint of 11" x 9".  It's made of  110 lb (199 g/m) index card, laid over black foamcore.  Black foamcore is much less likely to gouge out at the edges than white foamcore.

Here's an overall shot with a Star Wars miniature for scale (28mm)

The roof is just a piece of flat foamcore with a metal pattern on the top.  The ends are sandwiches of card and foamcore.  The entry overhangs were designed in Model Builder, and wanting to save ink (fool!) I made white squares where the overhangs were to be glued to the front of the building.

Here's a shot from a little higher angle showing the roof.  The ground is a speckled matt board that my wife found, and keeps concrete from being totally boring.

Look!  A little protection from incoming fire!

And around back, the cheap manufacturing of the building becomes apparent.  That's either an elevator shaft or an emergency staircase, and gives yet another bit of cover to shoot around.

And the roof has some cover, thanks to the elevated ends and the elevator shaft.

The interior is spartan, basically the bottom floor has just enough to hold up the second floor, and the second floor has a notch to indicate stairs, and an "X" of foamcore walls in the center to give you a lifting handle.  The roof just lays on the top of the building.

It's a little bit bigger than I intended, and the rush job is a bit apparent, but I plan on doing more buildings with nooks and crannies.  Sure, the rectangular buildings are fast and give cover.  But you just can't sneak up along the 8" rear of a flush wall!

As always, click on the pictures for larger shots, so you can see my mistakes better, and not repeat them yourselves.