Second wave of Zombie Plague Kickstarter minis

This post may in some ways alleviate or abrogate or some other appropriate verb beginning in "a" the debt I owe our undead brethren and, to some extent, my fellow bloggers.

I utterly failed to fulfill the goals of Zomtober this year, despite my stated intent to participate and its amazingly low bar to be dubbed a participant -- paint four zombies or survivors during the month, debuting them on each Sunday of the month. Despite the great organizational and promotional efforts of the Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer, I blew it. I painted zilch. Zero. The only zombie-related activity I had during the month was posting my (still popular) unboxing of Wave 2 of the Zombicide Kickstarter. See that post here.

So now I've got Wave 2 of Brian Roe's Zombie Plague Kickstarter minis. (See the post about Wave 1, the survivors, here.) With Wave 1 I also picked up the new comic release that includes the latest version of the Zombie Plague rules.

Wave 2 comprises solely zombies and some themed resin bases. Unlike the earlier survivor minis, these zombies don't depict particular characters or creatures from the comic storyline.

As big a fan as I am of the pop-culture representations that have become commonplace in current zombie products (Zombicide, I'm looking at you!), I have to say that I find these original creations even more inspiring. And as I am a fan of so many retro things (7TV's '70s vibe, Atomic Cafe's skewed 1950s post-nuclear landscape), I find this '50s-looking bombshell called "Dead Sexy" to cause my chilled heart to beat just a little faster. She's a perfect realization of the concept art, and the casting is nice and clean. She has such personality (and sex appeal) that I may have to find a role for her as a "smart zombie," or some kind of unit leader for the undead. I can't decide whether she died in the Fifties and was just revived or if she dresses like she's into '50s car and Tiki culture and was caught up in the zombie apocalypse. Either way, she sports minimal injuries to her curvy form -- dead sexy indeed.

On all these minis there was some minor flash, most of which I was able to clear away with just my fingers. Some mold lines are visible but are so mild that I can't really differentiate them by touch. This should bode well for cleanup -- a quick swipe with a file and we're ready to rock.

Below we have Dirt Nap, captured in the act of emerging from the loose loam of his own freshly dug grave. I believe it to be a makeshift grave, too, as he's accompanied by a garden gnome. I wonder if this man's wife did away with him and planted him in the yard under her begonias, only to have her dispatched husband return, now perhaps to wreak his revenge? (Why am I hearing the sentence in Jonathan Ross' voice? "... weturn, now perhaps to week his wevenge?")

Forgive the intrusion of my Blu-Tack in the photo below, but it was the only way to get him to stand up long enough for this photo. The recesses on the custom base are well done and will work perfectly once the mini is actually glued in. Gotta wait until I clean him up, though. The little gnome is a hoot, too (and there's a spot for him over the zombie's right shoulder, but I couldn't get him to stand there. Uncooperative little gremlin. Uncooperative Blu-Tack too.)

Sorry for the blurry photo below, but it was the only one I captured of the multipart Joe Zombie. You can check the Updates in the Kickstarter project to see a couple of different ways he can be assembled. I think he's a stroke of genius. There are popular plastic zombie sets out there, but having that kind of choice for a metal model fills my with delicious dread. And I can always find good use for some extra arms and heads. My only regret is that I didn't order more of him. He is a great example of the miniature-maker's art and will make a great addition to any wargames table that needs a modern zombie. All hail the Roebeast, harbinger of the Zombocalypse!

And below we have the multipart female zombie, Rose Frum. (Took me a few minutes to get the pun. I know, sometimes I overthink things. Love it!) Rose is a little more hunched than Joe but has the same great choices for arms and heads. Her body's showing more damage than Dead Sexy, and her choices of heads span the gamut from vacant-eyed undead girl to meatbag corpse. We've also got a sprue (Is it still a sprue if it's metal?) of extra weapons -- the weapons wielded by the survivors, to boot. They are, as with all these, precise, clean, clear, direct and delicious.

And here's the zombie Brian calls Tubby. Her corpse is what cops would call a "floater," someone whose corpse was immersed in water after death and now features bloated flesh and sloughing skin. The presence of a bikini bottom makes me think she was in a lake or river rather than in an actual tub, but maybe she bathes in her underwear, who knows? Her sculpt again does a great job of capturing the putrescence present in the concept art.

And may I say I really appreciate the effort that Brian went to here with women that look like real women, not the siliconed-out supermodels we often see depicted in fantasy minis. Admittedly, these women are dead -- or rather, undead -- but they're amazingly realistically proportioned, which is, sadly, not the norm in the gaming industry. Kudos, Rsquared!

Here we have 10 themed Mud and Gutz resin bases that add horror to zombies, survivors, or just about anything. There's two each of five designs below, but you'll probably have a better result if you go the the Kickstarter pages and check Update 32 to see already painted versions. There's mud, blood, guts and skulls tromped into the dirt of these bases, and they look suitably horrifying.

So there you have it, compadres, a Kickstarter fulfillment that exceeded expectations and added unique, intriguing and useful components to my modern zombie collection. Every design choice in these figures tells a story, and it will help you tell stories through your own games. Whether you're playing ATZ, 7ombieTV, No More Room In Hell, AR:SE or Zombicide or even Last Night on Earth, any other zombie skirmish rules, these minis are a worthy addition to your own zombie horde.

So back to the boards, everybody, and I'll see you across the tables.

Remember, check back later this weekend for some more fiction from my IHMN setting featuring Miss Rossum and her Anthropomorphic Automatons and another piece revealing the women of the Ladies' Auxiliary. Cheers!

The prodigal returns

Kill the fatted calf, let bells ring in the marketplace, for the prodigal has returned. While you're killing the fatted calf, do something about his fatted thighs and flabby buttocks as well. Someone sic Jillian Michaels on him quick.

Can one be a prodigal blogger? Is that allowed? Or grammatically correct? Or painful in some way?

Although I have continued to be my usual active self over on Facebook, I had not realized for how long I have allowed these fields to lie fallow, and for that I am truly sorry, my dedicated followers. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima, maxima culpa.

Part of the problem, I suspect, is that I tend to think of Facebook as suitable for more off-the-cuff observations, for passing on posts of others I enjoy, for the daily detritus that distracts us from the drudgeries of work. I tend to think of this blog as for more "official" posts of original content or of my reviews/unboxings/observations about the hobby items I have recently purchased.

I need to seek a happy medium between the two, because I know there are plenty of hobby items floating around out there on which I opine that would be perfectly suitable for inclusion here at "Dispatches," were I to post them up. I don't think anyone would complain were I to reach a more regular frequency of posts.

That being said, I will reveal that I do have two more short pieces of fiction in the hopper, as 'twere, one about our beloved Miss Rossum of Anthropomorphic Automatons fame, and one debuting the women of the Ladies Auxiliary and revealing their secret agenda.

Also I promised Brian Roe I'd post about the second wave of his excellent Zombie Plague Kickstarter minis, which I LOVE but have not yet taken adequate time with, nor have I secured good enough photos to share with you, my loyal readers. So look for those on Wednesday, shall we say, and then fiction by week's end? Deal? Deal.

And on this Veterans Day (or Remembrance Day if you're across the Atlantic from my current location), all thanks and honor to those who have served in the armed forces of their countries, those who fight the good fight for their homeland, for their kith and kin. May we most of all remember that, while courageous men and women go off to war and sacrifice so much during their service, may there come a day when war is no longer necessary and the only battles we fight are those we fight for enjoyment across the tabletop. I am proud to be an American and, though I did not get to serve in the military, I am proud of the service of both my grandfathers during wartime.

America is the land of the free, because of the brave.

Goodnight, cats and kittens. Sleep well.

Welcome aboard to some worthy seadogs

It's Welcoming Wednesday, and I'm delighted to have so many new people to welcome as official followers of the blog.

First up is the dreaded Roebeast himself, about whom I have written several times. Brian S. Roe of R Squared Studios and "Zombie Plague" fame maintains his own blog at Roebeast's Magical House of Sunshine. If you've never had the pleasure of dealing with Brian, let me say he is a champ, a rockstar, and a gentleman of the first order.

Next up is greywolf, who is the force behind Greywolf's Last Valley. I must say I love the tagline under the title on this blog: "A place where werewolves frolic with scantily dressed women, amongst other things." Now blogger tells me that greywolf also had two other blogs, The Cyber Carboot Sale and Childe Roland's Dark Tower, but they seem not to have been updated in a while. At least that's better than my other blog that shows up on my blogger profile, the one I plan to use for my eventual modern zombie tale, Heading back to Moab, which has never even had a single entry!

And we round out today's welcomes with Paul Smith. Paul is the force behind Endtransmission's Gaming Blog. Welcome, good sir, Glad to have you aboard!

So it's grog all around and the last one drunk spends the night with the captain's daughter. Then it's back to the boards, folks, and I'll see you across the table!

Zombie Plague survivors

All hail the Roebeast! Tremble before his might! His coming presageth the End Times! All ha --

Oh wait, not that beast. The one I mean is the Roebeast, Brian S. Roe of RSquared Studios. I love Brian's work, and now I've reaped the rewards (half of them, anyway) of supporting his kickstarter for minis of Zombie Plague survivors.

Back in 2011, Brian and his production partners ran a kickstarter to release a comic book combined with the rules of "Zombie Plague," a set of zombie boardgame rules that Brian co-created and have been around and available on the Internet since 2001. They also released print-and-play game cards, card miniatures and map cards for the game.

Now Brian has come out with survivor minis for the cast of the comic book, which is called "Zombie Plague: The Day From Hell." Pictured below, from left, we have resident badass John Blackthorne, cheerleader Chelsea Harlowe, baseball nut Timmy Leong and rocker Crissy Hot-Rod, high schoolers who must confront Day 0 of the zombie apocalypse. These 30mm white-metal minis are crisp and clean. Arms and weapons are attached by sprues to the minis, and the minis are supplied with square, slotted bases. (I seem to have let Crissy's hockey stick escape the frame here.)

As stretch goals during the campaign, several zombies were unlocked: Joe Zombie, Rose Frum, Dead Sexy, Dirt Nap and Tubby. Scenic bases are also being created. These are still being eagerly awaited.

I must say I love these survivors and am eager to toss them in amongst the various other survivors I've acquired through Zombicide and from other sources (Hasslefree mostly). Of the comic book, I can say it's nice to have a hardcopy of the Zombie Plague rules I downloaded oh so long ago, and the kids' story is a winner. (Chelsea's discovery of the chainsaw is worth the price of admission alone.) The art was solid but the backgrounds seemed to be lacking a little in the detail department. They were a little overstylized or oversimplified for me. But I still enjoyed the comic.

The comic/rulebook is available from RSquared's online store for $15 plus shipping and handling. The map cards, game cards, and card minis and barricades are all available from free download from the site as well. 

Back to the boards, everybody, and I'll see you on the other side.

Last few hours for Zombie Plague kickstarter

Everybody loves Zombie Plague, which has been around as a free downloadable game for a number of years. Now Brian Roe (Roebeast) has incorparated the game into a double sized comic book and created minis for both the survivors and the zombies. There's about 5 hours left, and he's only a few hundred dollars away from reaching his final stretch goal, which is scenic bases for all the minis. For a $50 pledge, you get the four survivors and the stretch goal zombie minis, the comic with game rules inside, and there are great add-ons to choose as well. C'mon people!