Zomtober 2013 (Week 1)

Whew, first deadline achieved! Always a good start.

Lots of the Zomtober participants have posted their first minis, so it looks like Zomtober 2013 is off to a flying start. There is some great stuff being posted, and it is cool that some who have been struggling to 'get stuff done' are using Zomtober as a spur to tackle some minis - which is a key part of the Zomtober philosophy. I heartily recommend chasing down the stuff people have been posting,m and the blog roll to the right is a good indicator of their progress.

This year I am trying to through some clown Zombies (as well as finishing off another triad), because as scary as the walking dead may be, undead clowns are scarier still, surely!

This one is from Tengu Models, and another addition to my range of Big/Boss Zombies; the other two Clown Zombies are more 'normal' size, also from Tengu. I have just been over to the Tengu site, and I will have to pick up some more from them soon as they have some great stuff. I find they scale nicely with the Studio and Hasslefree Zeds. The base is Fenris as is usual for my Zeds.

So that is Week 1 done for me, and I have been doing bits of work on the other target models.

Zomtober Zombie (Week 4)

The final Zed - another Big Boss  Zombie, and another ugly one!

This could have been finished at the weekend, except for my sojourn with Rob to some VBCW gaming in Evesham (read about here on Rob's blog).

So the last bits and bobs of painting were completed over the past two nights.

In all I hit the minimum target which is pleasing. Considering I had painted so little in the last few months I suppose I should be satisfied with doing even just 5 minis.

This Boss Zombie is from the same pack as the last one and is by Studio Miniatures. Base as usual is by Fenris Games to tie my horde together.

A nasty looking piece of work this one, I wanted the 'cracked skin' on the hands to have the hint of red-raw muscle underneath.

So Zomtober ends, and my horde (ha-ha - a genrous definition if ever there was one) has grown by 5. Well done to all who participated. There will be next year I reckon...

Zomtober Zombie (Week 3)

Okay, my offering for Week 3, and the fourth of the target minimum of five. A big Zombie (or a boss as I like to think of the Zeds I mount on 40 mm bases).

That means my current 'horde' stands at 19 minis, and if I hit the Zomtober target it will mean a twenty five per cent increase since last year.

I love the irony of this mini - a fat Zed in sweats!

I feel my painting rustiness has subsided, so this is probably the most satisfying of the minis painted so far this month, and the nice big surfaces probably helped in that. The skin toe is my usual Zed-recipe of Vallejo Green-Grey base, with highlights of a Green-Grey plus Basic Skin Tone mix at 2:1, 1:1, and finally 1:2 ratios, with some very thin Devlan Mud as a wash.

The mini is a from a pack by Studio Miniatures, with the usual (for me) base choice from Fenris Games.

I have some more Zombies in various stages of completion, so I think I should hit the Zomtober target; just one more to go to hit the target, anything else is a bonus. Rob, inevitably, has painted about twice as many as I have!

Big/Boss Zombie (3)

It has been a while without a new mini around here, hasn't it?

This Big Zombie is by Tengu Models, and has been painted according to my usual recipe for Zombie flesh. It may not be the most realistic skin-tone paint scheme for undead flesh, but I am pretty happy with it as it fits my sensibilities.

Please embiggenify by clicking the images.

This one was started amid the big push to get a lot of zeds painted last summer and then just sat unfinished for quite some time. I decided to knuckle down today and just get it done as I have not been painting much to a finishing point recently.

I do have a number of other partially completed zombies so look out for them to appear eventually.

I also under-coated two more Boss Zombies today, which should fit niocely with the rest of the freaky looking Big Zeds.

Zombie Horde

Click to embiggen.

Okay, the last post for a little while, this is the beginnings of my horde. I hope the picture demonstrates my aim that in painting groups of walking dead, those Zombies should hopefully still be able to form up as a varied horde.

I hope to add to this soon and already have more minis in various stages of painting (as is always the case with my minis collection!).

Big/Boss Zombie (2)

Another Big or Boss type Zombie, this time one of two from Fenris Games (hello Jo and Ian!). Fenris have a great offering of minis, bases and scenic pieces as well as taking on custom work, so suffice to say I have picked up a number of things from them. Just wish they would get their non-ebay web-store sorted!

As ever, please embiggenificate by clicking the images.

I enjoyed painting this one, and even if it may be inspired by some game or other (possibly; I don't play many video games so cannot comment), I just viewed it as an opportunity to represent a character-type or focus Zombie. The other one is multi-part with slightly awkward join surfaces, meaning it has fallen down the pecking order.

Still some more Zombies yet to be shown, and I have others in the pain queue so please stay tuned.

Big/Boss Zombie (1)

Painted as part of the beginnings of my planned walking dead horde. This mini is from Tengu Models from their selection of boss-type Zeds. The mini came with integral base (which is something I hate on the whole, I have to say), but Tengu very thoughtfully made it a thin disc so a straight forwards matter to trim it off.

Click to embiggen pictures.

Painted with my usual recipe of Vallejo Green-Grey as a base skin tone, highlighted with increasing addition of Basic Skin Tone. The skin was washed with thinned down Devlan Mud (GW). The base is by Fenris. I will be mounting 'regular' Zeds on 30mm bases, and Big or Boss Zeds on 40 mm bases.

Look for more zeds in the coming days and months. Several featured in a Battle report that I will be posting soon on the Pulp Citizen.