The Zompocalypse Will Be Televised.

ZTV News Team

These two figures come from the limited edition Frothers sculpting competition winners from last year.  As far as I know they havent been made available anywhere else since, but I could be wrong.  Its a pity if they havent as they are really very nice sculpts.

I have seen pairs of reporters in 28mm a couple of times before, once from EM4 and once from Copplestone Castings.  While those figures are also great its the body armour on this pair that makes them stand out a little.  Despite the inherent daftness of body armour that fashionably exposes the wearers midriff, the body armour and reporting-from-a-warzone look is very appropriate for a zompocalypse game.

Some real life press in body armour have “PRESS” written across their gear.  I didnt have the patience to paint that on to the figures so I settled for five white lines on each of their backs.  From the distance that the figures are viewed from on the table it really is much of a muchness anyway.

Reporting live from the hot zone.

The paint job on these turned out ok (apart from the fact that I forgot to finish the face of the female figures watch before I took the photos).

To be honest painting the pair was a chore for a few reasons unconnected to the figures themselves.  Between daylight bulbs on my painting lamp blowing at inconvenient times, spilling the entire pot of one of the paints that I was using all over my painting area and finally dropping and breaking the cameraman on the floor when the painting was nearly finished, for a few weeks it looked like these figures were destined to remain unfinished forever.  As such I am happy that they got to this stage at all really.

I plan to use the News Team as special objective pieces in games of (Sho.R.T.) AR:SE.  They could also feature in other games in a variety of usually scenario specific roles.

Penultimate Vanity Project #1: Modern Zompocalyptic Me

The inaugural Penultimate Vanity Project offering is modern era, zompocalypse survivor Paul.

Modern Survivor Me

I decided to start this series with the model that most closely represents what I actually look like.  All further PVP entries (no matter how esoteric) can therefore be measured against this one.

The figure is Baker from Hasslefrees Adventurers range.

I bought the figure specifically to paint up as a modern version of myself for gaming with.  Despite all of my recent talk about using certain heads, cats, glasses and the like to create a recognisable “branding” of my self-portrait figures, I didn’t do anything like that this time.  I considered adding glasses to the model but didn’t for two reasons: the hood made it awkward and the miniature is so beautifully sculpted (as one would expect from Hasslefree) that I didn’t want to cover up the detail with some crude conversion work.

What I did do was paint the clothes to match some things that I wear in real life.  The Sho3box Zompocalyptic Fall Collection consists of:

• Black hoodie with white piping  - Dunnes Stores – €9
• Brown/Olive Drab jacket – Dunnes Stores – €38
• Green Incredible Hulk t-shirt with Lou Ferrigno detail – Unknown Online Retailer $25USD inc shipping
• Blue jeans – Penneys - €15
• Black and Yellow Gola Trainers – Schuh.ie – €25 (sale price)

The miniature is sculpted wearing boots rather than trainers.  I don’t tend to wear boots very often so I decided to paint them up like a pair of my trainers anyway.  For the delectation of all of you fashionistas out there the trainers and the t-shirt are shown below.

Trainers

28mm Trainers

Hulk T-Shirt

 

I got a bit lazier than usual when highlighting the jacket, as is quite visible in the shot below.  As the viewers eye tends to be drawn to the face and bright green shirt I don’t think that it matters that much really.

Why am I only wearing one glove?

Although the real me is unlikely to behave in a terribly pro-active fashion in the event of the cannibalistic dead walking the Earth, I figured that some artistic licence was required to make a gaming piece that would be fun to use.  Although obtaining a muzzle suppressed machine pistol in rural Ireland is difficult at the best of times, I nonetheless decided to unrealistically arm the miniature with the supplied ranged weapon rather than the crowbar (also supplied) as it would be more fun to game with.  Miniature realism is a consideration, but I am not going to let it get in the way of my fun.  For the record, I don’t own a set of knuckledusters either.

I like the way that the face came out.  It looks close enough to my face to be acceptable, although as discussed in my project introduction post, getting a 28mm replica of any specific persons face is a tall order.  The painting on the face came out quite crisp and the eyes didn’t end up too crossed, which is always a bonus.

Painting this miniature brought a few things to my attention:

• When fully dressed I look like a hundred dollars.  Not quite “Derelicte“, but far from haute couture.  A dedicated follower of fashion?  Not so much.
• The photo is grainy.  I really must up my miniature photo taking game one of these days.
• Putting photos of my clothes up on my gaming miniatures blog is absurd, but strangely amusing to me.  I may do it with some other PVP entries as appropriate.  Depending on feedback of course.
• By painting a somewhat recognisable wardrobe on a 28mm figure it is possible to get recognition factor.  When I showed this figure to gaming colleagues they “got” it. I don’t think that if they had seen the figure on the table that they would have immediately known that it was supposed to be me, but when given the figure and asked “This is supposed to be a model of me.  What do you think?” they reacted positively.  This is encouraging for future, more ludicrous Penultimate Vanity Projects in waiting.  As some of the themes used for these figures are repeated I hope that a visual shorthand will develop that will make the PVP miniatures more recognisable to the observer.

Preparing for the Zompocalypse

Special Infected Cards for my AR:SE Rewrite

MT, PB and I all got together recently for a gaming weekend at my place.  As is usual these days, the emphasis was mainly on board games.

In addition to those games I decided to set up a Zombie Apocalypse miniatures game, largely due to the success of a game of AR:SE that MT and I played a few months ago.

While I planned to use the AR:SE rule set again I felt that some modifications to the rules as written (available here) were required.  So I set about trying to sort those out in advance of the big day.

AR:SE is a game that provides a cinematic way to use your toy soldiers with friends against a system that plays the zombies for you.  It is not a competitive game or even a test of skill.  It is a type of game that my group often calls a “funny voice generator” which basically means that it is an excuse to muck about with toy soldiers with your buddies and have a few laughs, rather than a contest.

The card driven AR:SE rules provided for a cinematic and very entertaining game the first time that MT and I played it some months ago, but we did feel that we had to make a lot of the supplementary rules up on the fly.  That session, while very entertaining did feel a little woolly, a little more like a RPG jamming session than a delineated boardgame or wargame.

That’s fine if that’s what you are into and I think that it was definitely part of the intention and design philosophy of AR:SEs original author.  Horses for courses and all that.  For our needs however I wanted to add a few elements that suit our play style, such as a more concrete process for spawning new zombies, specific rules for the arrival and behaviour of “special” boss zombies and a standardising of the somewhat eclectic ranges used for movement and shooting.

That process turned into a full blown re-write of the rules that included the following:

• Revised/streamlined weapon and movement ranges and rules
• A full glossary of very simple special effects/rules that are applied to create different types of Special Infected, weapon effects, character abilities etc with the minimum of duplication
• Expanded simple Spawning Rules that dictate the quantity and frequency of zombie reinforcements and that do not require a GM
• A very simple points/character generation system which was then applied to many of the Survivor models in my miniatures collection (and which could obviously be easily applied to anyone’s miniatures).  These rules were then added to cards along with a photo of the relevant figure.  This allows for a very easy way to field those figures either at random via a deal from the Survivor Deck or with ballpark values assigned that will mean that all players have roughly the same level of forces, should that be deemed necessary for some reason
• Another set of cards (the Event deck) was made for the various special zombie types plus other things that might crop up in the game like Extra Ammo, First-Aid, Pipe Bombs etc.  Basically the sort of power-ups that occur in Left 4 Dead or Resident Evil, that sort of thing.  These cards are inserted into the standard AR:SE Activation Deck at certain points to govern the appearance of Special Infected or Power Ups for Survivors.  Additionally in some circumstances these Event Cards are used to generate the circumstances when and where Scenario Specific items show up (like a briefcase containing the zombie virus antidote or keys required to enter the underground lab complex or whatever).

Survivor Cards

The Goal: The rewrite process had to pay particular heed to one main criteria: it was absolutely crucial not to bog down the simple, fast and entertaining core of the card driven AR:SE system with needless extra rules that would slow things down more than entertain.

The aim was to add a series of modular and clean extra rules without cluttering the system, while simultaneously streamlining the original system.

Ranges/Movement.  A major part of the re-write process was to rationalise the ranges and modifiers from the original AR:SE.

I felt that the weapon stats were quite varied but without much gain, that some distinctions were made unnecessarily and that overall they were a little counter-intuitive.

After a couple of different attempts I decided to convert the movement and weapon ranges to an approximation of those from Song of Blades and Heroes.

I feel that the movement and range measurement system in SoBH is far and away the best thing about it, so I happily transplanted a version of that into my AR:SE rewrite.

In addition to that I also reworked how the modifiers to hit at range apply to the various range bands when shooting.  I did this by reassigning the target number and then removing nearly all negative modifiers to hit (negative modifiers to hit are a slightly odd pet peeve of mine).

This was easier to organise than it probably sounds and was worth the little bit of effort.

Add to that that the fact that all of the information (including modifiers to hit) for each and every Survivor in play is written down on a card in front of each player and the potentially irritating effects of modifiers overall are minimised.  I hope.

More Survivor Cards, Yakuza this time.

Glossary/Special Rules.  The largest part of the rewrite was the generation of a large glossary of terms.  While quite a large number of terms were eventually settled on, very few of those are at play at any one time or even in any one game.  The few that are in play are always summarised on the cards used for each survivor miniature and for each of the more esoteric zombie types.

I did my best to standardise most of the special rules so that the same rule for a leaping Hunter was applied to a leaping Jockey for example.  Similarly a particularly dangerous weapon uses the same damaging rule as a particularly dangerous Special Infected for another example.  Of course it has to be ensured that this streamlining doesn’t render the game too generic and homogenised too.  This is all pretty fundamental stuff but it is essential to enable a game to run satisfactorily. It’s a balancing act that many systems trip up on that I hope my rewrite has handled adequately.

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So, after all of that time consuming work my as yet un-named rewrite was ready to go.  Anyone who is still reading at this point might be interested to know that the after action report for the inaugural game that MT, PB and I played will be posted next week.

Sir Reginald Beef Wellington O.B.E.

Sir Reginald Beef Wellington O.B.E.

Sir Reginald Beef Wellington OBE lives on the outskirts of Standard Falls, mostly keeping to himself.  He has a few friends in the area, the most notable being Doctor Leghorn.  His eccentric and slightly peculiar nature keeps him at arms length from most of the the towns inhabitants.

"Top hole! And rather spiffing too actually".

Reggie is the first post-apocalyptic figure that I have painted for quite a while, probably over a decade.   As a child of the ’80s when post-apocalyptic movies were particularly in vogue I will always have a soft spot for the sub-genre.

Reggie is a classic sculpt by Mark Copplestone currently for sale from EM4.  There is something really great about the “stiff upper lip” gas mask and torn morning suit look that is very appealing.

Most versions of the figure that I have seen are painted to look like the figure is wearing a formal suit, usually black.  Just for a little variety I decided to paint Reggie in a “boating” jacket, for that Oxbridge look.   The figure always reminds me a little of Mr Bland (from Bland and Brass) in the Rogue Trooper comics from the 80′s.

Since I painted and photgraphed the figure I have tidied up the stripes on the back of Reggies left arm.  A few of them were a bit off.  I also put a teeny bit of lichen on the rear of the base, but thats really hardly worth mentioning.

I have a lot of post-apoc stuff in the pipeline, so more inhabitants of post-apocalyptic Standard Falls will be showing up here as time goes by.

Resident Evil: Albert Wesker – S.T.A.R.S. / Undercover Operative

Albert Wesker

Wesker is the main recurring villain in the Resident Evil games.  When first encountered in the original game he appears to be part of the S.T.A.R.S. team.  As the story progresses it becomes apparent that he has his own agenda.  By the end of the game he has been exposed the T-virus.

Conveniently, the effect that the T-virus has on Wesker involves a whole lot less brutally ugly physical mutation than it tends to have on everything else that it comes into contact with.

The overall effect on Wesker after Resident Evil is the usual suite of enhanced senses, stamina and agility plus his eyes take on a glowing and reptillian look.  Also conveniently for Wesker, he always wears sunglasses, so even that mutation wasnt a big problem for him I suspect.

None of that matters in the context of this figure anyway as it depicts Wesker as a S.T.A.R.S. member during RE but before the viral exposure.

"The ultimate lifeform. Tyrant".

Wesker is a miniature from Recreational Conflict/Lead Bones, like all of the RE figures that I have posted recently, barring Ada Wong. Like all of the Resident Evil figures, Weskers paint job is basic and functional.  The figure is very recognisable as the character from the games, which is the most important thing.

Resident Evil: Jill Valentine – S.T.A.R.S.

Jill Valentine

“Jill is a member of S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team.  She is a highly intelligent agent who possesses both quick reflexes and common sense.  She has been decorated for her bravery in many dangerous situations where her cool judgement kept herself and others alive!”

So says the Resident Evil rulebook with regard to Jill Valentine.  Like Chris, Jill is one of the two main player characters in Resident Evil (players got to play RE1 using Rebecca for a short period when Chris was bitten by a “Yawn” (a huge mutant snake ), but Rebecca wasnt a fully fledged playable character until RE0, a prequel made about a decade later).

Jill also appeared in RE3: Nemesis but she was wearing a different outfit from that shown above.  That outfit is more or less the same as the outfit worn by Sienna Guillory when playing Jill in the pretty rubbish Resident Evil: Apocalypse movie.

Jill is probably best known in gaming circles for being the “Master of Unlocking”.  This is what her team mate Barry Burton calls her when handing her her signature lockpick early on in the original PS1 version of RE.  Although you probably had to be there, trust me: its unintentionally hilarious.

Check out a few of the worst PS1 RE dialogue clips here.  Of particular note is Barry and Jills light hearted discussion or her near fatal run-in with in a trap room with a descending ceiling.  Barry talks about his team-mate nearly becoming a “Jill sandwich!”.  Then they both laugh, the scamps.

Master of Unlocking

Like the rest of my recently painted RE figures, Jill got a pretty basic paint job.  Base coats, some washes, one or sometimes two highlights: nothing too fancy, plenty good enough for gaming with.

Like Chris and Wesker, I didnt have the patience to paint “S. T. A. R. S.” on her back (I barely have the patience even to type it).  I simply painted five lines where the letters should be and left it at that.

Like Leon, Jill is one of the better and more recognisable sculpts in the range IMO.  Its nice having such a recognisable rendition of such an iconic character of the genre for gaming with.  If you like toy soldiers and Resident Evil video games then you should definitely keep an eye out for Jill.

Resident Evil: Rebecca Chambers – S.T.A.R.S.

Rebecca Chambers

According to the Resident Evil 0, Rebecca Chambers is:

“The most recent member of S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team.  An intelligent woman who graduated from university at the age of 18.  A highly organised agent who knows how to take control of any situation”.

Rebecca has a small playable role in Resident Evil but was one of the two main characters in RE0.

"The name is Rebecca Chambers, but that's *Officer* Chambers to you".

Rebecca is obviously a medic.  I rushed the cross on her back a little too much.  It could do with being a bit neater.

Resident Evil: Ada Wong – Covert Operative

Ada Wong

Ada first featured in Resident Evil 2 although I dont think that she was a playable character at any stage (I might be wrong though.  Its a long time since I played it).  She reappeared in RE4 where she had a pretty substantial unlockable minigame.

Ada conforms to a pretty standard femme-fatale-assassin-with-a-heart-of-gold archetype in the games.  In addition to always being shown to be a powerful adversary she has a “will they, wont they” relationship with Leon.

"You know what this is about... so just hand over the G-Virus..."

The figure that I used for Ada is from Hasslefree.  The other RE figures that I have been putting up recently are Recreational Conflict/Lead Bones, but those guys dont make a not-Ada.  Although the figure isnt perfect for representing Ada, it is a really nice figure.

Although the paint job was pretty simple (and I decided not to attempt Adas signature butterfly motif anywhere on her dress) it worked put pretty well.  Apart from her crossed right eye that I only spotted once I photographed the miniature.  I will get around to fixing that when I get a new prescription for my glasses Id say.

Resident Evil: Carlos Oliveira – U.B.C.S.

Carlos Oliveira

According to the Resident Evil 3: Nemesis rulebook:

“Though Carlos hails from South America, his exact origins are unknown except that he carries Indian blood”.

“He is a U.B.C.S. soldier, in charage of heavy firearms, security and mission back-up.  He is also responsible for weapons maintenance”.

“At first sight he may appear inexperienced and immature.  He is actually warm-hearted, with a strong sense of right and wrong”.

The Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (U.B.C.S.) that Carlos is part of when first encountered in RE3, is a different group to the Umbrella Security Service (which I posted about here, here and here).  According to the Resident Evil Wiki “the U.S.S. were specially taught mercenaries with experience in infiltration while U.B.C.S. were just criminals released to fight for Umbrella”.  Who knew?

"I know. You want to ask me out. All the foxy ladies love my accent. It drives them crazy".

Carlos is a a playable character in RE3: Nemesis and he also appeared in two of the movies.  In the game he was unaware of how eeevil the Umbrella Corp was, despite being on their military payroll.  Hence the Umbrella logo on his jacket.

Resident Evil: Leon S. Kennedy – Government Agent

Leon S. Kennedy

“Agent for the U.S. Government.  He has been sent to Europe on a solo mission to rescue the Presidents kidnapped daughter, Ashley.  Leon is one of the few people who survived the destruction of Raccoon City six years ago.”

Leons blurb according to the Resident Evil 4 rulebook.  Leon also appeared in Resident Evil 2, but the figure is based on his Resident Evil 4 look.  Like pretty much all of the Resident Evil game franchise, RE2 was great, as good as RE4 I think.

"Used to be a cop myself, only for a day though".

The figure is immediately recognisable as the character from the games.  His floppy fringe is exaggerated a bit which gives him a bit of a Morten Harket look, which is mildly amusing

The figures mouth is broad, quite Martin Landau like.  I am not sure if I managed to unintentionally make that happen with paint or if it is part of the sculpt.  Also, Leons left arm looks to be a tiny bit on the short side but as far as I am concerned these are minor issues.  I like the figure, the character and the way that the paint job turned out.