28mm 'not' Michonne

Still buoyed with the news that my copy of the third series of the 'Walking Dead' is but a month or two away from been delivered to 'Awdry Towers' it seemed churlish not to get this second set done having completed the 'Post Apocalyptic Family', earlier in the week. 

As with the previous set, 'Michelle – Human Survivor' is a loosely veiled incarnation of Michonne, a character from  the 'Walking Dead' and comes complete with a couple of pets!  It will not surprise many to hear that the sculpts are good and clean with very little flesh as seems to be the norm with the wonderful work from 'Studio Miniatures'. 

Michonne appears very briefly at the end of the second series as Andrea, seemingly surrounded and out of ammunition awaits her fate in the woods following the chaotic escape from Hershel's farm - this of course will mean very little to anyone who hasn't seen the program!  Drawing my reference directly from the program has been problematic this time as even a cursory 'google' search  has the potential to contain spoilers for the third series, but it would appear that our katana wielding heroine maintains her grisly companions as a form of defence.

The sculptor has obviously decided to have fun with the pets creating some truly revolting animated corpses; one complete with a beer belly, an affliction I can relate to of late!  Still at a push I can use these as additions to the growing horde, taking the tally to sixteen - just another fourteen to go then!

A Post Apocalyptic Family

It is funny how the smallest thing can spark a series of thoughts that can lead to a subtle change of direction - sometimes there is nothing subtle about it at all!  Just the other day, I received an email from the good people at Amazon to notify me that 'The Walking Dead' series 3 was available for pre-order.

Now I was very late on this show and had only finished watching my box set of series 2 whilst series 3 was already underway here in old Blighty.  Having decided not to rush you can imagine my excitement at hearing news that more celluloid cadavers were heading my way - this called for a celebration!

And so it was the 'Rich and Family' (as 'Studio Miniatures' have surreptitiously named them) saw themselves promoted through the massed ranks of the painting queue.  I have managed to convince myself that these, and the set that will follow shortly, are only the smallest of distractions as they do at least pertain to the zombie apocalypse! 

As with my previous experiences with 'Studio Miniatures' they were great fun to paint, although the 'not Carl Grimes' was a touch problematic given his stature and my fixation with trying to replicate the Atomic Paw logo on his T-shirt!

In fact it soon became a bit of a mission to base all three on America's number one, post zombie apocalypse family - I such a sucker for a television or movie tie-in!  Roll on September when I can finally get my hands on series 3 - now no spoilers please! 

Tea at Granny's?

More from the wonderfully grotesque 'Studio Miniatures' pack that I have on the go.  This time Granny and Grandson take to the streets!  Once again they are great sculpts, but they did require a little bit of work to clean them up.

Nothing particularly original in the colour palette with inspiration coming mostly from the company's own website that said I'm pleased with how they turned out, especially when seen with the previous two 'shufflers' - just another fifteen to go!

'Why did the chicken cross the road post?' can be found here.

9pdr Hales Rocket

My goodness me what a busy week or so!  Just when you think you are on top of everything along comes a healthy dose of 'real life' to scupper even the best laid plans.  That said, today marks the first day of a long summer holiday, that I've been dreaming about since September!

I can't say how relieved I am to see this piece vanquished from the painting table; probably one of my first purchases from the wonderful 'Empress Miniatures' this group has been left abandoned for a good couple of years now.  I had hoped to have entered it for the 'Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge', but sadly not - see previous mention of best laid plans!

This 9pdr Hales rocket with trough, bombardier and infantry 'hired help' was such a delight to work and a wonderful representation of the notorious ordnance used at the battle of Isandlwana.  I use the word 'notorious' as the rocket was potentially as dangerous to the men operating it as it was to its intended target.  As a psychological weapon, it was certainly affective causing fear and confusion to all that heard it whiz and zoom around them, with sparks trailing; a shame then that only one rocket was discharged before the battery at Isandlwana was overwhelmed by Zulus from the iNgobamakhosi regiment.

As you can see from this photograph, my corner of the dining room table is in desperate need of attention, so after another cup of Earl Grey and a peruse around all those other wonderful web logs out there it might be time to hit the brushes! 

Book Review#17. - Achtung Schweinehund!

As is my want, and having finally finished this latest spot of bedtime reading, it is  customary to pen a short review, but with this splendid tale of 'Imaginary Combat' by Harry Pearson I intend to break with tradition a tad and direct you to the reviews of others.  The first thing to acknowledge is that I own this book as a direct result of having read the positive reviews at both Paul's, 'The Man Cave' and Ben's, 'Monsieur le Rosbif & Johnny Frog'.  Both Gentlemen had written such glowing reports that I quickly scribbled down the title and added it to my Christmas wish list - yes, I really do that!  

On completion, I thought I would revisit their reviews and measure my own findings against their own and I have to confess that I found myself in total agreement with both, this really was a gem of a book and probably should be required reading for all that share an interest in this most wholesome of hobbies.  So good, in fact, are Paul's and Ben's reviews that it seems a little churlish of me to reinvent them here, so I shall just quote a little from both and encourage you to read them in their entirety by following the links to their respective blogs.

from 'The Man Cave':

...the author goes on to make other wonderfully self mocking commentaries which apply to all of us gamers really.  For example, after recording the time it took to paint 28 20mm soldiers (43hrs, 27mins - a full working week with a bit of overtime) he observes 'I thought of all the figures I had painted in my life.How many years it had taken to paint them.  If I had put it into some sensible activity I might now be a lawyer, architect or neurosurgeon and you'd be reading a book by somebody sensible like John Grisham, Bernard Cornwell or Alain de Botton.'  Certainly a perspective most gamer wives would agree with, even if only from a financial perspective.  Nonetheless you can feel the love and enjoyment of modelling and gaming all the way through the book. 

from 'Monsieur le Rosbif & Johnny Frog':

This book is a rolled-gold, authentic, laugh-out-loud cack-fest that should be required reading for all historical wargamers. While I only took up this hobby 6 years ago, my childhood was so filled with toy soldiers and dreams of heroism and glory that the author's reminiscences struck a clear note of recognition in me. His descriptions of role-playing-games and their players had me laughing till I shed tears, and his descriptions of wargames conventions and the people who attend them was uncomfortably close to the truth! 

There will be no 'tie in' miniature to this title as in previous posts just the most sincerest recommendation and a strong four crown rating from yours truly - certainly worth every penny in my humble opinion.

 

Why did the Chicken cross the road?

to get to the braaains!!!

If I am ever to achieve my target of playing a game this summer then I need to bolster the ranks of the undead - quite significantly if my understanding of the rules is correct.  The 'episode' in question calls for a zombie 'cast' of up to a 150 'ratings'; this being the language of '7ombieTV'.

With each cadaver worth only five ratings that would mean a horde of thirty!  Fortunately I can have some archetypal 'co-stars' that will help to reduce that number, but for the time being the grim necessity is more of the same!

These two grisly grotesques are from the wonderful 'Studio Miniatures' and I have to say I loved working on them.  The sculpts are wonderfully original and there is a great, if somewhat macabre, sense of humour about the range; I'm looking forward to completing the rest of the group in due course. 

Perhaps the petrifying flesh is a little too blue, but I'm hopeful that it won't scream out when these two are joined with the rest of the shambling horde.

Daphne & Velma...

...the return of the 'secret project'!

Miss Daphne Hudson, the spirited niece of Holmes' former housekeeper was privately educated  at Roedean  thanks, in no small measure, to the generous stipend that the consulting detective had set aside for her.  Always meticulous in her appearance, Daphne was due to take the social scene by storm, but tragedy struck when a ferocious bout Dengue fever claimed the lives of her parents whilst travelling abroad.   Grief stricken, Daphne missed her Debutantes' ball  and her opportunity to shine on the glittering social circuit.  With few options left open to her she has reluctantly chosen to follow her  'adopted'  uncle on his lecture tour of the United States armed only with her late father's umbrella.

'By Jinkies!'  Velma, Dr Watson's wayward ward, has a reputation for being a hellion.  Although awarded a place to read the relatively new social science of  anthropology at St. Hilda's College, Oxford, Velma quickly became frustrated by the inequality between the sexes at British educational establishments at the time.  As a result this wildcat has shunned academia for a chance to explore the grand old U.S. of A. enjoying the relative freedom from the restrains of polite society and the stifling dress code that goes with it.  A veteran of her father's grouse moor, Velma is an expert shot!

Now as departures go this one is a little left field, even by my standards.  The self indulgent folly that is the 'secret project' is simply an excuse that allows yours truly to meld together all manner of unholy combinations from mythology, folklore, popular culture and of course earlier episodes of 'Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'

This ridiculous construct allows me to collect pretty much anything that grabs my fancy without ever having to worry about gaming it and today I'm proud to reveal the latest characters, Daphne and Velma erstwhile travelling companies of our heroes, S. Holmes Esq., Shaggy Watson and Baskerville.  This ludicrous piece of frippery has been sitting on the back burning for a while now, whilst suitable characters were tracked down, but it wasn't until 'Salute 2013' that inspiration struck.  My curiosity was piqued by the swarm of customers around the 'Black Scorpion' stand.  The release of their new cowgirls set was certainly causing quite a stir; nothing at all to do with the delightful young lady that was serving behind the counter!  It was from this new cowgirl set that Velma was born, the resin of the 'Black Scorpion' piece allowing for a simple head swop from a 'Hasslefree Miniatures', 'Louise' (what will I do with that body!) I did try to file the angular glasses frames to something more rounded, but conscious that one slip would result in an unplanned nose job, I bottled the job!  As for Daphne, she came from 'Black Scorpion's' Civilians 1 group, with both ladies adopting a colour palette inspired from the original Scooby Doo cartoon.

So there we have it, the travelling companions finally reunited and ready for more adventures, but sadly these will have to wait for the moment as the St. Trinians zombie hunters are calling!