Last Days in Paradise: Survivors

 I thought I would paint a few zombie apocalypse survivors (I actually painted the last week so they don't count as Zombtober, but I only got round to basing them this week).  These guys don't really fit into either of my two existing groups of survivors (the Outlaw MC and the Jamaicans) so they might form a third group (possible with a selfless leader) or might join one of the other groups if they need to recruit new members. 

First up is Carlos, who was a surf instructor before the apocalypse. A 'Survivor', with Athletic and Shooting skills, wielding a pump-action shotgun and a revolver. 

Samson was a movie stuntman before the apocalypse. He lived in a beautiful beach house on the island. Since the apocalypse he has found that his athleticism and martial arts training have been skills very much in demand. Samson is a 'Tough Guy' with Athletics and CQC skills. he is armed with a surplus SMG, a revolver and a knife. 

Brad was a college frat boy on vacation when the apocalypse trapped him on the island. He is smart and resourceful, but was also a bit of a jock back before the apocalypse. He is a 'Survivor' with Academic and Athletic skills. He carries a Surplus Assault Rifle and a knife. 

Patch is an escaped convict, who used the chaos and confusion of the earliest days of the apocalypse to escape from prison. I am sure he could have easily found new clothes but for some reason he prefers to keep on his orange prison uniform. Maybe he just thinks it is intimidating. 

He is a 'Goon' with CQC and Athletic skill. He is using a pump action shotgun and semi-automatic he stole from a prison guard. he also carries his trusty shiv. 

Last Days In Paradise : The Jamaican Posse

This is my Jamaican gang for my Last Days in Paradise campaign- A zombie apocalypse based on a fictitious Caribbean island. These guys are bad boy gangsta types from the rough neighbourhoods of Kingston, Jamaica.

Even before the apocalypse these guys were bad news. Lawless and violent, with ready access to military grade weapons, they were well set to survive the zombie outbreak and subsequent breakdown of order on Jamaica.

The Kingston Enclave, as the fortified camp in the heart of the city became known, lasted for eight months. The gangsters fought alongside the police and military for hold back the ever growing hordes of zombies. When the Enclave finally fell to the zombie hordes the gang fought their way out of the city to an airfield where they managed to get off Jamaica in a small tourist charter plane.

The plane had just enough fuel to get them to the Island. They had heard the rumours that it was free from infection, but as soon as they landed they discovered that the zombie outbreak ha spread here too. Nevertheless, the situation wasn't as dire as it had been on Jamaica, and so the gang decided to settle down and dig in.

The Jamaican gang are dangerous foes. They carry plenty of hardware, much of it military, and back it up with an abundance of muscle and a ruthless determination to survive. They have no love of the American Outlaw MC biker gang, an animosity that has not decreased since the apocalypse.

Devon- Merciless Thug- (Selfish) 

Military Assault Rifle and Club

Leader

Junior- Tough Guy (Neutral)

Squad Automatic Weapon, Semi-automatic Pistol and Knife

Lloyd- Goon (Selfish)

Surplus Assault Rifle and  Machete 

Winston- Gang Member (Selfish)

Military SMG and Knife

Tianna- Survivor (Neutral)

High-powered Rifle and Knife, Medical Supplies

Winston, Junior, Tianna, Lloyd and Devon. 

Last Days in Paradise: Biker Chicks!

I have added a couple of biker chicks to the Outlaw MC gang for Last Days: A Zombie Apocalypse. These girls count as 'survivors' and are a little lighter armed than the male bikers. Candice (in the red bikini top and combats) is armed with a semi-automatic pistol. Candice used to be a swimsuit model and a gym-bunny. 

Sugar (short for Sugar-Plum, believe it or not!) used to be a barmaid in the MC. She might not be as tough as the rest of the MC, but she knows a bit of first aid, and she is easy on the eye, so her brothers in the MC look after her. She is armed with a surplus SMG. 

Last Days in Paradise: Outlaw MC

I have decided to set my Zombie apocalypse (using Last Days) on a Caribbean Island (I am calling it Last Days in Paradise). This is mostly because I have lots of Jungle terrain and I should be able to reuse some of the terrain and figures I painted for my modern African (Zugando) setting.

While waiting for some figures to arrive from Northstar and Foundry I went rummaging in the loft and found these guys. A quick rebase and a touch up and I have the start of a gang.

The back story (which explains why there are four white Outlaw MC on a caribbean island) goes as follows...When the shit hit the fan in mainland USA the Outlaws were well set up with safehouses, guns and ammo. That didn't stop them being overrun as the hordes of freshly animated tourists and retirees from Florida swept away all before them. The Outlaws fled, heading south, their bikes allowing them to keep ahead of the hordes and avoid the refugee-choked highways.

As they traveled they heard rumours that the islands in the Caribbean has somehow escaped the zombie apocalypse. They stole a yacht from the Florida Keys and set off in search of an island sanctuary.

They were wrecked off the coast of the island in a terrible storm and only four made it ashore. Their fellow Outlaws, their bikes and most of their weapons were lost to the sea. Furthermore the island was not the sanctuary they were expecting, as it too had been overrun by the zombies and descended into a barbaric fight for survival.

Luckily the Outlaws are well adapted to surviving a zombie apocalypse, and maybe even thriving. They are violent men, used to operating outside normal laws and morality. The only things that matters to them is their fellow brothers in the MC. They need to find a safe house, get some more weapons and then start looking for a way off this God-forsaken island.

Dog, the MC Pres, is the leader of the Outlaws. He is a grizzled old veteran who will stop at nothing to protect his MC. 

Big (Stinky) Jeff is the MCs best mechanic, and a proficient Brawler. 

Bear is the MCs enforcer. An ex-marine, his military skills are very valuable. 

Sneaky Pete specialises in stealth, stealing and subversion. He would sell his own granny but he would never double-cross the MC 

Last Four Zomtober Napocalypse Survivors

Although I didn't get round to finishing the French Napocalypse survivors for my Regardez! Zombie! game during zomtober I did finally finish them off in the first week in November- so that nearly counts.

Again these are all Perry Miniatures 'Retreat From Moscow' range. Very nice to paint, and nice that there were all from different regiments so I could paint each one in a different uniform- I like that.

All that I have to do now is play the game. Maybe I can finally persuade Pulp Citizen to play Napoleonics?

First up, one of Napoleons Old Guard. Even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse he has kept his uniform smart. He has lost his boots, but the rest of his koit is in good order.  

Napoleon's Old Guard

 Next up a sapper in his forage cap wrapped in some hessian sacking. This chap looks like he has seen too much and is about to snap. 

Next up a Chasseur a Cherval (minus his horse). He has lost his carbine but is ready for action. 

Chasseur a Cherval

And finally a proud Polish Lancer who has lost his horse and 'acquired' a carbine. He doesn't look like he thinks that is a fare exchange.

Polish Lancer

And here is my motley crew of Frenchmen (and one Pole). They look ready for anything. What is that lurking in the shadows? 

  "Regardez! Zombie!"

Zomtober Week 4: Napoleonic Zombie Survivors and Undead Cowboys!

First up- for Regardez! Zombie! I have three more Napocalypse (do you see what I did there?) survivors- These three are cavalry men who have lost their horses- may be their mounts ran off at the smell of the undead, or else perished it the bitter winter. What ever happened these poor donkey-wallopers are now reduced to tramping through the snow like everyone else.

First up a Dragoon, sporting a musket as well as his cavalry sabre and pistol- A dragoon might do better that his other cavalry colleagues because at least he has been trained to fight on foot.

Next up, a very dashing Carabinier sporting a rakish brace of pistols- I love this one- very dynamic pose for a Perry Twins model. He certainly has a dash of the élan you would expect from a French cavalryman.

Here is my last cavalryman, for now. A hussar with a pistol and a sabre.  Hussars have a reputation for being dashing rakes with the skills to live off the land behind enemy lines- useful skills when surrounded by Les Morts Ambulants!

And on the Cowboys vs Zombies front I have finally finished all the ones I intended to do- these pair are from West Winds Victorian Zombies set. 

And here they are all together. In the further I might add a few more to this collection, may be some of the Warlord Games Zombie Indians, or a few of the Wargames Foundry zombie cowboys. On the whole I think the Red Box Games undead go quite well with the West Wind Games Victorian Zombies. 

Zomtober 2014: Week Three

Unfortunately real life has, as usual, got in the way of my plans...having spent most of the week in hospital with my son, my painting scheduled had gone up the swaney. Never the less I did manage to get two more survivors completed for Regardez! Zombie!

Here they are- a couple on daring infantrymen, exhausted from trudging through the bitter Russian winter, and having to grimly muster what strength they can to face a foe no one in Napoleons army had ever dreamed they would have to face...Les Morts Ambulants!

Hopefully next week I will get more done now Charlie is out of hospital - I intend to finish the Cowboys vs Zombies undead, and get at least three more Regardez! Zombie! survivors finished too. A tall order perhaps, but its good to set goals.

Zomtober 2014: Week 2

Week two of Zomtober is over already, and I managed to squeeze out some more historical-zom-apoc figures. There first three survivors for the Zombies vs Napoleonics game (I have decided to call it Regardez! Zombie! for short). 

The survivors are from Perry Miniatures 'Retreat from Moscow' range. Les Morts Ambulants (does everything sound cooler in French?) are from Mantic and I painted them last year for my Finnish zombie game 'It Snows in Hell'. 

In addition to Regardez! Zombie! I have added another zombie to my slowly growing horde of living dead for my Cowboys vs Zombies game (which has yet to be given a funky title). Some intrepid photographer even managed to capture the unfortunate zombies likeness in sepia film (just before it ate his head!)

Again, another one from Red Box Games-

Zomtober 2013: Final Round Up

Hi Guys and welcome to the final round-up of this months Zomtober for the dynamic duo painting team. This month Charlie and I have managed to paint a staggering 30 zombies and 11 survivors (it was meant to be 12 survivors but one went missing before he could be painted). That gives us enough zombie apocalypses stuff to start our own campaign. We cold do with a few more bits of scenery, but we have made a good start. 

Butch: Generally known as 'Fat Bloke' by Charlie. Butch spent too long playing Battlefield and Call of Duty on his Xbox. He is very over weight, but is convinced his virtual experience has given him the skills to survive a zombie attack. (painted by Charlie)

Joe the mechanic: Joe might not be the best fighter, but he can fix anything- just what you need when you need to hot wire a hummer in a hurry.
(painted by me)

Here are all the survivors including the luckless Graham. Figures are plastic from Wargames Factory

And here are all 30 Zombie. Again they are plastic and are from Mantic

Escape from Zombie Town : A Zombie Battle Report

In order to celebrate a rather successful Zomtober, Charlie and I decided to take all our zombies and our freshly painted zombie survivors to the Wargames Store on the Wirral for a game. It gave us a chance to game in a built up urban environment, because I haven't got much scenery suitable for a Zombie Apocalypse setting. 

Once again we used FUBAR, modified with a few house rules to make each of the survivors unique. The scenario was a simple 'get across the table top and off the opposite side' affair.

In FUBAR both the zombies and the characters activate on a dice roll, which is excellent as if creates a lot of unpredictability and drama, while helping to recreate the whole zombie movie vibe: Foolhardy survivors dashing off ahead on their own, and others lagging behind to be picked off by the packs of zombies. In our house rules we have zombies spawning at random in packs of five, and roll a single activation for the whole pack. Survivors roll to activate separately, as if they were one man squads. 

The survivors move through a ruined landscape of a factory destroyed in a fire. If they can only make it across the canal they will be safe.

The survivors (from L to R) Graham the office worker, Scott the mall cop, Hank the construction worker, Stan the gangster,
Giovanni the chef/hit-man, Marcus the bad ass biker

The survivors get a glimpse of some of the Dead shambling around on the road up ahead. If they can just make it to the foot bridge over the canal before the Dead spot them they should be safe. 

Hank dashes off ahead, but realises too late that another pack of the Dead has cut off their rout to the footbridge. There is nothing left but to fight their way through.

More Dead start swarming across the road bridge, attracted by the living. Things are looking dangerous now. 

'I've got your back son.'
The professional chef/hit-man Giovanni moves up behind Hank to give covering fire. 

Startled by the gunfire Graham starts to hangs back, but realise too late his mistake, as more Dead begin lumbering out of the ruined factory complex!

Hurrrm! Brains! Graham starts to run as the Dead surge after him. 

By now the rest of the survivors have managed to shoot their way through the Dead to reach the footbridge over the canal. But the Dead are closing in on them. 

Graham makes it to the top of the ramp, pursued by a pack of the Dead thirsting for his brains. More Dead  start pouring in from every direction. Will Graham make it too the footbridge?

The Dead grab Graham. He manages to brain one of them with his crowbar, as the rest surge around him, dragging at his flesh with their vicious claws. 

On the footbridge Scott and Giovanni try desperately to hold off the ever growing numbers of Dead, trying to buy time for Graham and the others to make it to safety. 

It's too late for Graham, as the Dead finally tear him limb from limb. 

Giovanni, ever the professional, holds the bridge long enough for the rest of the survivors to make it off the bridge to safety. The steady tap tap of his assault rifle drops one Dead after another as he cautiously falls back. 

The remaining survivors (Hank, Giovanni, Scott, Marcus and Stan) make it to relative safety  and live to fight another day. Graham has presumably joined the ranks of the Dead. 

This was a great game and was full of highlights and excitement. Once again FUBAR proved itself a worthy rule set for a pick-up-and-play zombie game, providing the right mix of drama and action. 

I would like to commend the Wargames Store for their help. They were very friendly and so were the other customers who all took time out to come over and see what Charlie and I were up to. The gaming table was very suitable for the game, and gave us some good ideas. 

I hope you like the AAR, and find it a fitting tribute to all the bloggers  who have joined in this Zomtober.