Zomtober 2013: Week Three



Week three has seen a bit of a slow down as I have been a bit busy in the house, doing DIY, while Charlie has had loads of homework. We have a few WIP, but only turned out one survivor each.

I did Marcus the biker- I am particularly pleased with the leathers and his tea-shirt. Charlie did Billy, a character he certainly empathised with. Hope you like...

Before the Zombie Apocalypse Marcus was a motorbike courier. He is a tough, no-nonsense character with a strong independent streak. His favourite weapon is the machete he picked up in a hardware store, which he uses to behead any zombies who get too close.

Billy 'the Kid', as he has become known by the other survivors is a street smart skater boy, who has survived the zombie apocalypse thanks to his quick wits and bravery. Other survivors tend to look after him, but the truth is he is more than capable of looking after himself.

I Just want to add how amazing this Zomtober has been so far- it's great to see everyone's blogs, and all the new zombies and survivors Zomtober is spawning!

Zomtober 2013: Week Two

Here's this weeks entry. Having taught the Monkey Boy Charlie how to paint zombies he got to work in his relentless style. Within a couple of days he had clocked up nine finished models- and I am well-chuffed with them! They are so good that they are completely indistinguishable from the one I painted. I painted in eyes and teeth, then I painted the bases. Charlie doesn't like to do the faces and bases, but for me they are my favorite bit: I find it relaxing after a hard day at work. 

The only trouble is now I have got to put together a load more, before he starts moaning he has got nothing left to paint!

As well as faces and bases, I have managed to turn out one survivor- here he is. Again I used the Wargames Factory plastics. 

Ex gang member Stanley and his AK.

The AK47: The best there is. When you absolutely, positively have to execute every zombie in the room, except no substitute. 

Zomtober 2013: Arh! Zombie Toast!

This is what happiness if humble toast becomes infected with the Zombie Contagion

Actually it was a jam filled toasty that went horribly wrong, but this being Zomtober, I had to post a picture! Charlie subsequently ate the toasty, so I will be keeping a close eye on him for sights that he might have contracted the contagion. perhaps that is how the Zompocalypse will begin?

Zomtober 2013: Week One

Regular readers of my Blog might recall that last year Pulp Citizen and I decided to declare October to be 'Zomtober'; our intent 3was to paint a zombie a week for the duration of the month. We invited others to join us in this enterprise, and were duly joined by Simon Q (Brummie) and Adam(Havensburg). I managed to get 10 zombies finished, which felt like quite an achievement. 

This year, things are on on a larger scale. Pulp Citizen and Brummie have been busy drumming up support and we now have 26 (at last count) bloggers and hobbyist signed up for the cause. -I think that many fresh zombies counts as a level three contagion outbreak! I hope the authorities are ready. 

Pulp Citizen has been keeping track of all the bloggers and gamers joining in on his blog (The Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer)

A good number of the Zombtober bloggers are doing Victorian zombies, as these seem to be all the rage these days, but I will be sticking with modern. I did contemplate adding to my 'It Snows in Hell' Finland Zompocalypse, but in the end decided to stick with a more traditional modern setting- not least because I wanted to try out Wargames Factory's zombie survivor box. 

So with Zombtober being a much grander affair this year, I decide to push the boat out and be much more ambitious. My 13 year old son Charlie is very keen to paint some zombies, and is a very speedy painter- while I am no slouch either. We are going to combine our efforts this year, and aim to paint no less that 30 fresh zombies and 12 survivors!

Week One got of to a strong start, with four survivors and a zombie (a paint test subject I used to teach Charlie how to paint zeds).

Hank: A middle-aged construction worker. Divorced, bad-tempered, and with a drink problem. The fact that he is antisocial and dislikes people has kept him alive this long. 

(painted by Charlie)

Mich: A strange character with an even stranger dress-sense. The other survivors are not sure what to make of him, as he seems to inhabit a fantasy world of his own creation. No one knows if  he was mentally unstable before the zombie apocalypse or as a result of it. What no one questions is his skill with his matched pistols!

(painted by Charlie)

The Preacher: Driven by a holy zeal, he will stop at nothing to protect 'his flock'. Watching him bring down the wrath of The Lord down on a zombie is an awesome sight. 

(painted by me)

Giovanni: He claims to be a restaurateur,  but his familiarity with a wide range of weaponry have lead many of the other survivors to question this fact. He does make a very good lasagna.

(painted by me)

Our first test subject; this one was painted by me, but the rest will be a joint effort. Charlie is all fired up to paint his own. 

VBCW: Bridge over the River Wye

The Hereford VBCW game went of swimmingly at the week end. I took my Royalists, in the form of Lord Robert Grover and his militias, to help defend the estate of the Baron of Foy, a distant relative of Lord Robert, from the terrible Anglican League.

In truth  Lord Robert Grover probably had more in common with the officers of the Anglicans that he did with his allies- a dreadfully rough Scots fascist and some uncouth South African's fighting for the king. 

The battle consisted of an Anglican attack on the Baron's property in Foy. The main force of the Anglicans were obliged to cross a footbridge under constant and withering fire, with predictable and bloody consequences. The Anglicans, in fairness, were game lads, brave and heroic, but their attack was ultimately futile as the bridge was too weak to carry their Vickers 6 ton tank across the river. A particular down-point for the Anglicans was when the dastardly BUF reduced a section of fine AL cavalry to a bloody mist with HMG fire. 

The Anglican's best hope came when a platoon of commandos managed to cross the river using an old and long forgotten tunnel, and mount a surprise flank attack. The sudden assault caught my armored car crew mid-cup-of-tea, and the vehicle was destroyed by a sticky bomb attack. After their initial success the commando's attack stalled, despite bringing up a Stokes mortar, as they seemed to lack the incentive to press the attack home. Two sections of rough and ready BUF cads and the machines guns from my light reconnaissance cars were enough to keep them tied up. Eventually the Anglicans withdrew from Foy, having lost four sections of men (including a cavalry section) and a universal bren carrier. I had lost the armored car and the best part of a section of militia, and the BUF had lost a section of infantry. 

Poor resonance cost the Anglicans the day. Had they have realised that the foot bridge was not strong enough to support a tank, and brought some armored cars or a field gun instead, then they might have fared better. 

Elsewhere in the battle the Anglican League fared slightly better, having damaged a railway bridge, effectively cutting the BUF off from their reinforcements, but at a terrible cost. Some confusion remains  but the BUF commanders also maintain that the South Africans buggered off at an inopportune moment  leaving the BUF in the lurch, as they had to contend with angry locals and an AL assault. 

Over all, another great day out to Hertfordshire and a great game and curry/waffly chat afterwards. 

Lord Robert's groundsmen lay an ambush

Lord Robert chats with his advisers at Foy Hall

Foy Hall, in the foreground, and the weak footbridge over the river Wye visible at the top of the picture. 

The BUF redoubt that commanded a good firing position at the troops crossing the footbridge.

AL commandos launching a flank attack

Having had their armored car blown up, the crew smoke a cigarette and wait to surrender to the AL officer. 

The AL commandos attack the flank, but the attack runs out of momentum

The AL forces trying to cross the foot bridge realise the futility of their assault without the support of a tank.

My brave lads successfully defend Foy Hall. 

VBCW: Vehicals

Ahead of tomorrows VBCW Big Game in Hereford, I have been getting some vehicals read for the Duke of Farnham's faction. The Duke is something of a fan of the motorcar in all its forms, and in particularly in the armoured car. During the Great War he was instrumental in the developed of the iconic Rolls Royce Armoured car, and since then has he a huge fan of racing cars, motorbikes and speed boats. Naturally his own private army in the Very British Civil War will feature as many vehicals as he can get his hands on (so long as he can find the fuel for them).

The first is an improvised armored car of a design created by the Duke himself. It features two Lewis MG turrets and a boiler plate hull proof against most small arms fire. 

The second is a staff car, from the Dukes own collection, and is a 1914 Vauxall Prince Henry.  The diver is in the unofficial uniform of a  Junior Staff Officer of the Chester City Militia. The passenger, a Bren Gunner form the Dukes Household Guard Company, is wearing the livery of a footman. 

The armoured car was bought on eBay and repainted, while the staff car is a matchbox die-cast that has been repainted  the crew are form Mutton Chops Miniatures and the Bren gun is from The Assault Group. 

VBCW: More Servants

Here are a few more of the servants from the Duke of Farnham's household  although these are not part of his armed company as their positions are considered indispensable to the functioning of the household. 

On the left is Mr Jenkins, the butler  in the middle is Brown, The Duke's own valet, and on the right is Sarah May, ladies made to the Duke's wife, Lady Ann. 

VBCW: Lord Henry Flashthorpe

Lord Henry Flashthorpe (Flashy to his friends  is a wealth, and slightly eccentric  gentleman who has earned a reputation as a big game hunter, having spent a good deal of his time in Africa, South America and the Orient. He has even shot polar bears in the Arctic.
Having found himself at something of a loose end in 1938, he has taken to spending time with good pal Lord Robert Grover, and his uncle  the Duke of Farnham. 

Naturally, when the Duke got into a bit of a rook with those damned communists and radials Lord Henry lept at a chance to lend a hand, and is currently helping out as a sniper. Unusually for a sniper, Lord Henry considers camouflage and skulking about to be a bit unsporting, preferring to use the range of his very powerful and very accurate custom made rifle, and his considerable skill. 

VBCW: Household Guard

With a big VBCW game scheduled for this week end in Hereford, I thought it was high time to add to my VBCW collection, by finishing a few odds and ends I had hanging around. 

This is a photo of the Duke of Farnham's 'Household Guard'; a rather overblown title for what is essentially a militia made up of the male servants from his household- valets, footmen and even a coachman (although the Duke seldom has cause to use his coach, as he prefers motorcars). 

They are enthusiastic  if not particularly well trained, and they consider themselves 'elite' compared with the groundsmen and tenants who make up the rest of the Dukes private army. 

Visit to Wargames Store

Sorry I haven't posted much of late but I have been very busy at work and, even though I have been furiously painting on my evenings off, I haven't got round to getting much ready for photographing.  I have been painting some Chindits and Japanese for my Bruma campaign, and some more VBCW characters  for an upcoming Big Game in Hereford, and I will defiantly post pictures of these as an when they are completed. 

Today my son Charlie and I went to the subtly titled 'Wargames Store' (can you guess what they sell there?) in Brimstage, on the Wirral. What I saw impressed me no end! The store is huge, stocking a wide range of wargaming stuff from most of the major manufactures  GW, War Machine, Warlord Games  Flames of War, Perry Miniatures, Wargames Factory and much more. We could have spent ages there- they have a cool gaming room too, with permanently set up tables. 

Charlie picked up some Wargames Factory Greek hoplites- he fancies collecting figures inspired by Greek mythology. It's going to be quite Hollywood, rather than accurate. He's already done  a Medusa, and wants some minatores too!

Anyway, the Wargames Store is lovely- the staff are friendly and helpful, and it is housed in a stunning stone barn. It's also very close to a nice craft center my good lady wife could poke around in while we boys were getting our geek on looking at little figures.