Aaaggghhh...Zomtober

It is that time of year again. Three years ago Pulp Citizen and I came up with the idea of Zomtober as a way of getting some of our half finished zombie projects a bit more finished. The idea was that we would each paint at least one zombie per week, and post a picture of it on the blog. This way, at the very least, our combined zombie horde would be ten stronger by the  end of October. It was a simple idea with quite simple goals, and I suspect that is why the idea caught on. That first year two other zombie enthusiast joined us, but the next year the idea when 'viral' (zombie pun intended) and zombie painters for all over the globe began signing up to add to their own hordes of the walking dead. 

So here we go again. If you want to join in, just a post a freshly painted zombie a week, each week of October Zomtober. Pulp Citizen and Brummie (Simon Quinton) have done a lot of the planning and made this nice banner top. I just stole it off them. I am sure they wont mind if you do too. 

Zomtober 2014: The Plans!

I have always maintained that everything is better with zombies (with the probable exception of real life) and this Zomtober I intend to prove this. 

Given that Pulp Citizen and I can, between us, field 60-70 painted 'modern' zombies, I thought it was high time I mixed things up a bit and got historical. 

First off...Napoleonics vs Zombies!

Building on the excellent work of Jane Austin in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I have decided that the early 19th  century needs more zombies. Zombies are a lot more scary when your musket takes 20 seconds to reload. 

I toyed with the idea of doing some Spanish zombies to be used with my Peninsular War Napoleonic figures, but the nice neat uniforms and rank and file just doesn't look 'zompoc survivor' enough for my tastes.  Then I stumbled on the Retreat from Moscow range by Perry Miniatures and knew at once I had to get them. By good fortune I made ice zombies for my Finland Zombie Outbreak for last years Zomtober. All I have to do is paint some survivors and I am good to go.

The 'plot' will be that Napoleons army, defeated by the Russian winter, are falling back in disarray. A band of stragglers struggling through the deep snow and driving winds when they are beset by ravenous undead!

Rules wise I think I will be looking at mashing Songs of Drums and Shakos with the undead rules from Songs of Blades and Heroes. The rules are so similar it should be easy enough to work out. 

Here are a couple of snow-bound pictures to give you an idea of what I am going to be going for...

Regardez Zombies!

The last thing these guys need is a zombie apocalypse!

Here are my ice zombies I painted last year...

Now before anyone goes crying foul and pointing out that I haven't painted any zombies in Zomtober (After all the idea is to paint one zombie a week for the whole of the month) I have decided to launch a second mini project...

Cowboys vs Zombies!

This one is drawing inspiration from Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, a spin off for the original computer/console game. 

Cowboys are tough resilient folk, well used to dealing with dangers that would freeze a lesser man's soul, who better to face a zombie apocalypse and survive? That said, with the isolation of many 'wild west' towns, there is no chance of the authorities turning up to save the day (well maybe the rangers or the US cavalry), so the towns folk are on their own. 

I am thinking of using In Her Majesties Name for this one...the undead could be a faction lead by a necromancer or Native Americana shaman. I haven't really worked out the specifics yet (I rarely bother to workout the rules until I have the figures painted)

Here's some pictures to get the creative juices flowing..

Victorian SciFi: Flesh Golem

 It is nearly time for this years Zomtober spectacular, where people around the globe try to get as their zombie hordes growing by painting and posting pictures of at least one zed per week. 

Ahead of the zombie madness I have painted this Flesh Golem for my zombies vs cowboys game. Technically it's not a zombie, but it is a sort of reanimated corpse so I think I can get away with it. 

I am not sure who makes this mini, but perhaps Pulp Citizen can enlighten us because I got it in a bag of hand me down minis he gave me. It quite a nice sculpt, with a dynamic pose (no shambling dead here). Fast, tough and strong... sure to be a dangerous opponent for my cowboys!

AtDE: Rag Market Trader (Gameboy the Grey)

Gameboy is a trader in the Rag Market (formally known as Birmingham). He buys and sells computer components and electrical goods looted from the ruins of the shops and offices around the Rag Market. 

Many consider him a wizard of sorts,and some jokingly call him Gameboy the Grey. He knows much of the Lore of Computers that has been lost since the war. He is old...perhaps one of the oldest of all the rag market residence, and he has the wisdom which only comes with age. his sagely advice is much sought after by the younger generations. 

Gameboy doesn't collect his own computers any more- he is too old and frail for that. Instead he hires young gangers to go out into the city ruins and fetch it back foir him. Its dangerous work, but Gamboy always pays well for their loot. 

Gameboy is a Lead Adventure Miniature figure, one of a small collection of post-apocalypse traders. He was a pleasure to paint. the resin base is from Fenris Games. I think he will work equally well as part of my my occasional scifi Scum and Villainy collection. 

Peninsular War: Angry Spanish Mob (Part One)

Here are a few more figures for my Peninsular War setting- After reading CS Fosters 'The Gun' I felt the need to paint some angry Spaniards, outraged at the French occupying army. 

The Peninsular War was effectively kicked off by an angry mob of Spanish peasants incensed by Napoleon manipulating the Spanish line of succession in favour of his own brother. It was this rebellion that finally convinced the English that opening up another front on the Iberian Peninsular was a viable option in their war against Napoleon. 

Throughout the war the Spanish peasants and the guerilla fighters were a great thorn in the side of the French occupying force (in fact the term guerilla is a Spanish word coined in this period- it means 'little war'). It could be argued that the Spanish peasant were a greater threat to the French that the Spanish regular army.

Catholic Priest in both Spain and Portugal railed again Napoleon's atheist France, and often were at the fore of many a peasant uprising. The French knew how dangerous these religious fanatics were, and generally hung any they captured in battle. 

My intention is to do a small force of Spanish- Guerillas armed with muskets (probably supplied by the English or captured by from the French) along with an angry mob of locals and clergy, armed with anything they can grab. 

My Spanish are from Eureka, and are from their Tyrolean range (part of their French Revolutionary Wars range). So technically their Italian.
I opted for these because their is a number of figures armed with just improvised weapons, as well as some with muskets. This makes them ideal for an angry mob. Scale wise they fit well with Perry Miniatures, and should be perfect with the Perry Carlist War figures, meaning I can easily build up the faction with civilians and me armed with a variety  of fire arms. They should also scale well with the Paul Hicks sculpted Spanish from Brigade Games. 

I do like plenty of options. 

Home Guard 1941: Odds and Ends

 Here are a few more of the odds and ends I have been finishing off for my Home Guard platoon for Bolt Action.
 First up, a couple of stretcher bearers for my medic. These don't really work in the rules as they havn't got rifles and their are two bearers together on the base, but they are such cool figures I just had to do them. I am just going to count them as a single rifleman accompanying my medic.

 They are from Black Tree Designs. I want to get some more and convert them to Chindits for my Burma army.




Next up, a Royal Artillery Forward Observing Officer. He is issued with a Sten Gun, which has just been introduced to the British army ahead of the German invasion and is still something of a novelty. It is much lighter (and more unreliable) than a Thompson SMG, which is why this FOO had picked it.

The Royal Artillery will be back behind the lines, and the FOO will be hopefully guiding accurate artillery fire onto the German positions while the Home Guard attempt to fend off the Huns.

British defensive doctrine in 1941 was to use the Home Guard to stall the German blitzkrieg at stop lines and anti-tank islands long enough for the Regular army to assemble and counter attack. There is no doubt that the volunteers in the Home Guard would be facing a terrible onslaught for the first few hours of any invasion, and I am sure they would be glad of the Royal Artillery 25 pounders while they wait for reinforcements.


Home Front 1941: Royal Enginieers



  The relentless slog to get some nearly finished projects finally laid to bed has seen me finishing off some of the Home Guard units I have had hanging about for a while.
  These guys are a small section from the Royal Engineers who happen to be in town building some beach defences when the Germans invade in 1941. This means they are Regular Army, as opposed to Home Guard, but as they are lead by an NCO they have been attached to my Home Guard Platoon.

First up, a flamethrower section. Useful for rooting Fallschirmjager out of hedgerows, but perhaps more useful (although very risky) as an anti-tank weapon, if they can get close enough.




Next up is a sapper team- for building and blowing. One with wire cutters, one setting a demo charge and one with a mine sweeper- there aren't any rules in Bolt Action for this kind of unit (even though these are form the Bolt Action range) so I will be building them up to a unit of 5 with some of the plastic Bolt Action figures, sticking them in a Bren Carrier and using them as a Regular Bren team.

Victorian SciFi: Wild West Zombies

As part of my new policy of trying to complete a number of small projects I have on the go I have painted four of my Victorian Zombies from West Wind. I bought these from Salute three years ago and thought I better do something with them. My Idea is to use In Her Majesties Name to do a Cowboys vs. Zombies game.

Frech and Indian Wars- Concerned Citizens

While looking through the lead mountain for something to paint I found a few French and Indian Wars figures I had al ready based and sprayed- so I thought why not slap some paint on them...here is the result.

First up- some French militias- I already have quite a few of these, but I thought I would add a few more. Although the French militias are irregulars they are better trained and drilled than their English counterparts. 

Next up, some English settlers, ready to defend their homes from the French and their Indian allies. nice figures to paint. 

I think these figures are all from redoubt, but I might be wrong because I bought them a while ago- if they are not then they are probably from Galloping Major. 

AtDE: Solly Hell Savages

I have had a go at working out a gang for Across the Dead Earth. I am still looking forward to my ATDE figures from the Kick Starter, but in the mean time I thought I would dust of a few bad guys I painted for my SciFi collection (entitled Scum and Villainy) and work out some stats for the Solly Hell Savages.

The figures lack a lot of fire power, so my gang is quite large (there are two more figures I haven't finished painting yet, making it seven in total- big for a AtDE gang. that said, they are probably going to get shot to pieces by anyone else.  

They are bandits who dwell in the ruins of a town to the south east of the Rag Market and prey on anyone foolish enough to stray to close. The Guild has placed a bounty on them after they attacked a trade caravan. 

Casey (Leader)

Toughness, 3 actions, walky talky, 

pistol, punch dagger (counts as short sword), dagger

Brutal (scrapper)

Broard Sword, Dagger

Link (scrapper)

Chain, Dagger

Scratch (Sharp Shooter)

Combat Shotgun, Dagger

Vile (Scrapper)

Scimitar, Dagger

The gang will also feature Scratch's Brother, Sniff- who is an Assault Specialist with an Assault rifle and an axe, and a yuff armed with a pistol and a knife (cannon fodder?). Hopefully I will get them finished soon.