An Apology
I'm sorry, but I don't have any pictures of fluffy kittens to show you. We live in the age of Web 2.0 and I realise how much I'm letting everyone down by not yet having posted any photos of baby mammals. Instead, here are some 25/28mm models of dogs...
Gone to the Dogs
First up is Bomber with his Irish Wolfhound "Clancy". Clancy came from the now-defunct Chariot Miniatures; the model is still available from
Magister Militum. He is a
huge dog, more like the size of a small pony. In All Things Zombie, I class him as REP 6 and add a "ferocious charge" ability (for ATZ:BDTZ this is +3 dice in the first round of melee; I haven't yet worked out the appropriate bonus for ATZ:FFO). Let's see you survive that!
"Laddie" is at the other end of the scale. He's a model of a collie from
Mega Miniatures; in my ATZ campaign Laddie is the pet of John the photographer. Laddie is classed as REP 2 and is definitely
not a combat monster. Indeed, he would be quickly lost if he didn't follow John closely.
Here are some larger dogs from Mega Miniatures. From the left: Doberman, Rottweiler, Bloodhound. I haven't yet decided whether they will belong to survivors of the zombie apocalypse. Alternatively, they may form part of a feral dog pack. Note that "Rex", the doberman, had a cameo appearance as a police dog in the
quarantine game of my ATZ campaign
Finally, some smaller dogs, also from Mega Miniatures. From the left: Scottie, Beagle, Dachshund, German Shepard. Like Laddie above, these are mounted on 20mm round bases rather than the 25mm bases that I use for most people and the bigger dogs.
Finally
I had intended to show another dog model as well. I have a Great Dane that belongs to some tall, skinny dropout, but the photographs of that one didn't focus properly. Since I'd already packed away all the models and camera before I discovered this, it'll have to wait for another time.
Mega Miniatures has a
huge variety of dog models and they're reasonably cheap, but in my opinion they are of variable quality. The ones I've painted and shown here are some of the better sculpts - though I'm not totally convinced by the German Shepard. There are a few dogs available from other manufacturers (mostly large hounds), but where else will you find this variety?!
I have always been a cat person not a dog person but in truth, I like all animals. These are great, Hugh, and you have painted them very realistically. Another good source for dogs is Black Cat Bases and their Gangster range. Each of their five gangs have their own dog mascot and if you only want to buy the dog/dogs they are available separately.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Gangsters range does have some nice dogs - I'd forgotten about them.
DeleteI've always looked on the Internet for images when painting something like this; you can't beat the real thing for realism! I find it takes a bit of imagination to decide which are the salient colours & patterns to copy, though.
Nice selection of dogs. They look really good. Great dog miniatures are hard to come by. Took me a while to get hold of Bo'sun my English Bull Terrier
ReplyDeleteDogs aren't necessary in an ATZ game, but I do like being able to play them if it's appropriate. I'm not sure that any other animals really fit into this category, though if you're playing games in a very rural setting then livestock might be important.
DeleteOr a good distraction for the zombies :D
DeleteNice results! You've inspired me to try and track down some 15mm dogs for my collection
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're not the first person to look for 15mm dogs :-) : http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=188673
DeleteVery usful thread thanks for the heads up! Looking forward to painting some now.
DeleteGreat to see so many of man's best friends in one place, their colourings (and your painwork) is great.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting a feral dog-pack since the early days of my starting on my zombie project...very jealous of your's.
Mega Mini dogs(and some other packs), I think are now available on fairly cheaply on E-bay as the molds have been sold on.
It makes a nice change to paint something other than zombies and humans, once in a while!
ReplyDeleteAs for the feral dog pack, this lot look fairly soft and easy-going. I think they'd rather have their tummies rubbed than rend someone limb-from-limb! Still, after a week of missed dinners, who can tell how they'd behave?
Well the Deutsch hound does have that hungry look in his eye
DeleteGreat dogs, man's best friend at their best!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ray. Although, as David suggests above, the Alsatian/German Shepard does look as if he'd rather bite you than lick you. I'm not sure that he'd be my best friend!
DeleteGreat work on these Hugh. I'm very jealous!
ReplyDeleteThanks. But it's not so hard to paint these, really.
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