Sunday 2 June 2013

Miguel and Ann - Zombie Survivors

Just a quick update today, showing some of the models I've completed over the last month.  It's taken a while to get back into the swing of things after a long winter/spring where I didn't feel much like doing any painting.  But, I'm getting there...

Miguel

This model is from Studio Miniatures, where he's called "Miguel".  I decided that the name given by the manufacturer fitted very well, so I've kept that for my version.  He's armed with a strange weapon that looks like a spear gun to me, so I've added a small arrow head to the end of the barrel.  No doubt he's modeled after a character from some zombie film or game, but I don't recognise him.  I expect someone will tell me who he is, though :-) .

The original model had a very strange pose, as if peering into the ground.  I suppose this would make sense if he was leaning over a body of water to get a shot with his spear gun, but it didn't really work for me.  Instead, I've straightened him up and rested the left foot on a broken-down wall.

Ann

Ann is a converted Wargames Factory Zombie Vixen.  She's dressed only in her night clothes, though I've added a large kitchen knife to her hand.  I imagine that Ann has woken up to find the apocalypse has started without her and has run out of the house in terror, stopping only to grab the nearest weapon!

For comparison, here's Ann beside a zombie I made some time ago from the same kit.  There's nothing much you can do to change the basic body pose, but different arms, head and colour make them quite distinct.

Zombies

As well as these survivors, a couple of fresh (?!) zombies made it to the end of the production line in the last week or so:

Look out, this one's armed!  He's dragging a cricket bat from one hand, though I'd say it wasn't certain that the zombie knows how to use it.  Still, you never know.   This is a limited edition model from Studio Miniatures; I received it as part of their plastic zombie kickstarter deal.

Finally, here's another Studio figure.  She's obviously dressed up in her party clothes and even though there's no blood and no bite marks on her, I find this model quite sinister.  There's something about child zombies that makes me shudder.  Even though a "representative" population should certainly have young victims, I don't plan on collecting more than a token few.




16 comments:

  1. Nice minis mate, particularly like the idea of converting the zombie vixen into a survivor. As for Miguel, I think the sculpts based on a character in Romero's Land of the Dead.

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    1. Some zombie models are quite easy to convert, really. Others would be much more of a challenge! This one is straightforward :-) .

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  2. Yeah i'd say the speargun guy is based off Cholo from Land of the Dead. Very nice painting and converting going on there, I especially like Ann who looks like she is having a very bad day indeed!

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    1. I''ve not seen that film and am not familiar with the character of Cholo. A quick Google search suggests that this is also a term of somewhat racist abuse aimed at Mexicans, if I've understood correctly? Did he use a speargun in the film?

      Yes, I think Ann is having a terrible day!

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    2. He did indeed use a speargun to great effect in the film, although awkward to load it was silent and the ammo was infinitely reuseable as long as he could pull it out of the skull of his target. I wasn't aware of the racial connotations of the name but the character is Mexican/Columbian himself I think. It's been a while since I watched the film.

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  3. I'd often thought that the vixens could easily be converted to survivors and full marks for your's - I really like her.
    The child is probably my favourite of these, perversely though she's also the most chilling figure.

    Miguel's weapon is a very one and your speargun interpretation is very inspired.
    The Studio "Sean" zombie's head looks a tad large to me and he too could easily be a survivor.

    Always nice to see conversions and new models.

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    1. I think that "The Omen" probably colours our views of children in horror stories somewhat - definitely very sinister!

      Large heads does seem to be an aspect of Studio's metal miniatures, as the "Shaun" zombie also demonstrates. I can live with it, though I'd prefer them to be a little smaller.

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  4. Nice work mate they look great especially now Miguel is standing rather than leaning.

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    1. I never understood the "leaning" posture, though as I said above it might make sense if he was armed with a spear gun and was looking for a target in a pool or tank of water. Still, I prefer my version (well, obviously!).

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    2. I'm sure in the movie he get his leg injured towards the end though i'm not 100% on that

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  5. Great take on Miguel, mate. I quite like the original pose myself, kinda dynamic, but nothing out of hand.

    I especially like the vixen turned to a survivor, can't go wrong with converting some plastics!

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  6. Miguel's original pose looked very odd to me, but would work if he was standing on a riverbank or the roof of a building, looking over the edge. I never thought of this until after I'd altered the figure.

    I think Ann is panicking, so the term "survivor" may be very temporary. If she doesn't start thinking rationally then I don't imagine it will take long for the zombies to get her!

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  7. Great looking conversions.

    Best regards

    Hobby worker.

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