Sunday 8 October 2017

Zomtober 2017, Week 2

<== Week 1 is this way

Introduction

I've had to plan ahead for this article, since it's school holiday time here and some of the family (including myself) are away from home.  So if this post appears on the second Sunday of October, 2017 then I'll have set up the schedule properly for my Zomtober entry.  Otherwise you won't see it until much later and I'll be annoyed with the technology...

Ice & Snow

This zombie/survivor duel is a bit of a departure for me.  Always in the past, I've presented modern, Western figures for my Zomtober articles.  However, just this once, I have a medieval setting instead.



The story goes something like this: a lost traveller is battling his way through a snowstorm in an attempt to find shelter.  It's growing dark and the wind is howling; flurries of snow are swirling all around.  The man sees movement in his peripheral vision; is it just the wind howling or is it something more sinister?  He draws his sword hurriedly and calls out "Who goes there?"



Both of these models are official figures for Frostgrave, in case you hadn't already guessed.  The swordsman is a plastic henchman; he's the first miniature that I have completed for my "red" warband.  The "blue" warband was finished quite some time ago and can be seen here: Blue Warband.



The zombie is one of the special objectives from the Ulterior Motives expansion.  All the other objective pieces are static terrain; I described them here: Ulterior Motives.



Personally, I like the swordsman a lot.  The Frostgrave plastic kits are very adaptable and can be built into some excellent models.
I'm less certain about the zombie; the figure isn't particularly well sculpted or cast.  It's acceptable, just not a really good model.



So, who will win this fight?  On the face of it, the swordsman should be able to chop the zombie into little chunks quite easily.  But what if he's cold and tired?  His sword might slip in his chilled fingers, or his boot fail to grip on a patch of ice.

Even if he wins this encounter, he might lose all sense of direction during the melee and end up wandering until he drops from exhaustion.  And what if the zombie isn't alone; there might be further horrors lurking in the snowstorm...

This way for week 3 ==>

28 comments:

  1. That swordsman is absolutely masterful, Colgar6 - stonkingly good imho. Terrific work on the shield. I rather like the zed too, though I was struggling to work out what it is dressed in - a shroud perhaps? You've captured a great chilling grey for its flesh though, and the white palette really suits the coldness of Frostgrave. One of your best imho.

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    1. Thanks, Blax! The zombie is dressed in a baggy shirt and loose trousers, both extremely torn & shredded. In hindsight, perhaps I painted both these garments in colours that were too similar to each other...

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  2. Excellent another brilliant duel

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  3. Excellent second round Colgar, I will go with the swordsman on this. Even the zombie would be starting to freeze & thus would likely make it even slower than normal. Though in his tattered clothing it is likely suffering from freezer burn.

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    1. Well, I agree that the swordsman will survive this encounter easily enough. But will it sap his reserves of energy & willpower enough to strand him in the snowstorm?

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  4. Another excellent duel Colgar6; my money is on the swordsman. :)

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    1. As above, I think the swordsman will beat *this* zombie. How many more lurk in the snow-swept night, though?

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  5. Where is your imagination? He is obviously a reenactor donning his gear for protection :)

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    1. Hah! If he's a re-enactor then I don't favour his chances very much. I've no doubt that there are some tough re-enactors around, but I suspect that most of them are just average guys like me and you :-) .

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  6. £5 on the swordsman please.

    Lovely work.

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    1. Nah, I don't bet. Though if I did, I'd refuse that offer anyway :-) .

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  7. My money's on the chain mailed, gauntleted, shield bearing swordsman all day - the zed will need to get a lucky bite to the face if it hopes to cause any damage ;-)
    The duel aside, absolutely fantastic work on both mini's! The swordsman obviously shines, but the zed still looks "cool" (there's a pun) with his subdued palette.

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    1. Thanks, WA. The swordsman certainly looks well-prepared for a fight, but if he is lost in the snowstorm then that won't help much.

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  8. i love these minis. the swordsman is stunningly good

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  9. You have managed a really good swordsman out of what I think is a fairly mediocre plastic kit. I'm impressed with both of them.

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    1. Well, I think that you're a little hard on the kit - but thanks anyway, Fred :-) .

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  10. Like Blaxx, I was wondering what the zombie was wearing - White overalls? A poor Elvis impersonator oufit ? I couldn't tell either.
    The Red swordsman is a great figure in everywhichway, the pose the detail and your paint-job on him are all excellent, I like that he looks like he's been out in the wilds for a while and not just dressed in his finest.
    The swordsman must have the edge in this fight and I suspect it'll be over pretty quickly in his favour.

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    1. Sometimes a plastic "multi-pose" kit doesn't look quite right when assembled and sometimes it looks very natural. I suspect that even a fraction of a millimetre in the positioning of the arms or head can make all the difference. In this case, I was very pleased with the construction of the swordsman model.

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  11. Fine figures, the frosty bases really cause a shivver.

    My money's on the swordsman with all his weapons and "sensible" footwear. An expereinced adventure in the Frostgrave universe ought to have no problems with a bit of slippery pavement - but you can never be sure where D20s are involved.

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    1. It does feel chilly, doesn't it :-) ! I agree: no fight is an absolute certainty, though the swordsman should have the edge here (pun not intended!).

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  12. Ah, I was going to write 'cool' but then realised that could be considered a terrible pun. They are nicely painted, though. And that shield looks ace.

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    1. Just as well you held off then, Roy; we don't want any bad puns around here, do we :-) ? Thanks.

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  13. These two go well together - pose-wise as well as in color scheme. Yet another good pairing!

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    1. Thanks! It's just chance that they fit together so well; I didn't set out to build these 2 models as opponents for each other.

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