Sunday 29 October 2017

Zomtober 2017, Week 5

<==  This way for Week 4

Introduction

Thank goodness: it's nearly over!  This is the fifth and final week of Zomtober 2017; I've really struggled to motivate myself to paint enough models this month.  Here's the final entry at least - I made it after all!

Last week, I showed a survivor who was, in my view, not dressed appropriately for the apocalypse.  This week, I have another survivor who isn't taking it seriously, though for a very different reason, I suspect...


Freya vs. Female Army Zombie


So, today's duel is between a woman called "Freya" and a model of a female soldier turned zombie ("Female Army Zombie", henceforth "FAZ").



Freya is harnessed to a flame-thrower and holding a gold cigarette lighter; it seems as if fire is very much her "thing".  At a casual glance, she appears to be dressed in a wet suit, but closer examination (especially of the placement of zips on the upper chest) suggests that it is some form of fetish wear.  This assessment is reinforced by the inclusion of pink platform boots and elbow-length gloves.

I cannot see that this is appropriate wear for any situation beyond a handful of bedrooms, let alone as survival gear for the zombie apocalypse.  The inclusion of flame weapons (which as everyone knows aren't good for anything apart from being mauled by burning zombies) suggests that Freya is - how can I put this delicately - a bit of a wacko!



FAZ is a Mantic "Plague Zombie"; I've showed at least one of these before in a Zomtober duel.  They're technically sci-fi models, though I've shaved off most of the protruding spikes and excrescences which were bursting out of the figure.  This isn't the greatest model I've ever painted and it only has a very simple paint job.  Still, FAZ should do as a "disposable" horde opponent.



In contrast, Freya is an old metal figure from Wargames Foundry's "Street Violence" range.  If I remember correctly then she was a promotional figure entitled "Hot Whacks"; I've no idea whether the model is still available or not.  It's taken me many years to paint Freya, not because she's especially difficult but rather because I had difficulty in deciding how to do the job (just what colour should a gimp suit be?)


Conclusion

As ever, the question is this: who wins?

Personally, I think that Freya will turn FAZ to ashes, but I'm not sure that she actually cares whether she wins or loses.  Indeed, I rather suspect that Freya intends to go out in a blaze of glory, fulfilling some half-imagined immolation fantasy in the process.  It's the first time that I've ever felt that a human in one of my duels might actually not wish to be a survivor!

14 comments:

  1. Nice work on the latest duel Colgar6 and well done to making it to week 5 even when feeling less motivated than you would like. :)

    A flamethrower seems a bad choice for the Zombie Apocalypse as feeling no pain or fear the last thing you want to fight off is a burning Zombie, so I think Freya is going down!

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    1. Thanks, pulpcitizen. I think there is a general consensus that a flame-thrower just isn't going to work against zombies - at least not if they're close enough to charge you anyway!

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  2. What a fabulous way to finish and such original miniatures. I might be tempted to give this to the Faz, I always worry about the reliability of a flamethrower.

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    1. Thanks, Michael. Hmm, I think that a well-maintained flamethrower will be reasonably reliable when operated correctly, won't it? But we don't know if this one is well-maintained, or if Freya knows what she's doing - and even if she does, what will be the effect of flames on a zombie: will it survive for long enough to get her anyway?

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  3. Excellent job. Maybe here outfit is easier to keep clean having just needing a quick rinse to wash the gore off.

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    1. Hah, I suppose her costume could be cheap PVC rather than more expensive leather and/or latex? If so then it should be easy to rinse clean, just as you suggest :-) .

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  4. Freya is too close to FAZ for the flame thrower to immolate the z in time, still burned tendons get shorter and muscles don’t contract so it might slow FAZ down enough to step away from the charred creature. I’m going to give this one to the gimp!

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    1. Well, there's perhaps a bit of camera foreshortening in these images; maybe the pair are a bit further apart than you imagine :-) . It does all hinge on the distance though, doesn't it?

      A military-grade flamethrower will be a much more damaging weapon than (say) a petrol bomb, so perhaps you're correct and the zombie will be reduced to a sooty mess before it can make contact?

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  5. I declare this wonderful pairing a draw, the Zed will undoubtedly be burned to a frazzle whilst Freya will die in the clutches of a flanming, flailing zed!

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    1. That would be my predicted outcome too, Joe - though other commenters have varying opinions on this duel!

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  6. I am still liking the duel idea, it makes your page stand out. Nice work on the paint job.

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    1. Thanks, Fred. There is quite a collection of these Zomtober duels on my blog; I've been doing the subject for a number of years now. A search on "Zomtober" should find them all: https://colgar6.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Zomtober

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  7. Another interesting duel. Excellent conclusion to the Zomtober festivities!

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    1. Thanks, Terry. I keep thinking that I'll run out of interesting pairings, yet each week a new mini-story presents itself as I paint the models :-) .

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