Wednesday 11 August 2021

Apocalypse Survivors: The Collection

 Introduction

Not so long ago, I catalogued all my zombie models and came to the conclusion that I had 178 of them.  Since then, I found another 11 zombies (in the best traditions of horror films, they were hiding somewhere unexpected).  This brings my zombie total up to 189 models.

It seemed only fair to perform a similar exercise with my survivor models, just to see how many of these were in my collection.  In this case, the number is possibly larger than I was expecting!


As before, I've created a definition: a survivor model is one that I intended for games which represent a zombie outbreak.  I have excluded other "modern" miniatures which could be used in such a setting, but are really part of another collection (for example, Doctor Who, spy-fi, space opera or post apocalypse barbarians).

Ready?  Let's go!

Unarmed Civilians

This picture shows a selection of ordinary people with no significant weapons.  I'm discounting cameras, handbags, walking sticks, beer bottles, the prop phasers owned by the Star Trek cosplayers and the large number of cats owned by the crazy cat lady.

Of course, it is possible that any or all of these items could be used as an offensive or defensive weapon if the wielder was sufficiently inventive.  However, none of these figures appears to be using such an item in an aggressive manner.

I believe that there are 41 models in this sub-collection.


Hand Weapons

I have 37 figures who are equipped with items that they are wielding as melee weapons.  These fall into the following categories:

  • sporting equipment: golf clubs, oar, cricket & baseball bats, tennis racket
  • tools: poles, spades, chainsaws, crowbars, chains, wrench
  • edged weapons: machetes, cleavers, knives, swords, axe
  • desperately hopeful: fire extinguisher, stiletto shoe, crucifix, folding chair


Dogs

Not all my survivors are human!  I have 9 dogs in this collection, ranging from the enormous Irish wolfhound to the less terrifying dachshund.


Exotic Missile Weapons

Fighting zombies in melee is not a long-term plan for any survivor.  These guys & gals have equipped themselves with some unorthodox ranged weapons, including:

  • rocket launchers
  • autocannon
  • speargun
  • crossbows and composite bows
  • flamethrowers & petrol bombs
  • catapult
  • pipe bombs
  • firework
  • super soaker
  • thrown item (tyre, rock)

I imagine that there will be a lot of different opinions about the utility of many of these weapons against zombies.  Or indeed against any type of target!

Regardless of their effectiveness, I have 20 models in this part of the collection.


Machines

There are 7 models which I have loosely classed as "machines":

  • 3 of these are motorbikes - fair enough (even though one of them seems to be demon-possessed).
  • there's a mobility scooter
  • "Penny" has a radio-control set for her robot "B-9".
  • lastly I have another robot model, possibly sentient.  Or maybe it's a person in armour improvised from some deep sea environment suit?


Firearms

Unsurprisingly, the largest bloc within my survivors are people equipped with firearms.  There is a mixture of handguns, sub-machine guns, assault rifles and shotguns here.  These weapons are wielded by a wide variety of humans from the calmly efficient to the wild-eyed & nervous.

I count 57 miniatures in this section.


The Authorities

Last, but not least, are the boys and girls of the police and army.  The 15 military all wear body armour and carry some fairly heavy weaponry, whilst the 11 police are equipped more lightly.


Conclusion

When I add up the models from above, I come to the total of 197 miniatures.  This is more than the number of zombies in my collection, even if only just.

It does beg the question as to whether I could ever run a campaign with all these figures appearing at some point.  Perhaps any casualties would be put back away for good, being replaced by another, as-yet-unused figure?  The campaign would end when there were no more humans left (obviously!).  Hmm - I think this sounds a bit too ambitious to be achieved.

In any case, these numbers (of survivors or zombies) are just a snapshot.  I will often add new models to my collection - and Zomtober isn't that far away: I always try to paint some new figures for that!

12 comments:

  1. I really like the Ronald McDonald themed clown there, awesome! Your collection is pretty darn amazing too!

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    1. Thanks! I think it's fair to say that at least some of my characters aren't taking the zombie apocalypse very seriously! Mind you, they are probably veering away from the purely comic and towards completely psychotic, I think...

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  2. Great breakdown of your huge collcetion of 'still human' figures and well done managing to categorise them sensibly - I was surprised to not see a Male/female breakdown of such a great list and evenmore surprised you haven;t shown any children.
    In my Jimland canpaing, I tried to never use the same figure again after they've died, but I'm at the brink of havinh to use them a second time - I doubt you'll have that problem.

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    1. There are a small number of children scattered around; I have at least 2 girls in the "unarmed" section, one in the "melee weapons" group and a boy & a girl in "firearms". That's all I remember, though there could be more, I suppose.

      You know, I never even thought of breaking the models into male & female groups. I guess that wasn't important enough to me.

      Yes, a campaign where casualties are "retired" would keep me going for quite a while, I believe!

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  3. You can fight out some epic games with all these as factions. Love the Dachshund! Where is that from?

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    1. Thanks, Simon.

      The dachshund, like many of the dogs, is from the now-defunct Mega Minis line. You can still see pictures of the range here, though: http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=Animals_%28Mega_Miniatures%29

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  4. What a fantastic collection Colgar! Your idea of running a massive campaigh does have some merit. You could start with a small collection of survivors, who in their travels encounter others who may or may not be friendly..& of course the zombies are always there...just to clean up afterwards. So very much Walking Dead, but I was also using that theory in a Zombicide campaign I've had lingering in my head...Original characters to start, who encounter more...Once slain, they become Zombivores (on the zombies side of course) then are removed from the game once the Zombiviore is slain. The Zombivores being in transition would still have the use of the gear they had upon their first passing, thus making them troublesome for survivors.

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    1. Thanks, Terry!

      I'm not too keen on the concept of zombivors myself, but I can see that others like it.

      It would have to be a *massive* campaign, wouldn't it? It's a nice idea, but quite daunting...

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  5. Superb collection, and beautifully painted - I have come to expect no less.
    How about some of the Congo units, characters, animals and terrain next.

    This one got me thinking along any number of tangents.
    I hope I'm not alone in ocasionally drifting into "What if the Zombies came" daydreams.

    If we've learned anything from the past 18 months, it probably includes rugged individualism and panic buying.

    Expect significant disobedience when survivors encounter signs warning: "Zombie zone - do not enter" (Yeah - but my rights!!).

    Panic buying is a given. Panic buyers (or looters when it gets serious) appear to be an unimaginative lot.
    Sliced white bread, milk and toilet rolls are their primary target.

    Regarding improvised weapons, I've dome some thinking, and discussion with #3 son.
    Zombies are traditionally difficult to kill, needing a headshot or decapitation to stop them.
    I'm thinking about ancient weapons designed to inconvenience the target.

    The Bola or Lassoo. Won't "kill" the Zombie, but will slow one of them down.
    Anything similar to the Roman pilum - makes a hole, but designed to be hard to extract, so again impedes movement.
    All improve the odds to get away.

    Once again, fantastic collection; but which ones will survive the onslaught?



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    1. Thanks, Steve.

      I'll give careful consideration to your suggestions for further articles.

      I suspect that a massive change in circumstances - where the equation of life and death changes radically - will see high casualty rates among those who don't adapt very rapidly. Hoarding of white bread or toilet paper is probably not a necessary part of the new reality and may indeed distract from one's fight for survival. Now tinned goods, on the other hand...

      The problem with such exotic or ancient weapons as a bolas or pilum is that they're difficult to make and/or difficult to use. Also they're pretty much one-shot, meaning that you'd better have an effective backup plan as well.

      No, I still think that the long, pointy or bladed stick will work best. Probably an adapted garden too to start with...

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  6. THAT'S what I call a collection.

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