Sunday 6 March 2011

Recreational Conflict Zombies 02

Without further ado here is part two of my review of the Recreational Conflict 28mm scale zombie figures, looking this time at streetpunks, a cop and the clergy.
First in line is a badly chewed up surfer dude zombie. Has he suffered a massive shark bite which has bitten off his left arm and half of his torso or did zombies cause those wounds? You get to decide, folks. My opinion is a combination of the two. I'd say he was bitten by a shark but managed to make it back ashore only to be attacked by a small zombie horde. I like the fact that his surfboard is tied to his left ankle. It could have been smashed in two as he tried to defend himself from the undead or perhaps it was bitten in two by a great white shark. The logo that I painted on says "NO FEAR" or rather would have if the board was intact. A superb figure who would make a great partner for the Hasslefree zombie surfer. Note that he is a two-part casting with the surfboard a separate piece to the body, allowing you to glue it wherever you want.
Next in line is a motor bike ganger who has suffered numerous wounds at the hands and teeth of the living dead. A large chunk of flesh has bitten off the left side of his face. His left hand has been bitten off along with part of his lower left arm. A piece of bone is all that remains of his lower arm. There is a deep wound in his stomach, which has bled profusely. I smeared his right hand in blood as if he made a vain attempt to stem the massive blood flow. Finally, he has lost his right boot, although I see no wounds on his legs.
To his left is another zombie biker, sporting an impressive beard and moustache and a German WW1 army helmet - a pickelhaube, I believe it is called. I couldn't find any visible wounds on this figure, so maybe he died of natural causes. Even so, I couldn't resist adding some blood to him so I smeared his right hand in TCR (Tamiya Clear Red), which you should know by now is my favourite paint for gore effects.
The last of this group is called Thin Lizzie on the Recreational Conflict website, which is a great name for her. She really is one of the skinniest zombies I've ever seen. It may look like she has no hands but she has. If you look at her from below, you can just see her fingers clenched beneath the coat sleeves. It gives the impression she is wearing a leather jacket taken from or given to her by a much bigger male colleague. It's a great touch. Her one wound is an horrific one to her right leg. Much of the flesh has been stripped away from the front of her leg to reveal the bones. Her face is almost skeleton like, with the skin pulled tight over the skull. She is a very striking zombie.
 
At the far left of the two photos above is a female sheriff zombie and I'm pleased that sculptor Brian Cooke has made her female. She looks quite small standing next to the priest, or maybe he's just tall. This is one of the things that I like about Recreational Conflict's figures. Not every adult is the same height, which is as it should be. This is another zombie with no visible wounds but I have smeared blood around her mouth, which has dribbled down her chin and neck. Also, I have smeared her hands in blood to show that she has been feasting on some poor victim(s). You could just as easily use her as a zombie security guard.
Now we come to the clergy and first up is the priest, who comes as a two part casting. The large cross that he has been impaled upon is a separate piece. You have the choice to stab him in the chest or in the back. The photo on RC's website shows him stabbed in the back. For me, I wanted him stabbed in the chest. The cross is a tight fit in the hole provided and I had to do a bit of filing to get it fitting perfectly. It is a very unusual concept for a figure, but one that I like a lot. Full marks to Mr. Cooke for originality. There are no other wounds to be found on him. Any figure that tells a story intrigues me and this figure clearly has a story to tell. Namely, why was he stabbed with a large metal cross? Was he stabbed before or after he turned undead?
And so we come to the zombie nun. Zombie nuns have been done before - both Cold War Miniatures and Griffin Miniatures have made them. This one, however, stands out purely for the wound she has suffered. Her right breast has been bitten off. You can see part of her ribcage where her breast should have been. Also, half of her left breast is exposed, showing that she was amply endowed. Some wounds are more horrific than others and this one comes close to topping the gross out chart. As if that wasn't bad enough she has also been bitten in the left leg. R.I.P. poor nun!
Finally, we are treated to another sacrilegious offering - a zombie choirboy. Figures of zombie children are very rare as a lot of sculptors won't sculpt them. I'm glad to see Mr. Cooke has no such scruples. What could be more pure than a young choirboy? Some might argue that to defile something so pure and innocent will ensure that the perpetrator will burn in Hell. So what does that say about me, when I think this is a great miniature that I'm glad to have in my horde. Yeah, I know - I'm a sick puppy! Zombie choirboy has had his right arm ripped off just above the elbow. Such a wound, if done when he was alive, which I assumed he was, would produce a very heavy blood loss, so I have covered vrtually all of his right side in blood. It's clearly visible on his white top but less so on his red under robe.
These are eight more excellent figures that can be bought along with the eight figures I reviewed in my last post for just $36.00. Alternatively, you can buy each figure separately for $2.50 from the Recreational Conflict website. I have held back on buying these for a long time. I wish I hadn't as they are amongst my favourite zombie miniatures. Plus, it has been a real pleasure dealing with Richard Brooks, who runs Recreational Conflict. He is surely one of the good guys in the gaming industry.

11 comments:

  1. They really have some character these zeds! Love them! Good review mate. How many zeds does this take your total up to?

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  2. Excellent, they're even better than the last lot and very well painted.

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  3. @Lord Siwoc. My total number of painted zombies is just short of 650. I'm adding to the number all the time. I still have more to paint at home and I have more that I'm waiting to arrive after ordering them on the Interweb.

    @The Angry Lurker. Thanks, Fran. As Lord Siwoc said, they have character and they are very well sculpted. Oh, and they were an absolute joy to paint!

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  4. Hello, I'm Richard's son and also of Recreational Conflict. Thank you for the reviews.

    I just wanted to point out two things though: The guy in the jean jacket actually has teeth marks on the back of his leg. You can see a bit of it in pictures. Also the biker has small holes in the back of his jacket, perhaps bullet holes.

    Thanks again.

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  5. Hi, Ben. I've looked closely at those two figures and you're right. Now that you've mentioned it, I don't know how I missed them. Old age, I guess!

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  6. LoL, gruesome bro, good paint job, and these would have to be some of the most characterful Zeds in your collection, right?

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  7. Hey Bryan - brilliant as always! I've posted some more zeds on my blog, and had a zed count ... I'm up to 120iah now (+20 ragers) so do I qualify as a zedhorde apprentice? I know I've got miles to go to get your master level ...

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  8. @The Extraordanarii. These most certainly are amongst the most characterful zeds in my horde. And amongst the goriest as well. I think they're great!

    @Colin. Hey, congratulations on breaking through the 100 barrier with your horde. You've passed your apprenticeship, I'd say. Now, you're an official zombie fanatic!
    Right, I'm off to check your blog out.

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  9. Thanks, Meghan, and welcome to my blog.

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  10. Hi:

    See the Civilians (sculpted by Brian Cooke)from recreational conflict... they are so good...

    http://www.recreationalconflict.com/

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