FOUR MORE SURVIVORS.

What's occurrin' then?
Now the NFL season is over you'd think I would have more time to paint. Wrong! The Six Nations Championship has started. You see rugby is a bit of a religion in Wales. When I was a nipper nearly every school only played rugby, no football only rugby. It's also our working class sport as opposed to football. So when you grow up with it like that you think it's the most normal thing in the world. It's almost too hard to believe that things are any different in other parts of the country or the world. Now last week we suffered again the embarrassment of losing to the old enemy, England, at home no less. It's hard to express the shame and dejection the nation feels at these times, that's why I didn't mention it. Anyway the games continue this weekend, we are away to Scotland, and another 48 hours is lost worshipping the oval ball, Bacchus and Dionysus.

To get us back on track, we shall continue in our efforts to enhance the cultural aspect of zombies by introducing more zombie art. Once again we have another piece by the amazing and strangely talented Bryan Baugh. This one is called Just Eatin' Some Brains. Enjoy.

JUST EATIN' SOME BRAINS

These new brushes seem to have increased my output this week. I've managed to finish four survivors, the most I've done in some time. Let's hope it's not just a flash in the pan! I have to admit to being mightily impressed by the Zombicide Core Paint Set. Even at the full retail price of £20, for ten bottles, that's still 50p a bottle cheaper than GW. If that's not enough these bottles have 18ml of paint where as the GW pots only have 12ml, you do the maths. I think I'll be picking up the Toxic/Prison set in the next few weeks.

So, on with the show and tell. As I said earlier I managed four survivors this week, three of them are armed with melee weapons for those up close and personal moments.

The dude on the extreme left is another kitbash using a Studio plastic zombie torso and legs, (Thanks once again Bryan.) with WGF survivor arms and head. The next guy along has been converted by cutting the long coat off at the waist, turning it in to a biker jacket, with no sleeves to make him extra tough looking. Another guy in overalls next, really hard to change the pose of this one, so I gave him a different weapon and a well known soft drink (probably worth fighting over after a hard day's slaying). The last dude is another ganger making good in the chaos.

CHOP,CHOP,CHOP.

I'm pretty sure my new kit (brushes and paints) improved my performance this week, even if they didn't, it felt like they did. I believe that's called the placebo effect. So here's hoping the effect continues for the next few weeks, at least.

THE BACKS ARE STILL GETTING A LICK OF PAINT.

In other news, I caught a film that had snuck under my radar. The Last Days On Mars. I thought it was a straight sci-fi movie, to be honest I hadn't really heard anything about it! It's fairly low budget, but doesn't feel like it. There's nothing terribly original here but it is well done.

So basically the plot is, one of the scientists finds an unknown microbe in a rock. This stuff turns people into zombies (Yeah, zombies in space). The rest of the movie is a race for the crew to get off the planet without dying or becoming infected. It was pretty cool, I enjoyed it and think that anyone with an interest in zombies should check it out.

Well that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until the next time, try and be more like the DUDE and "take it easy".

A BRUSH CRISIS AND A COUPLE MORE SURVIVORS.

What's occurrin' then?
What a week, what a week. The New England Patriots won the Superbowl against nearly all predictions. I've had my first major crisis of the year, more on that in a bit. Amongst all these distractions I've still managed to paint a couple more survivors.

We'll kick off with what has become a regular feature, the introduction of some zombie art. This beautiful piece is another by the very talented Bryan Baugh and is called Nara and Hazy vs Zombies. It's a tribute to the "Dead @ 17" comic series by Josh Howard. (Was published by Viper Comics, now being published by Image Comics. Yes, the same guys who publish "The Walking Dead".).

NARA AND HAZY VS ZOMBIES.

A crisis at the bunker! Oh yes, as usual though it's all my own fault. I haven't bought any brushes in a while, (read in a while as several years) so the ones I was using had been worn away to virtually nothing. Like a typical man, I ignored the problem hoping it would go away. It didn't. Anyway after struggling along for months on end, wondering why my productivity was steadily decreasing, matters came to a head this week. I finally cracked, threw said brushes against the wall and stopped painting.

It'll be fine, I thought, I just need a few days not painting. Cue several days of clipping and gluing, whilst I assembled more of my plastic survivors. I even dug out my Green Stuff, only for gap filling mind you, my sculpting's worse than my painting and my painting isn't great. Anyway, after I finished several survivors and zombies, it was time to pick up the brushes again. Looking at them with fresh eyes, I could tell they had been pushed beyond the call of duty.

I THINK THESE GUYS HAVE HAD IT.

Time to bite the bullet, I had to buy new ones. Being somewhat miserly, if not downright tight, I really didn't want to go and pay GW's ridiculous prices even though I have a shop not five minutes walk away. Instead I turned to the magic of the interweb, with the help of my daughter of course, 10 minutes later brushes and paints were ordered and en route to the bunker.

Three days later, said items landed. Fine service indeed. What had I ordered you ask, well it's also been quite a while since I bought any paint (don't worry, not as long as the brush thing but some of them seem to be quite solid, no matter how much water I add or how fast I stir) so I treated myself to the "Zombicide Core Paint Set" by Army Painter. They come in fancy squeezy bottles, so they don't dry up. There was even a free brush in the set, BONUS. Oh and a set of fine detail brushes, eight brushes for £7.95, less than a pound a brush. BARGAIN.

SMELL THE NEWNESS.

I guess all that was a round about way of saying, seeing that my brushes didn't arrive until Friday, I've only managed to finish two survivors this weekend.

So without further ado, here they are. The rather dishevelled looking office worker on the left is made from a Studio zombie torso and legs, with Wargames Factory head and arms. While the redneck on the right is all Wargames Factory.

TWO MORE FOR THE GRINDER.

The dude on the left is the first of several such conversions, a good way to make an already good value box set stretch even further. I hope to show more of them next post.

It's my first time trying out paint in a squeezy dropper bottle and I must confess to rather liking them, not much wastage and your paint doesn't dry up as your using it. I think I shall be buying more like this.

ANNOYINGLY OUT OF FOCUS.

As a result of said crisis, things have turned out all new and improved. I like all this stuff I'm finding out, see it only takes me a few years to catch up.

Anyhow, I guess that's all I've got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until the next time, just remember to walk the path of the DUDE, and "take it easy".

YET MORE SURVIVORS.

What's occurrin' then?
Wow, another week flies by on time's arrow. Where the hell did January go?
Anyhow I managed to complete another few survivors.

Let's start with what has become customary, another great piece of zombie art. Once again this is by the very talented Bryan Baugh. This one is called Swamp Rot.

SWAMP ROT.

I'm having a little trouble with my blogger dashboard, it won't let me scroll up and down the screen. I can't even get to the view more button. Being such a techno-troll (the kind that lives under a bridge, not the kind that leaves abusive comments. Although some of you might not agree with that statement) I don't know how to fix it. So I'd like to take this oppurtunity to apologise for missing any of my regular blog visits lately. You know who you are!

Righty oh then, let's get on with the show and tell. As I mentioned earlier, I've finished a few more survivors. Once again these are from Wargames Factory Apocalypse Survivors : The Men.

We actually ventured out of the bunker today, to take these photo's in some natural light. I don't think it was quite the success I was hoping it would be. They seem a little dark, no pun intended.

THREE MORE SURVIVORS, TRYING TO STAY A STEP AHEAD OF THE ZOMBIES.

The dude in the suit kind of reminds me of a younger, clean shaven Roger Murtaugh. You know, Danny Glover's character from the Lethal Weapon movies. The fat guy has an arm from a Studio plastic zombie. Really not sure how suitable flip flops are as zom-poc footwear though.

I didn't want my crossbow dude to be another not-Daryl clone, so using the appropriate head and a suitable paint scheme, he isn't. I also tried to make a strap for his quiver, it's not lying quite right around the neck and shoulder area but it was superglued on so I couldn't change it. Never mind, better luck next time.

THE FAT GUY SHOULD BE IN PRISON FOR DEALING THAT MUCH CRACK.
LOOKS LIKE HE FORGOT TO WIPE TOO.

Right that's enough shite out of me, I've got a Superbowl to watch. So until next time, dudes and dudettes, do the right thing by following the DUDE'S example and "take it easy".

EVEN MORE SURVIVORS.

What's occurrin' then?
Another week flies past us at breakneck speed, but I did manage to finish a few more survivors.

Kicking us off once again is a lovely piece of artwork, another by the fantastically talented Bryan Baugh. This piece is called Zombies attack cheerleader. I hope you all enjoy it.

ZOMBIES ATTACK CHEERLEADER.

Before we crack on, I must get the welcome wagon back out of storage to welcome BZA's latest follower. So all put your hands together to give a rousing welcome to Chris. WELCOME CHRIS. He runs the Outbreak. Gaming the Z apocalypse blog. If you haven't seen it, go check it out it's very good. Strap in Chris it's going to be a long journey.

Right then on with the show. Three more survivors this time. Two from the Wargames Factory Apocalypse Survivors : The Men and one from Season One of Zombicide.

Again the WGF survivors haven't been given names or backstories yet. I'm sure most of you recognise Doug from Zombicide, he's based on Michael Douglas's character William "D-Fens" Foster. From the 1993 movie Falling Down. So Doug Foster it is then.

MORE MEAT FOR THE GRINDER.

These guys are more heavily armed than the last couple of groups, so should be capable of laying down some serious lead. Although this would be at the cost of making a lot more noise, therefore attracting more zombies. I guess it depends on what the mission requires.

AGAIN I'VE PAINTED THE BACKS OF THEM.

In other news, I've taken the plunge and bought All Things Zombie : Final Fade Out. I've already read through it once but I think it'll take a few more reads and a couple of practice games and run throughs before I'm familiar with all the rules.

FINALLY GOT THE RULES OF CHOICE.

I purchased ATZ from Zombie Shop, run by Adam Pullman. What an excellent choice that was, every step of the way I was sent e-mails to tell me at what stage my order was at. Not only that but I didn't place my order until quite late on Thursday evening, yet still recieved it Saturday morning. Oh and it came with a free sweetie. I would definitely use Zombie Shop again and would not hesitate to recommend them to anybody else. Great job Adam.

Well that's all I've got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time do as the DUDE does, and "take it easy".

MORE SURVIVORS.

What's occurrin' then?
Another week down and more mini's painted. Looks like I'm on a roll.

As has become customary, I would like to present you all with some more zombie art. Another piece by the  extremely talented Bryan Baugh. This piece is called Weeping Grave.

WEEPING GRAVE.

More business to attend to before we get to the fun stuff. The welcome wagon must once again be dragged out of storage, I have another follower. I would like to welcome my latest follower Sam Pate (aka ArabianKnight). So a big BZA welcome goes out to Sam. WELCOME SAM! Sam runs the Wee Blokes blog which you really should check out, it's very good. It even has a dedicated horror section, really cool.

So on with the show. I managed a few more survivors this week, again all from the Wargames Factory Apocalypse Survivors : The Men.

LATEST SURVIVORS DESTINED TO DIE HORRIBLY.

All these were put together as per the box pictures, so no surprises or anything out of the ordinary.
No fancy conversions or kitbashes yet, I'll save that for the second sprue. Although some of these poses maybe a little difficult to alter, I guess I'll just have to improvise.

Still haven't come up with any names or backstories yet, I guess these guys might just end up as generic survivors or even zombie bait... Who knows maybe some of them will make it to named "star" status, we'll have to wait and see.

AS ALWAYS, I PAINT THE BACKS OF THEM. EVEN THE BUILDERS ARSE.

That's all I've got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time try and follow the DUDE'S example and "take it easy".

A YEAR'S BLOGGING. SOME SURVIVORS.

Well, well, well. I made it to a whole year blogging, I'm astounded, I didn't think things would get this far at the very beginning. But then I wasn't too sure what to expect tbh.

So, what was achieved this year. Not as much as I would have liked but things were set in motion. Like my attempt to bring a little culture to the world of zombies by introducing some art to the proceedings.

On that note I would like to present you with a piece by a different artist this time. This piece is by Bryan Baugh and is called From Soil 2. Enjoy!

FROM SOIL 2

Right then, continuing with what has been achieved. Well I managed to paint 160 zombies and one survivor. I also entered into the world of card modelling, my first foray resulted in the completion of 3 buildings of use and one that was too small a scale.
Other progress on the scenery front came as an experiment using coffee stirrers. Stealing an idea from Zadabak, I made a set of rural fences, which turned out quite well.
That about sums up the year's completed work. I still have loads of W.I.P. lying around.

Resolutions are things I don't tend to do, or even plan too far ahead. I find even the best laid plans rarely survive long when challenged with real life events and issues. What I will say, is that I had some survivors for Crimbo so they are getting painted. Everything else I'll get to in good time.

The response to my weekly nonsense appears to be quite well received, this year my humble little blog has clocked over twelve thousand views and got me some followers, thirty nine to be precise. I'm really not sure what to say except thank you very much. I do know that if it weren't for this, there wouldn't have been any models painted over the last couple of months.( There wasn't that many done but thanks, it got me over my miserable months.)

Well maybe there's a few more miserable months until the sun comes back. Anyhow here's my first three survivors from the Wargames Factory box.

MY FIRST SURVIVORS PREPARE TO TAKE BACK THE STREETS!

Haven't really thought about names or backstories yet, that'll probably be established in the batreps. The middle dude bears more than a passing resemblance to the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, kinda creepy!

I also thought the guy in the suit could double as a MIB or a Fed etc. The cops in this box will also be pressed into double duty until I can get more of both.

YES, I'M STILL PAINTING THE BACKS OF THEM.

So hopefully this little spurt of productivity will continue and more stuff gets painted over the following weeks.

Well, that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes. So until next time y'all try and follow the DUDE'S example and "take it easy".

HAPPY NEW YEAR. WHAT I GOT FOR CRIMBO. THANK F#%K THAT'S OVER.

Happy New Year everybody! Just coming round from a fortnight's whisky induced frolics and festivities. Oh and the pagan rituals of force feeding oneself on turkey and chocolate. The human sacrifices where good this year too.

We shall continue in the way that has become custom, by presenting you with another piece of zombie art. Again another piece by the very talented GRIMBRO.

This piece is called Toxic. Again I don't think it's based on a celluloid image.

TOXIC!

I have to show you all what I had for Crimbo. I wasn't expecting much as I had been a naughty boy. Satan Claws out did himself this year though. Firstly my son bought me a lovely warm pair of zombie slippers, they're great. Only one minor problem, they are not suitable for the apocalypse, I'd keep tripping up in them.

YOU PUT YOUR FEET IN THEIR MOUTH!

Then his girlfriend, who's a massive Anime fan, bought me the first season of HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD. I've watched Anime before but never seen this particular series. It was wonderful, great ideas for scenarios and set pieces for gaming. Also great to see how another culture deals with a zombie apocalypse. If you haven't seen it, you should. I mean Japanese school girls in short skirts with katanas killing zombies, what's not to like. Even though it's Anime, the handling of the zombie uprisng is pretty realistic and the character stories are very well done. Now I have to buy season 2 when it comes out.

SCHOOL GIRLS WITH KATANAS KILLING ZOMBIES. AWESOME!

She also got me a book, called Gothic Dreams Zombies. It's pretty cool, giving you a history of zombies in movies, literature and art. It filled a few gaps I had about the zombie mythos but what was really outstanding was the suggested further reading and loads of links to some superb zombie artwork. I guess this means the art "thing" will keep going and will progress beyond my GRIMBRO obsession.

A COOL LITTLE SOURCE BOOK FOR ALL THINGS ZOMBIE.

Then my daughter really came through and surprised me with a box of survivors from Wargames Factory. Wicked! Having had a good look at them, they seem a vast improvement on the zombie horde and even the zombie vixens, which can only be a good thing.

No doubt this means the first couple of months this year will be spent painting survivors. I don't really want to plan any further than that at the moment.

SHINY NEW SURVIVORS!

After the dust has settled from the fallout of a riotous and ridiculous Crimbo, things should get back to at least approaching normal next post. Gulp! That means I've got to get my paintbrushes out of storage and crack on.

Well that's all I got for this time dudes and dudettes! So until next time.,try and follow the path of the DUDE and "take it easy".