ZOMBICIDE COMPANION DOGS. PART 1

What's occurrin' then?

Things are improving, here at the bunker, after last weeks sad news. I really didn't feel up to much this week. Then I remembered some figures that would make me feel better and act as a kind of memorial. These were the Zombicide companion dogs, which I had won in a prize draw on Vampifan's blog. Cheers again Bryan.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, my endevour to inject some culture into the world of zombies must continue. To this end, I present you with another great piece from the maestro that is Bryan Baugh. This is titled "Bloody Weirdos". Enjoy!

BLOODY WEIRDOS.

Some survivors run on all fours. Dog companions can fight alongside you, cross the block to lend some help, distract zombies and reach blocked areas in no time. In these times of zombie mayhem, dogs are more than pets... they are teammates with natural weaponry.

Before the apocalypse we called them "pets". Now we call them "companions". Some dogs turned, some didn't and like us, some survived. Dog companions are of great help. They warn us, they fight alongside us and allow us to reach areas no one else can. Of course, a companion has to be strong to survive and do what we ask of it. Being a survivor's dog is not really a Chihuahua's job.

In the following pictures, the cards are from Zombicide. I doubt I'll need them for ATZ, the only dogs in that seem to be the barking type, followed by a random amount of zombies.

GASPARD, BIT OF A BEAST IN MELEE AND CAN KILL FATTIES.

In Zombicide these dog companions count as pieces of equipment, and can be traded as such. They won't actually do anything unless you give them commands (actions of your own), except for giving you extra dice in melee if they are in the same zone as you when you attack a zombie.

CHERRY, MORE USEFUL FOR SEARCHING. AN EXTRA SEARCH EACH ROUND SHOULD NOT BE SNIFFED AT.

If you do give them commands, they'll happily attack zombies for you, run around and search for stuff (they can only carry one piece of equipment at a time) or go off and bark a lot to distract the zombies. All these actions have their uses at the right times.

MARTENS, VERY GOOD AGAINST THE REGULAR ZOMBIES.

Plus, it's not quite as sad when these ones die. Because they can take a wound for you. We the WNI(Wednesday Night Irregulars), have found them to be very handy pieces of kit and when used properly can affect the game positively, but not so much that they seem overpowered.

In other news, the third instalment of '68 arrived at the bunker this week. Having read it three times already, I must admit to being a huge fan. The artwork is not quite as impressive as the first two tpbs due to a change of artist, it's still bloody impressive (pun intended). I would still heartily recommend this to any zombie fan.

SEMPER FI, MOTHERFUCKERS.

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

STOP PRESS. AS I WRITE THIS, MY MATE JUST KNOCKED THE DOOR WITH MY ZOMBICIDE : RUE MORGUE KICKSTARTER BOX. HAPPY MONDAY TO BOB. YIPPEE! CAN YOU TELL I'M EXCITED!!!!!!!!

FOUR MORE ZOMBIES.

What's occurrin' then?

Pretty shitty week this week at the bunker. I had to have my dog put down on Tuesday. Fucking gutted, I loved that dog. Loads of tears shed. Now I'm gonna have to buy a new guard dog, something big and mean. Like a chihuahua. Still managed a little painting through all the tears.

So let's kick off with the usual piece of zombie art. Still got quite a few of Bryan Baugh's to show you. This great example is a tribute to Return of the Living Dead, and is called Tarman. Enjoy!

TARMAN.

So I got some painting done. These four are again made from the last sprue in the Wargames Factory Survivors : The Men box with the addition of some Studio plastic arms and a head, and some Mantic heads and torsos. Kitbashing rules.

FOUR MORE FOR THE HORDE.

I suppose some introductions are in order. First up, made from WGF body, Studio arms and a Mantic head is Edryd. He looks a little confused about his current situation, must be all the blows to the head. Next in line a zombie child made from WGF body, Studio arms and head. (The head was the right size for a child but the arms are a little long, making him a little ape-ish) Never mind, we'll call him Fychan. Following along, made from WGF legs, Mantic torso, arms and head is Gerallt, who has brought along a nice snack in case he gets peckish. Finally bringing up the rear is an all Mantic crawling/dragging zombie. A prison inmate judging from his garb, know as Harri. Here I come to my first complaint about the Zombicide paints, now maybe it was that I didn't shake the bottle enough (I can't honestly remember), the coverage of the prison jumpsuit orange was piss poor. So I went back to my old OOP GW orange but I did use the jumpsuit shader and liked the effect it left.

OFF THEY GO TO JOIN THE HORDE.

Not much more to say this week. I miss my dog, she was a lovely old girl.

R.I.P. TIA.

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

FIRST ZOMBIES OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!

What's occurrin' then?

Another week has shot by, they seem to be getting faster and faster, or is that just me? Lost more painting time this weekend as the 6 nations invaded once again. Still it was worth it, we beat the Irish putting us back in the hunt for the championship. A magnificent display from our boys.

Right, let's crack on. We shall start  with what has become a regular feature, a piece of zombie art. This week brings another wonderful and weird masterpiece from the superbly talented Bryan Baugh. It's called The Mud People. Enjoy!

THE MUD PEOPLE.

Considering the name of this blog, there hasn't been many zombies painted this year. Well that's about to change, as I present you with the first zombies of the year. These are made from the last sprue in the Wargames Factory survivors box, with the addition of some Studio plastic arms and some Mantic zombie heads.

This is my first proper run with the new Zombicide paints. They seem very good I particularly like the zombie shader and the two blood effects paint. All in all, not a bad result.

FOUR MORE FOR THE HORDE.

So from left to right we have Amlodd, he was a steel worker and member of the National Guard. Next is Baglen, bit of a tearaway and former member of the Cwmbran Massive (local gang). Following Baglen is Cadog a former mechcanic who also loved disco dancing. Last in line is Derwyn a formerly successful buisnessman.

MORE INTEREST THAN NORMAL, CHECK OUT THOSE BRAINS.

There you go then, this years first zombies. Don't worry there's more to come.

So I haven't been just painting, I've done a little shopping too. I picked  this beauty up at a local charity shop for the princely sum of £1. Take off some of the dumb toy stickers, give it a dirty wash and it should be good to go.

EVERYBODY NEEDS A CONCRETE TRUCK IN THE APOCALYPSE.

Just to prove Joe doesn't have the monopoly on tractors, I also got this for the same price. Same deal,  dirty it up and it should look fine. Great for ploughing through zeds.

SOON THESE ZEDS WON'T KNOW WHAT HIT 'EM.

My copy of '68 Scars came this morning, totally making my day, so I have a little bedtime reading for after The Walking Dead. On first glance the art and story still looks excellent.

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

COPS. WHAT YOU GONNA DO WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU ?

What's occurrin' then?

The bunker has been quite chaos free this week, somethings wrong then. I did manage to get some painting in as well as a little more reading. Apart from that things have been unnervingly quiet around here, it's probably the calm before the storm.

Let's continue on our quest to bring some much needed culture to the world of zombies. So once again I present you with a wonderful piece of art from the very talented Bryan Baugh. This piece is a tribute to Herbert West and the Re-animator series of films, and is titled simply Re-animator. Enjoy!

RE-ANIMATOR.

Before I forget and charge off, I have to get the welcome wagon out of storage. It's been a while so it needs dusting off and oiling. We've two new followers to welcome this time. First up on deck is Hil &Steve, my first couple, can't find a blog for you guys. Give me a shout if you have one. So a big BZA welcome for Hil & Steve. WELCOME GUYS! Second on the welcome wagon is Gordon Richards, he runs the "I have wrought my simple plan" blog, very cool it is too. Another big BZA welcome for Gordon. WELCOME GORDON! Strap yourselves in people it's gonna be a long ride.

Now I've bought the ATZ : FFO rule book and even read through it (once), I now know you need a few more things than just survivors and zombies. One of these things is a police presence, to that end I've got together my first group of cops.

Three of these guys are made up from the male survivors box set from Wargames Factory and the other is the "Phil" figure from Zombicide season 1.

CROW VALLEY'S COUNTY SHERRIFF'S FINEST.

OK from left to right we have Sgt. Bob Gorman (WGF), Deputy Shane Walsh (everyone says the Phil figure is a not-Rick Grimes, I disagree and think he makes a much better not-Shane [take that Sheldon]), Deputy O'Donnell (WGF) and Deputy Lamson (WGF). I painted them all in a generic county sherriff's uniform, similar to the uniform worn by Rick and Shane in the first season of The Walking Dead T.V. show.

They are all fairly well armed with pump action shotguns, except Deputy O'Donnell who is the designated sniper, so he gets the scoped bolt action rifle. They all have holstered pistols as back up.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, EXCEPT PAINTED REARS.

I guess that's what I'm going to call my imaginary small town USA, Crow Valley. It's what the name of my hometown means in English, thought it would work quite well on the other side of the Atlantic also.

In my last post's comments, one of my regular commentors kind of said he wondered what the artwork was like inside '68. So Four Eyed Monster, these next few pictures are just for you. I'm sure other viewers will also take some pleasure from them too.

Cover art from the second issue of the series featuring a zombie Jimi Hendrix.

A splash page from the third installment.

A splash page from the fourth installment.

Cover art from the second printing of issue one.

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

LAST OF THE SURVIVORS FOR NOW.

What's occurrin' then?

A real mixed bag of a week here at the bunker. A little painting, a little shopping, a little reading and a lot of watching rugby. Yes, the Six Nations circus touched down again this weekend (taking up valuable painting time) but at least we beat the French, in their own backyard no less. Cue happy Bob.

Let's continue to inject some much needed culture into the world of zombies with more art. This is another great piece by the man of the moment Bryan Baugh it's called Hot Dirt. Enjoy!

HOT DIRT

You may remember me complaining last post about Amazon's slackness in delivering my goods. Well, it turns out that the enigma that is my son gave them his old payment details, which were out of date. Cue reorder last Sunday. I'm pleased to say that everything has arrived safely.

What was it that you ordered Bob? We can't remember and are too damn idle to look back at last weeks post. Well, let me refresh everyone's memory. The first thing, being so impressed by the Core Set, was the Zombicide Toxic/Prison paint set by Army Painter. The other item was a collected trade paperback comprising the first story arc of the zombie comic '68.

The Zombicide Toxic/Prison paint set has only six colours but is half the price at £10, representing even better value for money than the Core set. All the colours are intended for painting the zombies that come with Toxic City Mall and Prison Outbreak box sets. Although I'm sure I'll use them for other things as well.

NICE LITTLE PAINT SET.

I've only just discovered the zombie comic '68, if you haven't seen it, as a zombie fan I urge you to check it out. It runs with the idea that the events in Night of the Living Dead really happened and shows how the world was affected, in particular the Vietnam War. The first story arc is collected together in a trade paperback called '68 : Better Run Through The Jungle. I'm very impressed, this is a beautiful product and would highly recommend it to any zombie enthusiast. I'm going to get the second trade paperback as soon as I can.

EXCELLENT READ & BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK.

So, we've covered a little shopping and a little reading. Let's move onto a little painting. As the title suggests, these are the last of the survivor type figures that I've made up from the Wargames Factory Apocalypse Survivors : The Men box, I've also made some cops and zombies but these are the last survivor types.

THE FINAL SURVIVORS FOR NOW.

So the line-up this time, first guy is another Studio plastic/Wargames Factory mash up. The similarity to George W. Bush is quite unnerving. I was so short of survivors I had to throw in Crazy Ned from Zombicide season 1. I think I read he's based on Alan Moore, the comic book writer behind some awesome stories such as The Watchmen and V for Vendetta, to name just two. The final guy I decided to make as a very well prepared survivor (or a prepper), so he has just about everything needed to bug out to his well stocked hidey hole. I made the straps for his backpack myself.

AGAIN, PAINT IS STILL BEING APPLIED TO THE BACK OF THEM.

That's it then for the survivors from this box, like I said some cops and zombies to come, then it's time to buy something else. Unless Zombicide : Rue Morgue turns up in the meanwhile.

Right then, it's St Davids day today so we have to go and get the leeks ready, oh and prepare the feast and human sacrifice. DEWI SANT!

That's it for now dudes and dudettes. So until next time try and be more like the DUDE and "take it easy".

THE PLACEBO EFFECT CONTINUES. FOUR MORE SURVIVORS.

What's occurrin' then?

Well, it's been half-term here in the principality and Dad's been in charge of entertainment. After fun days out, where my daughter seems to spend all of my money, we've settled down most nights to play Zombicide. I find because it's a co-operative game, it brings you all together to act as a team, rather than a competetive game which usually ends in sulking, tears or both. Who would have thought that the zombie apocalypse could bring the family closer together.

Let's kick off by attempting to bring a little culture to the world of zombies, with another fine piece of zombie art. This is another great example of Bryan Baugh's amazing work and is called Zombie Slumber Party. Enjoy!

ZOMBIE SLUMBER PARTY.

Well it looks like the placebo effect has lasted at least one more week. I've managed another four survivors, even though it's been half-term. Long may it last, the placebo effect not half-term.

As I type, I'm still waiting on my Zombicide Toxic/Prison paint set by Army Painter. (I'm not impressed Amazon, they were ordered Tuesday night) I liked the core set so much I ordered the next one, to expand my stock of squeezy bottle paints and give me a bigger colour range. Although these have been developed with Toxic City Mall (TCM) and Prison Outbreak (PO) in mind they will work nicely on other figures, be they zombies or survivors, just as well.

At the same time as I ordered the paint set, I also ordered a trade paperback of a zombie comic called '68. It's set the year that Night of the Living Dead came out and runs with the premise that it was a real event. So various places and events through history are affected by the zombie uprising such as the Vietnam War. It sounds like a great idea, unfortunately despite saying it had a 2 to 3 day delivery time, this hasn't turned up either.

Anyway, enough moaning from me, let's get on with the show and tell. Four survivors again this time, looks like I'm on a roll.

LET'S SEE IF THESE GUYS CAN SURVIVE LONGER THAN THE REST.

OK, so the first guy is another Studio plastic zombie torso and legs with WGF arms and head. I gave this dude's guns a little special treatment. In Zombicide there is an equipment/weapon card with a pair of gold plated automatic pistols, these are called the "Evil Twins". This guy's got them. Second dude in line is my final fat guy. If my sculpting was any better he would not be wearing flip-flops, but he does have a grenade launcher. Next fella is another unfortunate desk jockey, again this pose is difficult to change without some major surgery. I just gave him a single handed melee weapon to look different to the others. Final victim, I mean survivor, is another suit with a pistol. These are handy to use as detectives or government agents and others of that ilk.

FATTY'S ARSE IS OUT AGAIN. CAREFUL, I RESEMBLE THAT REMARK!

What I am quite pleased with is my gap filling on the fat guys shoulders, I know you wouldn't have noticed, if I hadn't said anything but to get him to hold that grenade launcher with two hands was a real pain in the arse. Still, it's done now.

I'm almost at the end of my survivors, there's some cops to come and a few zombies made out of the last sprue, but I think I've only got another two or three survivor types left. Time to get me some of them women.

Well that's all I got for now dudes and dudettes. So until next time, you try and do what the DUDE does, and "take it easy".

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".