A new project scale

For X-mas I got a series of 54mm home casting molds. They are US Army and Middle Eastern opposition. The gaming potential for these is rather obvious. But I was thinking about doing some army vs zeds in this scale as well.
Can anyone suggest some very large zombies? Looking for 54mm or 1/32 scale.
My first thought was to hit the dollar store for some cheap plastic figures and just zed them out. Depending on costs I may just go this route anyways.

Here is a quick pic of the test casts I made with a WF zombie next to them for scale.

"Not so good Al"

I ran through most of my game this evening. In the end I just opted to use the standard ATZ rules. I don't really have the proper figures for the Zombieville setting, maybe sometime soon though.

The game was rather disappointing. I had Fozzy, Irwin, and Taco trying to run from the back of Taco's apartment building to the clinic on the other end of town.

Right from the start it was a down hill run. I rolled max starting zombies and their placement pretty much meant that there was going to be lots of shooting.

First turn Taco "retired" and continued to do so everytime he was tried to rally. He just sort of "duckbacked" into the waiting Zeds.

Fozzy and Irwin did a little better then they normally do. They mananged to fend off a couple bouts of melee combat each and dodged and weaved their way out of the Zed masses.

What didn't feel right was the way I just sort of left Taco to his fate. I was happy to see Fozzy and Irwin get free, but it just didn't seem "in character" for them to abandon Taco. I should have had them grab him and carry him off. They could have, if I hadn't pushed my luck with the rally rolls (he failed to pass more then 1 die four turns in a row!).

Once Fozzy and Irwin had broke free and put a couple turns worth of space between them and the closest Zeds I just ended it. I just couldn't bring myself to finish it after Taco's death.

Of course I am not sure I was really "in the mood" for the game to start with. Maybe next time around I will be more into it.

I have a few pictures for the game, but I am not sure they are worth the effort to post. Next time I will make sure to post some shots.

Still no game, yet...

Yet again time just moved faster then I did. I had hoped last weekend that I would get in a game of ATZ but it just never happened.
Partly because I got caught up in loads of house cleaning and partly because my daughter has been on winter break for the last couple weeks and has kept me pretty busy.
But last night I decided I WILL get in a game tonight. I will have everything setup this afternoon so it's all ready to go once my daughter is off to bed.
I am going to try something new (well sorta). I am going to play a zombie game using the original Chain Reaction/Guns & Girls rules (my favorite of the three editions) and a fan made setting I recently came across called "Zombieville".
It is a very fun looking setup, sort of like ATZ "Day One". But much more "B movie" then the "real life" feel of the ATZ setup. You just have to make it through the first day (roll for encounters each hour) to be rescued.
I am sure it could be expanded to be a whole campaign, but I would just switch to ATZ for that.
Anyways, I plan to kick off the game tonight and should have pics to post in the next couple days (Monday my daughter goes back to school so by then for sure).

Time just slipped away

I haven't been doing much in the zombie theme of gaming (heck even the blog vanished for awhile and I didn't notice it). I am not sure when I will get back to it either. Though I am hoping to due a small game in the next day or two. Have to clean up my small game area first though.
So maybe there will be a new batrep here sometime next week... just have to see what happens.

And now for something differant

I have mentioned here a couple times about my brother and his family coming for a visit and the plan for some zombie gaming while their here. Well this morning I was hit with an idea.
My brother was the one who first got me into gaming with the original Marvel Super Heroes game put out by TSR in the 80's and early 90's.
Well I had the idea of using the Marvel rules (which can be found for free these days if you go hunting around the web) to run a zombie game. The game was written with the use of a map in mind. But I have decided to go with miniatures and terrain instead. We will use the ratio of 1 map area becomes 4". So your average person will move 4", a handgun will fire 8", and a rifle can hit up to 40" away.
I have only just started to work on this in the last few hours, so it is still more of a outline in my head then anything else. But hopefully I can have it all worked out in the next couple weeks.

Can you have a draw with the dead?

Yesterday was the big zombie day. It was very entertaining despite some problems with the rules. It seems that the Apoc-Z book needed LOTS more work before it was ready for the public. Some very core rules for playing the zombies are not explained very clearly. In fact alot of the wording for some of the zombie rules conflict with core rule mechanics. This was a rushed project (they admit as much on their forum) and it shows... If I had paid more then a $1 for this book I would be upset.
So anyways, we muddled our way through the maze of rules and still had fun with two games.

First was a resource patrol and this was fought to a stand still. The humans need units of 5 models to explore buildings. When the dust settled the humans had run out of 5 man units (one had left with a token already and the second was carrying a token). But the zombies were pretty spread out. So it was decided to end it in a tie.

Second we started to play a Rescue mission thing. But it didn't take long for us to realize we were doing something wrong... My zombie hordes (who have a 3" move) had crossed the board by turn two and had over run the base. Some of those confusing rules state that zombies move towards any gun fire... so each time the human player fired a unit, we moved the zombies closer... well when 6 or so units fire the zombes moved nearly TWO FEET... and it wasn't even their turn! By the time we realised that we had to be doing something wrong it was after 10pm.

I had a nearly three hour drive to get back home, so we ended the night then and there. But we had some discussion on how to try things next time.

I also learned that Grant plays (or atleast has a copy of) All Things Zombie. So maybe next time we will be playing that instead...

Yonkers anyone?

I spent a couple hours last night creating the following lists for the upcoming Apocalypse Z day.

First off the Living. This is, depending on how you look at it, an over strength platoon or a under strength company. It is build straight from the Modern Combat rulebook with the point cost modifier from the Apocalypse Z book. It includes:
4 US Army Rifle Squad, with the Future Force Warrior gear upgrade
2 Abrams MBT
Should make for a solid line of defense.

Then we have the Undead. This is a slight alteration to the list I have sticking to for awhile now. It probably is not a great dead list for most of the scenarios but should be pretty fun.
Zombie Overlord w/Command Undead, Call Of The Flesh, Nimble, Tough, and Shroud Of Darkness.
6 Zombie Hordes of 20 Zeds, including 2 Brutes, all with Acid Blood
2 mobs of 10 Bile Zombies.

Thankfully the models I am using for the Living are the now OOP Battlefield Evolution US Marine Corp, so they are pre-painted. Now I just need to get the 141 Zombies painted.... (que zombie moan)

A Dead time in the old town tonight

So I am just over a week away from my first games of Apocalypse Z.
I have the following list ready to go (still unpainted but some light converting done).

8 Zombie Hordes of 20 Zeds each
2 Bile Zombie units of 10 Zeds each
Zombie Overlord (with alot less powers then before)

This is 2000 points and rather numbers heavy. Not much for special types but a chance to see what a ton of standard Zeds can do.

I am going to try to do some painting, but it is still very hot and hard to use spray paint.

Hello out there is Zedland

Sorry for lack of any updates (for those that even care). I have not been doing too much gaming lately, what with the move and just general lack of motivation. What little gaming I have done has just been some simple sci-fi skirmishing and such, nothing really of note. I have had the urge to do some Starship Troopers gaming lately and so what time I have devoted to the hobby has mostly been that.
But I have been reminded why I love the game, but hate the rules. I won't go into details, other then I can't seem to learn how to use Mobile Infantry.
Anyways, I do like the way they re-wrote the rules to make Battlefield Evolution: Modern Combat (though I have played more World At War then Modern Combat). And I expecially like the mods to make Apocalypse-Z.
In fact I am thinking that I am going to put my Starship Troopers project aside for awhile and focus on my Zed Army.
I have been working on (well more of just sorta tossed together) a Zombie Overlord. The basic model is a Horrorclix or Heroclix scientist. This makes him a bit taller then the rest of my zombies, but not so much as to confuse the size level of the model (still size 1 like the regular Zeds). He had these elbow length gloves, one of which I cut off and replaced with a spare plastic zombie arms, so it looks like he lost a glove at some point. Then I trimmed off the head and replaced it with a plastic zombie head. That is about it... oh and I trimmed down his necktie at an off angle to make it looked ripped. Also I cut a few bits out of his lab coat to make it too like a bit ratted.
I might take a couple pics of him and post them, but I am trying to hold off till I have him at least base coated. But the heat is still to much for doing any spray painting.
So anyways, thats about it for now. The plan is currently to drive to Phoenix on the 28th for a whole day of Apocalypse-Z and Starship Troopers gaming. I am about to send Grant and e-mail telling him that I would rather skip the Starship Troopers stuff and focus on the Zed games, of course he is a follower here too, so maybe he will get the message here.
So if I don't post anything before then, I will try to remember to get some pictures of the zombie games that day and post them here.
Later all.

Soon... Very bloody soon...

I just got my stuff moved over to the new house. Still have a trip or two worth of stuff of my daughters. Then several loads of "house stuff". But only another trip or two tonight... the heat is just making this a killer.

Anyhow, I am thinking that this evening I may have to bust out my Zeds for some relaxing fun. Of course there won't be internet at the new house for another week or so. So this will probably be my last entry till then.
I will take notes on the my game (not sure about pictures, have to find where the camera got packed) and post a report ASAP.

Some good news for the future

I mentioned last month that I was going to go do some gaming in Phoenix. That went really well. I got the chance to meet some new gamers and play some fun games of Starship Troopers.

Now the same fellow and I are beginning to plan for our next gaming day. What's on the menu? Why the zombie game evolved from Starship Troopers of course, Apocalypse-Z.
I have already begun making a zombie army list. This will give me an idea of what I need to get painted, though the odds of me getting even a fraction of it painted in time are slim to none. But incase you missed it, playing with unpainted models is fine with me, and after our previous games, I noticed that these fellows don't care much either.

So on to the baddies...
After reading through the differant zombie types in the book I find myself leaning more towards the standard Zombie Hordes (normal classic type Zeds) then the more special types. Though I do really like the Bile Zombies and Plague Zombies.

Bile Zombies are good as they give the hordes a bit of ranged combat. Not really fitting with what I consider Zombie Lore. But a needed asset in a war based setting (as a opposed to a survivalist based setting, such as All Things Zombie). Though the range of only 6" doesn't mean a whole lot when compared to the 24" range of most of the guns carried by the humans.

Plague Zombies on the other hand are really just regular zombies that have increased odds of infecting humans that come into contact with them. So these lend well to the classic feel I am trying to stick with.

Now there is one major exception to my theme list. The zombies have a leader model called an Overlord. These are the original scientists who worked on both the drug that caused the zombie outbreak and also tried to make a cure. After testing the cure on themselves they became super zombies. They have loads of mental and physical mutations. They can control other zombies around them and can even summon more zombies to help. With this guy I am a little confused. You are allowed a maximum of one of these per army, I get that. But what I don't understand is if you HAVE to have one in your force. They are listed as "Rarity: 1 per army". Anyways, I have opted to include one, so I am covered if he is required. He doesn't really fit with the theme I have, but it might be nice to have a powerhouse figure lurking in the shadows.

Other figures I thought to include, but didn't.
There are a select few zombies that retain enough of their minds to still use weapons. These are Soldier Zombies and Zombie Super Soldier. First off are the Soldier Zombies. I sort of like the idea of zombies with guns... but have a couple problems with the unit. Reason one I didn't include them is they didn't fit my theme. But the bigger reason is the weapons they carry. For whatever reason these soldiers didn't die with any rifles. They all carry pistols (except the "NCO" who has a shotgun). This to me seems odd. And well the pistols only have a 10" range. Compared to the Bile Zombies who have a shorter range, but much more deadly attack for 3 points cheaper... yeah give me the Bile Zombies please.

The Zombie Super Soldier now, here is a figure I love. He is straight out of the Resident Evil games. A huge zombie monster with the options for a Rocket Launcher or a Chain gun (by the way, he is allowed to have both at the same time but can only fire one or the other each turn). Unlike the Zombie Soldiers this one interests me just due to my love of the Resident Evil games. I am thinking of ways to make this figure for my collection. I may start shopping around for figures once I have settled into the new house.

The other zombie types didn't do much for me, though some are kinda interesting.
The hounds, monkeys, and bats... well I see where they have places in the wargame aspect of the game. I am just not that interested in them. There is also a Zombie Beast, this is for zombifiying larger animals (bears, rhinos, etc). I could see some fun in this, but with the options for the Overlord, Super Soldier, and Abomination I don't think it is really needed.
Now the Zombie Abomination, here is another video game classic. Dude shakes... dude screams... dude's chest and back explode with monsterous limbs. Usually a mid level boss character. Here it makes a great enforcer type baddie. I would certainly think about including one of these someday... after I have my Super Soldier that is.

Anyways, after my ramblings there... here is my list (note that this is a "work in progress" list and is subject to change when something else catches my fancy).

6 x Zombie Hordes of 20 zombies each = 1200 points
2 x Bile Zombie units of 10 zombies each = 240 points
3 x Plague Zombie units of 10 zombies each = 360
1 Zombie Overlord with Acid Blood, Agile, Bile Spit, Crushing Attacks, Extra Attacks x2, Nimble, Pounce, Powerful Attacks, Quick, Tough, Call Of the Flesh, and Command Undead = 200 points
Total = 1200 + 240 + 200 + 360 = 2000

This ranks up as sort of a minimal list, there are just enough Zombie Hordes to allow the units of Bile and Plague zombies. But all the units are expanded to maximum size. The Overlord on the other hand is rather over the top. I went all out and spent all his allowed points on mutation upgrades. This makes him incredible in close combat, but very expensive. Ten percent of the army total in a single model... but then again he is way less then half the cost if the human army fields a Abrams tank (570 points).
I might go back and do some fiddling (truth is, I know I will fiddle with it) and try to work some Brute Zombies into the hordes (Brutes are normal zombes that get 2 attacks instead of 1 and get two hit points instead of 1 but cost 20 points each rather then 10 points each).

Just a week and a half or so to go.

Soon I will be moved to the new house and can dig out all my zombie goodness. I should have packed this stuff up last, so I could have continued to game with it... oh well.

So long without a game...

Arrgh!
I really wish I hadn't packed all my zombies away already. I am really itching for a game... or maybe thats the itch from Zed Plague...
Itchy...
Tasty...
Yummy...

Humm...

After going through the forums over at Wargames Factory I feel more then a little bummed.
I wish I hadn't been so quick to order all those zombies from them. Instead I wish I had gone with Mega Mini's. They cost about twice as much as the plastic ones, but they have so many more poses and a line of civilians that match.
Now I am stuck with either taking some sort of a loss and trying to sell the plastic ones to buy metal ones, or sticking it out and going else where for my civilian needs.

YAY! BOOKS!

Apocalypse Z and Modern Combat arrived today. I haven't had much more then a few moments to flip through the books though as we were looking at places to move to. But over the next couple days I will try to read through them and post some sort of review and maybe future plans for my zombie horde.

Sloooow

I hate waiting for stuff to come in the mail when I am mid project (or more like mid build/early project over all).
I put together another half dozen or so cars.
Otherwise everything is just sorta "on pause".

Another game to play

I just paid for a copy of Apocalypse-Z and Battlefield Evolution: Modern Combat from EBay. So hopefully in a few weeks or so I can give another zombie ruleset a try.

I have played Battlefield Evolution: World At War a couple times and I am a big fan of the Starship Troopers game. So I already have some idea of the basic game. But I am interested in the other types of zombies.

I have accepted the fact that I way over bought zombies for All Things Zombie. So a chance to play large scale battles between survivor army units and swarms of zeds seemed like a good idea. I can use some of my mass horde to make some of the special zombie types.

Speaking of my horde. I do have about three quarters of the double super horde assembled (somewhere around 350 or so). But I will leave the remaining hundred or so alone until I have had a chance to look at Apoc-Z.

Just can't shake the Zeds

I just finished putting together the first half of my zombie horde.

Also I have the last of my survivors put together.

And now it's on to the second half.

Short Break

I have taken a short break from my zombie stuff for the following:
1) the local 40k crowd is organizing a Apocalypse game in a few days. I decided to give it a go. So I need to get a bit of painting done for that.
2) The family and I are going to visit the Grand Canyon next month. But along the way we are stopping in Phoenix for a day and night to pick up another member of our little party who is flying in. While I am in the city I am working on setting up a few games for that day.
3) About the time we get back from the Grand Canyon it will be time to start packing up the house to move out to the new house.
So there probably won't be much going on here for the next couple months, but once I am settled into the new place I am sure I will be back to zombie gaming with a vengeance.

Burger Bar Employee... Taco?

This is Taco. He is my third painted survivor conversion.
Taco was your average under achieving young adult. He worked a dead end job at the local fast food burger joint (where he somehow picked up the nickname Taco). He spent his hours of free time playing shoot-em up video games and listening to heavy metal music.
When the Zed Plague hit he saw it as his chance to do something with his life. So now he is armed with the pistol his manager had stashed under the cash register and he is having the time of his life living out his video game fantasies.