Paint Rack

Received this paint rack today from Miniaturicum of Germany, less than a week for delivery to the UK. 36 Euros inc postage.

Very impressed with it and they do lots of different sizes.

It should help with keeping the paints organised and help with tidying up afterwards.

I did look at the carousel type ones but they were a lot more money than this.

Lego City Zombie Infection

My six year old son found this and showed me today, have to keep more of an eye on him. Didn't even know he knew You Tube.

Anyhow this is hilarious -


Lego City Zombie Infection

It looks like there is loads more also. Impressive way to kill Zeds, run 'em over in a tank !!

Afghan / Talibans Update

Finally, after three evenings and part of a day I have nearly finished my Afghan / Taliban squad.

A bit of tidying up, paint the weapons and then ink / wash them and they will be completed.

Much, much harder than I thought and for certain I will never do 25 at a time again.

Here are the WIP pics -

I don't know what to do with this one, couldn't remove the flash between man and luancher, very very thick ?

I will do a full report when I have them all finished and varnished, it has been a huge learning curve as, apart from ceilings and walls these are the first things i have painted since childhood. A long time ago !!

The Walking Dead

Well its very nearly upon us, the greatest comic book ever has been turned into a hopefully brilliant TV show by AMC, so should be quite adult themed, can you do Zombies none adult themed ??

For those who don't know The Walking Dead is a black and white ongoing comic book series by Robert Kirkman, it is set after the Zombie Apocalypse hits. Currently upto number 78 (out today).

It follows Rick Grimes and his many survivors against the horrors of Zombies and fellow Man, who are often worse than the Zeds. The TV adaptation is based on the comic book but is not following the series exactly, the first series of six is ready to go and a second season has already being ordered.

It premiers in the US on 31 October and should be on FX in the UK a few days later.

Here is the latest trailer.

I personally can't wait.

The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell

Another book finished last night, I was really looking forward to this after reading a couple of good reviews inc SFX and got to say I was slightly disappointed especially with the ending.

Set in a post apocalyptic world (US) complete with the obligatory undead (who surprisingly take a bit of a back seat) it follows the lead character Temple (young teenage girl) and never fully explains her - to me anyway.

I think the major reason I was disappointed is that I like my books to be series and I don't think this will be, so purely a stand alone story which needed exploring and explaining more. Perhaps we may get more but I don't think so.

Saying all that its worth a read, even if for a few examples of terrain alone.

Free Game Rules from The Perfect Captain

Just found this great little site on one of the blogs so thought i would share it as it has loads of free downloadable rules for miniatures.

The Perfect Captain

Wargame Factory - Zombies

I received these over the weekend after putting a request in Lead Adventure Forum thanks to The Angry Lurker for the suggestion and special thanks to Leon of Pulp Citizen fame for sending me three sprues for just the price of postage.

Here are the sprues -

I had better make these Zeds well worth it !!

I really recommend looking at both their blogs, well worth a look and of course The Lead Adventure forum.

British Shermans - North Africa

Received these a few days ago. Couldn't resist them when i saw them on ebay and at £25 for 5 already painted (very well IMO) it was a bargain. Looked on the Flames of War website and they are £35 new unpainted ??

I hope I can eventually match the painting on these, ordering three Crusaders II to go with them and the matching paint sets.

Have a look at them - 

Just need to base them and add magnets which i am trying to do with all figures / vehicles if possible.

Zombie Times - Halloween 2010

New issue of Terror Times is available to download now from Terror 4 Fun well worth a read and in particular it focuses on the UK Zombie Festival 2010 on November 13th in Leicester. It is the fourth year of the event and promises to be bigger than ever with Zombie make up, games, film premieres etc.

The Fort by Bernard Cornwell

Finally finished reading this today, which is the reason for my lack of posts, so here are my thoughts on it.

This is Bernard Cornwell's latest novel which is set in a brand new period of history for him, I am slightly biased as I really enjoy most of his books so was anticipating this for some time.

Based around the American War of Independence and specifically the Penobscot Expedition. Not one of my favourite parts of history (especially as we - the Brits - lost !! ) I hadn't heard of this, although reading about the events after the book, there is quite a history to it.

Not spoiling it, the book is all about the Americans attempting to take a fort that the British are building at Majabigwaduce (still not 100% sure how to say that.) Like most of his books it is very well researched and the characters (nearly all real people who were actually in the conflict) are excellently portrayed on both sides of the conflict.

It has opened my eyes to this period of history and I may well read some more about it.

My favourite book from him since the Grail Quest Trilogy, I do hope he returns to some of the characters at a later date. I definitely recommend it.

Inflatable Russian Tanks plus

Haha this is great, Russia to save money are creating blow up tanks, planes and even Radar Stations. They reckon they are made with a special material to deceive radar but i have seen more realistic miniatures than these !!

Who are they aiming to fool by releasing it as NEWS and showing the World ??

Check out BBC for the full info with a video and pictures.

Undercoated at Last !

The weather wasn't too bad this morning so after preparing the Talibans / Afghans last night, which involved using the strange green stuff for the first time. Used for too much !! Lesson learnt there, only mix a bit at a time. Filled in the slotta bases and PVA'd a sand / cat lit mix I had made up.

Changed my mind at the last minute and undercoated in white instead of the Vallejo black i was going to use, probably thinking white is easier to cover. Trial and error at this stage of the game.

Cut some card and used blue tack to put 5 men on each for ease of transporting around and moving to cover both sides. Used an old paper ream box from work for my paint shield and it worked fine, not too much paint in the garden !

Here are the results -

To say I am amazed is an understatement, the detail that is now apparent on the figures really blows me away. I am so pleased with them at this stage, I hope my basic paint job does them justice.

I have noticed a few flash lines that I've missed so I may trim them off and touch up, note for next time don't watch TV whilst trimming !

Got a few jobs around the house to do today and tomorrow but I hope to get a bit of paint on these over the weekend.

Received a lot of buildings / terrain off of PMC_Games on eBay so i may get a suitable setting up with them too.

Horrorclix Zombies plus

Received these today from a couple of dealers in the USA off of ebay -

I spent a bit of time going through the various Heroclix / Horrorclix websites to find which of them i may be able to use in my Modern Zombie setting. I am going  to have to do some serious work rebasing and repainting them but it worked out a cheap deal to get them on the table quickly.

Included in these were a great batch of Zombie Cops and Troopers -

And a personal fave, the zombie reindeer -

Mantic Undead Zombies

Received these Mantic Undead Zombies yesterday -

I chose the Zombie Horde and received 60 of the blighters, they look fine to me but they are the first plastic models I have ever purchased so nothing to really compare against. I am hoping to utilise some in my modern day setting.

The one small gripe I have is that there are 20 sprue's but all exactly the same, is this normal as I wasn't expecting this amount of duplication ?


Here's a closer look at the sprue -

And the other way round -

Hopefully this will give a feel of what you get and I do know they are on ebay at the minute for about £16 (post Free) for 60 ( I paid £23 from Wayland Games).

Killer Bunny

On a recent trip to London we came across this small stall in Camden Market, which stood out as different, even there in Camden!

Killer Bunny is the owner's Jeff Michalik's own creation and he produces posters, prints etc from his own drawings.

Jeff is very approachable and was willing to chat about all his creations and style.

Check out his website killerbunny for his unique take on movies, superheroes and of course the Killer Bunny.

The Event - Episode 3

Promising new TV show from NBC. 

I will not reveal any big "spoilers" here.

From Wikipedia -

"Near the end of World War II, an aircraft of undetermined origin crashed in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. It carried passengers who appeared outwardly human but are not of terrestrial origin. They have some genetic differences and age much more slowly than humans. Most of the survivors were captured by the U.S. government and held in a secret facility nearby run by intelligence agencies, since they have refused to disclose much about their origin. The remaining survivors, who only sustained minor injuries, were able to escape the crash scene and currently live among the population.
President Elias Martinez learns of the facility's existence shortly after his inauguration and decides, after meeting the leader of the detainees, to release them and disclose their existence to the world over the objections of the intelligence agencies. His plans are put on hold when an assassination attempt on him is foiled by means beyond human technology. The CIA, realizing that this means there are other aliens, secretly plans to find and kill them. The agent chosen to head the effort is himself an alien and that fact is unknown to the agency. The aliens are divided internally on how to respond to this."

Just watched the third episode and although quite cliched it does show promise, just hope that it gets at least a full series and doesn't pose more questions than answers a la Lost, I suppose it all depends on the ratings though !!

This episode moved the story along nicely with a fantastic ending, are the passengers alive, dead or undead....hehe

Anthony Giangregorio's Dead Water Series

Having just finished Anthony Giangregorio's latest Dead Water Series book - Dead Salvation, I thought I would share it with everyone as he is a relative unknown. 

For anyone unfamiliar with this series it follows a group of survivors following the Zombie Apocalypse. Similar in tone to the Walking Dead comic by Robert Kirkman. 

The unusual aspect of this series is that he self published them under his Undead Press label, although there a number of minor errors this doesn't detract from the story at all. I read the first eight or nine in about a month and thoroughly enjoyed them. 

I haven't tried his anthologies, of which there are many but I may get them when my current reading list drops to less than 50 !! 

This is the cover to the first in the series, don't be fooled by it !!

Talibans Ready for Painting

My weekends work - 

These are the Taliban / Afghans i have cleaned up and based on 25mm slotta bases, i did want to prime them with Vallejo Black but the weather was horrendous and my other half didnt want a spray painted conservatory !!

Hoping to do one night this week so i can get onto the good stuff of painting them..............

Kevin Dallimores Painting and Modelling Guide

Received this great book yesterday -

Full of useful tips for beginners like myself and I am pretty sure there is even enough for more experienced people to find interesting. Failing that, its worth the coverprice (£25 RRP but cheaper online) alone for the excellent miniatures painted or diorama scenes.  

Kevin is head painter at Wargames Foundry and has an excellent website of his own kevindallimore.co.uk which features many of his works and links to other great artists, an enjoyable hour or two spent thinking how do i get that good......

New Taliban / Afghan Minis

Received the first packs of my Afghan / Taliban forces from The Assault Group really nice set of figures and if you spend over £33 you get a free limited edition figure of your choice.

Hoping to clean them and prime them this weekend.

Just ordered a magnifying glass with its own light source and paid a visit to my local Games Workshop to pick up a starter hobby kit. Bought a lot of bits off of Ebay so think i may have enough to get cracking now.

Reason for Blog

First post on my new blog so i should say hello and welcome.

I have always wanted to get into gaming but never had the confidence or ability to paint, but after reading some excellent blogs and tutorials I am going to give it a try.

I am going to use this to show my new "fad" of miniauture gaming and the first three i have selected are -

• All Things Zombie - 28mm Zombie campaign
• Flames of War - 15mm (probably early period as its the newest)
• Ambush Alley - 28mm Modern (Middle East setting i think)

Hopefully this blog will be a permanent reminder of my "skills" improving but we shall see.