Painting Goal for January. Complete!

The goal: 10 miniatures a month.
Here's January
5 zombies. It's hard to tell from this picture but the zombie cop on the left kinda looks like Burt Reynolds. The little girl zombie is still clutching her teddy bear and on the containment suits I added some clear plastic visors to them.

The cops are Heroclix (Aaron Cash with new hands) miniatures and the other 3 are from the Zpocalypse Hospital Horde set.


5 Survivors (yes, I am including the motorcycle).
It's hard to tell in this pic too but the blonde detective has a bloody bandage over her nose. The miniature was damaged and it looked weird as I painted it, so I flattened it out a bit more and gave her a busted nose.

The survivors are all repainted heroclix miniatures

Game Board

Awhile back I realized that I would never get anything done if I didn't figure out a way to focus on my projects. I start on a project, get about 1/4 of the way into it and think of how I could make something else. That would then draw my interest into the new project leaving the old one sitting on my desk. Repeat that thought process about a 100 times and you can paint a picture of what the studio looks like. I have an area of "to paint" miniatures, and an area of "to convert" miniatures, some random 1/48 scale cars to weather, a few 1/48 scale motor homes & ambulances to convert, a pile of white plastic fences that I'm building a gate for (that opens, of course), there's some mesh to make chain link fences, a box of o-scale train tracks, 4" card board tubes and fake brick to make some subway boards, some black grout and plastic strip that will eventually become a paved road set, boxes of 1/48 scale city building models to put together, and on and on and on...

So... my idea to focus came to me as a game board set. I figured I had most of the parts to set up a farm house and surrounding area.
I had made some wood fences .
http://confessionsofaminiaturemodeler.blogspot.com/2013/10/making-fences.html
I had bunch of trees and I had made the fields already.
The silo was painted.
http://confessionsofaminiaturemodeler.blogspot.com/2013/10/thrift-score.html
I had my Machine Shed.
http://confessionsofaminiaturemodeler.blogspot.com/2014/04/ertl-farm-country.html

And I found an Ertl farm house (which I had started working on how to add some interiors to). Most of my grass boards were in pretty good shape and I felt like this was my best shot at getting something done. There is a TON of stuff to do to it still but it's coming together.

Update to my Conversions post

Here are the hospital orderly zombies all painted up.

 

I am very happy with the way these guys turned out.

Original post here:
http://confessionsofaminiaturemodeler.blogspot.com/2014/02/conversions-top-5-list.html

More for the Horde 2

Here are some more infected for the horde. These lovely ladies are from Wargames Factory's awesome Zombie Vixens set. I highly recommend it.

Here they are with yesterdays batch.

I also finished a few survivors.

I ran out of Dull Coat so I'll need to grab some so I can spray these guys, then I can base them on some clear plastic bases.

More for the horde

Finished 3 infected the other day. The figure on the right started as a Heroclix Adaptoid. I added some pants with green stuff and the busted up jaw with the tongue sticking out.

More tomorrow.

Conversions! A top 5 list.

I've been trying to build up a big horde of zombies (as cheaply as possible). I love the clix figures because they're plastic and easier to cut apart and glue together. Green stuff sticks to them pretty well too. I've bought a bunch of clix figures and have managed to keep the average to around 60¢ to 75¢ per figure (I bought a case a few years back and it averaged out to about 25¢ a figure after I sold the ones I didn't want on ebay). Anyway, here are my top 5 figures for converting.

Number 5:

Hal Jordan Heroclix.
A new paint job and a head swap with a Horrorclix Hard Hat Zombie and you've got some city workers that hunger for flesh. Why yes that is reflective tape on the figures. I was hoping it would flare up in the photos but so far nothing. :(

Number 4:

Flasher Horrorclix.
This one has LOTS of grabby hands (and a couple arms) that can be used in MANY, MANY ways.
See Number 3 below for a good example.


Number 3:

Insect Man Horrorclix.
This one is a pretty good base figure, you just need a head (maybe from the flasher?) and a left arm (definitely from the flasher), then again, maybe you don't really NEED a left arm. Maybe you just need something hanging from where the arm USED to be. Eh? Huh?
Most of these guys have the Pod Zombie Horrorclix head attached to them.
Also, I shaved off the ankle cuff on most of mine.

Number 2:

Hulk Heroclix.

I remember grabbing a bunch of these as promo pieces when the first movie came out. My idea back then was to turn them into Ogres for use in Blood Bowl. I did that.

Then sold them on ebay.

Years later I would see them as part of the Left 4 Dead Tank. So, I made these guys. With the torso of the Giant Horrorclix figure.

Also, you can use the arm from the Hulk as the left arm for the Insect Man and you've got yourself a Left 4 Dead charger.

 Notice the Chargers heads? Yep, those are flasher heads, one sans mohawk.

And last but not least...

Number 1:

Project Superman Heroclix.

I find this one to be a great base for making lots of different figures. Swap heads and get creative with the green stuff.

Two orderlies and a patient.

And a few more that I've finished. I figure lots of people will be caught off guard during a zombie attack so you need a few in various states of undress.

Honorable mentions that I forgot to take pictures of: Bruce Banner, Lex Luthor & Matt Murdock Heroclix. Does anyone have any other "favorite" clixs for conversions?

Where are you, you spongy, yellow, delicious bastards?

I grabbed a yellow Hummer the other day while out running errands, and it dawned on me that something was missing. Dale Earnhardt's number 3 of course. Now I just need to grab some good Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita & Little Rock figures.

100 figures

I decided to count up my zombies (infected) and survivors the other day. I figured I was around 100. Turns out I was at 99, so I decided I needed something to mark the occasion, so I created a "me" survivor. Figure #100.

It doesn't look "exactly" like me, the head is kinda big, he's not as tall and he doesn't have the "spare tire" that I do, but it's close. Anyway, for game purposes you want a heroic version of yourself.

Figure #101? Yeah, the zombie version of me.

Special Infected

Had a few more good studio days and finished A set of L4D inspired miniatures.

With a little Photoshop manipulation

Whatcha think?

They are posted to ebay again. Find them. Bid on them. Amaze your zombie RPG group with them. O.K., maybe just "wow" them...

Green Stuff & Hunters

I have to say, I've been at this for many many years and I've only recently given Green Stuff a shot. WOW. LOVE IT! It's allowing me to do so much more than I ever thought.
I used to use sculpey, which is fine on the metal minis. Not so much on the plastic ones. Green Stuff allows me to do all the things I used to do with Sculpey without having to bake it.
Yeah, I know, to those of you who already know this I sound silly. Just remember back to your first time with it and remember that feeling.

2 hunters, brought to you by Horrorclix, Green Stuff, and the Letter Z.

Some Special Infected

I had a good day in the studio. I finished 4 special infected and one survivor.

2 Boomers, a spitter and a smoker.

and

one more

Ladies and Gentlemen... The smoker...

I've been working on some "Special" infected based on the Left 4 Dead video game.
Eventually I'll post all of them but for now here's the smoker.

I tried drilling holes through the plastic base and adding pins to hold the figure in place. That way I could pull them off the base and lay them down on the table as a casualty. I don't like the effect though, so it's back to the drawing board.

Left 4 Dead miniatures.

Would anyone be interested in purchasing a "how to" PDF showing how to make your very own L4D miniatures? I'm thinking of documenting the process as I go through it, but am wondering if it's worth my time. I suppose I should and hope that people will get around to finding my blog and that demand will be there (which I think it will).

A little sumpthin', sumpthin'

The girlfriend and I have rented an apartment to house both of our studio spaces. It also acts as storage and serves a few other purposes. I've been packing up my stuff for the move, which means I won't have much time over the next few weeks to post anything.

So, here's a shot of a home made and unfinished Tank, Boomer & Charger figure. Based on the Left 4 Dead video game franchise.