Alpha Forge Zombies 02

When looking for zombie miniatures it pays to thoroughly check out a company's catalogue. A few months ago I reviewed the Alpha Forge range of zombies and survivors (see here at http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/2009/05/alpha-forge-zombies-survivors.html ). These were all part of Alpha Forge's modern horror line. Whilst browsing their sc-fi range I came across these two figures - DMZ0M1 Female Death Mask Zombie and DMZ0M2 Male Death Mask Zombie. They can be found amongst the range of Mephalians and are described thus - "the Mephalian aliens use the strange 'Death Mask' drones. These ancient artifacts, when activated, seek the corpses of fallen enemies upon the battlefield and re-animate them. The Mephalians then send them back into combat against their former crew members!"

As you can see from my photos these two will fit into a contemporary setting with no problem. They both appear to be military types from their clothing, or perhaps they were survivalists.

The female wears combat trousers, boots, sweat shirt and has pads on both shoulders and her right elbow. There is a gaping hole in the right side of her head, which ought to be a fatal wound but clearly isn't. I know nothing at all about the Mephalians other than the blurb above, so perhaps they can reanimate someone who has been shot in the head. She also sports another nasty wound, this time to the stomach. A coil of intestine is worming its way out of the wound.

The male is dressed in a combat jacket, opened to reveal a vest or t-shirt underneath, combat trousers, boots and a bandolier of ammo pouches slung over his right shoulder. His right arm has been ripped off at the elbow. His trousers have a large tear over the left thigh but I restrained myself in painting the gore here and just gave him a slight cut or scratch.

These 28mm scale figures are not bad sculpts but neither are they anything special. Average is an apt description for them. They certainly fit in well with the other Alpha Forge zombies. The two packs cost $3.30 each. If you haven't placed an order with Alpha Forge yet I'd recommend adding them to your order for the zombies and/or survivors. If you weren't specifically looking for them you'd easily miss them.

Alpha Forge Games Zombies & Survivors

It's another blast from the past as I revisit some of my older figures in my ever-expanding collection of zombie miniatures. These 28mm scale figures are from an American company called Alpha Forge Games. They are perhaps better known for their sci-fi figures and skirmish game - "Star Mogul" but they have a nice sideline in contemporary horror figures and what you see here is their complete range to date.

Shown above, from left to right, are two zombies with brain problems. The first one appears to have had his brain removed and his head sown back up. I have no idea how he he is meant to function unless someone is using a necromantic spell on him. I use him as a zombie with a very thin head and unless you point it out most people don't even notice the odd shape of his head. Next to him is my favourite zombie out of the range. He holds a severed head with the skull cut open in his right hand and the scooped out brain in his left hand. The top of his own head has been cut away to reveal his own brain. He is just so gross! The other two zombies were meant to be flying/levitating zombies, presumably as part of a demonic power they possessed. I dislike this idea and so I cut away their flying bases and remodelled their feet to ground them on terra firma. Now they look like any other bog standard zombie.

Next up are four zombies from the medical laboratories. The doctor at the left suffers from huge lumps growing out of his back and skull. Did he get too close to the victims he was experimenting on or has he tried an unknown formula on himself with unexpected results? Whatever the case, he isn't a pretty sight! The nurse carrying the shears has had her lower jaw ripped off. That ought to shut her up! The other two zombies are covered in odd shaped growths and boils, presumably the same disease that has affected the doctor.

Moving on, we come to the first of the survivors and we have quite an eclectic bunch. From left to right are a gangsta with his trusty nine mil, all bedecked with plenty of bling. Naturally, his baseball cap is on back to front. The tramp is carrying his sleeping bag over one shoulder and he waves a wooden club menacingly. Note the thermos flask sticking out of his coat pocket. The chap standing next to him is described as "man with shotgun and mullet." Not only has he got a mullet but he also has a ponytail! Someone shoot him now! Finally out of this set is the teenage mum holding a bawling kid in one hand and a baseball bat in t'other. I painted "Yummy Mummy" on her t-shirt.

The city gent tries to defend himself with his briefcase and umbrella. Hmm, wouldn't be my first choice of weapons to defend myself with! The Victoria Beckham lookalike shopaholic has found a golf club to keep those nasty zombies away from her new clothes. My favourite figure out of the survivors is Grandma MacGillycuddy armed with a chainsaw that she can barely lift. She's such a laugh and a great character! Finally is grandad, fresh from a spot of gardening with a hefty-looking spade.

These are a superb range of figures that I can highly recommend to any zombie miniatures collector. Sizewise, they will complement the likes of Hasslefree's and Studio Miniatures' zombies very well. I admire any manufacturer that tries to do something a bit different with their zombies and Alpha Forge Games certainly have succeeded in that respect. Even though I don't like the flying zombies that doesn't detract from these being finely sculpted and detailed miniatures. The survivors are a fun bunch of figures, just the kind of disparate range you'd expect to be thrown together in an emergency. All figures retail for $3.30 each except for the flying zombies who are $3.40 each. However, you can buy all 16 figures for just $42.00 in the Zombie Nightmare deal. That's what I did, saving myself $11.00. If you just want the zombies you can buy all 8 for $23.90, which is a better option than buying them all individually.