JDMG Chainsaw Warriors Citi-Def Squad

One of the best solo boardgames I have ever played was Chainsaw Warrior, produced by Games Workshop way back in 1987. In this game, designed for solo play, you took on the role of a battle-hardened warrior who has to clear a large building full of zombies, mutants and a powerful evil creature known as the Darkness. To complement the game, Citadel Miniatures produced a small range of 28mm scale figures. Although you were only meant to use one Chainsaw Warrior in the game, I decided to build a small squad of them to use in other sci-fi games. I boosted the squad size with very early versions of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperial Guardsmen. These were all slightly converted to match the official Chainsaw Warriors. I ended up with a squad of 10 Chainsaw Warriors. I recently dug them out and rebased them in order to use them as a Citi-Defence squad for my Judge Dredd Miniatures Game.

The three figures to the left of the photos directly above and below were the official Chainsaw Warriors. Because these are meant to be an elite squad I made them all Jaeger Squad Commandos. I have named all the squad but haven't worked out their JDMG stats yet. So, at the far left is Jan Podoski, who is armed with a Missile Launcher, a Spit Pistol and a Knife. All of the Chainsaw Warriors wear Shell Jackets and are equipped with Respirators, Stim-Packs and Sucker Guns.
Next in line is Stephen Craven, who is armed with a Heavy Spit Gun. In the boardgame, this powerful weapon was known as "the Reaper"!
In the centre of this group is Brett Andrews, the leader of the squad. He is a Citi-Def Officer armed with a Chainsaw, a Knife and a Spit Pistol. This figure is the default Chainsaw Warrior who is used in the boardgame. He is named after Brett Ewins and Dave Andrews, who did much of the artwork for the Chainsaw Warrior game.

The figure second from the right was a limited edition figure of the Chainsaw Warrior that Citadel Miniatures made for use in the Talisman game. I have named him Mark Dixon and he is another Jaeger Squad Commando armed exactly the same way as Brett Andrews.
Last in line is Tony Oliver, who is armed with a Laser Pistol, a Spit Pistol and a Knife. I converted him by adding the helmet visor and the ammo pouch bandolier slung across his chest and back.

The next five figures are all converted Imperial Guardsmen. The four to the left are Jaeger Squad Commandos. At the far left is Dan Rockford, who is armed with a Spit Gun Rifle, a Spit Pistol and a Knife. I added the visor to his helmet.
Standing next to him is Chris Faulkner who is armed with a Spit Gun Rifle and a Knife. Once again, I converted him by adding the green helmet visor.
In the centre is Graeme Wooton, who is armed with a Spit Gun Rifle, Laser Pistol and Knife. He underwent quite a lot of conversion work. From top to bottom I added his helmet visor, body armour, webbing over his back and chest, communicator on his left chest, studded gauntlets, holstered pistol and a knife in a scabbard on his right boot. He is unrecognisable from his original figure.

At the second from the right is Dave Gallagher, who is armed with a Spit Gun Rifle, a Laser Pistol, a Hand Bomb and a Knife. I added his shoulder straps, pistol in shoulder holster and his communicator on his left chest.
Finally, is Patricia MacDonald, a Citi-Def Med-tech, who is armed with a Spit Gun Rifle, Electra Zap Gun Pistol and a Knife. I converted her by switching her sex from male to female. I remodelled the chest armour by adding larger breasts and shoulder straps. I also gave her a ponytail and a knife in a scabbard on her right boot.
Although I have yet to work out their JDMG stats I know they will all be Hero characters, most of whom will be Level:1 to reflect their elite status. Brett Andrews, the officer, will be a much higher Level, possibly 4 or 5. These guys are nothing like a normal Citi-Def squad. They are well trained professionals with good combat experience and training. If they go up against the Justice Department they will be tough opposition.

Airfix Battles - A Review

I had not intended to give this game a full review due to it having nothing whatsoever to do with the World of the Undead, but it garnered sufficient interest in my last Monthly Musings post that I felt it deserved more attention. Airfix Battles is a World War 2 squad level skirmish board-game produced by Modiphius. I bought my copy because of my fascination with Airfix as a young lad. My very first war-games used Airfix WW2 toy soldiers and models. I must have bought hundreds of Airfix figures and dozens of their models. Because I didn't know any better they got painted in a mix of Humbrol matt and gloss paints. As long as the colours looked right I didn't care.
As I grew older I wanted to play with them with a set of rules. I can't remember which was my first wargaming rulebook but I bought a few and I mixed and matched the rules I liked the most. I primarily concentrated on the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944 and my largest armies were those of the American, British and German forces. Once I seriously got into WW2 wargaming (mid 1970's) I collected figures and models from Japanese companies such as Fujimi and Hasegawa (who remembers them?) and Airfix's main rival, Matchbox. So, when Modiphius announced the launch of Airfix Battles (not as a Kickstarter, surprisingly enough) I took notice as nostalgic memories of my first forays into war-gaming resurfaced. The fact that the game only cost £24.99 made it even more attractive to me.That's not a bad price for a board-game these days.

Back cover of the Airfix Battles Introductory Set

I quote this intro from the Modiphius website. "Whether it’s British commandos, US Marines or Germany’s Afrika Korps, Airfix’s 1/72 scale soldiers have been fighting their wars across carpets, dining tables and gardens for decades.
Airfix is a fondly remembered part of everyone's childhood and the company are famous for their line of injection-moulded plastic aircraft, tanks and soldiers.  The Airfix brand has been synonymous with model kits for years and now it’s back with a vengeance, with Airfix Battles bringing those adventures to life and its campaigns to a tabletop near you.

Playable with all your existing Airfix figures and vehicles, Airfix Battles Introductory Set comes with everything you need to play exciting World War Two battles straight out of the box with the Introductory Set. This includes die cut cardboard counters for tanks, infantry and guns in case you don't have any figures to hand. Airfix Battles also lets you plan your army using the Force Deck. Draw the cards or select the ones you need to build an exciting army to challenge your friends.
Set up the battle using step-by-step instructions in the Mission book and you're ready to play. Each player has a hand of Command Cards to move and make their forces fight, bring in air-strikes or artillery support. You'll never know what your opponent is going to do next!
The game is designed to get you playing quickly, with fast and fun rules so you can play several times in an afternoon or evening with typical missions lasting from 30-60 minutes."

Contents include -

• 10 Six sided dice
• 2 Double-sided A2 (420mm by 594mm) Maps
• Over 100 cardboard counters of US & German tanks, infantry and terrain!
• 1 x 16 page Mission Book
• 1 x 32 page Rule Book including rules for solo play up to 4 players
• 1 x 54 Card Command Deck
• 1 x 54 Card Force Deck (tanks, infantry, guns, officers, specialists)

One of the game maps, measuring 5 by 7 big squares.

My verdict of this game is highly favourable. I like it because it takes so little time to complete a mission scenario. I like it because the rules are so easy to learn. The Mission Book takes you through a series of scenarios, adding new rules to each scenario so you're not overwhelmed by having to learn everything at once. I like it because it uses counters instead of figures, although the makers do encourage players to use their existing Airfix figures and models instead of the counters. I'll stick with the counters because I don't fancy painting up yet more figures, which I'd have to buy. No, thank you! I sold all of my old 1/72 scale figures and models many years ago. If only I had known back then what I know now!
My good friend and fellow blogger, Steve, bought a similar WW2 game called Memoir 44 and I might have started collecting it if Airfix Battles hadn't come along when it did. Both games share many similarities, not just in their setting but in their rules as well. I mean no disrespect to Steve or fans of Memoir 44, which is a very fine game, but I'm glad I opted for Airfix Battles. If I had succumbed to buying Memoir 44, I'd have ended up spending a fortune on collecting it and its many supplements and the sheer amount of miniature figures that come with the game would have just swamped me. I doubt if they would ever have got painted.
Much as I like Airfix Battles, I do have one minor criticism of it to make. I feel you do not get enough counters of the infantry and vehicles. For example, if you wanted to field an all infantry force you could choose four or five basic infantry squads but you only get counters to make up two squads. The same is true of the vehicles, where each counter usually has a tank on one side and a half track on the other. To make full use of the options for force generation you need more counters. I guess if you're using figures and models instead of the counters it won't be a problem but I thought it worth mentioning anyway.
Modiphius have plans for greatly expanding this game, probably in a similar manner to Memoir 44 to include other theatres of war in WW2 (North Africa, the Pacific and Russia for example). Next on their schedule is the launch of the Airfix Battles Collector’s Edition, which will introduce new rules to expand your game, as well as showing you how to move your battles from the board to war-games terrain with movement in inches or centimetres instead of squares. The book will contain fantastic photography of games in action to inspire you as well as a much bigger campaign to fight your way through. It is due out sometime this summer.
I know a lot of gamers will have cut their teeth on playing WW2 war-games, and may still do. If that is you, then I can highly recommend Airfix Battles to you. It is fast, easy to learn, easy to play, cheaply priced and a lot of fun. What more could you ask from a game?

Project Z - A Review

The contents of the Project Z skirmish game by Warlord Games.

Project Z is the brand new table-top skirmish war-game by Warlord Games, which was designed specifically to use with their range of 28mm scale plastic, multi-part zombie apocalypse miniatures. You could, of course, use any other appropriate figures from your own collections. This review is going to concentrate on the game itself, but I will also be mentioning the figures that were specifically designed for this game.
Upon opening the box, my first impressions were not favourable. You get one small 12 page Rules Manual, 1 equally small 16 page Survivors' Guide, 2 Player Reference Sheets, a sheet of thick card counters, 10 special six-sided dice (they use symbols not numbers), 3 decks of cards (8 Character cards, 36 Combat cards and 10 Survival cards), and plastic sprues to make 23 Zombies, 10 Male Survivors and 6 Bikers (including 2 on bikes). I was very underwhelmed by the size and content of the books. Upon reading them, I was even less impressed. The dice are gimmicky and ditto the Combat and Survival cards. The dice have symbols for hits (on 3 sides), for defences (on 2 sides) and for a surge (on the remaining side). The Combat cards are used to increase the number of hits or defences rolled on the dice. The Survival cards offer assorted tactics that can aid a side in the game. Players get 5 cards each if they're playing humans. The Character cards give stats for Movement (in inches), Resilience (armour class), Melee (number of dice rolled in melee combat) and Ranged (number of dice rolled in ranged combat). Some characters have Grit scores, which give dice re-rolls. Finally, all characters have certain Special Traits (something they excel in). Character cards can be for specific characters like PCs (for example, "Big Bazooka Mama") or for generic NPCs (for example, "Some Survivors x3"). NPC cards will list how many of them make up one choice, usually two or three of them. The card counters include Grit Tokens, Loot Markers, Reload Tokens, Wound Tokens and Zombie Spawn Points. The game also includes a very naff 6" ruler. I say "naff" because it is useless for measuring any distance greater than 6", which will quite often happen in a game. It just seems like a pointless inclusion to me.
So far, the only thing that has impressed me is the quality of the plastic figures. More on them later. So what is game-play like? In a word, adequate. The game is designed to be played by 1 to 3 players. A game Turn is divided into four phases as follows -

1. Initiative phase
2. Action phase made up of Movement, Shooting and Engage & Melee sub-phases
3. Upkeep phase made up of Recover Shocked miniatures, Roll to Reload weapons and replenish Combat card hand.
4. Spawn Zombies

In the Action phases, play alternates between active player first (i.e. the Initiative winner), then the next player and finally the Zombies in each of the sub-phases. Eight scenarios are provided in the Survivors' Guide.
The rules are not a total dead loss but they did not grab me like All Things Zombie or Zombicide did. Those games made me want to come back to them and play them again and again. I have played Project Z once and just felt underwhelmed by the experience. It is not a game I want to return to. Bummer! For a one off game, if you are short of time and have nothing better to do, they'll pass muster. But where they do fall down big time is in long term game-play. They have no rules whatsoever for character development or campaign play. In every game you'll choose from the same pool of characters and no matter how many Character cards Warlord Games provide that is eventually going to become an issue.
It seems to me that when Warlord Games acquired the rights to sell the zombie apocalypse figures previously made by Wargames Factory they wanted to make a game to go with them. Project Z is what they came up and I'm afraid they missed the mark with it. Zombie apocalypse games are still incredibly popular and there are many games to choose from. Too many, some would say! For a Zombie apocalypse aficionado like me, this period is gaming heaven. But I know which games are praiseworthy and which are turkeys, Sadly, Project Z fails on so many counts it must be regarded as a turkey. One to avoid, folks! The game retails at £30.00 from the Warlord Games webstore.

A Project Z game in progress. A promotional photo by Warlord Games. Note the "naff" ruler!

I did say that I'd mention the figures that Warlord Games make for this game and I have a few comments to make about them - both good and bad. First, the good news. Some of these figures were originally produced by Wargames Factory so you may well be familiar with them. Those sets were the Male Survivors and Female Survivors and the Female Zombies. Wargames Factory did make a set of plastic Male Zombies but they were of vastly inferior quality and very much lacking in surface detail. Conversion possibilities were also much reduced. Now that Warlord Games have acquired the moulds for making them they have added to the range. Their new sets include Bikers (mounted and on foot), Special Forces Troopers and brand new Male Zombies. All six of these boxed sets of figures are excellently sculpted and you can easily mix and match parts from each set, giving you maximum conversion potential. I can't recommend these sets too highly.
So, what is the bad news then? Price and quantity. Originally, these sets sold for about £25. For that, you got three sprues allowing you to make 30 or more figures. Now you get one sprue for £15. Oh, and you also get a set of Character cards and Survival cards to use in Project Z. Whoop-die-do! That works out as a price increase for less figures. I could live without the cards but some of you might appreciate them. But if you are buying multiple boxed sets then your spare cards will become surplus to requirements. Warlord Games should have included these cards in the game and added at least one more sprue to the figure sets.

Another Warlord Games Project Z promotional photo. You can't deny how great those figures are!

Black Scorpion and Shadowforge US Army Medics

I only have two figures to show you this time round, and one of these, you've probably already seen (unless this is your first visit to my blog). The new figure is a female US Army medic made by Black Scorpion. The second figure is my Shadowforge US Army medic, but she has had a slight makeover.

At the left of my two photos is a very sexy female medic whom I have called Kelly Marie Delaney. I know that some of you won't like her because she is showing too much bare flesh, but I disagree. I think she's a really nice figure. The detail on her is very well done. Black Scorpion have recently stopped making their figures in white metal and instead use resin. She is one of the very few resin-cast figures that I own and I must admit, I was very impressed with her. She stands 32mm tall from the sole of her boots to the top of her helmet, which may make her too tall for some of you but not for me. Certainly, she fits in very well with the rest of Black Scorpion's US Army soldiers. She is armed with a 5.56mm Colt Commando Assault Carbine. She carries a first aid box in her other hand. Little details like her dog tags, wristwatch, head band and left upper arm bandage impressed me a lot. She is an incredibly beautiful woman with a spectacular cleavage. Check out her arm muscles. I wouldn't want to get on her wrong side!

When I last showed my figure of Shadowforge's female US Army medic, Diana Webster, I told you that I had sculpted a pair of trousers and knee-pads for her. My good friend, Joe/Zabadak, suggested I also give her a T-shirt. I thought this was a great idea and this is what I have done. I'm sure you'll agree this was a change for the better. She now looks more professional and less like some sort of stripper (analogy courtesy of Mathyoo). There were some very interesting suggestions as to what her "pistol" could be. I still favour my suggestion of it being a dart gun but I did like Blaxcleric's suggestion that it be a flare gun. I'm afraid Hugh's suggestion of a price labelling device and Joe's hair-dryer idea were non-starters, even though they did give me a laugh!
You can find the Black Scorpion female Army Medic under their Collectors Series range and not as you'd imagine under their Moderns (US Marines) range. She is listed as Medic Girl and she costs £3.50. I have recently discovered that the Shadowforge range of figures can be bought from Australian company Eureka Miniatures. Diana - Combat Nurse, as she is listed under their Shadowforge Characters range, costs Aus$4.00. They also stock Tatiana the vampire and Nina Chi the sci-fi cop that I recently reviewed. I've dealt with Eureka Minis before and despite being based in Australia they are a very reliable company. Shown below is a picture of Diana taken from Eureka's website so that you can see what she looks like if you purchase her. I don't know where her sunglasses came from because my figure was certainly not wearing them. As you can see, she's not exactly dressed for front-line combat, is she?

Assorted Shadowforge Female Figures

I have a mixed bag for you today. These are three 28mm scale Shadowforge figures that I bought from the Grekwood Minis webstore. Sadly, they are no longer for sale on this site but I thought I'd show them anyway.

I'll start with the US Army medic, Diane Webster. I am sure some of you will object to the fact that she has left her tunic unbuttoned to reveal a very nice cleavage. And the brazen hussy is not wearing a bra. How dare she! If you'd seen this figure when I first bought her the prudes amongst you would have had a fit because she was wearing no trousers either! I have no problems with women showing off their bodies. My attitude is if you've got it, flaunt it, but just for once, I decided this was uncalled for. So I added a pair of trousers and knee-pads from Milliput. I could have covered up her cleavage as well, but decided not to. I must admit that I have no idea what she is holding in her right hand. Is it a pistol, and if so, what kind? Is that a scope-sight on top of the pistol or perhaps a laser sight? Or is it a dart gun? Or some kind of medical device that just looks like a weapon? My preference is for a dart gun firing tranquiliser darts. Note that I have painted her in the same camouflage scheme as my Black Scorpion US Army troops that I reviewed recently. She will be attached to that group.

In the centre of the group is Tatiana the vampire. I was delighted to get hold of her because of my love of vampires. I don't show nearly enough vampires on my blog. I must admit that when I first saw her my initial reaction was to paint her up as Vampirella. But I have a lot of Vampirella figures and whilst she is a close match she is not an exact match. So, she is Tatiana, an Eastern European vampire. Perhaps she hails from Transylvania. That would be so fitting. I am extremely pleased at how well I have painted her mouth. Her fangs are quite noticeable, which is exactly the effect I was after.
Finally, we come to Nina Chi, a sci-fi cop, who I think has a Manga vibe about her. I used to do a lot of sci-fi role-playing way back in the 1990's, and I ran a long-running GURPS Space campaign, and before that a Fantasy Games Unlimited Space Opera campaign. More recently, my sci-fi gaming has switched to Judge Dredd and it seems most likely that this is where I'll use Nina. She is armed with a big carbine/SMG, which could be some kind of energy weapon (blaster, perhaps) or a large calibre projectile weapon. She is just a really nice figure and although I have no immediate need or use for her, that didn't stop me buying her. Yes, I'm just as susceptible to "shinyitis" as any other figure collector.
I know that when Carl got these figures from Shadowforge to sell on his webstore that he didn't get  many of them. It is good for him that he sold all his stock and good for me that I was able to get them before they sold out, but it's not so good for you if you really want any of these lovely minis.

Recreational Conflict Biohazard Troopers 02

These six figures belong to the Recreational Conflict Biohazard set III and are very different to their first set. The most noticeable difference is that they are much more chunkier. I like their bulky protective clothing. With the current Ebola crisis in Africa featuring prominently in the news I thought this was a good time to get these figures painted. They have been waiting to get painted for more than a year now - shame on me!

The first decision I had to make was to decide on their colour scheme. Watching recent news footage, white seemed to be the most obvious choice and so I went with that. At the far left of my photos is the leader of the group, waving his men on to follow him. He holds a 9mm pistol in his right hand. The first thing you'll notice about this group is that they are well armed. Only one out of the six is not carrying a weapon and he is second in line from the left. He holds a box and a probe, most likely a Geiger counter as he tests for radiation levels.
Next in line is the flame thrower operator. Or he could possibly be a chemical sprayer. Readers of Mira Grant's excellent Feed trilogy will be well aware of how often the heroes had to endure chemical showers to ensure they didn't spread the zombie plague. Note he has three tank cylinders on his back - one oxygen tank and two for his flame thrower or chemical sprayer.

The next two troopers in line are armed with 5.56mm M4 Assault Carbines. Note that all troopers are fitted with yellow oxygen tanks.
Last in line is a kneeling trooper, firing his 9mm pistol in a two-handed grip.
It is obvious these are not humanitarian aid workers but some sort of military or paramilitary group. The obvious use for them is for clearing out pockets of zombies in a zombie apocalypse game. They are radically different to Recreational Conflict's first set of Biohazard troopers, which would suggest that these guys work for a different organisation.
These figures were sculpted by Alan Maguire and can be found in the Lead Bones 28mm Modern Horror section of Recreational Conflict's webstore. All six figures can be bought for $15.00, which is very reasonable for a metal figure these days.

Black Scorpion US Army Infantrymen 02

And so we come to the last (for the moment) review of my Black Scorpion 32mm scale US Army infantrymen. These 12 figures are the last of the soldiers to make up my infantry platoon, which is made up of four squads of 9-10 figures.

 These first four figures are all identically armed with the 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifle. The African/American soldier who is third in line from the left is wearing sunglasses.

Note that the first and fourth figures in line are wearing Night Vision Goggles, which negates any penalties for night time vision.

Moving on, we have four more infantry privates armed with 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifles. The soldier standing second from the left is wearing sunglasses.

At first glance a lot of these poses seem identical but most have subtle differences. Wherever there are two identical figures I get round that by painting one as a Caucasian and the other as an African/American.

These last four soldiers have a bit of variety in their choice of weapons. Second and third line are armed as would be expected with 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifles.

The soldier at the far left is armed with a a 5.56mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). The private kneeling down is a sniper and he is armed with a 7.62mm M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS), which is the military version of the Remington 700 Rifle. It is called a Weapon System because it comes with a telescopic sight and other accessories. It is loaded with a five-round box magazine.
I went to check the prices of these figures on the Black Scorpion website and you can buy the majority of the range in packs of five figures for £10.00. Do remember that these are labelled as being 32mm scale and that they are now cast in resin. I discovered that there is a female medic that can be used with this range. I ordered her and she arrived a few days ago. For a resin cast mini, she is very nice. Some of you may be put off by her having her jacket open showing off a mighty fine pair of boobies. They are covered up, by the way. Such cheesecake doesn't bother me in the slightest but not everyone thinks as I do... thank God! I'll review her just as soon as I paint her.
I have a real treat in store for you with my next post. For those of you wondering where my card models are, just wait until you see Brummie's Burgers fast food restaurant.

Black Scorpion US Army Infantrymen 01

In my last two posts I've reviewed my Black Scorpion US Army Officers, NCOs, Snipers and Heavy Weapons Troopers. Today, I turn my attention to the ordinary infantrymen in part one of of a two part review.

The two infantrymen to the left of the photos directly above and below are armed with 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifles. Note that the private at the far left is wearing Night Vision Goggles (NVG).

The two infantrymen at the far right of the group are each armed with 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifles with an under-slung 40mm Colt M203 Grenade Launcher. The kneeling private is wearing a pair of sunglasses. Note that three of these four figures are left-handed. Even though I'm right handed myself I do like to see diversity in the handedness of figures.

Three of the second group of four are also armed with 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifles with an under-slung 40mm Colt M203 Grenade Launcher. That's a lot of firepower!

The private at the far right is kneeling with a 5.56mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW).
No doubt someone (Mathyoo, cough, cough!) will tell me that they have far too many M203 Grenade Launchers but I don't care. They look good to me and that is all that matters. I should point out that my company of figures are split into four squads, each consisting of 9-10 men. Once again, I do not know or care if this is historically accurate. In each photo the first figure in line, starting at the far left, belongs to squad one, the second figure in line belongs to squad two and so on.
Next time I'll review the final twelve soldiers from the range. Nearly all of them are armed with the standard M16A2 Assault Rifles.

Black Scorpion US Army Heavy Weapons Troopers and Snipers

As I continue my review of my collection of Black Scorpion US Army soldiers I thought I'd show the company's heavy weapons troopers and snipers. There are four of each.

My four heavy weapons troopers are all armed with an 84mm Saab Bofors AT4-CS Light Armour Weapon. The AT4-CS (Confined Space) is a man-portable shoulder-launched disposable anti-tank missile system designed specifically to be fired from confined spaces. The system fires a single-shot high velocity 84mm warhead and comes complete with a shoulder strap, crew protection and sights that can fold up from the system. The launcher casing itself is produced with fibre-glass reinforced construction and offers up a lethal dose of anti-armour protection for the standard infantryman. The "confined space" approach means that the system can be fired from openings in rooms without the fear of tremendous and deadly "back-splash" occurring to the firer or the occupants around the firer. The system is also designed to be recoillless and is thus resistant to forms of self-degrading damage that make the weapon more reliable than other weapons of this type. The launcher container is fully watertight.

The soldier at the far left of the group has his AT4-CS slung over his shoulder. He also has a 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifle slung over his other shoulder. He is using a pair of binoculars. The next two soldiers are identical sculpts that I have made different by painting one as an African/American and the other as a Caucasian. The fourth soldier in line is kneeling down to fire his AT4-CS.

The four snipers are actually just prone figures. Only one of them (the fourth in line from the left) is armed with a sniper rifle. The first soldier in line is firing a 5.56mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). The next two are armed with the 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifle. The only difference between them is one has a pair of goggles and the other doesn't. The one true sniper is armed with a McMillan TAC-308 Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle, which is chambered to fire the proven .308 Winchester cartridge from its heavy match-grade free-floating barrel. It comes with a five-round box magazine and is fitted with a scope-sight. I must admit that I am not a big fan of prone figures (unless they're corpses) but these came with the various figure packs so I couldn't avoid getting them. Fortunately, there are only four in the range so that's not too bad. They are mounted on two 20mm diameter slottabases that I glued together and filled in the gaps between them with Milliput.

Last time I promised I'd tell you how I painted the camouflage uniforms of these figures. My colour scheme is based on the current Army Combat Uniform (ACU) which uses the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) as shown in the photo to the left. Sadly, my efforts did not come out strictly accurate as they are far too green. No matter. I'm happy with how they came out. This is how I painted them. First I gave each figure a base coat of Foundry Cadaverous Green Shade 46A. This was then given a Citadel green ink wash, which is now called Biel-Tan Green. Next I dry-brushed the figure with Foundry Cadaverous Green 46B. Then came the hard part - the stipple effect for the digital camo pattern. I used Foundry Cadaverous Green Light 46C and Foundry Forest Green Shade 26A for the light and dark spots respectively. Because everything has to be painted in this colour scheme (helmets, pouches, knee pads, body armour) I had to use my black line technique to identify them. The boots are painted in Foundry Deep Brown Leather 45B with a dry-brushing of Foundry Deep Brown Leather Light 45C.

Black Scorpion US Army Officers and NCOs

Over the next few posts I'll be reviewing my collection of Black Scorpion 30mm scale US Army figures. Believe me, this review is long overdue as I have had these figures for about five years now. I can't even say I've just painted them as an excuse to wait until now for showing them to you. The fact is, I painted them almost as soon as I bought them and then promptly forgot about them. Shameful, I know! They have never seen action in a game. So, why am I reviewing a group of contemporary US soldiers? Simple. At some point they will make an appearance in my zombie campaign. I have used military types in a few old ATZ-BDTZ scenarios but in them, I rolled for National Guard types rather than the regular US Army. National Guard soldiers appear if you roll 1-4 on a d6, whereas regular US Army soldiers appear if you roll a 5 or a 6. My National Guardsmen wear different coloured camouflage uniforms to my regular Army troops. I'll begin my series of reviews with a look at the officers and NCOs.

From left to right are my staff sergeant, first lieutenant, chief warrant officer and master sergeant. The staff sergeant is armed with a 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifle, the standard firearm of the US Army since the mid-1980's. He also wears Night Vision Goggles (NVG), which in ATZ removes any penalties for sight at night or in darkness.  The first lieutenant is the overall leader of this company and he is also armed with a 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifle. In addition, he carries a 10mm Colt Delta Elite Pistol, a modern version of the famous .45 Colt Government M1911 Pistol. In ATZ it would be classed as a Big Ass Pistol.

Both the chief warrant officer and master sergeant are armed with 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifles. The kneeling master sergeant is using a pair of binoculars.

Next up, from left to right are two corporals and two sergeants. The two corporals and the second sergeant in line are armed with the standard 5.56mm Colt M16A2 Assault Rifles but all have fitted an under-slung 40mm Colt M203 Grenade Launcher.

The first sergeant in line is armed with a 5.56mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). Note that the first corporal and first sergeant both wear Night Vision Goggles. In ATZ, these would be classed as Luxury Items.

I'm afraid I have not got round to naming any of my modern US Army soldiers. They will be given names when I use them. These figures have been available for a long time now. Technically, they should be US Marines, as this is what Black Scorpion call them, but I think they work just as well as regular US Army troops.
Be aware that these are over-scale when compared to a lot of 28mm scale figures. This did not put me off from buying them but it may influence some of you. I recently showed them to Mathyoo when he stayed with me last month and he commented that they look a lot better in real life than in their photos. He's right - they do. They are well sculpted, even if they do look a bit bulky and tall. Anyway, I'm happy with them and that is the main thing.
The two officers (my first lieutenant and chief warrant officer) are available in a USM Command pack priced at £5.00 for the pair of them. The rest appear in an assortment of multi-packs, containing five figures for £10.00. Please note that my figures were cast in metal but nowadays all Black Scorpion figures are cast in resin. This may influence your decision as to whether to buy them or not. I must admit that I prefer metal to resin but these figures are very reasonably priced.
Next time I'll review my heavy weapons troopers and snipers.

Juggernaut by Adam Baker

Juggernaut by Adam Baker is a prequel to his earlier zombie apocalypse novel. Outpost. In Outpost, the world had been overrun by flesh eating zombies caused by a virus that came from outer space. Whereas Outpost was set on an oil rig in the Arctic Circle, Juggernaut is set in the blistering heat of the Iraqi Western Desert. So, from one temperature extreme to the other. The story takes place in the year 2005 during the time of the Allied invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.
A group of seven mercenaries and one Iraqi guide set out on a covert mission to locate a large stash of gold hidden away by men loyal to Saddam. They fly to their destination in two helicopters but upon arrival find nothing but death and destruction on a large scale. The valley they land in was the scene of a fierce battle that left no one alive, apart from an Iraqi diplomat/scientist who was hired to lead the survivors here. He knows far more than he is telling and through a series of flashbacks we learn the truth of what really happened in that valley of death.
The mercenaries are lead by a tough ass female called Lucy Whyte, which is rather unusual but then again, these are mercenaries. Her closet friend is Amanda Greenwald, the team's sniper. The rest of the team are made up of Huang the medic, Toon the SAW gunner and Voss the South African shotgunner. These five have worked together for many years. The two helicopter pilots, whom no one trusted, were hired at the last minute. They were called Gaunt and Raphael. Finally, was their Iraqi guide, Jabril, a man with many secrets. It must be obvious from the outset that few, if any of them, would survive this encounter. Sure enough, once the team learn the horrible truth that the dead can come back to life as zombies the body count rises. Lucy and Amanda are not without their faults, indeed none of them are exactly saints, but these two stand out from the rest as the two you hope will live. Whether they do or not I'll leave for you to find out but they were the only two I was rooting for. I'm just a sucker for strong female leads.
The story is fast paced, well written and exciting. My only quibble with it is the same one I had with Outpost and that is that I am not a fan of the way the zombies are created. They are just too alien for my somewhat traditional preferences. The story goes into more detail about how the zombies originated. Don't let my opinion put you off as your views may well differ to mine. I'm just not a big fan of techno-zombies.
The outbreak in the desert is ultimately contained but the final chapter sets the wheels in motion for a follow up novel in which the virus must surely go global to set up the events of the Outpost novel. Despite my reservations about the techno-zombies, I enjoyed Juggernaut enough to give it an 8 out of 10 rating. It is worth checking out, especially if you have already read Outpost.

Atomico Press Zombies 01

A few months ago, in March, I backed a Kickstarter project run by Atomico Press for a small range of 28mm scale zombie figures. I have been trying to avoid spending too much on figures this year as I just know I will splash out big time when Zombicide Season 3 kicks off soon. Anyway, as I said, this was a very small project that comprised of five zombies, one psycho zombie and one US Army infantryman. For about $30 you got all 7 figures, so I made a pledge for them. The project got funded and as a special thank you for being a backer I received an extra zombie figure, which was both unexpected and very cool!

At the far left is the only human figure in the range. He is a US Army soldier, although I suppose you could just as easily paint him up as a police SWAT Trooper. He is armed with a 5.56mm SG540 SIG Assault Rifle and some kind of 9mm Pistol in a holster on his right hip. I have painted him in the new US Army digital camouflage scheme, which is not the easiest camo scheme to get right. He is the first regular US Army infantryman I have shown on my blog, although I have a whole platoon of them painted up but never reviewed. Memo to self, I must rectify this soon!
Next in line is an ordinary MCPD police patrolman. He has been savagely attacked, no doubt caused by being in the front line once the apocalypse kicked off. His shirt has been ripped open and he suffers a big wound to his stomach. The right knee is bloodied but not bitten and he has a lot of blood around his mouth that has dribbled onto his neck and upper chest. He appears to have lost his pistol but his truncheon is still in place at the left side of his belt. Atomico Press described him as a zombie security guard but I preferred to paint him up as a cop.

Moving on, are a couple of police SWAT Troopers. Both have pistols in holsters on their right hips but no other weapons. They wear combat armour and helmets. The trooper second from the right has had a large bite taken out of his lower right arm, whilst his colleague at the far right has had half of his face bitten off. I was pleased at how well I was able to paint the word "SWAT" on their backs. The two figures do look very similar but the one at the far right was actually meant to be a zombie US Army soldier. When it came to painting them I completely forgot this but in the end, I doubt if it really matters..

This next group of figures consists of three zombie bikers and a zombie psycho killer. At the far left is the free figure I received for backing this project. He is almost identical to the figure standing next to him but I made a couple of simple conversions to him. First of all, I lengthened his hair. Secondly, I added a leather bracelet to his left wrist. But the main difference between the two figures came with their colour schemes. My freebie figure is dressed in black leather pants and waistcoat and his gang logo on his back identifies him as a member of the Flaming Skulls biker gang. He has a cut to his forehead, which has bled profusely.
The original biker figure was painted in faded denims and given a black T-shirt and white hair, indicating he is a veteran gang member. He is a member of the Wild Hogs bike gang. He also has suffered a cut to his forehead but he has also been bitten in the left shoulder and left lower arm.

Third in line is another zombie biker, who is also a member of the Wild Hogs. This is a very different sculpt to the previous two. He wears a faded denim waistcoat and ordinary blue denim jeans. His mouth is smeared with blood as a result of him feasting quite recently. He has suffered a cut to his upper left arm and has had a bite taken out of his lower right arm.
Finally, is the zombie psycho killer, who is armed with a huge sword. Covering his head is a mask made of skinned flesh in the style made famous (or should that be infamous?) by Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. Indeed he could almost be a zombified version of Leatherface. He is a big brute of a figure and is deliberately over-sized to make him look more menacing. In addition to his mask, he wears a ragged pair of trousers held up by a rope belt and nothing else, not even shoes! He has suffered cuts and bites to both legs, but his most serious wound is a massive chunk of flesh ripped from his left shoulder blade. In the ATZ game I would class him as a Smart Zombie as he clearly knows how to wield a weapon.
Let's be honest, these are not the best sculpted figures on the market. The sculpting is quite crude and they are all "heroically scaled" or larger than 28mm tall. But despite that, I still liked them enough to purchase them and they have helped to boost the size of my zombie horde as it creeps towards the 1,000 mark. As I said in the intro, these were part of a Kickstarter project launched in March of this year. They are not available for sale at this moment but they may go on general release later in the year, depending on how well Atomico Press's sales are.

Project Zeke Miniatures 01

Simon Hunter, the sculptor and man behind Project Zeke Miniatures kindly sent me the first five figures that his new company had produced so that I could review them on my blog, and hopefully generate more sales for him. I promised him I'd do a review as soon as I finished them and last week I did finish painting them. So here they are.

 First up is William, a grizzled veteran Survivor. I liked the way that Simon had painted his version of William but decided not to copy it. Instead I opted for a more military look with a camouflage jacket and army style trousers. He carries a backpack, no doubt full of essential supplies and he is armed with a Bolt-Action Rifle with scope-sight and a makeshift bayonet, which is actually a kitchen knife taped to the gun barrel. I like that bayonet. I can well imagine it is just the sort of thing a post apocalypse survivor would do.
Next up is Young Eddie. This is a limited edition figure. Once he is sold out he will be replaced by Older Eddie, sporting a mustache. I have pretty much copied Simon's colour scheme for Young Eddie. He is armed with a street-sweeper automatic shotgun, a great weapon for taking out lots of zombies... just as long as he doesn't run out of ammo.

The next three figures are security guards for the Prosperity Corporation, hence their PC logos on their right shoulders. The Prosperity Corporation are the bad guys in the ATZ-FFO scenario, High Rise to Hell, a supplement I can highly recommend. There's not much I can say about these guys. Their colour scheme was a no-brainer. Black always works well for security guards dressed like this. They are all armed with Assault Rifles but I must admit that I do not recognise the design of them. They also have holstered pistols on their right hips. Their poses are very similar but I'm okay with that. Their faces are hidden behind balaclavas, to make them look more intimidating. They wear body armour, helmets and protective knee-pads and sturdy boots. I think these are a great set of figures and I hope Simon makes more of them. A leader type would be an obvious choice.
These figures are on the large size for 28mm scale figures. To counter this I stuck them to some of the flat plastic bases I got with the Studio Minis plastic male zombies, rather than on my normal circular slotta-bases. Young Eddie and William cost £2.50 each and the security guards costs £5.50 per set of three. Remember, if you order them before the end of March you get a 10% discount off the price of them. Oh, and one more thing, if you order them all, Simon throws in a set of four assorted backpacks for free. I haven't used mine yet but I'm sure I will.

Foundry Mercenary Fire Team

I have yet more unseen Foundry goodness for you as I continue to plough my way through their range of 28mm scale Street Violence figures. This time I'm reviewing set SV014 Mercenary Fire Team. This is a team of French mercenaries, but don't let that put you off. I'm sure these aren't "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" to quote Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson! I have copied the colour scheme from the Foundry website, which is clearly very Gallic-influenced, and I must admit, it would not have been my first choice of a colour scheme. I'd have gone for more earthy-looking tones but seeing as they are meant to be French mercenaries, (well according to the names and colour scheme given to them by Foundry) this colour scheme is spot on.

We start off at the far left with Emil Dussolier, who is armed with a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5A3 Sub-Machine Gun. Note that this figure is left-handed, which is unusual in miniature figures. Also, note the hand grenade on the right side of his belt.
To his left is Javier Japrisot and he is armed with a 5.56mm Steyr AUG Assault Carbine. The carbine has a much shorter barrel than the rifle. Javier is also equipped with a hand grenade. He is the person I have nominated as team leader. To be honest, you could choose any one of this team as the leader.
In the centre of the group is "Mr. Muscles" aka Jean-Pierre Monthieux. He has removed his T-shirt in order to show off his rippling muscles (poser!) and he is the heavy weapons trooper of the team. He wields a 5.56mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) with a long belt of ammo wrapped around his torso. He also carries a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistol as a back-up weapon.
Anne-Marie Dreyfus totes some serious firepower as well. She holds a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistol in her left hand and she has a M72A4 Light Anti-tank Weapon slung over her right shoulder. The M72A4 is a one-shot disposable rocket launcher that fires a HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead.
Finally, is Pilar Laurant, who is also armed with a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistol. Slung over her back is a MK19 MOD3 Grenade Launcher, which holds 32 rounds in a drum. Note how she holds the Machine Pistol in both hands in order to reduce recoil.

As with most Foundry Street Violence sets, this team is very well armed with a wide variety of weapons. The figures vary in height, which I approve of. The two females are 28mm tall, whilst Emil and Javier are 30mm tall and the huge Jean-Pierre is 35mm tall. Mercenaries are very common amongst figure companies, but French Mercenaries are exceedingly rare. Okay, with a different paint job you could make these any nationality you want. I was happy to go along with the French connection, as it is quirky and different. Also, being mercenaries, they could turn up anywhere in the world... even in Mayhem City! This set of five figures retails at £10.00 on the Foundry webstore.

RAFM Terrorist Cell

Today, I'm going to review three sets of 28mm scale figures from the RAFM USX Modern Day Heroes range - set RAF02809 Decius the Terrorist Cell leader, RAF02810 Terrorist Cell (4 figures) and RAF02811 Karl H. Unger the Terrorist Cell Enforcer.

At the far left of my two photos is Karl H. Unger, the terrorist cell enforcer. He is the only terrorist not to be wearing a balaclava, a jacket and body armour. So, he stands out from the rest of the team as either a hardass or as someone with a deathwish. Or, perhaps both! He is armed with the ubiquitous terrorist weapon of choice - the 7.62mm AK47 Assault Rifle. He also has a BA Pistol holstered on his left hip, a couple of grenades hooked onto his shoulder straps and he wields a vicious-looking Bowie Knife in his left hand. He is not a man to be messed with!
Next in line is the cell leader known as Decius. Is that his real name or an alias? Who knows? He holds a 12 gauge Franchi SPAS12 Automatic Shotgun aloft and has a BA Pistol in a holster on his left hip. The mouth of his balaclava has been left open, so he can shout out orders without sounding muffled. I decided to paint this group in an urban camouflage pattern made up of a mid grey background with black and white streaks on top. It has come out very well in my opinion.
The next four figures are unnamed mooks from the Terrorist Cell set. The one standing next to Decius is a one-piece casting armed with a 7.62mm AK47 Assault Rifle and a BA Pistol. I have added one of the spare rocket clusters for the RPG7 rocket launcher to him. This set comes with two lots of spare rocket clusters and it's up to you who gets them.
The next two figures in line are identical sculpts but come with their arms and rifle as a separate piece. By gluing the arms on in different positions they look slightly different. One appears to be firing his AK47 and the other is holding his rifle in a more relaxed pose.
The final figure in the group is the heavy weapon member of the group. His arms and RPG7 Rocket Launcher were a separate piece, as were the spare rockets hanging from his belt. He also has a BA Pistol in a holster as a back-up weapon.

As a terrorist cell, these fall under the category of Gangers if used in ATZ, although you could get away with using them as a militia Survivor group. The inclusion of the RPG7 gives them some real punch in a firefight but if you were going to use them in ATZ you'd need to come up with your own stats for it.
As ever with RAFM figures I must give a word of warning about their size. These are closer to 35mm in height than 28mm, which makes a mockery of RAFM's assertion that they are 28mm scale figures. I'll still use them in my games but for some of you they may be too large. Karl and Decius cost $5.95 each, whilst the set of four terrorists costs $12.95. Pricey, I know, but they are a nicely sculpted group of figures and they fill a niche that few other companies cover.

Tooth and Nail by Craig DiLouie

Okay, so Tooth and Nail came out in 2010, so this is hardly an up to date review but I only recently bought it and read it. I enjoyed it so much that I thought it was worthy of a full review rather than just a mention in my Monthly Musings. What makes this zombie apocalypse novel different (but not unique) from many other books in this genre is that the heroes are all military men. Having never served in the military myself, I cannot vouch for how accurate Craig DiLouie's novel is from a purely military perspective, but it all sounds plausible and authentic to me.
The story focuses on Lieutenant Todd Bowman and his men in Charlie Company's Second Platoon. The U.S. Army had suddenly withdrawn tens of thousands of troops from the Middle East to defend their homeland against an internal threat. A plague, similar to rabies, had run out of control and infected millions. The infected became rabid and violent and soon ran amok as they spread slaughter and disease in their path. The U.S. Army were tasked with safeguarding hospitals and other vital buildings.
The story opens with Second Platoon defending the perimeter of a hospital in the city of New York. There is much confusion about why they are there, and especially about who they are defending the hospital from. All around them they can hear the sound of gunfire and screams. When the soldiers are attacked by a few of the infected some are reluctant to shoot American civilians. After all, aren't they supposed to protect their fellow countrymen?
When Bowman receives order to relocate to a school that is being used as a overspill facility to relieve the hospitals and clinics, which are rapidly becoming over full with casualties, a short journey of a few blocks becomes a dangerous trek. More and more of the infected attack the group as they make their way to their destination on foot. Once they reach the school they have to clear it of the infected to make the building safe and secure.
Elsewhere in a research facility, Dr. Valeriya Petrova is one of a small group of scientists searching for a cure to the disease. Unfortunately, the disease spreads to the building and disaster strikes.
Lieutenant Bowman discovers that the U.S. Army are suffering catastrophic losses. Contact with higher command becomes increasingly difficult due to the loss of so many personnel. Eventually, he receives new orders - travel to the research facility occupied by Dr. Petrova and lead her safely to Central Park for a helicopter evacuation. I shall say no more about the mission but by now the infected outnumber the healthy in New York.
On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this tense and action-packed thriller. I do have reservations about calling it a zombie novel. Some of the soldiers in the novel do call the infected "zombies" but most of them call them "Mad Dogs" or "Maddies". These "zombies" are more akin to the infected seen in the films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. They are all fast runners, they pass on the infection by biting and they can be killed very easily. Any wound that would be fatal to a normal human will be fatal to them. So, no head shots only in here. I must admit that this did partially dilute my enjoyment of the novel as I am not a fan of this type of "zombie". In ATZ terms, the infected would be Ragers, although a lot easier to kill - on a par with normal zombies.
What is abundantly clear is that without a clearly defined strategy for dealing with the infected, chaos rules. Thus the virus spreads far too quickly and society collapses into panic and anarchy. The breakdown in communications between Second Platoon and the rest of its Company has the feel of authenticity when no one is sure of just what is happening. Despite my concerns about this being a true zombie novel, I enjoyed it enough to give it an 8 out of 10 rating. It's worth hunting down if you haven't already bought it.

Siege by Rhiannon Frater

At the start of 2012 there were two books that I was desperate to read and both were part three of a trilogy. Top of that list was Blackout by Mira Grant (which I'm happy to say I am currently reading.) In second place, but not by much, was Siege by Rhiannon Frater. Siege is the third and final part of her As The World Dies trilogy and was released a couple of months ago. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely. I'll go into greater detail on my thoughts about the novel towards the end of this review. But first, the plot.
For our two heroines of the story, Katie and Jenni, life goes on in the small, but well fortified town of Ashley Oaks, Texas. Katie has married Travis and is pregnant with his child. Jenni, along with her stepson, Jason, pet dog, Jack, and her new love, Juan (that's a lot of names beginning with the letter "J"!) have become a family.
Travis is the newly elected mayor of Ashley Oaks but not all of the inhabitants of the town agree with his policies, especially snobbish socialite, Blanche. She goes completely off the rails and shoots Juan. This forces Travis to send out a snatch squad to acquire medical supplies to help save his buddy's life. Jenni insists on being part of the team that sets out to a hospital not too far away. Inevitably the hospital is overrun by zombies and the team suffers casualties. A couple of them make it back home but not Jenni and Bill. Instead they are captured by a military contingent based at the Madison Mall shopping complex. The mall is home to a large group of survivors, a small military force and a power-hungry U.S. senator, who treats the mall survivors like slaves. She desperately wants to take over Ashley Oaks, so that she can use it to offer as a trophy to the president of the United States, who is apparently still alive and holed up in a secure location.
What the senator fails to realise is that not all of the military under the command of her lover, Major General Knox agree with her. When a small force led by Lieutenat Kevin Reynolds take a helicopter flight to Ashley Oaks to offer a deal with the townsfolk, what he sees there makes him realise he should support Travis and not the senator. He returns to the mall with Travis, Katie and a few others and they persuade all of the mall survivors and most of the soldiers that a better life awaits them at Ashley Oaks. I shall stop here with my precis as to carry on would be to give away too much. Suffice to say, quite a few folk do make it back to Ashley Oaks but not everyone. The siege mentioned in the title of the book occurs at the end of the novel and it involves a zombie meta-horde moving slowly but relentlessly towards Ashley Oaks. Now I should point out that this is just the start of a meta-horde, numbering between ten to twenty thousand. Small by the standards of the meta-hordes I mentioned in a previous post but still overwhelming for the populace of Ashley Oaks, who number about three to four hundred.
Siege is a book that pulls no punches. Be warned that a lot of good people who you really care about get killed, along with some who deserve to die. One person who does come to a sticky end is the mysterious Vigilante, whom I correctly identified in the last novel, even though his true identity is not revealed until late on in Siege. Yay me! What ultimately makes this such a great novel are the characters, who by now, are well rounded and defined with their own unique traits and quirks. When one of them does die, you feel for their passing.
Perhaps controversally, Rhiannon introduces a new supernatural element to this novel - ghosts. Some folk may baulk at this but not me. If zombies can exist, why can't ghosts? Besides which, the ghosts are there to help the living. They may be dead but they sure don't want their loved ones to end up like them. At times their appearance can seem like a deus ex machina but I was so wrapped up in the story by then that I didn't care.
Rhiannon's love and affection of the zombie genre shines throughout. Just witness her George Romero references when Jenni first sees the shopping mall surrounded by a horde of zombies. Volume three brought the trilogy to a very satisfying conclusion. Siege is primarily a story about people. It's about love, heroism and selflessness in the face of adversity. It's about overcoming a crisis despite the chaos of a world going to hell. I enjoyed it immensely and I'll give it a well-deserved 9 out of 10 rating. This is a trilogy that deserves to be on the bookshelves of any fan of zombie literature.

Foundry Backstreet Militia

I was quite surprised to see that I had not done a review of these five figures when I featured them in one of my first batreps for my blog. Now that one of them has joined Team Vampifan it is time to rectify that oversight and do a full review of Foundry's Street Violence set SV054 Backstreet Militia.

 

I'll stick with the names that I gave these characters in my ATZ scenarios, some of which are based on the names provided by Foundry. At the far left of my two photos above is Corporal Perry Kroeger. He is armed with a 5.56mm Steyr AUG Assault Carbine, a pistol in a holster on his left hip and a Flash Bang Grenade. He is one of four figures out of this group to wear a pair of sunglasses. As he advances, he is keeping a lookout for any signs of danger.
To his left is Corporal Steven "Shuggy" McGraw, armed with a 5.56mm Heckler and Koch 33E Assault Rifle with scopesight. He doesn't have a back-up pistol but he does have  a Flash Bang Grenade. He is standing in an "on guard" position.
In the centre of the group is Team Vampifan's latest recruit, Lieutenant Ulysses Catweazle. His primary weapon is an ATK-Heckler and Koch XM29 Objective Individual Combat Weapon, (OICW) with an underslung grenade launcher. He is also armed with a 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistol and Flash Bang Grenades. Catweazle is the only one of the squad not to wear sunglasses. He is much taller than the other figures in this group and has a commanding presence about him, which is why I chose him as the team leader.
Sergeant Angela Ziskin is the first of the two females in the group. She is the team's sniper and is armed with a 7.62mm Sniper's Rifle, whose make I cannot identify. Sorry! She has no other weapons. Note that apart from Lieutenant Catweazle, they are all wearing gloves.
Finally, is Private Carrie Bryce, the rookie of the group. She has a Sniper Rifle, identical to that used by Ziskin slung over her right shoulder. Having two snipers in such a small group is very unusual. In her left hand she is wielding a 9mm Heckler and Kock MP5KA5 Machine Pistol. Note how she has reversed her cap to wear it back to front.
When I used this group in my two ATZ scenarios a few years ago I used them as a U.S. National Guard team. How you use them is entirely up to you but they make for a nice squad of military figures. If I have one minor criticism to make of them it is that I think it would be more logical for them to be armed identically with perhaps one deviation from the norm. Perhaps being a militia group they can get away with the diversity of weapons, but as I said, it's only a minor quibble. I certainly have no complaints against the quality of the sculpting or with their poses.
This set of five figures costs £10.00 on the Foundry website but if you act quickly you can get them for just £8.00 whilst the current Foundry sale lasts.