Something a bit different this time. I haven’t done a plug for an upcoming product in ages, but when Phil from Slug Industries (who is a nice bloke with a glorious moustache) showed me this upcoming pirate sculpt, I figured it was definitely worth sharing.
Click for a larger version
Click for a larger version
Based on Robert Newton’s iconic Long John Silver (fun fact: our “arrrr that be how them pirates be talking” tropes come from that performance), this is a wonderful Paul Hicks sculpt. It’s a great likeness, and one of the nicest pirate minis I’ve seen in recent years. It will be a part of Slug Industries’ 2018 Kickstarter, and I’m looking forward to adding it to my collection. He’ll be my third pirate with a crutch, speaking of the enduring legacy of R. L. Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island.
For more information, you can visit Firelock Game’s website or check out their interview on Beasts of War. Oh, and just to make it clear, I’m in no way affiliated with the company nor is this bought or requested advertising. I just haven’t been this interested in an upcoming miniatures Kickstarter since Alien vs. Predator (which after a million delays is still failing to deliver), and wanted to share it with you! Any others interested?
Now, the zombie genre experienced a massive growth in popularity in the early 2000s. While it has been on the decline – or rather become a staple of pop culture – every now and then something really interesting pops up. As you may or may not know, this blog used to focus a lot more on zombies when I started out in 2009, but the focus has shifted almost exclusively to miniatures. I’m a big zombie fan, but I must admit even my interest has wavered with the over-saturation of the zombie market. This means my interest is nowadays not easily piqued when it comes to zombies.
This goes double for The Walking Dead. I used to love the comics, but they got boring. I used to love the series, but haven’t watched it much since season 3. The adventure game I love, but in general the franchise has gotten pretty boring. Then I saw this:
It’s the trailer for the new Fear the Walking Dead series. It’s a prequel and a “sister story” to the main series. Apparently it details what is to me the most exciting piece of any zombie story: the rise of the epidemic and the collapse of society. Interestingly, and probably because of budget constraints as well, few movies ever show this.
Night of the Living Dead stops before it happens. In Day of the Dead, 28 Days Later and many others it has already happened.
In Shaun of the Dead it’s flirted with hilariously throughout the film, but never happens:
Dawn of the Dead shows little snippets of it at the start of the film…
while its remake condenses it into one of the best sequences ever in zombie cinema:
I’ve always been fascinated (in a very sane, rational and normal sense) by catastrophes, what-if fantasies, tales of desperate struggle and the end of the world. The sinking of Titanic, alternative history, Helm’s deep, Alamo, Chernobyl, The Book of Revelation, global epidemics, thermonuclear war…you name it. The zombie genre combines all of this. Simple as that.
This is exactly what Fear the Walking Dead appears to showcase. No wonder I’m pretty hyped.
Fear the Walking Dead launches August 23 on AMC with a 1½ hour special episode.
My ever-expanding Predator review keeps on going. Three more Predastore miniatures have now been added: Stalking-Hunter, Executioner-Hunter and Mermaid-Predette. Go check out the full review here.
I just updated my ongoing 28mm Predator review with three new offerings from Predastore: Crossbow-Predette, Austral-Hunter and 2Blades-Hunter. See the review here!
I recently came across this fun little video promoting an upcoming zombie themed boardgame with mighty tasty looking miniatures, Z War One. From the description on the official site:
Z War One is a miniatures-based survival horror board game. It blends tactical sci-fi shooting with classic RPG elements in an interactive comic book format.
Players take control of one of the game’s 4 main protagonists for the duration of a 6 chapter issue, completing missions to gain experience points which they may then either save, or spend developing their character. The player with the highest number of experience points at the end of the last chapter is the issue winner. Gameplay swings between co-operative and competitive as players work together to overcome insurmountable odds only to betray their teammates at the final hour in a bid for personal glory.
The boxed game contains issue one, with each subsequent comic book acting as an expansion pack, continuing the story and introducing new monsters, heroes & environments.
Sounds delicious! Anyway, while the video doesn’t bring much new to the table, it’s a nice piece of low budget zombie film. It makes you wonder why game companies don’t use more live action films to promote their product, as for me this worked a treat. It made me not only check out their site, but make a blog post about it as well.
After seeing that, you might as well go see their official site. There’s apparently a Kickstarter on the way.
Looking to turn your Warhammer 40K Imperial Guard into Colonial Marines? Mad Robot Miniatures has just the thing for you.
Click for a larger version
In other words, the 28mm Colonial Marine review has been updated again with some conversion parts for GW plastics. What’s the verdict? Go check it out!
Just a quick heads-up to let you know that the 28mm Predator review has just been updated with the latest offerings from Predastore:
Death-Hunter. Click for a larger version
Running-Hunter. Click for a larger version
For detailed reviews, see the giant post here. And never mind the funky colour thing going on with the backgrounds, I’m yet again reconfiguring the photo lighting setup.
We’ve seen zombies associated with a lot of things, but they’re rarely doing good. Here’s an exceptional (in many ways) PSA by the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation:
Dawn of the Lead 