The new GW zombies made more 'Old Worldy'!

[Padre]

I am 'de-AoS-ifying' the brand new GW zombies by getting rid of the weird roots and branches growing through them. There is likely some story why they have such roots and branches growing through them, but I want them to fit my 8th Ed campaign world better.

These first 9 just had the roots and branches removed, including some very large growths out of one shoulder …

The middle one of the next three came with NO hands and only one foot. It had the weird roots instead. So, I cut them off, replaced a hand and a foot from the sprue and my bits box, leaving one hand missing as a suitably zombie-ish injury.

The box of 20 cost me £37 (!!!) so I intend to squeeze everything I can out of it. These three have legs from my bits box (two skeletons I forget the make of and some baggy breeches from a Frostgrave Ghost Archipeligo seaman). They'll do for back rankers, yes?

Still got most of the other sprue to do and should end up with a regiment of 26. I will combine (hopefully) with the Black Tree Designs’ marsh zombies to bulk up further. I have ordered the latter but until I see them I won’t really know if they will fit in (with a similar paint job).

 

[Eric]

Very nice, I think your back rankers will do just fine! I was looking for zombies a while back that were less "comedy shoulders" than the old GW ones at the time, these look much better, but as you said weird roots and bits of tree. You can see the zombies I went with on my undead thread, they were from Fireforge. Must say I quite like these new GW ones, although there is a slight feeling of Malifaux about them (no bad thing).

 

[lenihan]

Looking forward to what you do with these guys!

It may sound mad given how many different kinds of zombies there are out there, but I've never seen any zombie miniatures out there that I've really liked; your 'pruning' of these may come closest. I know the zombie thing is a big and popular zeitgeist, but they always seem daft to me rather than truly sinister.

 

[twisted moon]

good job, although i don't know what they looked like beforehand.

 

[Padre]

good job, although i don't know what they looked like beforehand.

A little way down here you can see several pics of them ... https://www.warhammer-community.com/202 ... damnation/

 

[symphonicpoet]

^De-modernizing newer GW sculpts is a decidedly worthwhile activity. Looks to be off to a good start. I look forward to the rest of it.

 

[Padre]

Just completed 12 more swamp zombies. Having de-rooted & de-branched the new GW ones, making 23 from the sprue with some other bits kitbashed in, I bought 12 of the Black Tree Designs ('Zombies of the Sweltering Swamps') to mix things up a bit more. I was hoping they would scale well and ... I think ... they did.

I have now modeled them, lots of fiddly bits cut off the plastic GW ones and most of the polearm shafts replaced on the metal BTD ones as the originals were quite weak and bendy.

Here are two pairs, to show how (I think) they fit well together ...

Some of the metal polearms looked like they might survive handling ...

Whereas quite a few needed cutting off, the hands drilled and brass rods inserted. Just stick the original blades on the end and wa la!

I love the weird long polearms, some sort of swamp beast fighting gear?

I reckon that when painted (and rebased) they will mix and match quite convincingly ...

Now just got to spray, paint, dip, varnish and repaint. I think the acrylic paints and dip technique I have been trying recently (after 35+ years of enamel black lining) should work well on these.

 

[Padre]

Finally got around to a 'paint test run' for my new swamp zombies regiment. Having ditched enamels after 35 years, I am going with acrylics and army painter dip (wash), then anti-shine. I have been experimenting for a year and I think I'm getting the technique about right now.

The first model is a Black Tree Designs metal figure, which I am glad to see fits in with the plastics well as I bought all of their swamp zombies. I replaced his thin, bendy, lead spear shaft with a brass rod.

The middle one is one of the very new GW plastic zombies, but with all the roots/branches weirdness chopped off.

The third has a new GW top half, and a Mantic skeleton's legs! This sort of kit-bash mish-mash is how I made 23 zombies from the sprues instead of the official 20!

I think I am convinced by this very simple technique. So ... 3 done, now for the other 33!

 

[Malacassa]

They look good but why change technique? The other figures on your blog have a great look.

 

[Padre]

Health reasons. Having done so for 35 years, I don 't think I should spend the next 35 years in confined spaces breathing the white spirit fumes emanating from the tissues I have to clean brushes on every few minutes. Enamels are very cruel to fine brushes. I had to clean them a lot!

Besides, I do like how they have turned out, and can't wait to see what they look like in my campaign pictures and videos.

And ... a change is nice!

 

[Just John]

They look great together - its virtually impossible to tell which is which on the screen and I would say absolutely impossible once on the table top.

 

[twisted moon]

I think I am convinced by this very simple technique.

looks good.

 

[Malacassa]

Makes sense changing to acrylics. I gave up using enamels decades ago. As soon as I could get my hands on acrylics I switched.

Good luck with the change.

 

[symphonicpoet]

^Funny you should say that. I was just thinking about enamels. I clung to them doggedly until the late 90s, I think it was. And while my painting technique has improved the enamels gave good results . . . and even those I never sealed and generally banged about most heinously are still holding up reasonably well. But I've become a terrible brush licker so I don't think switching back would be wise. That said . . . I've thought about it. Anyway, welcome to the wide world of acrylics Padre!

 

[Padre]

Jeez! I never licked a brush! Breathing the fumes was bad enough without consuming the stuff.

...

I am currently working on a bunch of figures needed for my next campaign report (a 'present day' one rather than a video report of a story done years ago). It occurred to me that I could try some different techniques as part of my ongoing experiments moving to acrylics from enamels.

I used three methods, as described on this picture ...

I think I like them all. But the first is an attempt to continue my traditional cartoon style, but with washed faces and not the clumsy ones I used to do. The second is washed flesh but no 'cartoon' blacklining on the rest of the figure. The last, which I showed above, is full ondip/wash.

The last looks dirty, as it was supposed to. Dirty seems to work well on Zombies and Skaven. But of the other two styles, not meant to be filthy, I still think I prefer my old cartoon method, even if I never attempt it on faces again! At least any new figures would fit in better with my existing collection.

What d'ya reckon?

 

[symphonicpoet]

I'm really quite fond of your "cartoon" style. It's quite eye catching. And I think the first example captures it perfectly. It's bright, bold, and heroic, like any good comic inspired game should be.

 

[twisted moon]

i like the grubby zombie, but agree it won't match your existing collection too well.

 

[Caradepato]

I think I agree with symphonic poet. Your style is very distinct, and that is a positive!

 

[Padre]

You have convinced me. I will continue my efforts to match my old style with acrylics. No more trying to get my head around contrast, shade, wash etc!

I'll find a black that works, and acrylics that will go over it! Let the cartoons continue! (Although I might still 'wash' their faces!)

 

[Padre]

I put this question to several different forums and got one hell of a lot of different suggestions. You guys here however, encouraged me not to give up on trying to replicate my old style (cartoon) because (a) it is my signature style and (b) any new figures I paint will fit it.

I agree, although I AM going to use the new techniques on certain kinds of figures, like skaven, zombies, heavily armoured characters and peasants.

However, this did leave me with those two figures I had already base coated without black lines. So ... I went to the GW shop and bought two shades - Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade, a Contrast paint - Black Templar, and some black base - Abbadon black.

The guy in the shop said shake it ridiculously loads, then try running the contrast into the gaps. That failed for me. So I tried running Nuln Oil in, which kind of worked on the yellow breeches, but on the darker colours, worked well enough so I slapped it on. The yellow breeches I tidied with the base black, then with some dabs of yellow again.