Project Zeke Miniatures: Zombie Survivors and Swat Team

Project Zeke Miniatures are a brand new miniatures company set up by Simon Hunter. Simon is a passionate Zombie Gaming fan with a dream to sculpt and produce his own 28mm zombie war gaming skirmish miniatures.

Kudos to Simon because: he is not a professional sculptor, he doesn't have the backing of a big company and he has avoided the crowd-funding route. He has done what he wanted by hard graft and focused on doing exactly what he set out to do. Simon has taken an idea all the way from concept to execution and that in itself is a head shot in our book.

Simon was kind enough to send us some free samples of his new miniatures hot off the press. Thank you Simon.

First up is William, a survivor armed with a hunting rifle with a knife taped to the barrel. He is clearly an outdoors type with cargo pants and shoulder length hair and a beard. He's also got some impromptu anti-bite armour (magazines and duct tape) which is a nice touch.

Second up comes a Private Security Squad, three miniatures in CQB getup which we think could find a lot of use anyone's All Things Zombie: Final Fade Out games.

Simon has also released a Limited Edition miniature 'Young Eddie' a biker armed with a street sweeper shotgun. Eddie ain't gonna take no $h*£!

These first few Project Zeke Miniatures look pretty nice to me with pretty crisp lines and minimal flash. They come on flat bases, which is not big deal although I'd honestly have liked to have seen them on slotta-type bases. I'm so used to re-basing now that it's not an issue.

A pretty neat feature of the Project Zeke Miniatures is that every survivor comes with a free random item of luggage, a holdall, military kit-bag, hiker's rucksack or teddy bear. We think that's a pretty darn cool idea and it'll be nice to see what everyone does with them.

Pick up these three brand new sets at Project Zeke Miniatures Web Store and to celebrate the launch Simon is offering a 10% discount to all customers up until the end of march, just use code launch10 on checkout.

Go check out Simon's Project Zeke Miniatures Blog and keep up to date with new releases and teasers at the Project Zeke Miniatures facebook page.

We'll be painting ours up right away, so watch this space for an update and scale comparisons.

Standby, Standby. Go! Go! Go!

The first public appearance of Outbreak City took place this week. As always, an exciting and nervous event for a new project. We played All Things Zombie, the game went superbly well and the whole play-set was well received by the players and other club attendees alike. The battle report is now under construction so expect to see that soon.

In the run up to the game I was, like always, frantically trying to finish as much as possible and fighting the demons of ‘do without and do it properly another time’ and ‘just stay up late and get it finished’. For the most part the former prevailed but I did manage to get a reasonable amount of things out of the workspace and onto the table.

I finished the Hasslefree Hazmat Squad. They were a pleasure to paint. I was also forced to buy a new bright yellow and their tanks received a coat of clear gloss varnish to help them ‘pop’ a little more.



Hasslefree Hazmat Squad. Tip of the spear. Bio-threat style.

"Zulu Down!"

"Stack up."

"Why are there no grey gloves left?"

"100% bada$$ and I still have to wear orange gum boots."

Andy’s Gunworks had its sign fitted at last, although I still need to finish his roof access and add some white garden funiture, a pallet and a barbeque to keep him happy.

"So What's the Bad News?"

I finally finished painting my original four Hasslefree survivors. They were usable before but I wasn’t satisfied with their bases and needed a final pass and highlighting before I could call them done.



Hasslefree Survivors - Ray, Ken, Suzi and Lara

Having spent a little more time on these miniatures than I normally would, and having enjoyed every minute, I am keen to explore acrylic mediums to help with the blending (the paint was drying out quite quickly as I blended). I also want to expand my pallet of tools and colours to help make the most of the models.

With Easter not that far away I decided to add this little nod to Zombielarp. Bioflex is a multi-billion pound corporation that dedicates a considerable amount of its focus on bio-technology and military grade hardware. Worried? Justifiably so.

"Delivery for a Mr P. Anderson?"

Finally, on Saturday the 5^th March I attended Zombielarp: Evolution. The bad news is, the gun-cam footage was not captured. I’d like to blame a technical fault, but once the adrenaline-fuelled frenzy had subsided it was just as easy to point a finger at my own stupidity in the chaos of the moment. That aside, the good news is I captured enough footage during the night's proceedings to put this little ditty together.

Tamiya Clear Red X-27 - Bloody Marvellous!!

There have been a few comments circulating through the zombieblogosphere extolling the virtues of TCR, otherwise known as Tamiya Clear Red or X-27. Whilst X-27 sounds disturbingly like a viral compound to me, TCR was one of the first hobby items recommended to me when I started this blog. The recommendations came from Colin and Bryan, both of whom could not speak highly enough about this product. With support like that it seemed foolish to ignore such advice.

Once the X-27 virus spead there was no stopping them.

So what is TCR and what can it do? Tamiya Clear Red X-27 is an 'effect' paint. It is an acrylic paint, comes in a 'mini' 10ml pot, is packed with that nostagic Tamiya acrylic aroma and costs around £1.50 a pot. The most notable features of the paint are its translucency and the fact that it dries with a bright, glossy finish.

So how can it be put to best use by post-apocalypic zombie gamers? Simple...blood.

In short, TCR works like a glaze to brighten and enhance blood detailing leaving a glistening red which is, well...ooooh, shiny! It also allows a base colour to show through, so you can produce the effect of blood-stained clothing and retain the base colour of the 'fabric'. As with any application of blood on a painted model, less is more. A little goes a long way and if you are painting a more decayed style of zombie, you might want to avoid using it altogether.

The following images show a selection of before and after shots of a few of my early fresher zombies. The before pictures show how they previously looked (with a base of Miniature Paints 43 Plum Red and a layer of GW Blood Red) and the after shots show the same models with an additional top-coat of X-27 in all the red, mushy places.

Suit - Before TCR

Suit - After TCR

Neil - Before TCR

Neil - After TCR

Sk8r Dude - Before TCR

Sk8r Dude - After TCR

I have been aware of 'effect' paints for years but, being a typical wargamer, chose to ignore them in favour of simple 'get stuff on the table' techniques. The Outbreak City project has helpded me see this aspect of the hobby in a new light. With the exception of just a few pieces, each model is unique, and can now be afforded a little more love than it would normally have received. If you are looking for a way to enhance your painted blood detailing, Tamiya Clear Red is highly recommended.
Colin and Bryan, thank you for the recommendation. It has opened my eyes to new possibilites and I have already picked up some clear gloss and other colours I wouldn't normally have considered in order to explore what else can be achieved.

Tamiya Acrylic Mini Clear Red X-27

"Check out ma new car!"

My sister is awesome. Why?...cos she's the kind of sister that knows geek is chic and, whilst she is not a gamer, she knows I am and knows how much I enjoy my hobbies. I had a delightful surprise at a recent family get-together when she announced 'We've got a present for you.' and my nephew, 2 years old, offered me a broken toy. Copious amounts of 'mashing' had wrecked the drive mechanism and axle of a 1/43 (or thereabouts) Hummer and, as no amount of repair was not going to make it usable as a child's toy again, it was very kindly offered to the Outbreak City collection. As gamers we're all about the free stuff and copious amounts of superglue followed. The results speak for themselves. I am pretty sure this will be the chosen transport for my gang of intrepid survivors in my All Things Zombie campaign.

"That's how we roll"

I managed to get another of TommyGun's buildings completed. It is just a small one but a great addition and, considering that every band of survivors will at some point realise 'We need drugs, bandages and first aid supplies.', a rather likely objective destination.

Night Nurse, tampons, something for the weekend sir?



I've only played a few small test games on the set-up and now it is reaching a more substantial size I think it is high time for a 'reveal'. We have a club game planned for the week after next where Outbreak City will be making it's debut public appearance. I'll be starting work on the scenario this weekend and I'll be sure to post pictures and a battle report following the action.

Just in today; RPGNow have offered up this freebie in their latest newsletter, from the guys at AnCON, a complete card game in pdf. format. Zombies Attack! great for when you have some friends over and want to get your a zomb fix but don't have time to get the whole playset out.


Zombielarp: Evolution is this weekend. I managed to finish another side project ready for it, my most ambitious mod yet. Behold - the Nerf Stampede! The air restrictor has been removed and it has received a vinyl dye, plastic primer and acrylic paint job. I plan on strapping a video camera to the top of the gun. The footage could make for some interesting viewing.

Full Auto Zombie-slayer or hopeless security blanket?

Go Team Mactabalis!