Acheson ATZ Minis, The Sequel

I got a second batch of Acheson ATZ minis recently.  I wanted to see what more of the line looked like. This time I purchased the following sets: Male Crazies and Cultists #2 and Militia Sets #2 and #3.  The former was $7.50 and latter two were $8.00 each.  I'm unsure about the price increase, as the sculpts are all of the same quality.

Crazies and Cultists #2

As the name implies, this is he second set of lunatics in the ATZ line.  From left to right, this set contains Homeboy 1, a mad Scientist, Homeboy 2, and finally a real live Cultist.  Homeboys 1 and 2 both have automatic pistols, which they are holding in stereo-typical gansta fashion; Homeboy 1 also has a machete.  They both have on baggy pants and hoodies.  The mad Scientist looks just that...mad; crazy hair and all.  He looks as though he's getting ready to pounce on an unsuspecting victim.  The  Cultist is reading from an open book, and aiming a double barrel shotgun.  He's barefoot and wearing a robe; like cultists are known to do.

Ok, the next two sets are Militia.  I have to admit that like a doofus, I got the figs all jumbled together.  Unfortunately, there are not pics of them on the Acheson site, so I can't unjumble them. I put them together best I could; I may not be right, though.  So don't go holding me accountable if I you buy them and I was wrong.

Militia Set #2

  

 This set of 4 minis depicts soldiers, even though they are labeled as militia.  As you can see,  they differ in size enough that I mounted them on 2 types of bases; 3/4" fender washers and 25mm round slotta bases, fo more height.  They are kitted out with an assortment of nondescript gear.  These guys would fit as generic military forces from the late 80s, or early 90s.  They also could pose as a rag tag para military group.  As far as weapons go they are armed with (from L to R),  and M-203, and M-16, what looks like an M-4, and an AR-15, with a grenade launcher.

Militia Set #3

 

The last set of figs are larger than the other ones; noticeably.  They are an interesting bunch.  Starting from the left, there is another pilot, who is wielding an M-14.  The next figure is armed with a SAW looking weapon.  It seems a little small; it does the job, though.  The third figure has a scoped M-16.  The final figure is decked out in aviation gear and is armed with a Mini-gun.  Yes a Mini-gun, ammo back pack and all.  As far as everyone's gear does, the air crew have flight helmets and suits on.  The other two are decked out like the other militia figs.

Again, for the price of admission, I'd say these are worth it.  They aren't top of the line sculpts.  Flash is minimal on all the figs, and mold lines aren't bad at all.  The detail is good; everything looks like it is supposed to.  The barrel of the kneeling fig's M-16 was broken off inside the package.  It was easily repaired.  If you want some inexpensive figs for you table top, I'd say these fit the bill.

Big John and the Zombies, Pt 2

Looks like Big John, and his buddies, are in a spot of trouble.  Caught out in the open, they've found themselves surrounded by a large mob of undead!

  

Believe it, or not, I am parting ways with these figs. I really like them; they look like I envision Zombie Apocalypse figures should be.  As stated before, they are a bit over sized for my tastes.  That, coupled with my 2012 gaming project's need for capital, has led me to this point.  So, these figures will be finding a new home soon.  You'll find postings at The Miniatures Page and the Post Apoc Wargames Forum.

My "Clicky" Zombie Horde Grows

About mid December, I received a package, containing some Horrorclix figures; most of which were zombies.  I managed to pick them up on the cheap and have been able to bulk up my "Clicky" zombie horde by 15, for a total of 20. A little bit of converting, a little bit of painting; add in the five I already have completed,  and here are the results.

The first group of new zombies are some "Zombie Cops". I swapped a head with a "Shambling Zombie" on one figure (the one with the hat on), and a Mantic zombie head on another.  Three were painted as policemen, while the fourth was done up like a security guard

The next group are three "Shambling Zombies" and a "Pod Zombie".  Again, some head swaps, and the removal of a torn off arm.  The "Pod Zombie" is just a straight up rebase/repaint. He's a little out there; I figure he's been in a swamp for a while and just arrived on the scene.

The next group are female entries into the horde.  Three "Sorority Zombies" and a "Cheerleader Zombie"  Like the "Pod Zombie", these are straight rebase/repaints.  I have to say that so far, these are the weakest zombie figs in the lot; especially the face on the cheerleader (even if she is quite bubbley with her intestine pom-poms and skip in her walk).  They work, though.

Last but not least, we have some "Zombie Lawyers".  Who doesn't like to see deceased lawyers?  Getting to off them a second time is just gravy. :-)  It's hard to see, but I repositioned the foot on the one in blue to face forward.  Other than that and removing the letter openers from a couple of them, they are straight forward.

Check back in a couple of days as I post a pic of the horde, along with Big John and his new Friends.

Acheson ATZ Minis - Pt 4 (Militia #1 Painted)

This is the last batch of the current Acheson Creation figures that I have on the workbench.  Out of the three sets I bought, this is by far my favorite one.  All four of the minis are good sculpts.  Their equipment is easily identifiable and is a mix of Army surplus and law enforcement.  The uniforms could easily pass for late 80's/early 90's BDUs; even though I painted them up straight olive drab:

Starting from the left, the first figure is armed with an M-79 grenade launcher.  The next figure has a P90 style SMG.  The third figure is armed with a bolt action long rifle, complete with folded bipod.  Finally, the fourth figure is armed with what looks like a SPAS12 combat shotgun.  All the figures are equipped with old M17A2 gas masks and on their hips.  They are all wearing 1980's style flak vests, and knee and elbow guards, as well.  These figures could just as easily fit into a crime scenario, as a SWAT Team as they would a Post Apoc one.

Like I said, these are my favorite out of the three sets I recently purchased from Acheson Creations.  Now its time to to scrape together some money to get some more from their ATZ line.

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On a side note;this has been a good exercise in photography and Photoshop, even if it hasn't turned out the best, so far.  Thanks to my lighting, the color of the minis, and the back ground, I can't seem to get a picture that shows both the color of the flesh tones and the greens.  I can get one, but not the other; the photo above is somewhere in the middle.  I've tried different backgrounds and playing with the RGB properties in Photoshop.  Nothing has worked.  I'm gonna plug a way and see if I can get better pic; somehow.

Acheson ATZ Minis - Pt 3 (Males Crazies and Cultists #1 Painted)

Today, we have the second set 4 minis from the Acheson ATZ minis, entitled Males Crazies and Cultists #1.  Again, these figures paint up much better than the Acheson site would suggest. 

These figures make nice modern survivor types.  Starting from the left, we have a figure with a  field jacket and a P90 style SMG.  The hand I had issues with in my original post paints up well enough; although better sculpting, or casting would be more desirable.  Next is a figure with decently sculpted dreadlocks and an M-79 grenade launcher, who is wearing coveralls.  Instead of a survivor, the fig would work just as well as a modern criminal.  Next we have a man in a contamination suit, with a flame thrower.  This is one of the nicer figs of this type I've seen.  The stance is very natural, IMO. You can imagine him contemplating whether that approaching group are undead, or rag tag survivors.  Lastly,  we have a dwarf (not a youngster) wielding an M-60 machine gun.  Once painted it's obvious he's not a youngster, like I thought originally.  The fig has an awesome Elvis pompadour hair style.  I painted him to look like he is wearing a Mo. Conservation Dept. uniform.  Don't ask why, I just thought it worked.

Big John and the Zombies

Big John and the Zombies...heh, sounds like a rock band, of some sorts.  Actually, they are a Foundry Street Violence figure and a couple of re based/modified/painted Horrorclix figs.  It's a strange combination for a post, I know.  If you'll bear with me for a minute you'll see the connection.

First we have "Big John"  He's a slightly modified Foundry figure I had floating around.  He originally had a big semi-auto in his had.  I used it on another mini, so I replaced the gun, hand and all, with a revolver from one of the Reaper Chronoscope weapons sprues.  It works well.  With the cheap looking grey suit, he has that haggard low rent Dick look to him...at least I think so:

The next couple of figs are re based, re painted Horrorclix figs.  The one on the left is the "Hard Hat Zombie"  He's a straight re base/ re paint.  The other is the "Human Fly" figure, with the head and arms replaced with  Mantic Zombie ones.  I like the way it turned out:

Here's a group photo with the other Horrorclix zombies I painted up a while ago:

Now on to why I lumped this all together.  If you hadn't caught on by now by reading this blog, I am some what of a stickler about scale; specifically between minis and vehicles on the table.  I do not like it when they are too far out of scale with each other.  With that said, the "Big John" figure is a giant, even compared with other Foundry figs.  Here it is with Foundry and Black Cat Bases figs for comparison:

The guy looks like Andre the Giant to me.  The same can be said for the Horrorclix figs,as well:

They are all just a tad to big for my tastes, when put with my other figs.  Here's the good news that wraps this all up in a tidy little ball.  When put together, Big John and the Horrorclix figs are perfect match:

In fact, they are such a good match that I was moved to start a side project to beef up the number of Horrorclix zombies in my collection, via E-Bay, and also have found a home for 3 more survivor type figs I have kicking about that are too big for my tastes.

Sgt Major Miniatures - Get Some! 28mm (Pt. 2)

I liked the first two packs I got from SMM, so I went ahead and order the packs that compliment the ones I had.  I got SMM Pulp 12 and SciFi 12 packs.  Again, shipment was fast, and communications were excellent.  The flash on both sets was WAY less on these figs than on the original batch I got.  Both packs  give a good mix of poses for 10 man units.  Here's what they look like.

Pulp 12 has 5 minis in it, one of which is a com guy; that's the guy in the middle.  The only down side to the Pulp11/12 packs is the absence of support weapons.  I told Andy he needs to offer a support pack with 2 M-203s, an M-60E1, and a M-14 with Starlight Scope (very 80's), so people can field a complete squad with attached support.  Anyway, I've based them on 25mm rounds, in an attempt to give them some height.

SciFi 12 adds 5 more feral looking figs.  Again based to give them some height.  I may buy one more pack of these and convert them to carry guns; giving the unit a little more punch.

The next post will show what the Soldiers in Chem Gear look like painted up and ready rock n roll.