Welcome to my blog, the story of my continuing journey into the World of Zombie Wargames.

Tuesday 6 May 2014

Tumbleweed

Yes, my current paint table looks like this photograph, with a representative piece of hedge acting as tumbleweed. If you listen very carefully you can just about hear a village church bell in the distance.
In actuality I've just finished painting two dozen or so figures who now only have a coat of varnish to put on them  before they too are declared finished.
I then of course have the next problem as to where on earth to put them.
At the start of this new (to me at least) wargaming zombies venture, I bought a figure case that could hold 400 figures to store my efforts. Sadly now the case is now full and overflowing with zombies, police, civilians, survivors etc. (at least 50 figures currently have no home to go to).
To say my paint table is completely bare is a very slight exaggeration as these three still remain to be completely finished.
The figure on the left is "Edna the cat lady" (if I recall correctly a Black Cat figure that has "starred" in many of Colgar6's  ATZ adventures.
The other two ar Foundry figures from their Street Violence range and make great survivor figures, having weapons, helmets, gasmasks backpacks and all the paraphernalia that you'd associate with survivors.
At the other end of the table are a few figures that need basing up/ An army officer (a present) that will be painted up as a Police Chief and several dogs (and a single cat !) that I bought about a year ago. The six small dogs I may mount as a single,  a double and a triple which can then be used as counters (For PEF's - potential enemy forces, the unknown entities at the start of games. I still have both my clowns and my Hazmat team based and undercoated and they'll be loaded up onto the paint table next.

I'll now be spending the rest of the week slowly recuperating from an exhaustive camping long weekend and trying to catch up on all the blogs I've missed, hence the short, late post this week.

As always your comments are welcomed and appreciated and apologies to anyone whose comments I haven't replied to. For some reason I'm no longer getting notification by email when anyone comments on my blog (but strangely with one or two exceptions).

25 comments:

  1. I love the painted ones - especially the cat lady. Looks like a perfect "scenery" miniature for jsut about everything. You have those lurking around in every village worthy of it's name!

    I like the idea of using dogs as PEFs - very subtle way to knowing which is which.
    The large dogs would be much better of single based as a stray dogs - surely you need those? :D

    I hope the camping was as comfortable as sleeping in a tent can be!

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    1. Thanks mathyoo, the reason they're not finished is because they've all had a few re-paints as I wasn't happy with them.
      The larger dogs will be used singly as strays and another dangerous foe for survivors as a pack - I just don't have enough for a large enough pack atm.
      I've also thought of using piles of bricks as PEF counters too, they're easily made and the number of bricks could indicate the actual rep of the PEF.
      The camping was as comfortable as I could make it, but bitterly cold the first evening - thanks for asking.

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  2. That's a different cat lady from my "Edna". I think you're right about your model being from Black Cat Bases, but mine is from Reaper.

    A bare (or almost bare) painting table is a strange concept. I'm having some difficulty in understanding the idea:-) ...

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    1. I may well have picked up the name from your version of "Edna" but mine is certainly a BCB and probably half the price of the excellent Reaper figure.
      Just having a paint table is a strange concept to me, my figures were normally kept on pieces of wood, cardboard, box lids etc.

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  3. Well done Joe, for "clearing" your paint table.
    Really like the survivors.

    The last camping trip I took was back in '99 to see the eclipse, it reminded me just how old and achey I'd gotten. Never again.

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    1. Thanks Bob, the problem of course is that an empt table acts like a vacuum for unpainted figures, it'll soon be filled again.

      I've always enjoyed camping but gone are the days of just a tent and a sleeping bag. I tend to have a few extra luxuries with me these days.

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  4. I have to ask this before anyone else does, Joe, on your camping trip was the excitement "in tents?" Intense, geddit? Sorry, I'll get my coat.

    A near bare painting table? Sorry, this concept does not compute. ERROR MESSAGE. ERROR MESSAGE. ERROR MESSAGE.

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    1. Yes, thank you Bryan, -"here's your coat". I was waiting for something along those lines.

      I can actually see a time when I have painted all the figures i've bought in the last two years !

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  5. Well Jo it's good to have an empty painting table. Think of all the possibilities! You could start anything. anything at all. I of course speak hypothetically!

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    1. Thanks Clint, I'll use my powers of foretelling to predict it will fill rapidly !

      I really need to play a game or two to justify the figures.

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  6. Nice work on the finished figures. I wonder what will appear next? Been years since I camped out in any shape or form I like a proper bed to much these days I'm sure I'll get roped into re-living my teen years with my kids at some point lol

    Great idea to use the dogs as PEF's I saw some nice mdf numbered dials done by Warbases and thought how good they could be decorated and used for all sorts of gaming purposes depending on how they were dressed up.

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    1. I've been trying to think of ways to make counters, without them looking like counters !
      I liked using casualty figures in my ACW games rather than dice to show casulaties and have always looked for similar ideas.

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  7. Wow, I have to clear my paint table, too! Well done!

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    1. Thanks Tito, it's an illusion, more figures will appear on it

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  8. I like a clear table and have a 'holding area' (plastic box) for primed miniatures behind my chair. The problem is that Like you the empty space seems to attract all manner of side projects and before you know it chaos has ensued.

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    1. You're absolutely right Micheal, all we do is fill every area we can/are allowed

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  9. Wow im impressed that you got 400+ models painted for you zombie adventures...
    Great ide to use the dogs as PEF's
    The three new models looks great :)

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    1. Thanks HW, I like of lot of the counters people use, but a lo on the table look a bit naff, especially the ones I currently use.

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  10. Your painting table looks full to the bursting compared to mine!!

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    1. Thanks Ray (I think), I suspect though I have a lot more time on my hands than you have.

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  11. Tumble weed, church bell AND stray dogs howling in the distance! I really like multiple minis on a base, makes them more of an 'entity'.
    A clear painting table is a new horizon. Having hundreds of half painted minis staring at you can be pretty intimidating. I store (hide) mine in clear plastic tupperware boxes so they're easily identified, dust free and 'contained' keeping the workspace dedicated to whatever's on it, which is hundreds of half painted minis :)

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    1. I'm with you HH, I too have boxes containing plastic zip bags full of figures (mostly gangsters atm) all awaiting their turn on the table.

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  12. Crazy cat lady! Well done on the near bare table... shopping time!? :)

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    1. Thanks ZA, I think I'll not be buying figures for a long time.

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