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Monday, 23 June 2014

Hazmat Crew

Leader type (on the right) with support.
I received these figures as a Xmas (2012) present from my son; they are of course all "Hasslefree" miniatures.
Three support guys
Although I've never actually dealt with "Hasslefree", my son has and he has nothing but praise for their service and of course their figures ! I have avoided "Hasslefree" not just due to their cost, which is well beyond my shoe-string wargames budget, but also because I doubt I could ever do painting justice to the minis and there are a lot cheaper, usable figures about.
At one time they had a very limited range of a mere four guys, but the range is much better now with all the figures I would want from such a team. There are two Scientist types (one with lap-top and one with a detector wand thing), an obvious candidate for a leader, a flamethrower and general support figures armed with assault rifles.
My two flamethrowers.



All the "grunts" are slightly differently posed and are very dynamic. There isn't one of them that I don't like.
Their weapons are in line with the scale of the figures (I'm guessing about 1/60th) and are probably identifiable to those that know these things. I've seen a lot worse weapons on recent figures that show much less detail and only barely resemble what they're meant to be - I've mistaken barrels on rifles for silencers on more than one occasion!



Computer & detector guys
My biggest bugbear with these figures is of course that they're "slottas". I'm not going into another rant about why slottas are bad (they are), why they're a con (they are) or why so many people have bee duped into thinking they look good (they don't).
I have removed the abominable slot-fitting lead and filed them down to fit into the 20mm washers I've used on on nearly all my figures. not an arduous task but I did manage to lose two or three ends off rifles and one of the flamethrowers, such is the price to pay.
Group shot.



The colour scheme is made up without reference to any real-life one, so don't go looking for it; in any event, it seems that Hazmat suits come in a wide variety of colours.





In other news, blogger's dashboard seem to only be reporting a single entry on the "reading list" of blogs, so apologies if I miss anyone's recent blog posts in the near future. I'm sure it will be rectified soon.


Lastly let me welcome my latest follower whom I believe is "George" and as always all comments are both welcomed and appreciated.


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26 comments:

  1. Vampifan23 June 2014 at 07:25

    These are amongst the best, if not the best, Hazmat troops on the market. I have the first four that HF produced but have not got round to buying the second four. Yhey are on my shopping list, however. They do look great as a full unit of eight.

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    1. Zabadak23 June 2014 at 07:54

      I'd agree Bryan, but I think that there's more than eight, I have eleven with a duplicate flamethrower chap.

      Delete
    2. Vampifan23 June 2014 at 08:29

      Sorry, Joe. Having checked the HF website I can confirm that there are indeed 11 of them.

      Delete
    3. Zabadak23 June 2014 at 09:58

      NP Bryan, unlike you to not be onthe ball - I'll blame it on the drugs (rather than your age !)

      Delete
  2. Colgar623 June 2014 at 08:28

    Well at least with slotta figures it's quite easy to remove the tab and base them differently :-) . Try *that* with a cast-on base (I've done it with a few, but will now refuse except in the most dire need).

    It's strange, but I can't shake the feeling that people in hazmat suits should have hoses and brooms (or maybe geiger counters!) rather than guns. I've no idea where this idea came from or why it's such a strong image in my head...

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    1. Zabadak23 June 2014 at 10:06

      Slotta bases are still an odd idea, especially when nowadays it is de-rigeur to decorate the base, much easier with a based figure on a very thin base (washer, penny etc.) than one that is flush with a base and stands about a scale foot above the table - only my opinion -each to their own.

      I'm with you on the hoses too, guys with bottles of bleach and buckets spring to mind. The image that sticks in my mind came from Mira Grant's "Feed" where the after affects of any zombie incursions were met with a clean up crew with flamethrowers and disinfectant, with a smaller armed group for security.
      When I mentioned this very thing on the Living lead board, everyone there wanted their hazmat guys armed too iirc.

      Delete
  3. Clint23 June 2014 at 09:19

    I really like your colour scheme, it really screams stay away or you'll get infected. Nice one mate these are great additions to your collection.

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    1. Zabadak23 June 2014 at 10:08

      Thanks Clint, I think I was possibly influenced by Dustin Hoffan in the film "Congation ( ? I think) and blue marigolds !

      Delete
  4. Paul W23 June 2014 at 11:48

    Nice work Joe, these will lend a perfect air of creeping malice and paranoia to the table-top! I've got that same problem with my blogger reading list, rather annoying. Cheers, Paul.

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    1. Zabadak23 June 2014 at 13:06

      Thanks Paul, I now just have to make up some transport for them and formulate some rules for flamethrowers !
      Bolgger are well aware of the problem as there's a whole swathe of people in the same boat as us, It'll be fixed soon I hope.

      Delete
  5. Nobody66723 June 2014 at 16:43

    Good looking hazmat guys! I hate painting the faceplates on figs like these, but yours turned out well. The poses are cool, I agree they should have a bunch of hoses and bleach throwers...

    Interesting color scheme, it does remind me of Outbreak.

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  6. Zabadak23 June 2014 at 16:56

    Thanks N667, I too hated doing the hood visors, but I looked at a couple of tutorials on a "jewel technique" and although they're not as good as the ones on the tutorials, I'm pleased with the results. A gloss varnish on just the visors helped too I think.

    I suppose I should be grategul that I've got at least a couple of unarmed ones.

    And "Outbreak" was the film I was thinking of, not "Contagion" !

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  7. david bromley23 June 2014 at 17:32

    Very nice figures, Joe! I too like your color choice, gives them a more sinister corporate vibe. They would be handy for the "second" wave of responders where some bright bulb guesses it's an airborne contagion! As a grunt who has qualified in CBRN(Cee-Burn) gear, marksmanship is sporadic at best! I don't think the second wave will reclaim or contain too much!
    The only thing I like about slottas is it makes it real easy to mount them on some of those nice resin bases. I've used them as an excuse to purchase a few, kinda fun. I still prefer my own sand and flock, but the sculpted bases are neat.
    I almost missed your post as I thought my tablet was messed up! Thankfully I tried my blog list from my blog page and found most of the blogs I follow there. It seems some of my posts are missing photos though! ;)

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    1. Zabadak24 June 2014 at 03:48

      Thanks David, considering what would constitute an apocalyptic epidemic, I very much doubt there really would be any significant second wave !.
      There are some good base effects with slottas (and others too).
      Blogger sadly, seems to be having all sorts of probs atm.

      Delete
  8. Mathyoo23 June 2014 at 22:14

    Great job on those Hazmats, Joe! Gasmasks and those hazmat suits make everyone look sinister so they're always good to have.

    You'd get them with hoses to clean up the radiation IRL, but in case of a zombie apocalypse they'd obviously be using weapons to "clean up".

    Now that you got me thinking, I wonder how they'd reload their rifles :P. As for the guns, they sure look nice, but they are on the large side - too long for the short variant they are supposed to represent. They look great on the miniatures though, realistically small weapons are hard to paint to make them look like anything more than a black block.

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    1. Zabadak24 June 2014 at 03:53

      Thanks Mattyoo, I thought clean up wouldbe ridding the area of any possibly infected body parts, blood etc.
      I wondered where the armed guys would keep their reloads, but by the time these get to anywhere, I'll assume they don't normally need them.
      I actually thought the guns looked very good size-wise, especially as I haven't a clue what they're meant to be.

      Delete
  9. Unknown24 June 2014 at 06:59

    Great figures Joe. Nicely painted too dude.

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  10. Hobbyworker24 June 2014 at 22:59

    Great looking hazmat crew

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  11. Ray Rousell25 June 2014 at 14:59

    Nicely painted, that's a lovely shade of yellow!

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    1. Zabadak25 June 2014 at 17:41

      Thanks Ray, quite a compliment, the yellow is ctually two different yellows, an undercoat of a limey/greeny yellow then a much brighter one on top

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  12. Zombie Ad30 June 2014 at 05:32

    I think these are the best Hazmat figures available and I think you've done them justice. I like the choice of green gloves

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    1. Zabadak30 June 2014 at 06:43

      Thanks Z, I agree with you these figures are up at the top of those currently available.
      The gloves are actually blue not green though !

      Delete
  13. Baconfat4 July 2014 at 08:45

    I like these alot.

    You're right about the slotta bases, Sir. As an ordained minister, I happen to be privy to the fact that God doesn't appreciate slotta-bases either. I am usually too lazy to remedy the problem with washers though.

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    1. Zabadak5 July 2014 at 08:51

      Thanks Baconfat, maybe I got my distain for them from a higher power too

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