Tank
Following on from my first Zomtober entry last week, its a mutant zombie today. I got the model as part of the Frothers sculpting competition set from 2009. I think that Fenris games bought the model after the competition and produce it themselves now.
Tank
The model is presumably inspired by the “Tank” special infected from the Left 4 Dead video game series.
Of note to geek pedants like me is that this model (and its companion piece which may also feature in my future Zomtober output. Maybe.) appears to remain functional despite normally fatal wounds and is therefore “undead” in some way. As we all know, the infected in L4D are not truly dead zombies, but horribly diseased lunatics without higher brain function, like the ragers in 28 Days Later. Therefore this figure cannot canonically be a tank per se [AUTHOR SLIDES SPECTACLES UP NOSE. SNORTS]. Not that it matters a shite.
“Does my bum look big in this?”
The model is nice and chunky, although somewhat surprisingly not that tall. I mounted it on a 40mm base as while its obviously a tank to me, putting it on a smaller base may have caused it to disappear into the horde on the table and confused some players (some of my gaming buddies are quite easily confused).
Uniquely in my toy soldiers I have used base size and shape to clarify subsets of zombies being represented on the table (25mm round = zombie, 20/25mm square = Special Infected, >25mm = large Special Infected, hex base = Rager/fast zombie). So tanks get large bases, in this case a 40mm.
The painting was straightforward. I painted striations in the muscles to give visual interest and because I found that a more pleasant process than trying to get a smooth finish on all of that flesh. The effect could have been executed in a tighter fashion, but I couldnt justify any more time on a zombie. Im pleased enough with the overall look, but I would like to know what you guys think.
Zomtober 1 and 2. Halfway there.
On a related side note, I cant get enough of this image.
From kotaku.com
Filed under: Miniatures | Tagged: 2013, L4D, Zombie |
sho3box 
Nice work. I agree that the striations give it some great visual interest.
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Thanks Gaming Guy. The effect isnt perfect by a long shot and I ran out of patience and rushed it a bit towards the end, but it looks decent enough on the table. Not a display piece by a quite a stretch, but a fun figure to play some games with.
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Looks great. My only comment would be to maybe try some subtle filters/washes over your skin. If you vary them by area / muscle group you’d get some additional tones without a lot of extra effort. and I love the pic. Who’s that guy’s barber??? 😉
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Thanks for the feedback pacarat.
I do tend to be conservative with inks/washes. Although I use those techniques on every miniature I paint (usually to shade rather than glaze or tint) I invariably apply another layer of paint over the area afterwards to get rid of a potentially ugly ink finish.
The large areas of skin on a miniature like this do show up some of the limitations in my technique though. I have been trying to psych myself up to experiment a bit more with inks recently, mainly by reading the step by step approaches used over at abrushwithbattles – a painter who balances quality with output in an enviable way.
I am still wary of experimenting too much at the moment however, for tangential reasons. My miniature painting output this year has been pretty good and some demoralising sub-par results generated during any potential apprentice period for new techniques could cause me to stall. On the other hand some experimentation is healthy and necessary.
Swings and roundabouts.
Thanks for the feedback and good luck with the rest of Zomtober 🙂
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I like his shorts. He must have been wearing very baggy pants in the arse for them to rip like that. Anyway you paint them very well is my main point.
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Thanks Otto. I cant usually bring myself to spend too much time painting zombies – there is always another hundred strong group that requires attention – but this big fella turned out alright all the same.
Regarding his tailor, the tank here has magic pants, like Hulk, Fin Fang Foom, MC Hammer etc.
They do look pretty tight though – Daisy Duke snug. Its a good thing that he cant feel pain as running at full tilt in those would surely chafe.
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