Zombies pictures from Wargames Factory

[Braxandur]

It took a while, but the guys at Wargames factory posted the preview shots:

Tim Barry ripped into the Zombie sculpts faster than a 3-year old into a Wiggles shop and we have the first images to post up for you.

These are digital images from FreeForm (all of our miniatures are sculpted with an all-digital process) that have been rendered to "look" like miniature plastic figures and show all the details.

We've also refined what will actually be on the sprue. We may be able to get a few extra "bits" -- but for now the sprue will be made up of the following:

5 torsos (including one female torso)
5 legs
5 right arms
5 left arms
9 male heads
3 female heads

The legs are being designed so that there are no specifically female legs (no dresses, skirts, etc) so that you can mix and match any of these parts with almost every other part (exception would be a male head on a female torso!) Tim is also doing a mix of decay levels -- from almost skeletal to "fresh" Zed.

Not sure yet what to think of these, I can indeed already see usefull parts in there, but would be happy with some larger sized images (especially of the heads). The 10 sprues I'd pre-order will probably turn into more though

[matakishi]

So far so poor.
Nothing here to make me want these. There's something very wrong with the decayed one's arms. These look to be rushed publicity shots of the computer rendering with not much attention put into presenting them. Doesn't bode well for the final product.
This whole thing smacks of pushing stuff out that people have asked for but do it quick because the company have no actual interest in the subject matter and were hoping people would ask for other stuff.
These are as badly proportioned as the GW ones (huge heads) and look to end up with the same bad poses once you've assembled them because they're made from 'generic' pieces (read bits that don't actually fit well together in a any combination but sort of fit every other bit on the sprue).
Poor design coupled with shabby implementation resulting in a big missed opportunity. People will no doubt buy them, fooled into thinking they're good because they're cheap (and as we know, there's a whole slew of 'hobbyists' that hold cheapness as their one overriding criteria of worth) and will probably buy loads too which will keep the manufacturer happy. Very few will ever see the tabletop though because they're multi-part, fiddly, insubstantial pieces of crap with no style or 'look' to them.
Cheap never seems to equal value-for-money in this hobby; just lack of interest, care and imagination.
Personally I think rubbish like this needs to be stamped out before it becomes the norm. Maybe another plastics manufacturer will produce a range made by a sculptor that has some passion for his or her subject. I'd buy those.

[Dr. The Viking]

Wow! Matakishi!

That's quite a statement. I believe it may be part of a "larger" context that I'm not quite aware of? At least the almost ideologic reasoning makes me think that. Is there a war on?! 

I do agree though that they aren't that good. I think the arms of the "flesh" one are meant to be bones in bags of skin. At least that's what I thought.

I was about to write that I wasn't hugely impressed myself, but that I find it hard to use computer renderings as basis of assumption. 

The zeds I have myself are from many manufacturers. The only buy I partly regret is the mega miniatures ones. They are very poor - certainly looking more poor than these.

I ought to love them though as my wallet is certainly thin being a student with 3 children!

[muppetman]

hmmmm... i think i'll just make my own

[Svennn]

I am really surprised by this thread so far. I am not a fan of plastics myself but then it is very unlikely any of the players will make a range I am interested in. Yes, they are cheaper but I do not think them cheap compared to metals. I hate zombies (heresy you all cry) so these were never going to ignite any passions in me and I have been lambasted for speaking my mind on the quality of the Romans etc. but I have to say that I am surprised to see these so soon and also they are far better than I expected.
I will echo all the above comments about quality/poses/multi part etc. as they are indeed not brilliant but will again say I am surprised by Wargames Factory on these.

[AKULA]

Disappointing, to say the least.

Yes, they are digital images, and some will wait to see the actual minis, before reaching a judgement, but presumably if the pictures weren't representative of the end product, why would they release them?

I agree with Paul, they look hastily thought out - interchangeable sprues sounds great, but in practice (or at least in this instance) it looks very disjointed. Anatomy just looks odd.

If these were the only zombies available, i'd buy them, but they aren't, so i probably won't (unless they look a great deal better once they actually have a product to sell)

For gamers new to the genre, its maybe a cheap starter product (with the emphasis upon cheap) in much the same way most of us probably had a bucket of plastic WW2 soldiers when we were kids ..... but then we grew up (a little), and moved onto better quality products.

 

[Pil]

Well, the first images appear sooner than expected. My first impression was actually that these look pretty good in the details, but the poses could be a lot better. The heads could be a bit smaller indeed, but I didn't see them as disturbingly big. The torsos probably look best of all, the legs and arms just look a bit off in anatony and posture, the heads are ok but could use a lot more character I think. Also I think more female torsos would be a plus maybe

I don't think they rushed them because zombies are not their thing, judging by the enthusiastm they took on this project with I think the main problem is that the sculptor isn't a star in anatomy yet, and I can't really blame him because it's really hard to get it right.

Oh, and a note on the detail, I expect the plastics to look a bit worse than these actually, with more superficial detail.

[Braxandur]

Wow, that's a lot of negative vibes here 

Honestly, they are not the best models. Even far from the best zombies. But if you look at it as parts for zombie conversions I think they are quite good. Off course the heads are still a bit big, but I figure these can easily be resized with the software.

The pictures sadly don't show enough detail. I really would have liked to see the pictures at bigger resolution. Should not be a problem with the computer software IMHO.

The models can still turn out nice, or maybe I'm just a sucker for plastic parts 

[Modhail]

Hard to judge from the size and quality of the pictures, but they don't seem terribly exciting.
Then again, they are showing the WIP's to get feedback. So they are still up for alteration, if enough people give the same comments.

I have to agree that the heads could do with some shrinking. Some more variation in poses for the arms at least would be nice. These are all just too akwardly straight. (I'm not to bothered about the legs and torso, they're fine for "shamblers")  Some bent arms, or arms held close to the torso, etc. There are plenty of zombie poses to take inspiration from...

I'm not too worried yet, as I didn't expect these plastic zombies to be more than "padding": the extra's with rubber masks in the back of the shot.. I'd be treating them similarly anyway: just a quick basecoat and a wash or dip and they're good to go, maybe even base them in groups instead of singles. The nice paintjobs will remain reserved for more interesting (metal) zombies.
And these are great terrain fodder: scatter a few bodyparts in craters or ruined buildings for "atmosphere". 

[matakishi]

Wow! Matakishi!

That's quite a statement. I believe it may be part of a "larger" context that I'm not quite aware of? At least the almost ideologic reasoning makes me think that. Is there a war on?! 

Nope, no axe to grind, don't care one way or another except these are utter rubbish and being 'new' and 'cheap' doesn't excuse that.
I am as needful of a zombie horde as anyone but at the moment mine will be made from Eureka zombies which are better than these in every way except cost. Cheap shit is still shit. The shirtless zombie's right arm in pic 1 and 2 becomes his left arm in pic 3, that's the sort of 'interchangability' I can do without.

Anyone else can buy as many of these as they like, it's their hobby and I wouldn't dream of trying to dictate how they should enjoy it but in my opinion Wargames Factory could improve by employing a sculptor instead of a software operator, maybe then these would look better. No guarantees, plenty of other companies think sticking 'zombie' on the pack is an excuse for dire figures.

[knitemare]

While they might not look the best in their current, digitized, form I may pick up at least one sprue.  The ability to make dynamic poses with zombies is really kind of slick.  Having them made form plastic means that me, a dremel, and some green/brown stuff can do some interesting things.

[Howard Whitehouse]

I'm not sure how clear it was to everyone that the first photos were an assortment of bits assembled virtually to see how they went together. The larger images I saw earlier this week were far better photos; these were not flattering shots. 

Tim's been following suggestions, and has put some rather better shots up here (scroll down);

http://www.wargamesfactory.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=36690

The point of showing early work ups is very much to get feedback from potential customers. I note, for instance, that there's a general feeling that 'fresh' and  'decayed' zombie parts look odd together. That makes sense! There have also been suggestions that, while zombies are supposed to be stiff and oddly animated, a bit more stagger and grippiness are needed.

It's important for us to get these first 'Liberty and Union' figures right, because we are trying to be responsive not only to what customers say they want, but also to give them a quality product. We aren't a big company - we are just four blokes with a bit of start-up cash and some new technology that offers us a chance to make wargame figures in an inexpensive way. We don't want to make what Matakishi (who is normally a real gent) refers to as 'cheap shit', which I understand to be some sort of technical term. Rather, we are trying to combine quality, good price and customer responsiveness.

Which ain't easy, and that's why we are showing first renders followed by improvements. Anyone looked at the remade Celts?

http://www.wargamesfactory.com/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=18901

[Unforgiven]

Not the best I have seen..but with some GS I think one can fix em up to a good standard

[meninobesta]

This is a new Feature of miniature sculpting!

-> the sculptor makes a virtual model, then gets some global-feedback and makes adjustments to the model!

could be a good business model for the future of plastic soldiers

[matakishi]

If you're doing modern zombies half  (or a third at least) should be women.
Separate arms are pointless, zombies shamble so just have their arms hanging. Those that want 'dynamic' zombies can cut and reposition, others of us can remove the odd limb if we want a missing one.
Why bother having separate legs and torsos? these are supposed to be a mass zombie option, as they stand they're not getting to the front of even the most myopic wargamer's horde- these are the chorus line, different paint will suffice for different looks, six zombies on a sprue give lots of variety, plastic means those that want to can cut waists and swap/reposition torsos. Different heads would be ok, easy to fit and add another degree of variety.
That, allowing for some decent 'sculpts', would make a good product for those people who want a fast and easy zombie mob. I'm assuming those are the people that you're aiming for? Plastic means cheap and plentiful right? Not looking to make personality zombies here, plenty of them available in metal for not much more than the cost of these plastics.

How to make a zombie horde: buy boxes of zombies, twist off sprue, paint and stick to base, voila! Zombie horde.
Buy more boxes....
How NOT to make a zombie horde: buy boxes of zombies, look at myriad of ill-fitting parts, piss about with glue, knives, clippers and green stuff to assemble a few that look like shit but took ages of frustrating, fiddly work to make, look at remaining pile of plastic, snort, throw entire purchase in bin and go back to metal.
Never buy any more plastic zombies again.

As an aside, anyone who thinks it's ok to lavish time and greenstuff on a plastic figure just to make it passable as a wargaming figure, we're not talking about turning it into a character here, just make it fit for its intended purpose, needs their head examining