Options for Cheap Zombies?

[Hupp n at em]

I am planning to gather a zombie horde this summer, preferably on the cheap, so upon looking at my options, this is what I've found:

-Mantic Zombies/Ghouls: I've heard good things, and they seem like nice figures.  "Modernizing" them would not be beyond my skills and I have various plastic bits around that I could use to make "hungrily wandering" poses to vary the stock "lurching towards food" pose.

-WF Zombies: These get pretty regularly bashed, but from what I've seen, they could pass for "putrefying" zombies with their bloated torsos, and they could if nothing else contribute to variety of plastic parts.

-Converting cheap clix into zombies: Now this last option appeals to me alot, as I like tinkering with miniatures and converting (would like to improve my largely untested sculpting skills as well.)  My questions are (having very little experience with clix figures) is it worth it?  Or are they just too terrible to bother with?

-Games Workshop Zombies:  Oh, they have to be cheap...nevermind. 

Any help would be appreciated, as my experience with zeds (in miniature form anyway) is nill.  Thanks all.
Jim

[myincubliss]

If you want cheap, the bag o' zombies for the zombies!!! board game might be an option, although they are all the same pose, and in somewhat bendy plastic...

[rwwin]

I've got all of those and here are some thougths.  First, how do you feel about scale?  Mantic and the clix zombies are pretty big (32-34 mm).  The WF zombies are pretty small (29mm +/-) and the WF have more realistic proportions (as opposed to heroic) that make them look even smaller.  I prefer to stay away from the WF for that reason as much as the quality issue but not everyone is as picky about that kind of thing.  It seems like you've got the modern vs fantasy thing covered so I won't waste time on that.

Mantic Zombies - I love these guys.  They're cheap and well sculpted.  The only complaint I have is the molded on arms make for limited options with a big hoard.  This can be mitigated by combining them with Mantic's ghoul sprue as well.  Other than that, buy tons!

WF Zombies - I have a love/hate relationship with these figures.  Yes they have pretty soft scuplt and are smaller than all of my other figures, but they're just so damn cheap!  At least they were when I bought them a few years ago.  With WF recent internal troubles, I don't know if they are still as cheap now.  If you're making a big hoard, and you don't squint too hard, these guys can fit in and not look too out of place.  Also, they've got the same problem with the arms molded on to the torsos, limiting options.

Horrorclix Zombies - These guys are the best looking modern zombies I have, but there are issues too.  First, there were a limited number of sculpts (8 IIRC) and now that they are OOP, they are harder to find at a good price.  Also, they are big.  Some like the hardhat zombie top out at 34mm.  Stand them next to a WF zombie and it's's pretty goofy looking.

GW Zombies - These guys are older sculpts but I think they stand up.  scale wise they are in the middle at 30mm, but they have very heroic proportions (huge hands and heads) that many people think look too cartoony.  They have great options (separate arms, torsos and legs) but they are way overpriced.  If you can find a good deal, go for it, if not I'd pass.


My advice would be to buy a few of all of them and get a varried horde with lots of character.

[Commander Vyper]

Personally, I'd go for Mantic zombies and ghouls and combine with GW plastics from a number of ranges. Mantic's scales are fine, not so with heroclix/horrorclix, which I would avoid unless you want to go 32mm or so, if so then use reaper survivors. Wargames factory zombies are appalling, only really useable to add to the kitbash with the mantic ones. Some GW zombies combined again with IG parts make for nice munched army/CD etc... Bag o zombies are seriously out of scale for 28mm.

Good luck

The Commander

[myincubliss]

The bag o zombies are a bit dinky, but match up acceptably with non-heroic ranges:


(image dredged from the depths of my computers folders)

They're not great, I'll admit (I'm not even sure why I'm fighting their corner, there's none of them in my horde...)

[Backyardpatrol]

http://blog.victoryforce.com/?p=1473

Never used them but they are quite a deal!

Sale ends today I think.


I love Mantic Zombies, but they're kind of limited in their poses and only work with larger scale figures. And they have one pose thats just a grave popper (1/2 figure).
They don't work well with WF figures, way too big IMHO. And they have no modern connections, so they can be used in fantasy too. Very animated!

[AKULA]

Cheap in money, costly in time.

If you want something you can just splash a bit of paint on, then it doesn't get cheaper than the WF ones, but they will take a while to make, and clean up the flash - IMHO, its better to spend a bit more, and end up with something that requires less work to get on the table.

i'd recommend the Cold Wars range - still comparatively cheap metal c£1.50 a mini, but loads of variety.  Mix these with the mantic ones, and off you go.

If you want even cheaper metal minis, ready to go, try Black Orc $1 a go.

Plenty more zombie manufacturers, on my blog, just have a look at the links on the righthand side of the page.


http://akulasblog.blogspot.com/

[Comsquare]

You can also try Mega Miniatures Zombies.
Not the best sculpts, but cheap.

Bought them a few years ago, 20 metal zeds, all different poses, for 20 Euros, now 24 from Battlefield Berlin.

http://www.shop.battlefield-berlin.de/index.php/katalog/showarticles/32620-1-mega_miniatures.html

[Ulu Elsomalien]

If you want cheap, the bag o' zombies for the zombies!!! board game might be an option, although they are all the same pose, and in somewhat bendy plastic...

Take all 3 bags (male, female and dogs). No scale issue hence I use BF evo minis (small 28mm). 

Golgo Island range have some nice zeds (2X5 packs for 5£ each). (pour toi Sylvain   )

[Hupp n at em]

Well looks like it'll be mostly mantic for me then.  Rough plan (no spending will happen until I get out of school and start making some money anyway):

1 Mantic Horde (51 zombies)
1 Mantic Ghoul Troop (10 zombies)
1 WF zombie box (24 zombies)

So that's at least ~85 zombies.  The above, plus plastic parts I have in my bits box, plus putty could give me around 100 zombies. All for about $56 without shipping.  Not bad.

Also, I should mention I'm a college student, so I have more time than most others on the forum.  Not enough that I'd make a horde entirely out of WF    but enough that I wouldn't mind some putty work and mixing of parts.  I actually find it easier to get converting than start painting...go figure 
I suppose I may have to pick up some metal female zombies eventually, but for now, not a major concern.  Thanks for the help all.
Jim

[Crudeboy]

I second the Victory Force starter thingum. I ordered the 25-zed special back around Christmas, and while they're not as dynamic or unique as, say, the Studio zeds, they're not a bad deal.

They had that sale lately, but should still carry the 25-zed pack for somewhere around 30 bucks.

[NickNascati]

Check out the plastic zombies from Flying Frog's "Last Night on Earth" game. They cost $20.00 for 21 figures.  There are 3 poses, height is a good match for most 28mm figures, though they are on the slim side.  Here is a link, but only shows one pose -

http://stores.homestead.com/FlyingFrogProductions/Detail.bok?no=33

I think if you look at Boardgame Geek, you might see all 3 poses.

boardgamegeek.com

[6milPhil]

When I started my zombie project a while back I did jump at the WF plastics because they were so cheap, but I found them to be awful and gave most of them away. 

Akula's blog, mentioned above is handy for linkage so is Vampifans and Mikko's Dawn of the lead... worth a google.

[Lowtardog]

Zombiesmith sell packs which wont break the bank

[Pil]

I'm going to defend the WF zombies a bit because, well, hardly anyone does. My experience is this:

Price: good, especially if you live in the US
Assembly: easy: legs on base, torso on legs, right arm and head on torso. With cleanup I think it shouldn't take more time than a single part metal figure, it's definately quicker than a multi-part metal figure.
Painting: the soft detail makes these models hard to paint well. So don't try to put in a lot of detail as it will drive you crazy, but speed painting whould be easy enough if you want a quick horde.
The look: In the end I'm rather happy with my 12 assembled and painted WF zombies. They look good on the table, scale well with Cold War zombies and the lack of detail is not a visible problem during a game.

So in the end I think a horde of assembled and painted WF zombies looks quite appealing on the table top. They also look distinctly modern which is very nice I think. The main problem with these models is that painting them is more of a chore than usual because the soft detail doesn't help your brush control in any way. Fast techniques like drybrushing and washing simply don't work as well on softly detailed models.

I think though that variety is key and a mix of manufacturers will always help the overall look of your horde. Even if you get only cheap models from a variety of different sources it will look much better than just stocking up on a lot of zombies from one source.

I have no first hand experience with the mantic zombies but I've seen good work done on those, so I think your selection of manufacturers is a good start.