Assistance with Zombie Terrain board and gaming

[Bubbles]

I want to play a zombie game in 28mm scale and create a modern urban board for it but im having a bit of trouble and by trouble i have no idea where to start.

I have looked at a few rules like ATZ but i cant really decide on what rules i should use. i would like something that is flexible so that i can shape the games how i want, but really any thing that involves scavenging and shooting is good enough for me.

For the board i want to make it an urban set up and i have stolen a few bits and pieces from commander vyper and have decided to use the print out roads and a few other things but to be honest i am not a big fan of the paper/cardboard buildings and its a little bit to expensive for me to buy buildings such as plasticville and other products so im left with one option and thats foamboard/foamcore and to be honest im not a very good terrain maker so do you guys have any tips or tricks that i can use.

does anyone know where i might be able to get 1/43 scale vehicles in australia because i have seen a few on ebay but they go for somewhere between 15 and 20 aussie dollars. 

i know where to get miniatures from but i wanted to know what is the survivor to zombie ratio is so that i can purchase the correct amount, i have seen people say that you should have 120 zeds and other say that you should have upwards of 500.

i would like to know where i can get a few small things like jersey barries, dumpsters and all those other small things that would litter an urban zombie board.

Cheers Bubbles

[Sheerluck Holmes]

I purchased most of my vehicles on ebay for my games from the UK for cheaper than the price you mentioned... you just have to hunt for them.

Number of zombies needed can depend on the rules you are playing - I have about 40 or 50 and I need more. Around 100 should do the trick, but I said that about the number I have.

You can always join this forum for all of your zombie advice, help and ideas: http://boardofthelivinglead.proboards.com/index.cgi

And there are plenty of bloggers to borrow ideas from, including my own: http://zombiewargame.blogspot.com/

[snitcythedog]

I am currently working on the same project here in the US.  I am still researching my rules so I can give you a couple of suggestions.  
ATZ looks pretty good, but from what I can see it can get bogged down when you gets bunches of zeds on the board.  Your own house rules might be a good workaround.
Akula has his Total Ar:sed rules.  Quick simple, free, and will work with the great hordes of the undead.  
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roweller/ARSE/akulasrules.pdf
The rules for Please Stand By, I shelved pretty quick.  It is GW mechanics skirmish zombie play.  If you are into it then go for it.  It is force on force so do not expect to overwhelm the survivors with zeds.    
7ombie TV looks pretty good.  It is again force on force, but I think that you can monkey with the rules to keep the zeds coming.  
For vehicles, each toy manufactures identified scale is different so do not get hung up on what is listed on the package.  This will link help you.  
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=35847.0  The ruler was free, but you can do the same with a piece of paper.  Just mark a sheet of paper with the height of a 28mm fig, put it in your wallet, and when you see cars at the shop just measure to see if they look right.  I have about thirty that I have measured this way.  Most were $5.00 US.  
Zeds to survivor ratio:  I am on my second year working on this project and I have not stopped buying zeds.  Painted I am sat at at about 200 and I have another 100 or so to paint.  You can recycle them during play, but I like to make sure I can fill the streets if the scenario needs it.  
For the terrain board, and individual street litter, that is up to your budget and your abilities.  There are many manufactures for both buildings and other sundries.  If you have the ability you can make your own.  For me time is a factor.  I prefer to make five items like dumpsters, make molds and cast them to fill the board.  Again that is how I am doing it.  Others may not have the time, ability, budget, or pure anal retentiveness to do every object on the board.
Hope my ramblings helped in some way.
Snitchy sends.

[Cadet13]

Something else you could do for jersey barriers, signs and the like is to take a look around dollar stores (or the Aussie equivalent) for children's road construction playsets. These often come with vehicles (which may or may not be in scale) and lots of goodies like signs, barriers, traffic cones, etc. Here in the states they are relatively easy to find, as well as being pretty cheap too. I think Commander Vyper used something similar.

[manic _miner]

 For terrain pieces you can try Fenris Games.

 http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/geronimo_jones/m.html?hash=item23179f349c&item=150720165020&pt=UK_Toys_Wargames_RL&_trksid=p4340.l2562

 Antenocitis workshop also do some great terrain.

 http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/wargames-scenery-terrain.html

 Here are a few blog's which might come in usefull.

http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/

http://hobbitualoffenders.blogspot.com/

[Simlasa]

I wasn't a fan of paper terrain either until I saw some in action at a store.
It's a compromise but I think that... depending on what your priorities are... for the price, and the savings on time it's worth it to at least start with paper terrain... and then build from there once you get the game on the table. At the moment I'd rather focus on painting figures... so I've been collecting the excellent Graffam kits (mostly fantasy so far).

[manic _miner]

 Andrew at the local games club has done loads of paper terrain.Some great pieces are available.It has loads of advantages over resin stuff.Price,weight and storage too.For me I like resin for the extra detail.

[CptJake]

I got a lot of my dumpsters and extra type stuff from Black Cat:

http://blackcatbases.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=430_442&zenid=5a8d8ec04a35f1f939d2a77b7cce4e39

and Armorcast:  http://armorcast.com/

Jake

[Cherno]

You could use the Streets of Legends set from World Works Games for your general street and concrete layout, then just add pieces of foamcore cut to various sizes for buildings. If you use the optional building rules from ATZ, you dont need any interior detail anyway.

[zizi666]

If it's only roads you want, you'd better have a look at http://www.scalescenes.com/.
They look better than WWG.
Another great advantage of paper terrain is the weight (or rather, the abscence of it)
You can put a whole city in a large box and lift it without breaking your back 

[jeffteaches]

"...not a very good terrain maker..."

I highly recommend Matakishi's cork buildings! He gives easy-to-follow instructions with pictures, and cork is CHEAP!

http://www.matakishi.com/makingthings.htm

[Commander Vyper]

I think Commander Vyper used something similar.

No all my urban scenery, bar two recycling centres were from Ian at Fenris Games, Jed over at Antenocitis workshop & stuff from snapdragon and a few bits and pieces from Black cat.

The only 'toy' bits used were the wooden pallets, that were 1:50 from one of those diecast companies whose name escapes me.

What with worldworks and scalescenes also being mentioned by various people, (the combination of worldworks buildings and scalescenes roads being a little idea of mine ), you really should check out my zed thread. Also...

It's a compromise but I think that... depending on what your priorities are... for the price, and the savings on time it's worth it to at least start with paper terrain...

If you print at a high quality and build foamcore internal strutures to create long lasting buidlings then there's no compromise (or savings! ).

Again I won't post shots here unless asked, so if you need any pointers go and take a look at said zed thread!



The Commander

[Bubbles]

funnily enough i stumbled across matakis buildings last night and it seems like good terrain pieces that even i can do, i wouldn't necessarily say cork is cheap here but it is cheaper than many other terrain making materials.

i actually have read your thread post quite a few times commander Vyper and i think your boards pretty neat and i would definitely like to be able to create something like that one day.

im definitely going to be buying a few things from fenris games and amorcast as i think they have some really neat stuff that will go great with some of matakis building designs.

i am pretty sure im also going to go with akulas ar:se rules because they seem to be the most easy and fun to use but im definitely going to check out ATZ and many of the other zombie games out there.

ive had trouble finding some 1/43 scale vehicles so it looks like im going on an expedition to the city to go rummaging through the reject shop and have a wander over to the hobby supply store to see if i cant find some things to use on my board.

[Hat Guy]

In Oz, check out Toy stores for Die cast vehicles, some come with a scale printed on the box, there's plenty of 1:50 stuff.

[The Breaker]

If you live in Sydney you could try King Of Cork in Willoughby for your building cork.