Undead

Back in April, there was an article in USA Today about how zombies are becoming the most popular type of undead in books and movies. Zombies are certainly the most popular type of undead in miniature wargaming nowadays, but the motif has probably been popular since even before Bruegel the Elder.


I'm not really up to speed on the latest zombie miniatures, but I imagine that the vast majority of these shambling hordes are either WWII or modern zombies. In the fantasy genre, I've found ghouls and zombies from Splintered Light Miniatures. The first two figures below, are from the Ghouls set (UNDE14), the next three figures are from the Zombies with Mixed Weapons set (UNDE18), and the final three figures are from the Zombies with Spears set (UNDE20). These are all true 15mm miniatures, and even the largest of them would need some modification to work as 1/72 zombies. The sculpts are solid, but not particularly detailed, outside of some rotting flesh and spilled entrails. I found the eyes particularly creepy, and the miniatures would probably look eerie painted up with bleached out zombie eyes.



Putting zombies aside, the true staple undead of the fantasy genre is the skeleton. I'm sure that many old school gamers were influenced by Ray Harryhausen's skeleton warriors in Jason and the Argonauts and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.


This set of images below, is of three Skeleton Goatmen (UNDE09), followed by two human skeletons from the Skeletal War Mammoth set (UNDE21). Again, these figures from Splintered Light Miniatures are true 15mm miniatures. While the human skeletons are definitely too small for use as 1/72 skeletons, I think the goatman skeletons would be fine. I really like the look of the entire line of skeletons produced by Splintered Light Miniatures, and only wish that they were larger so I can add them to my undead army.



The next batch of skeletons are the Undead Melee Troops (FO35) from Black Raven Foundry. These figures range in height from 15mm to 20mm, and are much more robust than the SLM skeletons. They come in a nice range of poses, and are good candidates for conversion to 1/72 scale.



Also included with the Undead Melee Troops are three command figures. The BRF skeletons are all very unstable because of their narrow bases, but this should not be a big deal if you base your miniatures.