I recently ran a rather successful short RPG campaign based on the published adventure “Zombie Run” for Pinnacle’s Savage Worlds system, and it really got me in a zombie frame of mind. I began trolling the Net for zombies and zombie hunters, and one of my first finds was the “Zombie Hunters” pack from West Wind.

The hunters are part of the Road Kill range, produced in support of the company’s tabletop skirmish game of post-apocalyptic combat, which evidently involves a rather bizarre genre mashup, judging from the fact that it includes vampire and werewolf bikers and motorcycle-riding combat nuns.

The blister pack contains four hunters, three male and one female, armed with an eclectic selection of weapons. The poses are nice and dynamic, especially the buff guy with the baseball bat who really seems to be caught in mid-swing, about to bash in some zombie’s skull.

The figures do a good job of fitting into the pack’s theme. They seem like ordinary people caught up in the early stages of a zombie rising, who have armed themselves as best they can and are now just trying to stay alive. That kind of “normal person in crisis” vibe is very important to the atmosphere of a zombie game, and I haven’t seen very many minis that capture it this well.

Individuals

First up to the plate is a heavily muscled dude swinging a bat with authority. Dressed in baggy jeans and a wifebeater tee shirt, he looks to be an inner city street tough. A pair of pistols jammed into his pants could come in handy for taking down zombies outside bat range.

Detail is really quite good, with nice attention to the anatomy of his muscular torso and arms and good sculpting of his tee shirt and jeans. Even the handgrips of the pistols in his waistband are properly checkered. Add a fine, fierce expression on his face and you’ve got perhaps the best mini in the pack.

Next comes a figure with the most idiosyncratic weapon choice of the lot. He has decided to rely on his trusty golf club (it appears to be an iron) to beat off the zombie hordes. He has his golf bag slung across his back, but it seems to be empty, suggesting that perhaps he’s down to his last club. He’s dressed casually in chinos and a button-down sport shirt, ready to finish up the back nine once this zombie nonsense is dealt with.

This fig gets a lot of points for having an utterly unique weapon. I have a hundred minis in my collection wielding pistols or shotguns, and even a quite a few with chainsaws, but this is the first golf club. It’s just the kind of improvised weapon that is a staple of the zombie genre. I only wish that there were more clubs sticking out of his bag. I assume that it was too hard to mould that kind of detail without making it a separate piece or something, but it still seems like a lost opportunity to me.

Now we come to perhaps the weakest figure in the pack, a young woman caught by the zombie attack during her yoga class, judging from her outfit of workout bra and sweat pants. She seems to be adjusting to the crisis fairly well, as she has managed to acquire a pistol and a large butcher knife for protection/.

I love the theming of this mini. Right down to her bare feet, she really seems like a hunted, desperate person on the run. The pose is excellent, coolly aiming her pistol in the classic duelist stance. She really reminds me of the nurse protagonist in the recent remake of Dawn of the Dead, who spends the first reel of the movie barefoot and in her bloodstained PJs thanks to the sudden onset of the zombie crisis.

Unfortunately, her face is somewhat malformed, with tiny, uneven eyes and an odd, pouty expression. The problem continues down to her neck, where the sculptor obviously intended to give her some kind of necklace, but the detail is just too sketchy to make it out clearly. Unfortunately, there is rather too much of the necklace visible to just paint it all flesh-colored and forget about it. The blurry detail continues on her athletic top, where it’s difficult to detect exactly where the shoulder straps end and her bare flesh begins. The problem is compounded by the mini’s odd, almost pointed shoulder joints that look quite unnatural. Overall, this was very disappointing given the overall high quality of the rest of the figs.

Finally, there is a heavily-armed man packing a pistol and a double-barreled shotgun. He is dressed rather oddly, sporting a neat pair of slacks and dress shoes below the waist, and not a stitch of clothes above the belt. Maybe he wants to show off his massive physique.

Like the man with the bat, there is impressive anatomical detail here, especially in the chest and the tendons of the neck. Unfortunately, he sported some serious mould lines and heavy flash, which was difficult to completely remove and ends up detracting a bit from the appearance of the right arm.

The mini’s pose is very good. He seems to handle his weapons with confidence, with maybe a little bit of a sneer on his face. He’s very much the cocky alpha male lead in a zombie picture. Maybe he’s a survivalist or gun nut who has finally found his niche in the Zombie Apocalypse. I can really see there being a struggle at the table over who gets to use this fig at my next zombie game.

Final Thoughts

These were the first minis I’d seen from West Wind, and I must say that I’m fairly impressed. At an MSRP of $9 for four figures (with slottabases), the pack offers good value for the money. Artistically, two strong minis, one good one, and a mediocre one is well above average for this price point. Despite a few problems with flash and mould lines, the overall strong details and dynamic poses make these hunters easy to strongly recommend. I look forward to checking out more of the Road Kill line, especially the beat cops.

Pros: Good Overall Detail, Dynamic Poses, Good Theming, Decent Value

Cons: Significant Flash and Mould Lines, Some Weak Details on Woman Mini

Final Verdict: 4/5

Source: Purchased from Old Glory 25s

MSRP: $9

Popularity: 21% [?]

Related posts:

1. Review: Rednecks by West Wind Yeehaw! When trouble breaks out in the countryside, you can...
2. Review: Human Biker Gang by West Wind Get your motor running and get out on the highway...
3. Review: Bubba, King of the Zombie Hunters by Hasslefree We take a look at the "King" of Hasslefree's excellent...
4. Review: Cyber-Zombie Jotun by Hasslefree Here comes the baddest zombie on the block. Hasslefree has...
5. Review: Zombie Horde by ZombieSmith We've reviewed a lot of undead lead from the UK....