The film 28 Days Later impacted the zombie genre like no movie since Romero’s seminal Night of the Living Dead by introducing the idea of “fast” ghouls who were basically homicidal rage and cannibalistic aggression incarnate. Where Romero’s zombies terrified with their implacability and endless numbers, Danny Boyle’s new creations could sprint across a street and pounce on a victim in a flash.

One of my goals in prepping for the second season of my zombie apocalypse game was to find models to represent this kind of “sprinter.” A little research turned up the “Rage Virus Zombies” pack from West Wind’s “Road Kill” range. Since this line had already provided me with the excellent Zombie Hunters and Police Officers I was eager to see some zombies from them.

The pack contains eight minis in five different poses. I was a bit disappointed by the three duplicated poses as I have a great love for uniqueness in my figs, but once they’re painted and on the tabletop this is really a minor issue.

The animation of the poses is very nice. They seem appropriately enraged and ready to spring into frenzied action at any moment. The teeth are perhaps a bit exaggerated, especially on the grimacing sculpts, but the effect is to make them look even creepier and more threatening so I’m inclined to call it artistic license.

Each mini is essentially a variation on the theme of a buff bare-chested man either screaming or baring his teeth in rage. The anatomy of the torsos especially is quite good. The muscles stand out starkly, but not to an absurd comic-book extent. I would assume the muscles are theoretically so prominent because the rage virus is supposed to be burning up all excess flesh on the victims. Even so, these guys must have been pretty ripped to begin with. They come off more like body builders than the gaunt, emaciated virus victims they’re modeled on.

Frankly, these minis remind me more of the pseudo-vampires that chase Will Smith in I am Legend, especially given that they are all mysteriously spear bald. I’m almost certain this is a coincidence, since I believe the sculpts predate Legend by several years.

Two of the figs are sculpted with what appears to be blood dripping from their hands, but in both cases the effect looks so odd that I assumed it was some sort of casting error or flash and clipped it all off before I realized what it was intended to be. I applaud the sculptor’s effort to add some gory drama to the minis, but the results are a bit subpar for my taste.

Finally, it would have been nice to have at least one female in the pack. Girls tend to be pretty badly underrepresented among zombie minis in general. I can’t decide if this means that women as disproportionately skilled at survival and thus less likely to be zombified or are extra tasty to the undead and thus tend to be fully consumed rather than rising as new zombies themselves. Whatever the reason, a female or two would have brought some much-needed variety to a pack of bald-headed guys in ripped chinos.

I didn’t mean to dwell on the negatives quite so much. I really like these minis quite a lot. It says something important that everybody who sees them recognizes just what zombie type they’re intended to be, which is why I bought them in the first place. Quibbles aside, they’re by far the best choice I’ve found on the market for “sprinter” zombies, and I’m very happy with them.

Pros: Good Value, Nicely animated poses

Cons: “Bloody” hands look odd, some duplicate sculpts

Final Verdict: 3/5

Source: Purchased from Old Glory 25s

MSRP: $15

Popularity: 14% [?]

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: Modern Zombies by Mega Miniatures A bit of history this week as we review the...
4. Review: Urban Zombies by Reaper Miniatures Reaper's Chronoscope line has everything else, why not some zeds?...
5. Review: Zombies by Two Guys Games Not all struggles against the undead are confined to the...