Review: Bubba, King of the Zombie Hunters by Hasslefree
In case of zombie attack, Bubba is your "Good Luck Charm"
Okay, I admit that the folks at Hasslefree don’t actually call him the “King of the Zombie Hunters.” But when confronted with a chubby Elvis impersonator (at least one assumes he’s an impersonator) armed with a .357 and a guitar it takes a better man than I to resist the temptation to pun. I hope you can forgive me. Thank you, thank you very much…
Okay, I’ll stop now. Kidding aside, while I was originally attracted to this mini by the sheer craziness of a zombie-hunting Elvis, I was soon blown away by the incredible attention to detail that is the trademark of Hasslefree’s ace sculptor Kev White. It’s pretty much a given that with one of Kev’s figs you won’t be dealing with any weird anatomy issues like bulging heads or tiny legs. I don’t know why the human form is so difficult to model properly, but for whatever reason one seems to see more oddly mutated figures than “normally” proportioned ones.
The “King” is nattily attired in a lovingly-detailed bejeweled jumpsuit of the sort that became a trademark during the bizarre later phase of Elvis’ career. The whole chest (stretched tight over a period-correct paunch) is taken up by a gloriously odd smiley-faced sun design that really captures the wretched excess that defined the look of the era. Throw in a huge ornate belt, some bangles down each leg and some huge bellbottoms and you have a pitch-perfect encapsulation of the “Vegas” King.
Suspicious Minds
The amazing detail extends to the head and face as well. From the slight bulge of a neck wattle to the swoop of his trademark pompadour and vast sideburns, Bubba is the very image of the King. Even the famous sneer is perfectly captured.
Just about my only complaint about Bubba is the positioning of his gun hand. The weapon is sort of flopped out away from his body in a strange and unnaturally limp-wristed pose. It doesn’t seem to fit with the way he’s holding the rest of his body, and it doesn’t seem to be caught in mid-motion or anything. It just looks odd to me. If I were a better hand at conversions it would be childsplay to reposition the lower arm and hand just a few degrees, but since I’m pretty ham-handed with that kind of thing I decided to just deal with it since it really is a minor issue.
It's now or never, zombies!
One tiny quibble aside, I flat-out love this fig. He’s so incredibly characterful that any gaming group will be hard-pressed to resist doing Elvis shtick the minute he hits the tabletop. Whenever anybody sees my collection of zombie hunters for the first time, Bubba is inevitably the one they pick up first. Add in the incredible attention to detail in both anatomy and clothing and you have a solid winner that belongs in any zombie junkie’s collection.
Pros: Great anatomy, Amazing attention to clothing detail, It’s a zombie-fighting Elvis!
Cons: Odd gun positioning
Final Verdict: 5/5
MSRP: 4 GBP
Source: Hasslefree in the UK, also available in the USA through Armorcast
Popularity: 13% [?]
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I think this mini is a reference to the movie Bubba Ho-Tep starring Bruce Campbell from the famed Evil Dead Trilogy. If you haven’t seen it and are a fan of B-rated horror movies or just a Bruce Campbell fan, I strongly suggest you check it out. It’ll bring a whole new dimension to the character. It’s for that reason that Bubba will become a mandatory part of my zombie hunting army.
I think its a pretty awesome mini, and definitely plan on picking it up. The position of the wrist does remind me of the way some people close a freshly loaded revolver, flicking the wrist to the side to slam the cylinder closed in Humphrey Bogart fashion. While very bad gun etiquette it does make him look “cool”.