Okay, zombie animals weren't exactly something that was on my bucket list, but when I found out that Twilight Creations had a new expansion to their popular Zombies!!! game, and that it had a ton of animal minis in six different poses, I had to check them out. Twilight Creations usually only has one pose per set, but when they have multiple poses and sell them cheap, they're worth a look. They look like this:
 |
| A hyena, tiger, lion, bear, gorilla, and chimpanzee. Spilling entrails and rotting flesh included! |
Hyena, tiger, lion (no mane)
Grizzly bear, gorilla, chimp
Apart from the large hyena—which could be adapted as a bear—, you can see that these figures are actually a pretty close match for 1/72 scale. That's actually great, because 1/72 scale wild animals are pretty hard to find. I figure a little bit of Milliput or even wood glue in the, um, exposed areas will suffice to make these look like normally vital megafauna. And if you happen to need a 1/72 scale zombie chimpanzee, you'll have plenty.
Comparisons with other animal figures:
 |
| Comparisons with a lion, wildcat, and monkey figure from Hat's Jungle Adventure set (formerly Airfix's Tarzan set). Not bad figures, but that lion looks absolutely tiny. The middle figure is actually pretty accurate as a lioness, though. |
 |
| Comparisons with a polar bear and gorilla Safari Ltd. Good Luck minis. Yep, that hyena will definitely work as a bear. |
The figures themselves are actually of a harder plastic than the usual rubbery Twilight Creations material, and are quite durable. I paid under $18 for the game, and with 90 minis included, that comes to under 20 cents a mini. Not bad if you need a ton of zombie animals or don't mind converting them into un-undead beasties.
I decided recently I need more 1/72nd animals, but I'm not sure that I'm happy with these guys from Twilight Creations. I did a little poking around and found some deer ( http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/miniature-plastic-reindeer-578500/ ) at a hobby lobby that are perfect for 1/72nd and super cheap, but I'm having trouble finding almost anything else. I did a Safari Ltd set that met all of my bear and carnivorous ape needs, but I'm in the market for canines.
ReplyDeleteI have those deer! It's amazing how well they work for 1/72, because none of their other dollhouse stuff is in the scale at all. I think they're supposed to represent lawn decorations or something like that. Six figures for under $1.50 is such a good deal that I wish more things from that line were useful to me.
DeleteFor dogs, check out the various civilian sets from Imex, or Pegasus' farm animals set. Plastic Soldier Review is worth consulting to see what they are like. Also, I believe the 18mm animals that Splintered Light sells are often a good fit for 1/72; they're meant as mounts so they are a little large for their designated scale. I haven't seen them myself, but it's what I've been able to gather.