Good evening folks.
IRO here your friendly, weirdy-beardy (well stubble) from down under? How’s it crackin?
The other day our good old hobby god Alex from Lead Balloony put up his FEMBRUARY challenge. See here –
More Scumbos, and the Fembruary Challenge!
I didn’t realise that this was going to be an annual event but I’m glad it is. I don’t take part in many challenges but this one I get stuck in to. Here’s what I offered up last year –
https://imperialrebelork.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/a-special-kind-of-fembruary/
I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge last year because it got me searching and thinking outside the square a bit.
This year I just so happened to have a few female minis that came to mind straight away. I also had today alllllllllll to myself, a rare thing indeed, so got to work on my FEMBRUARY submission.
As Alex explained on his page he will be collating all the entries and putting up a post to coincide and celebrate international woman’s day. So that, combined with the challenge, made me start thinking about the ladies in my life. Last year I talked about my Mum but this year I thought I’d dedicate this post and my entry to my three beautiful daughters.
The eldest (15) is a real daddy’s girl and always will be. She clings to my every word. She values my thoughts and opinions more than anyone else’s and she’s constantly trying to impress me. What she doesn’t realise is, is that I was impressed from the day she was born and I always will be. When she first opened her eyes she looked straight into mine and I had tears streaming down my cheeks. From that day onwards I knew my life would be better forever!
The middle one (11) came along five years later and had the umbilical cord around her neck. Scary stuff. We sorted that out though and she’s been non-stop ever since. This kid could bottle her energy and sell it to third world countries. She’s a bit like me when it comes to hobbies and doesn’t like to be idle for too long. She’s wild and nuts like me too but, funnily enough, it’s her I have deep and meaningful chats with. We’ve even shared a few quiet tears together when we lost a friend a couple of years ago.
The younger one (5) is an angel. She’s a mummy’s girl that’s why hehe. She is sensitive but not a sook. She’s not fussy when it comes to food. She is super organised, again like her mum, and even makes her bed, tidys her room and pours herself milk all on her own hehe. Like her big sisters she is beautiful but also the polar opposite. The big girls have dark hair and dark eyes. The youngen has blonde ringlets and big blue eyes.
So, as you can tell, I have great girls so what better way to celebrate that fact than doing a zombie apocalypse diorama haha. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE YOUTUbE MOVIE AT THE END because both me and my eldest daughter along with one of my best mates did the some of the voices hehe 👍🏼
I call this piece…
“BRING IT ON” and yes it is a bit of a piss take of the cheerleader movie of the same name.
Rosie (eldest and not my actual daughters name)
Blue (middle and not my actual daughters name)
Belle (youngest and not actually my daughters name)
Some thoughts and insights into the diorama…
Firstly and most importantly I thoroughly enjoyed putting it together. I bloody love zombies and secretly hope there will be a zombie apocalypse because it will be my time to shine haha. I have a zombie killing machete and everything!
I had the car from my German Ork (WIP) collection but was never 100% happy with the scale. It’s a little big here too but works ok because the miniatures are all kids. They’re from Hasslefree if you’re interested.
Im a big fan of Dawn of the dead (2004) and in that movie they write “HELP” on the roof of the shopping centre (Mall) they’re hold up in. So I paid homage by adding some help signs to the car.
Like any good zombie movie there’s lots of blood but I didn’t want to go tooooo crazy. Wudugast taught me years ago that less is more when it comes to blood spatters and, of course, I had to include a bloody handprint hehe.
My first idea was going to have the three girls cornered in an alleyway with brick walls and graffiti etc but then I remembered the car and thought hell yes! That lead me to making the base into a road. It took me a while to find the right position for the car and then I decided to have it literally hanging off one edge.
This project is the first time I’ve used “flowers”. I added them, along with the shrubs, to try and convey the passing of time. In my mind, the apocalypse is, at least, in its third or fourth year. The survivors have accepted reality but still venture out of safety in search of food. The chicks on the roof are young but they are veterans when it comes to killing Z’s.
It was fun coming up with placement for the zombies and when I added the one coming up through the back broken window of the VW I think a little bit of wee came out I was so excited haha.
I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else submits.
If you like zombie movie why not check this one out –
Cheers
IRO
That is superb mate – a fine tribute. So much so that they should call you Imperial Rebel Dork anymore.
L4D2 was a great game- played loads of it.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Hehe cheers mate. I preferred black ops zombies with the mates. We got to some crazy levels with like a whole train on zombies following us hahaha
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Never played Black Ops at all Zombies or otherwise. Did you play Dying Light or Dead Island? Lots of Zombies but more closde quarters fighting….
Cheers,
Pete.
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No but it sounds like my cup of tea. I like up close and personal. A friend of mine prefers to be a sniper or shoot missiles but I like to be in the thick of it. Same when it comes to paint balling.
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I like close in too. Shotguns ideally. If I go ranged I like a machine gun rather than sniper rifle.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Ditto man haha. Let there be blood
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You’re up late mate
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Sleep patterns are messed up at the moments. They should sort themselves out soon enough.
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Why’s that man? I don’t sleep wel generally. My brain never stops
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Sometimes happens. I’m normally a very heavy sleeper but occasionally I don’t feel tired enough to sleep. Got used to it over the years
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Omg I love this post! ❤ It was so sweet and also full of zombies so it was perfection all the way around in my opinion! 😛
I really do love everything about this piece but my favorite part is definitely little Belle with the chainsaw. This is just so damn awesome. Nicely done!
(And I also still absolutely adore last year's FEMbruary piece, of course!) 😀
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Aww thanks Miss Moth. I hoped you’d like it as I know you’re a zombie fan. It was lots of fun to do and I finished all in, roughly, a day so not bad.
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I think Blue is my favourite.
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Five years between each of your kids, nice to know you’re regular, another one due I calculate! Love that you are so proud of them all, nicely written from the heart. As for the diorama, love it. I think this one is one of your very best. I like the car and the trashed look, the zombies of course but the composition overall. It tells a story and that’s what a good diorama should do. To top it off you painted it all!
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Ummm well noooo. As much as I love my kids and everyone asks “don’t you wanna boy?” Haha I always say we’d probably have another girl, we are done with children. I’m glad you like what I’ve done. I almost look for your approval when it comes to dioramas because you’re the king of them. I like story telling so adding that element to a piece is just a natural thing. The flowers and shrubs don’t look as nice as I hoped but overall I’m happy with the dio.
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You should be happy mate because it really is a very good one in my opinion. Trust me, if it was shit I’d say so but it isn’t. The down side of course is that you’ve now set a standard by which all future stuff will be measured! 😉
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Haha… gulp
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I was going to say, “I love everything about this” but Ignited Moth stole my words AND thunder!
So I’ll have to go with….It’s fucking awesome!
I’m in the midst of trying to convince myself that I have what it takes to write a book and it’s zombie related. Every time I sit down to try I get super nervous and end up scrolling blogs…..
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I hoped you’d like it too! I can understand your dilemma but just write. Even if you think it’s crap get someone you trust, someone honest, to read it and tell you what they think. Put it this way, you don’t want to be at an age where you can’t type anymore and have regrets that you didn’t write. So make yourself a coffee, put on some unicorn heavy metal and get writing!!! FYI I’d read anything you wrote but if it’s zombies I’d read it, read it again then promote it on my blog and insta page for you and then read it again. Will there be pictures? I’m not sure if you’re a drawer but if you’re not get Miss Moth involved. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
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Ahaha, that IS true. Once the arthritis sets in, I definitely won’t get anything done. 😛 I’ve got to get myself some ear buds but I did finally kick down that first wall and started writing something. I already emailed Ms Moth to get her opinion on something and she promptly called me to discuss it. 😛 If I get to the point where I think could use another beta reader you’re at the top of the list!
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Oh cool. It’d be an honour and a privilege
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That’s a cracker; I knew it was worth teaching my girls how to use a chainsaw 😉
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Haha I should do the same
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Fabulous read from start to finish and a great idea, as usual.
Not sure I’d let me daughter near a chainsaw, even if we were surrounded by zombies. She’s still not that great with cutlery – eats whenever she can like a famished cave dweller with her bare hands- and she’s twelve!
I like the flowers in you scene very much. I’ve used flowers myself most recently in an Ottoman artillery scene. I think that contrast between industrial levels of violence and delicate nature makes for a more poignant scene.
The car is brilliant too, love the rust and signs of decay. Great start to FEMbruary! 🙂
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Thanks a bunch Marvin. I agree on the contrast of flowers Vs violence. Beautifully horrific haha. Any luck on those Wrens, as far as tracking down where they’re from?
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Yes! is my emphatic (and slightly embarrassed) reply. I’ll be posting on them shortly because where they’re from is particularly surprising…
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Haha cool 👍🏼 My guess is Saint Helena
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Not St. Helena – much closer than that!
https://suburbanmilitarism.wordpress.com/2019/02/03/fembruary-a-la-mode/
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Just read it my friend. Fascinating!!
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That is ace mate! You really do knock these challenges out of the park each year, I’m already curious to see what you do in 2020 (a tribute to your wife presumably to complete the trilogy?). Good to hear that you heed my advice occasionally as well! Blue needs to concentrate though, there’s a zombie to be dealt with there and she’s busy posing whilst Belle does all the work! 🙂
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Hehe cheers man and yes you nailed it, next year will be dedicated to the wife. It was sound advice and your voice (all I hear is billy Connolly’s voice) speaks to me every time I open the blood for the blood god pot hehe. See I seem to think that Blue is so confident that she will wait til the last second and then unleash hell.
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This is brilliant! Reminds me of a really cool t-shirt design: https://www.threadless.com/product/2059/the_horde/tab,guys/style,shirt
Great execution on the diorama, mate!
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Haha that’s a cool T. Thanks Mikko I’m glad you dig it
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Brilliant mate love the beetle ,had one as my first car ,top speed 58mph ,not one mile more ,I would have been surprised if a bloke of your calibre didn’t have a great relationship with the girls! I’m sure there is a lot of fun around your household !! .
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Haha well at least it looked cool mate. We have a ball. They’re all just as nutty as me and the wife hehe. Never a dull moment
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That’s awesome dude, I love it!
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Thanks mate. I’m rather fond of it too 😊
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Wow, just when I thought I’d seen everything cool from you, you hit reset on the standards that we’ve come to expect from you. The beetle alone is cool and so well done, especially the handprint and the “help” signs. The zombies look exceptionally putrefied, also well done. And the living ladies are surviving with a sense of confidence. Put them all together, and the sum is far greater than the value of the individual pieces. Truly tells a story, and you should be proud. Methinks that your love for your daughters brought your game to new heights here.
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Hehe cheers man. I like pushing myself for this particular challenge. I’m glad you saw the handprint as I was really pleased with it. It’s just right to my eye. Will you be submitting something? Maybe a female space duck commander?! Hehe
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I might, but still have tanks to do!
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Great work on this one. It’s a really nice piece. 🙂
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Thanks Az. I hope you’re well
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Wow, that is amazing! You and TIM could really have a competition for ‘coolest dioramas’ in this part of the blogosphere. Blue looks a bit nonchalant considering the zombie hordes coming in, at least when compared to the energetic pose of Belle.
Terrific work, you should be very proud.
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Thank you very much. Blue is based on my 11 year old daughter and she is very cool hehe. I’m glad you like it.
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