I’ve squirreled away some time this past week to paint up most of my humans for Zona Alfa. The emphasis here was on speed–I wanted to get these done and ready to go so the kid and I can get started. Beyond them, I’ll need to put together some non-human enemies. I have zombies, mutants, and wildlife ready to go next.

The models are all interchangeable, really, but this first group was specifically meant to be a batch of security guards or military. I made their uniforms more consistent than the rest of the models, but as onesies twosies they could readily augment a bandit or stalker force.

This next batch here is intended to be bandit-coded. Again, they could also be stalkers–there’s honestly little difference. Stalkers tend to be former or active criminals, even setting aside that breaking into the zone is a crime in itself. I just finished a reread of Roadside Picnic and I’m sure any of these men would have fit right in. These are still pretty consistent with each other: I used the same color pallet but varied application across models. A little touch of red or blue here and there and they came out feeling reasonably distinct while painting up quickly.

This last batch is meant to be stalker player characters. The pointing model was my favorite, followed closely by the flamethrower. I still have a few more of these to paint but now that I look these boys over, I find myself considerably more motivated to do the rest.

The terrain in the background is also new, but not work-in-progress. I wanted to throw them together to feel out how much work they’ll be. I’m happy to realize, in retrospect, that they faded into the background for me pretty quickly. Some washes, metallics, and maybe a bit of overgrowth should bring it all together pretty fast.

That’s what makes this project so satisfying. It’s coming together quickly and augmenting my overall collection nicely. Those sidewalks will totally show up again elsewhere in other more modern settings. These mooks in general will likely play as criminals, guerrillas, or future scifi infantry in one setting or another. I look forward to finding more time to paint this weekend and hopefully transitioning to the monsters.

Do I mean the remaining stalkers or the zombies? I dunno–go read Roadside Picnic and ask yourself the same question.