Summertime in the zone

Just a few pictures from last week. I posted these over at Men With Dolls and figured I'd share them here now that I am a member and part of Team AMMO. These are some quick bashes based loosely on the PC game franchise S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Love that first pic, of the masked figure in what I assume is radioactive fallout or chemically toxic rain.

Third pic is good, too, with an excellent sense of action as the figure charges in to the undergrowth.

Great photos

Fantastic bashes Sarah! That lasy pic is amazing, especially the skyline behind the figures!

OMG I’m really really loving these outside pictures Sarah. I’m a huge fan on seeing figure outside pictures. Thank you very much for sharing these pictures with us Sarah.

Loving the pics

Great kit bashes and posing

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

SCU_HQ, I don't recall there being toxic rain in the games but I know someome touched on it in a fanfiction. I like the idea of that, very creepy not knowing if the rain will be a blessing or a curse.

Thanks Rustygun!

Thanks BAM, Yeah that picture is beautiful. It was the perfect shot. About an hour after the storm.

Professor Gangreen Fan, thanks! Yeah I love outdoor shots too. Sadly we get terrible winters here so the time to go outside is limited. Unless you want the figures in a frozen winter wasteland haha.

Thanks Rogue-Trooper.

I think there will be more to come!

YAY. there will be more to come! Very much looking forward to seeing more outside pictures.

Stunning set of pics Sarah, fantastic work!

I had the same thought about radioactive contamination, could almost be from Fear The Walking Dead Season 5 which was based near a faulty defunct nuclear power reactor/station.

Looking forward to seeing more of your work

It could certainly be like those scenes in Fear The Walking Dead.

I'll show some concept art from the games.

very cool images

Fantastic art work, love the survivors - end of the world scenario type bashes.

The interesting part about S.T.A.L.K.E.R., it's like an apocalypse, but it is isolated to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. I typed this up to bring you guys up to speed on the lore based on the actual games and various community input over the years.
The first game “Shadow of Chernobyl” was released in 2007, it is set in 2012. It's based after a fictional, second explosion at the reactor in 2006. This explosion causes strange physical anomalies that bend the laws of science, which eventually spawn valuable artifacts that have different properties, and of course dangerous mutants (animal and human).
S.TA.L.K.E.R.’s flock to the zone, some to make it rich, some to escape their past life. S.TA.L.K.E.R. stands for: Scavenger. Trespasser. Adventurer. Loner. Killer. Explorer. Robber.
"The Zone" is home to various factions.
"Free stalkers" or "loners" are just that. They don't really belong to a faction. Are generally rookies, or those with no affiliation to a group.
The Military guard the zone, from the outside, and vice versa, and police it within, trying to keep it contained and controlled. They're hostile to all but the Ecologists. I believe they're the Ukrainian Army. As the old games are based in 2011 and 2012, I would like to imagine that since then some kind of multi-national task force is formed to guard the zone.
Another faction that is like the Military in their discipline is Duty. They see it as their "duty" to prevent the zone from spreading beyond its borders. Occasionally you will see them fighting the Military, but I think this was a bug in the game, as their goals are similar.
Freedom, fight Duty. They want the zone to be a free place. They have the hippy, laid back attitude. They like to party, however they protect the border in the north from the faction called, Monolith.
Monolith are basically the fanatics of the zone. Whether they're poisoned by radiation or their brains are scrambled by the strange signals coming from the center of the zone, who knows? They guard the center of the zone protecting the fabled "wish granter" from other stalkers. Crazy and scary sums them up.
The other baddies of the Zone are Bandits, or the lower form "Renegades". Petty criminals to bigger crime lords. These guys are the criminal world of the zone. They make up the robber and killer part. Along with some other choice labels. Basically scumbags out to prey on the weak and hurt people.
Another group that can be nasty, the Mercenaries, the guys in blue. Often use modern looking NATO guns. They are shadowy and work for the highest bidder. So they can turn on you in a second.
Ecologists are neutral to all. They are simply scientific teams sent to study the zone. Whether government or private it is not said. But they want to learn the zone.
Like Duty is to Military, is, or was, Clear Sky are like ecologists. However they’re a mostly forgotten faction. I can't really recall their goal.

Fascinating.
I've been working up a bit of a storyboard, Which suddenly sounds incredibly simplistic.

Great indepth background info Sarah. As I've said before, I'm a big fan of this type of scenario.

I've always loved the apocalyptic or invasion scenario with different groups all fighting for their own survival. I think it all started with War of the Worlds, read it so many times. When you read it you realise that the Martians aren't actually in that much of the story although they are extremely impressive and destructive when they do make their appearance.
The bulk of the story is the Narrator and his determination to find his family amongst all the chaos, just trying to survive.

28 Days Later and Walking Dead are also two of my favourite films/shows. Again with Walking Dead, the Zombies aren't really in it that much. The series is focused on the characters and their stories and the groups fight for survival.

I've been thinking for a while about my own story along the lines of a chemical or disease outbreak from a government lab which starts infecting the population, I would have a group that is responsible for the protection of two government scientists that need to be transported to a secret location in the hope of creating a cure or vaccine.

That sounds like a really cool idea Rich! That could make a great comic strip, that I would love to part of to help you put it all together (if needed of course ). Now where could you get some undead zombies?? or maybe crazed infected people!

Tasman, don't let this discourgw you. This is my work, but instead three games that have had over ten years of community input! I'm just being a copycat.

Beatlefan, that sounds really cool. War of the Worlds, 28 Days Later and Walking Dead are all great sources of inspiration.

Would your group be on foot? Or in a vehicle?

BAM, maybe we could as a group work on a story and hold a group kitbash for fun, like the onesoxthwarriors group did back in the day.

RealSarahdactyl wrote:

BAM, maybe we could as a group work on a story and hold a group kitbash for fun, like the onesoxthwarriors group did back in the day.

On the no-longer-active Pinky-Street forum there was a project called the Ever-Evolving Photo-Story Game. It was a "group story" that was very goofy and usually did not make sense, but it was funny. Members could post an installment on a first-come basis, roughly building off the previous posts, kinda like the "conversation" a couple of the guys were posting here last week with their figures doing the talking. It was a lot of fun!

RealSarahdactyl wrote:

Tasman, don't let this discourgw you. This is my work, but instead three games that have had over ten years of community input! I'm just being a copycat.

Beatlefan, that sounds really cool. War of the Worlds, 28 Days Later and Walking Dead are all great sources of inspiration.

Would your group be on foot? Or in a vehicle?

BAM, maybe we could as a group work on a story and hold a group kitbash for fun, like the onesoxthwarriors group did back in the day.

I would like to get a suitable vehicle to go with the story, maybe a small group on foot as well who go scouting for supplies and meet up with the rest of the team at certain locations.

Blondeactionman wrote:

That sounds like a really cool idea Rich! That could make a great comic strip, that I would love to part of to help you put it all together (if needed of course ). Now where could you get some undead zombies?? or maybe crazed infected people!

Some Zombies would be great for target practice!

Beatlefan, they're not cheap these days. But the Hasbro GI Joe Humvee springs to mind. Not as crazy as those Taowan vehicles, but a big 4x4 beast!

I really like "team vehicles" in 1/6.

I've got a Power Team Humvee. Not the biggest or most detailed one, and it's missing a mirror. But I plan to tidy it up eventually.

Yeah the Taowan is incredible, but so is the price! I've looked at a couple of those.

A Humvee is the sort of thing I was thinking of, I'll have a look and see whats about. It's usually the shipping that kills it though!

Thanks Sarah

Beatlefan wrote:

Blondeactionman wrote:

That sounds like a really cool idea Rich! That could make a great comic strip, that I would love to part of to help you put it all together (if needed of course ). Now where could you get some undead zombies?? or maybe crazed infected people!

Some Zombies would be great for target practice!  

Uh oh , One of My $1 market stall Barbies could be destined for some truly awful horror.

Dremel ?...Blowtorch ? ...Paint ?...Dremel THEN Blowtorch ?

ZomBarbie would make an interesting change from Punk and Goth Barbie ( I have far too many of those ! ).

TasMan wrote:

Uh oh , One of My $1 market stall Barbies could be destined for some truly awful horror.

Did I ever tell you guys the terrible tale of Swamp Barbie? I actually found her in an overgrown drainage ditch:

looks like a sea hag or a Bayou babe