Zombie of the Month: September 2015- Zombie Mime by Hasselfree Miniatures

March 22 has officially been deemed World Mime Day, in honor of legendary French mime artist Marcel Marceau. Of course, over here in zombie corner we prefer to celebrate someone's death day. Besides, what could be more appropriate for a mime than to celebrate his death? It is the ultimate expression of silence, after all. And so, in honor of the anniversary of Marcel Marceau's death on September 22, 2007, I bring you:

The Zombie of the Month- September 2015- Zombie Mime by Hasselfree Miniatures.

   What’s so great about this zombie that he gets a whole month all to himself? Because, quite frankly, if you can't get a whole month's worth of entertainment out of a zombie mime, you're just not having enough fun with your zombie horde. The zombie mime is the ultimate zombie predator. Why? Because you never hear them coming. Think about it. You usually get some kind of warning- the typical zombie moan, the awkward shuffling of malformed feet. But the zombie mime retains his mime-performance instincts even in undeath. He is silent. He does not moan. He does not shuffle or trip. He moves with the grace and strength of someone who does not even need a real chair to be able to sit, even if he wanted to, which he doesn't have to now that he's a zombie. Your only prayer of escaping this ghastly menace is the hope that he will suddenly crash into an invisible wall while chasing you, thus giving you a head start.

   See, I told you a zombie mime was a ton of fun. I wish there were a whole set of them. I would buy them. And stat them as elite zombies with incredible camouflage and blind spot rules to adjust for their silent approach. As it is, I will probably pick up a second of these guys to convert with a floppy, pom-pom adorned top hat and paint him to look like Bip the Clown, Mr. Marceau's famous mime character. I didn't go with that for this one because the hat didn't match, and with his pose, with that paint scheme, you'd barely recognize him as a mime.



The Basics:

Scale- It looks like he's on the short end of 28 mm, since his total height is only 29mm.

Genre- Although various forms of mime and pantomime are nearly as old as human civilization, the modern French variation most people think of as mimes, the silent figure with a white face, was developed in the early 19th century, which means you can use them in anything from roughly the Victorian era to the modern day. Yeah, this guy is so showing up in Malifaux at some point.

Material- Metal- so don't drop him, or you'll totally ruin his routine when he clanks on the floor.

Parts ‘N’ Bits- Really? You're looking for extra bits with your zombie mime? Yeah, they're there, you just can't see them ::rolls eyes::

Assembly- No assembly required.

Bases- 30mm lipped slotted base included.


Ratings:

Sculpt- 3 brains out of 5- There's nothing terribly wrong with the sculpt, but it's not great, either. But really, people are only going to be looking at how well you paint the horizontal black and white stripes, anyway, so this one's on you as to whether it looks good.


Affordability- 2 brains out of 5- I've seen this mini go for as much as $10, but it shouldn't take much work to find it around $7. Still pricey for a single model, but sometimes the rare gem is worth it. If you're still hedging, see if you can tack it on to a bigger order so you won't feel the impact of the shipping charges.


Value- 5 brains out of 5- If a zombie mime is not an absolute must for your zombie horde, I feel sorry for you. Life clearly just does not hold enough magic for you.



Availability- 4 brains out of 5- Hasselfree Miniatures is a big company with a lot of distributors, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding one.


Pros: They call high blood pressure the Silent Killer. I say it's this guy. For a mere $7 plus shipping you get to add one of the most terrifying zombies in all the apocalypse to your zombie horde, and good in multiple genres to boot. Who doesn't want that?

Cons: There's only one sculpt out there, so you can't have a squad of zombie mimes. Pitty.




Rest in Peace and Quiet, Mr. Marceau.