If there is one staple to any good zombie movie it’s the concept of the zombie horde.  Unless it’s a zombie tidal wave.  A survivor might be able to outrun a single slow-moving undead but when that shambler has 20 - 30 buddies, survival is no longer guaranteed.  It is if it's Tyrion.  Oh wait, wrong franchise and theme...  From the classic original Night of the Living Dead to the surprisingly popular Walking Dead series on AMC, a mass of the undead has proven to be daunting obstacle to any group of the still-living.  Mindless, unrelenting, and, in some cases, hungry-- the zombie horde is less of a foe and more of a force of nature, presenting an obstacle that one must survive but cannot defeat.  The GIJCC recognized this when crafting their Zombie Initiative convention exclusives and took it one step further-- producing zombie troop builders that allowed convention attendees to build a horde of their very own. 

In terms of construction, the zombie Steel Brigade figures couldn’t be easier to produce.  The body construction, save for the forearms, is entirely from the first version of the 30th Anniversary Steel Brigade figure. Some folks out there might start crying “Cheap!” but personally this move makes a lot of sense.  Unlike the Zombie Vipers, it’s readily apparent who these troops were prior to infection.  The fact that they blend almost seamlessly in with the regular Steel Brigade figures just makes them all the more appealing.  Indeed!  While yes it was cheap, it was a good move to maintain consistency. Nothing sucks more than having a trooper not mesh with his squaddies when he’s supposed to.  Star Wars Sand Trooper figures anyone?   In fact, the zombie Steel Brigade troopers work very well as a “second generation” of infected-- perhaps victims of the Compound Z that was spread by the weaponized Zombie Vipers whose arms they share.  In fact I’m glad that the Club opted to use these arms instead of just slapping on the Zombie Viper feet.  The contorted hands only barely hold the included rifles which only further serves to emphasize the utter wrongness of these poor souls who are now among the walking dead.

This zombie is an exact representation of the standard retail Steel Brigade Trooper right down to the small details like the webgear deco and darker blue underarm patches.  The Club could have skimped out by avoiding some of this detail, but thankfully they didn't.  As such, the SB zombie and SB Trooper are interchangeable, sans the obvious distress on the zombie.

In this case as long as he has clawed, grasping hands, we don’t need guns.  The threat of the zombie alone is his infectious bite, so who needs a gun, especially when these guys are probably dumb as dead wood.

Remember when I said that these figures almost blend in with the 30th Steel Brigade figures?  To help set the zombified versions of the Steel Brigade apart from their still-breathing former comrades, the Club has introduced a new zombified head sculpt for each trooper.  This newly tooled piece simulates a ragged balaclava clinging to the blue-hued head of one the infected.  It’s a particularly gruesome design that only really has one functioning eye on the left side and only a bit of the mouth exposed on the right.  From the guys who have roomed with you at conventions, I’m told that’s also how you look when you sleep.  Through the sculpted tears in the balaclava one can see what appears to be mottled decaying gray skin sloughing off of blue Compound Z-inflused musculature.  It’s disconcerting, unnerving, and I love every detail of it!  My only regret is that these figures are convention exclusives as I’d have snagged a metric TON of them at retail!

Yeah, this is one case where the Club seriously underestimated demand, even with the Golden Ticket.  Many people wanted these, but not enough were made to go around, forcing many a unscrupulous seller on eBay to make a mint on these.  Granted getting three was nice, but I would wager those who liked the theme would have also liked a dedicated horde, so perhaps a Troop Builder set should have been made, or even a pre-order.  But I suppose the same can be said with all Troop Builders, so where do you draw the line?

As for the construction, it was very cool to see the concept case head brought to life [unlife] with this figure.  So while the figure is mostly existing pats, the new head and helmet add some cash into the mix that makes a purchase more justifiable if you aren't on board for the zombie factor alone.

In terms of the figure’s kit, this is where the Club could have really “cheaped out” on fans.  I will put on my temporary Club Apologist hat for a second by asking what else does the zombie need?  As stated earlier, all he needs is grasping hands and a biting jaw,and he's good to go.  (A really big can opener for getting to those oh so tasty brains?)  To further re-emphasize the recently-turned nature of these soldiers, each zombie Steel Brigade trooper comes complete with the following:

•  M4 rifle with bayonet
•  Backpack
•  Bandoleer
• Tacvest
•  Damaged Steel Brigade helmet
• Stand
• Filecard

As I’ve stated earlier-- I love the fact that these troops coming with rifles that they can barely hold.  Hate to break it to ya, but that's SOP of most of the modern figures.  Why Hasbro continues the ' J' grip hands is beyond me.  It's already hard enough to pose a weapon realistically with some of the figures who have short arms or bulk webgear, but the poor hand construction adds insult to injury.  And really, hands should be an easy fix.  Laziness I tells yah, laziness!  Unlike the zombies shown in Romero’s Land of the Dead (which I first saw at a Joe Con with Chris many years ago) [---Dead Reckoning, baby!], I can’t see these poor buggers actually using their rifles.  Instead, they cling to them more out of muscle memory than anything else-- a mockery of the highly trained soldiers they once were.  Yet the real icing on the cake is the final accessory listed above-- the damaged Steel Brigade helmet.  With a whole section of the visor destroyed, it becomes very obvious that these troops shouldn’t be up walking around.  Loaded with detail including a skull-shot bullet hole, bent seams, and surface cracks this helmet just reinforces the fact that these troopers have shed the mortal coil and now count themselves among the living dead.  (Which means that they are still eligible to vote more than once in most Chicago elections.)  Haha, zing!  Amen brother, amen!

In the convention comic we are lead to believe that the zombification process is reversible---thus the separate hunter/killer and healer teams, but I'm afraid a gunshot wound to the head is probably not---not to the degree these guys took damage. 

Here’s the question that every review should answer: is this figure worth adding to your collection?  I’m going to say “yes” but with a caveat.  These were originally sold at the G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention for a premium price.  They’re also part of a very limited run-- as are all attendee exclusive items.  As such, the secondary market price for them currently runs the gamut from “high” to “wowza”.  I was able to get one for close to cost thanks to the courtesy of John “Alyosha” Russoff who knew why I wasn’t able to attend the con this year.  As such, here’s my caveat: if you’re a fan of zombies, and can find a reasonable price on one of these, snag it when you see it.  These aren’t figures that will appeal to everyone and their secondary market price and limited available are going to make them hard to troop-build.  Still, I think that they’re one of the better convention troop builders I’ve seen in YEARS and am really glad to own one!

The Bottom Line: It doesn’t matter if you like the Steel Brigade or not, if you’re a zombie fan then you’re going to want to snag at least one of these for your collection.  Just be wary of the secondary market prices.

I share the same opinion.  I love zombies, I have many from both the vintage and modern lines, but they are mostly Cobra's lost souls.  While I had wanted at least 20 of these new ones, my greed was offset by cost, so I had to settle with only two sets.  (Yes, yes, chime the studio audience "Awww!".  So for those collectors who dig the undead, these are a good "investment" for the sheer novelty sake of having undead good guys.  But for for those of you who don't care about zombies, this trooper's lack of play value except for being a shambling monster, plus his inability to function is a living team, or being able to cradle a weapon make him a limited "one trick pony".  (Brony?)