The 3rd QC Zombie Pride Parade was only months away and I was faced with the challenge of advertising on a less than ideal budget. Then I thought about the QC Department of Biological Sciences, the fictional enemy of the zombies in our project, and how the year before it became a entity all It's own. I thought it would be fun to turn my Toyota Corolla into a QCDBS quarantine vehicle to give the fans a physical presence of the organization in the Quad Cities and at the same time promote the event.
The first challenge was making my innocent little Corolla appear to be a menacing beast of a car. Drawing inspiration from SWAT and police vehicles I began to design the markings. Next, Fabrication Unlimited created a ramming bar from recycled metal of a dog kennel and welded it to the frame of my car. Fencing was installed in the backseat windows as well as a (antique) light bar courtesy of a ZP fan. All these changes were permanent, there was no going back.
Once it was complete myself and a crew of willing zombies met up with Joshua Ford Photography, my good friend and excellent photographer. Togeher we created a series of QCDBS photos to act as a PSA warning the Quad Cities of the Zombie Pride Parade ahead. While the pictures either tickled or scared people who saw them onine, the real fun started when I began to drive the car around the QC. And yes, it is my main source of transportation so this bloody beast was on the road every day!
By the time of the Zombie Pride Parade everyone knew of the "zombie car" and in turn the Zombie Pride Parade. Sucess! It was placed at the event where zombies were encouraged to interact with it for photographer, Shannon Collgan, who snapped zombie "headshots". Once it was dark and the horde was ready to march through the streets, the lights went off and led the 3rd QC Zombie Pride Parade.
I still drive it every day.
