Last week we checked out the contents of the upcoming Axis Kamprgruppe Stefan starter set for Dust Tactics and I've been itching to start painting the Ludwig Medium Panzer Walker ever since.

Choosing the Colour Scheme & Method

As with any painting project, before you begin you need to have a think about what paint scheme you'll be using and what methods you're wanting to use. For my Axis force I've chosen to theme the army on the Neu Afrika Korps (NDAK), so I'll be basing my paint and camouflage schemes upon those used by the German Afrika Korps in World War II.

I'm also wanting to incorporate a number of the painting techniques which I've showcased before in our Gorilla Tutorials and Flames of War Fridays. Namely pre-shading, colour modulation, chipping effects and a whole lot of weathering.

Preparation & Priming

The Ludwig comes pre-assembled and pre-primed so it is possible to start painting and detailing straight out of the box and get a good finish. But since I'm going for a really high quality display finish I took a little time to tidy some of the small details up.

With a hobby knife and some sanding sponges I removed the mold lines, thankfully there aren't many on the model, and I used some Vallejo Plastic Putty and Liquid Green Stuff to fill it the small gaps between some of the panels.

Then I re-primed the model using an airbrush and the AK Interactive Red Primer. This is the same colour as the red oxide primer used by the Germans to prime their tanks in World War 2 so makes the perfect foundation for the camouflage scheme and chipping effects to follow.

Pre-Shading

Next I wanted to add some depth to primer coat by adding some pre-shading to the recessed areas and shadows of the model. This is when you paint or airbrush a much darker shade into the shadows and recesses. Then once you've painted the base coats over-top those areas will appear much darker.

I airbrushed some AK Red Primer Shadow into these shaded and recessed areas and then used some more of the red primer to touch up any overspray.

Finally I gave the whole model several thin coats of Satin Varnish. This adds an important protective layer over top of the primer which will protect it when the chipping effects are added next few steps.

Don't forget to check out our EPIC DUST TACTICS DEALS they end Wednesday 12th March!