After the tournament at Flameson I'd taken a little time out from painting my
Dust
Tactics miniatures while I worked on some other projects. But with the
upcoming Operation Babylon releases due to arrive in a month or two
I figured it was time to get stuck into my NDAK force in preparation for some
big games.
The first model I chose to work on is the Horten HO-347,
which was the first Dust aircraft released for the Axis. This older variant is
currently out of print and can be configured as either the tank-hunting
Fledermaus III or the Fledermaus IV bomber.
Step One: Priming and Pre-shading
Firstly I did a little bit of cleanup work on the main fuselage of the
model, using some liquid green stuff to fill in some of the assembly gaps and
sanding back to get smooth curves on the leading edges of the wings.
Continue reading...
The highlight of Flamescon for a number of people, myself included, was the
Dust Battlefield tournament held on the second day. Plenty of
local hobbyists have been collecting Dust forces this year and with the long
wait for the new tactics card decks and templates finally over it was time to
really get the games started with New Zealand's first official Dust
tournament.
My List
- The Iron Fists
- The Panzers
- The Flak Boys
- The Ghosts
- Sharpshooters
- Kampfaffen
- Henrich Light Panzer Walker
- Ludwig Medium Panzer Walker
- Wotan-AR Heavy Panzer Walker
The core of my list is the Heavy Grenadier Platoon; The Panzers and
Flak Boys providing huge amounts of anti-infantry and anti-light
vehicle fire power, while the Iron Fists give extra versatility with
their command actions as well as their own significant damage output. Plus with
damage resistance on all these units they can absorb a substantial amount of
firepower themselves.
Continue reading...
It's time for the final installment of the Dust Tactics Ludwig
Painting series and its time to finish off the small details and the desert
basing.
Step 9: Painting the hydraulics
The legs of the Axis walkers have some great hydraulic piston detail and
I wanted them to be eye-catching and contrast with the predominantly
camouflaged paint scheme. So I've gone for a bare-metal finish and added some
oil and grease effects to them.
Firstly I painted the couplings in Vallejo Gunmetal and the piston
rods themselves with Steel, to give a polished metal finish. Then to
add some definition I gave them a wash of Citadel Nuln Oil, removing
any excess when it pooled in the recesses.
I then added some AK Interactive Fresh
Engine Oil by itself and alson in a mixture with black weathering pigment to
give an opily, greased look.
Continue reading...
Welcome to the 3rd instalment of my Dust Tactics Ludwig Painting Blog. You
can see the previous posts Here .
With the camouflage coats and chipping fully applied and locked in, I can
now start on the enamel weathering effects. I'm primarily using the AK
Afrika Korps Weathering Set but will also be using some
artist's oil paints as well.
Step 5: Time for a Filter
Applying a filter helps to soften the transitions between the camouflage
colours and adds come more chromatic chromatic richness to the large areas. The
Filter for Afrika Korps is quite a vibrant yellow ochre, so I thinned
it down with odourless turpentine to a 50/50 mix, as I was after a more subtle
finish.
This was applied with a large brush across the whole model, taking care to
avoid it pooling too much in the recesses.
Continue reading...
Now that the priming and preshading is complete and protected with a coat of
satin
varnish, its time to start painting the camouflage scheme, incorporating
some colour modulation and chipping effects.
Since I'm using the Afrika Korps Paint set from AK Interactive
I don't have to do any research in order to choose the correct colour scheme
and paints to reproduce an authentic German desert camo. All I have to do is
choose one of the schemes from the back of the paint set and I'm good
to go!
Step 1: Apply the Chipping Effect Layer
Since I'm going to be using some chipping effects on my Ludwig, before
I start to paint the main base coat of RAL8020 Braun I first need to
apply the Worn
Effects Fluid. This is simply airbrushed over the entire model in a couple
of thin coats.
Step 2: Painting the Colour Modulated Base Coat
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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
Continue reading...
