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.

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.

Continue reading...

Welcome to the first part of an in depth series for painting Afrika Korps camouflage. The model used is a Ludwig from Dust Tactics, but this technique and colours could be used for Flames of War, Bolt Action or even sci-fi armies in a desert setting.

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.

Continue reading...

Welcome to Part 2 of Painting an Axis Horten HO-347 for Dust Tactics.

In Part 1 I went through the pre-shading, base-coating and highlighting stages and now its time to move onto some weathering techiniques using AK Interactive weathering products.

Weathering and using enamels can seem a little daunting but its actually really quick and easy to learn and only takes a surprisingly short amount of time to do each stage. So lets get started…

Continue reading...

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...