Zombtober 2014 - Week 2

Fashionably late, or just too darn stubborn to change the date of my posting? Regardless of which category this post falls into here's my Week 2 update for Zombtober.

Just the base-colours on the two re-based Zombicide models at this stage and one or two colours on the other two (not pictured).

Base colours on two re-based Zombicide Walkers

It's been great to get back to some simple individual miniatures and photographing them against the terrain I made is reminding me how much fun I had just pulling the whole project together.

Working on these and seeing everyone's efforts is inspiring me to return to Outbreak City and get a few more games of my All Things Zombie: Final Fade Out campaign played.

Zombtober 2014 - Week 1

Okay, so apparently I missed one of the rules of Zombtober...

You know, that rule about posting updates on a Sunday? Yeah, I missed that part, so I claim ignorane, which is bliss in this instance as I've simply been working away oblivious and enjoying every minute of it, and anyway, rules are there to be broken right?

So far I've re-based both of the Zombicide miniatures on 25mm round bases and added some milliput detailing and everything is now undercoated and ready to paint (George was already undercoated and painting had already begun).

It'll be nice to get back to painting on a white undercoat. I switched to white when I started painting my Studio Miniatures zombies for my All Things Zombies games, it was clear the miniatures on thier website were not painted on a black base-coat. However, recently, due to the darker base colours I've used with the majority of my Dust Tactics miniatures, I've steered clear of white in many instances and to be honest, I've missed it.

Time to get some paint on these guys!

Zombtober 2014 - 1 The Beginning

I missed out on Zombtober last year as I was busy with work, however I really enjoyed reading everyone's posts and the cameraderie was cool, so this year: no excuses, count me in!

All Things Zombie was the reason I started this blog, mostly due to Matt telling me it'd be a great way to keep things moving on the Outbreak City project I'd started, so it's fitting to get back to painting some Zeds to add to the horde and one new survivor.

To keep things simple, rather than trying anything too ambitious, I'm going to paint just four miniatures, one per week, as a welcome break from all the Dust Tactics figures and terrain I've been enjoying, all to add to my Outbreak City play-set.

I started work on two of them and never got around to finishing them. The figures I'll be working with are:

1. Zombicide Walker - Male
2. Zombicide Walker - Female
3. Project Zeke Miniatures - 'William' Survivor
4. Studio Miniatures - Free Exclusive 'Not Zombie George A. Romero' which comes free with Zombie Horde 001

Zombicide walkers, Project Zeke William and Studio Miniatures 'Not' Zombie George

Both of the Zombicide miniatures will be re-based on 25m round bases and they'll all have milliput sculpted on top for a custom 'street' look.

I'm looking forward to the challenge and to seeing everyone else's updates too.

Dust Tactics: Captain America

Despite it's flaws and rather weak reception, I actually really rather enjoyed 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger.

Good ole' wholesome American boy takes on the Nazis before a deisel-punk backdrop... with weapons and technology straight out of Dust Tactics... what's not to like? As a plus, Alan Silvestri's soundtrack to Captain America: The First Avenger isn't half bad, so the score went straight onto my Weird World War 2 gaming playlist too.

I'd seen other gamers using Captain America in various games so after a quick seach on Ebay I secured a suitable Clix model for just a few pounds.

This wasn't a complete re-paint. I simply re-coloured where necessary and adjusted the lines to match a little more closely to the movie version of the costume.

The model was carefully cut off at the feet and re-based on a 30mm DS Profile Fenris Incursion resin base. I'm a big fan of these bases and I'd ideally like to re-base the rest of the the models in the 3D play-set to match.

I used Captain Rogers as a proxy for Bazooka Joe, a Heros already available in the game, so there's nothing 'broken' about using him in game and I think he's a rather fun proxy that for me fits perfectly into the Dust Tactics universe.

Incursion: 3D Play Set - Fenris Games and Scratch Built Cave in Markers

As a welcome respite from building the two Incursion game boards I've been throwing in a few objective markers and other counters to keep things interesting along the way.

I purchased a set of Fenris Games Incursion Objective Markers, see these previous posts for my Zombie Pinger and Doomsday Device. As they fit the theme perfectly.

I happily painted away and when I had finsihed I put the finished Cave-In marker straight onto the 3D game board only to immediately realise it simply didn't look right. The Fenris objective markers are designed to fit on the 40mm printed game board and as I up-scaled the board (so that I could get miniatures in and out easily) the Cave-In was simply too small to reflect an actual cave-in any more; whoops!

10 minutes are finishing this one I went to work on my own, slightly larger, version.

It's not as good as the Fenris games one and in retrospect I would have stuck the top n onto a larger base and simply filled in the gaps, but it does the job.

Music for Zombie Gaming - Part 9

Not all zombie music has to be serious.

Jonathon Coulton's 'Re: Your Brains' is pleasant little ditty that I'm rather fond of. Not necessarily the tune you want to hear in the scenario critical moment that one decision or dice roll means that your favourite character either saves the day or is doomed to walk the earth as a flesh-hungry ghoul, but great when you're playg a something quick, easy and fun.

This song became the unofficial anthem of ZombieLarp when they were running thier events regularly and was used in the 'Behind the Scenes' Player Room video we made back in 2010.

 

It's a fun song and quite a welcome respite from all the hardcore techno, metal, haunting strings and discordant piano melodies that the genre is so well known for.

Dust Tactics: 13 Foxtrot, Allied Special Ops Rangers Artillery Observers

To make use of the Artillery in Dust Tactics the Allied M2 Medium Combat Walker (Steel Rain Variant) Foxtrot 13, the Allies artillery observer team is a necessary addition to an allied army.

These two figures come in the Dust Tactics: Allied Rangers Observer Squad and Sniper Squad. As a separate squad to the Crack Shots Sniper Team the two figures are fielded as a single unit and can be used to fire artillery pieces that otherwise do not have direct line of sight to a target. A very useful addition to the Allied forces.

Once again working with a lighter palette I was able to keep the end result in the realms of what I was after; grubby just not too dark and they we pretty fun and quick to paint.

Dust Tactics: 3D Gaming Board - Frozen Water Boards WIP

The Victory Bridge campaign that comes with the Dust Tactics: Revised Core Set is focussed on a series of encounters in and around a key crossing; Victory Bridge.

Although I actually played through this campaign when I first starting playig this game using the map tiles the water features the maps depict and the bridges do feature in other campaign seenarios. So to go wiht my Dust Tactics 3D Game Board I wanted to make sure I had all the resources to play those other scenarios too.

I looked through the scenario maps from all of the campaign expansions I have (I'm missing just a few of the newest ones) there appeared to only ever be two water boards shown in any of the scenarios.

Dust Tactics is primarily winter themed so I wanted something to reflect that, so a quick few google images seraches and I quickly decided that ice floes fit the bill.

For simplicity's sake I used the same methods I had already been using. Having played around with cork tiles quite a bit recently I thought I might as well make use of the materials to hand. I'd already made up two standard battened 6mm MDF boards to match the others in preparation, so all I had to do was get a smooth (ish) finish and then start sticking 'random' irregular pieces of cork onto the board.

Ice Floe Board. WIP

The plan is to paint the whole thing white, with some pastel aquatic water shades washed/blended into the ice itself, and to use blues and green (gloss varnished) on the actual water.

Dust Tactics: Crack Shots, Sniper Team

Ever since the introduction of the Allied M2 Medium Combat Walker and Axis Medium Panzer Walker we've had the option to use artillery in our Dust Tactics games. To facilitate the use of artillery the introduction of small unit of observers came into play. Alongside those observer units, came the sniper team.

These two figures are fielded together as a two man unit and come with the Dust Tactics: Ranger Observer and Sniper Squad

As is typical with many game mechanics, a sniper can choose it's targets, making it highly effective for disabling critical squad weapons such as heavy machine guns, flame-throwers or panzerfausts.

I was happy working with a lighter palette for these models and as I managed to keep them that way for the most part I'm pretty happy with the end result.

Dust Tactics: OZZ 117- Real Name Erased from File - ASCOM

The fluff in Dust Tactics is full of mysterious individuals with suspiciously shady pasts. OZZ is one such character. After returning from a stint of work with Special Operations Command, his background was carefully erased. Nobdy knows his real name and although he speaks several languages... fluently, there's no trace of an accent to give away his natural origin.

OZZ 117 comes with the Dust Tactics: Operation Seelowe Campaign Expansion. He's cold and calcluating. An unsympathetic leader who commands by directness and battlefield prowess rather than charisma or charm.

He wears XM series aerial asualt armour and mounts an under fist flamethrower, which is great for assulting fortified positions or driving enemy troops out of buildings.

I was pretty pleased with how OZZ 117 turned out. He looks a little shiner than he actually is, due to the sun coming out as I took the shot, but altogether I think he works okay.

Dust Tactics: Tank Busters, Heavy Ranger Tank Hunter Squad

This Dust Tactics:Tank Busters Squad is an example of the simplicity of Dust Tactics. Squad sizes are typically three or five figures. A lightly armoured squad size is normally five and heavier troops comprise of three miniatures.

The Tank Busters wear XM-18-22 aerial asualt armour which allows them to literally 'jump' into combat allowing for considerable combat manueverability. They are also equipped with M10 bazookas, with enough firepower to worry even the heaviest Axis walkers. They're a pretty effective unit and a pretty decent additon to the allied forces you get in the Dust Tactics Core Set.

Simple and quick to paint. These definitely ended up too dark for me. I'm still pleased with the overal gritty look but I was aiming for something quite a bit lighter. A silly mistake on my part due to undercoat colour selection and a little too much heavy washing. Tansk Busters... only more grimy.

Dust Tactics: Markus - Blutruez Korps Experiment

Nobody could ever accuse Dust Tactics of being dull. There's some many different and interesting concepts.

Generically engineered Axis combat gorillas are one such concept. Marcus was first specimen of the Kampaffen experiments following the Blutkruez Korps takeover of the program.

Markus comes with the Dust Tactics: Operation Seelowe Campaign Expansion.

Markus 'Kampaffe' 001 is full of rage, the intelligence enhancing drugs have convinced him of the bigotry of mankind at war and he knows all too well there is no place for simian kind in the aftermath of this world war. Markus can be devastating in his own right and his charge ability means he's even more likely to get stuck in.

Dust Tactics: Kampaffe 001 - Markus - Blutkruez Korps Experiment.

I love the dynamic sculpt. Paint treatment was pretty standard, base-coat, wash, dry-brush and detail. And I even managed to get a little X-27 Tamiya Clear Red on his tongue.

Dust Tactics: The Chef - Guglielmo Zanicotti - SOE

There are quite a few interesting characters in Dust Tactics. All of which present some intersting and individual painting opportunities. One of the quirkiest has to be 'The Chef'' Guglielmo Zanicotti. The Chef is one of the Alies chief spies and Rosie and Captain Joe Brown reply heavily on his insider information for the effective execution of many operations. He is currently thought to be deep in Berlin, obtaining information on the Axis Blutkruez Korps and VK expreiments.

The Chef comes with the Dust Tactics: Operation Cerberus Campaign Expansion.

My long term gaming buddy and Dust Tactics opponent James really doesn't like this dual wielding flame-thrower nutter, which is why it is nice to sneak him into a unit, get in close and use him to toast the Wehrmacht's finest.

Whislt vulnerable on his own he is an asset to any clsoe comabt unit he joins and is very effective against vehicles.

I used a pretty standard technique of base-coat, wash, touch-up, highlight and detail on this model. It was nice to be able to use some X-27 Tamiya Clear Red - TCR once again on the blood. Overall happy with result.

Incursion: 3D Play Set - Part 5

So with both Incursion gaming boards marked out and most of the floor tiles in place I went to work on sorting out some walls to give the board it's true 3D feel.

I stuck to a pretty simple method of using foam-core and wood glue, pinning as I glue and removing the pins once dry. I picked up a set of dressmaking pins for making LARP costumes and have honestly found as much, if not more, use making foam-core buildings. I suspect using expanded polystyrene or solid foam insulation might have been quicker, but once I'd started, I deceided to finish it that way.

Walls shown in situ. 40mm based miniature for scale.

It was fun for about the first 3-4 blocks, then it got a bit tedious, perhaps because there was so much ahead. Many weird world war 2 soundtracks were played and many cups of tea were drunk in the making of the rest of them.

I kept the height of the walls to 50mm, with an additional 5mm top. sat on the same surface as the cork tiles, so total actual height ended up around 53mm. Just high enough above the height of a standard model to feel like a wall but not too high so I couldn't get my fingers in to move them around.

Dust Tactics: Medium Combat Walker M2 - Steel Rain and Hot Dog Variants

As a following on from my previous post, here's two of the other Dust Tactics Allied Medium Combat Walker variants.

Dust Tactics Steel Rain M2-F Artillery Support Walker

You get one chassis and two turrets. The Steel Rain M2-F variant is the second turret and the other three share the same base, just using a different main gun.

Dust Tactics Hot Dog M2-B with Napalm Thrower

The Hot Dog M2-B uses the same turret as the Pounder M2-C (17 pounder swapped for flame-thrower) as does the third Mickey M2-A just without the long barrel gun, so hardly worth a picture.

The two turrets had the same paint treatment and I painted them alongside each other to make sure there wasn't any significant colour difference.

Dust Tactics: Pounder - Medium Combat Walker M2-C

One of the appeals of Dust Tactics universe is the 'Walkers'. Not zombies but walking tanks.

The M2 Combat Walker is the most successful of all the allied combat walkers. It first went into production in 1945 and the Pounder fields the heaviest gun they could mount on the chassis.

The Pounder Medium Combat Walker M2-C fields a turret mounted 17 pounder, a pintel mounted 50 cal Victory MG and forward facing .30 Cal Victory MG.

The model can be fielded with four variants, the Pounder as shown, a howitzer bearing 'Mickey', an artillery version equipped with a Petard Mortar and 4.2" rockets 'Steel Rain' and the anti-infantry napalm spitting 'Hot Dog'. All 4 variants can be fielded with the bits in the box and the parts are interchangeable, even when painted.

This model was painted using the hairspray method, however I have to admit a mistake, one that is worth sharing.

I was in a bit of a rush when I painted this and didn't take enough time to prep when I airbrushed it. As a consequence, the paint was too thin and didn't quite cover the well enough, so I topped it up with some matt white from a spray can. Big mistake. Where I'd used the spray can to cover up the parts with poor coverage, I was unable to remove the pain with warm water and a brush. Dr Google soon explained - paint thickness and microns... lesson, don't try the hairspray method with a spray can, only an airbrush.

The rest of the weathering was a combination of sponging, washes, dry-brushing and pencil. I'm pleased with the overall look, although I had intended for the model to have move of the original 'under the whitewash' colour showing.

Incursion: 3D Play Set - Part 4

Having decided that I was going to use cork for the floor tiles of my Incursion game boards and started work on them, I soon realised that covering the whole board in the same sized cork tiles might leave it looking a little 'samey'.

The Cork floor tiles look great, especially for these detail parts, but over the whole beard, became a bit dull.

The floors depicted on the printed game boards change from area to area and. I decided that following the board more closely and changing the floor coverings would give the game board much more visual appeal. It seemed a bit of a shame to go back over some of the tiles I'd already done, but once I had the idea in my head I just went with it. Incursion's two game boards are different so I retained plenty of cork floor tiles on board number 1, number board 2 got a slightly different treatment.

Lots of cutting out card tiles and lots of PVA. The little bit of curving in the card soon settled.

This certainly wasn't a quick process but it was quite enjoyable all the same. It also allowed me to work in some 'transitions' between different areas on the board, more noticeable on board number 1,  and to delineate some of the rooms.

Incursion Game Board 2, floor almost finished.

Incursion: 3D Playset - Fenris Generator Control Panel Objective Markers

My Incursion 3D Play Set project is slowly smoldering away in the background and seeing as many of the components can be used for Dust Tactics too it seemed quite reasonable to me (that's my excuse anyway) to get some more of those elements done too.

Fenris Incursion Generator Control Panel Objective Markers

These Generator Control Panels are used for Scenario 6  from the Incursion rule book 'AC/DC' in which the Allies are engaged in an all-out drive for the Axis Command Centre and the Doosday Device.

The objective markers are available from Fenris Games who obtained permission to sculpt and market them as an 'official' Incursion product. They cost just £6.50 for all 5.

They were a simple grey spray undercoat, base coat of olive drab and citadel wash. The dials were hand painted with a black wash base and a simple two colour highlight before adding the black dial.

Fenris Incursion Generator Control Panel.

They make nifty objective markers for Icursion and fit perfectly with the aesthetic of the  Dust Tactics universe, so they'll see plenty of use.

Dust Tactics: Oberleutenant Manfred Kruezer - Wehrmacht

Heroes are pretty useful additions to any standard squad in Dust Tactics and Oberleutenant Manfred Kruezer is the second character figure that comes with the Dust Tactics: Operation Cyclone Campaign Expansion.

Manfred is a campaign veteran equipped with an StG 47 Machine Gun, Knife and a Panzerfaust. He has the 'Assault' special ability which means one per game he can double his movement value (and the movement value of any squad he joins) for one turn.

Oberleutnant Manfred Kreuzer - Wehrmacht.

I tried some simple camouflage (as per his standard look) and am pretty pleased with the outcome. The decal on his pauldron is not part of his standard look, but I felt it helped him stand out from any other miniatures in a squad he joins.

Dust Tactics: Master Sergeant Rosie Donovan - ASCOM

The Dust Tactics universe has quite a few strong female characters. And by strong female characters I mean ladies with lovely figures who wear tight fitting clothing, tote heavy weaponry as if it were the latest fashion and kick ass.

Master Sergeant Rosie Donvoan comes with the Dust Tactics: Operation Cyclone Campaign Expansion. Her Bazooka adds anti-armour firepower to any Allied squad she joins and her 'Tank Head' ability allows her to repair damaged vehicles in the field.

Master Sergeant Rosie Donovan - ASCOM

Rosie was a fun miniature to paint, simple, quick and definitely stands out from the olive clad units she typically joins.

Dust Tactics: Axis Zombies - Blutkruez Korps Undertoten Squad

Whilst I rather enjoy the alternate timeline diesel-punk retro sci-fi theme of Dust Tactics there's one additional element that I REALLY like. The Zombies!

Let's face it, no Weird World War 2 universe would be complete without Nazi Zombies... come to think of it, no universe is complete without Zombies!

The Axis Zombies: Blutkruez Korps Undertoten Squad are an experimental unit, created with the use of the Wieberbeleben Serum in an attempt to create Axis super-soldier. Axis Zombies are fast, difficult to kill and pack a heavy punch, in the form of their panzer gloves, that can damage even the heaviest armour.

They were a pretty quick and simple unit to paint. Skin tone was old GW rotting flesh with diluted dark brown and purple washes and the panzer gloves were simply weathered the same as I would a rusty tank. The sun came out just as I took this shot, so I think they look shinier than they really are. As usual, figures to be re-based, hence the unfinished base.

Dust Tactics: How to Make a Custom 3D Gaming Board

Following on from the teaser reveal last week of my custom 3D Gaming Board I made for Dust Tactics. Here's a step-by-step to guide on how to build your own. This technique is relatively simple and could be used to make a variety of urban, sci-fi, or post-apocalyptic gaming boards (I would like to use this technique for my Judge Dredd Miniatures board). It was pretty quick, easy and relatively cheap.

Dust Tactics Custom Gaming Board, Finished and In Action

Whilst the whole project was undertaken over a series of months, in terms of actual time spent it could really be done in just a few weekends.

Dust Tactics is a board game and. in the Dust Tactics: Core Revised Set, you get a poster sized play-map. The artwork is what you'd expect from a modern 2D gaming map, high quality, thematic and quite generic. Great to get you started but after a while it seems a little bland.

To variety to the gaming surface, the Dust Tactics: Terrain Tile Map Pack adds 12 double sided terrain boards. The terrain board set essentially adds a different theme to the gaming map, the tiles themselves do not change the basic game mechanic, i.e. they don't for the most part (with the exclusion of water) add significantly different terrain effects. It is however, very shiny. Industrial themed, layered colour variations, worn, stained concrete, direction markers and rusty panels.

Dust Tactics Terrain Tile Set

The Dust Tactics maps and terrain boards feature squares that measure around 93mm. I increased this very slightly to 95mm for ease of measurement. Each tile is 3 squares by 3, but for ease of setting up a table I made sections of 9 by 3 squares. I also made just one section of 3 by 3, to help with certain scenario layout configurations. I didn't change the size too much, so that the Dust Tactics: Warzone Tenements (designed to fit the standard map) would still fit pretty well and not look out of place.

The base of the board is 6mm MDF, batten on the outside only. I use the three drill method, Highly recommended. What's the three drill method? One drill for drilling holes, one drill for counter-sinking and one drill for putting the screw in. I made my first terrain board in this method with a single drill and it took about six hours. I made all these boards with three drills in just over two hours. The Drills I picked up were part of a Ryobi Cordless Rechargeable Drill Twin Pack.

The only picture I could find was the one I took when I made my first terrain board, slowly... with a screwdriver.

The whole board was then covered in cork tiles, cut down to 95mm squares. Every tile had a bevelled edge created with a quick sanding.

Keeping the tiles even was actually trickier than I anticipated.

Gluing the tiles onto the boards (wood glue) and retaining a good fit all the way along was a little difficult (expansion in contact with wood glue perhaps?) and a few had to be cut down (just a mm or two here and there).Since finishing this project I have found a much quicker way of doing this (on some dungeon terrain tests), which I wish I had known about. Cover the whole board in cork, mark the squares and then cut with a sharp knife at a 45 degree angle along both sides of the line, the bevel pops out easily, much quicker and far less effort. Every day is a schoolday!

First three boards, a standard 9 by 9 game size, unpainted, with rubble terrain WIPs.

Once I had a few under my belt is was simply a case of knuckling down and getting it done.

I base coated the top edge of the boards with a dark grey primer and then primed the whole board with a medium grey house paint emulsion. Rather than trying to dry-brush (which as anyone who has tried it, can be challenging on a large flat surface, I kept the base-coat relatively light.

Undercoat with grey house paint emulsion.

Following the first coat I ran a quick diluted coat over the top in the same grey, this filled in the few spots that got missed on the first pass and also gave some areas a patchy, stained effect.

Panted board, with patchy effect, before colour was added.

To ensure there was more colour variation across the board, I split the board into 3 by 3 sections, using a straight edged mask and here and there, began sponging on colour variations. This was simply a case of choosing a variety of greys, browns, ochres and even some blue and green (more subtle) and after a few tests I stipple sponged on the colour. I added a few smaller squares (hatches or patches on concrete) for more variation.

To add to the industrial feel a drew up some stencils of directions and hazard markings on plain white paper and once again (this time using white, black, red and yellow) sponged on the markings.

Sponging on the markings

Once all of the main colouring was complete a ran over the whole board with a VERY light dry-brushing in a much lighter grey, literary just enough to catch the corners of the squares.

Dust Tactics Custom Gaming Board: Finished, without terrain.

All in all I was very pleased with the result. I have a few more specific pieces to make, two open water boards, one submarine and some customer 'blocking' terrain pieces. The table is likely to get a public outing  as a friend of mine and I are putting on a Dust Tactics display game at the Eastern Front Wargames Show on Sunday 27th July 2014 in Norwich.

Dust Tactics Custom Gaming Board: In Action

Dust Tactics: 3D Board & Custom Terrain

I really enjoyed painting all of the models from the Dust Tactics: Core Revised Set.

I painted them over a relatively short period of time whilst I was living away from home, so I was something new and exciting to keep me sane whilst I was away from my family.

Being away from home so much, starting a new full time job and running two growing businesses was taking it's toll, so from a gaming perspective I needed something simple, quick to play and simply something different to hold my interest.

I played a few test games which we really enjoyed. Dust Tactics has quite a simple core rule set. It is essentially a grid based board game with miniatures and the rules, from my experience, are not really 'open to interpretation' in most cases. There are individual rules that are specific to certain models or troop types and as the game has grown so have they, so for me personally there's enough to keep me on my toes, but they are really not too complicated to slow play, or leave me confused after a busy day.

The best part is, as the rules a relatively simple, you can actually play a few reasonable sized games in a few hours. So if you're prepared and ready for it, in an afternoon or evening, you can actually play a whole 6 game campaign, something that the designers of the game do beautifully with the Dust Tactics Campaigns.

Like it often does, an idea hatched; How about a 3D play-set? Yeah I know, I've got a few on the go at the moment. Grid based, modular, easy to store, less likely to shift around that a paper mat and most of all, pretty. The images used for the campaign books are such an inspiration and I was confident I could do something I'd be pleased with. Here's a teaser. The eagle-eyed reader might also spot a few of the additional models I picked up and painted in the last 6 months.

Due to logistics, the project actually took a long time to work through (over 18 months), but the actual time spend on it was remarkably small. I just had to be very patient, as sometime I literally only got an hour or two a month.

The main boards are all done, I just need to work on completing of some of the terrain elements and some special boards so that the play-set can be used for almost every game in all of the campaign books.

I've taken pictures all the way through the process, so I'll pull together a series of 'How to' posts if that's of interest to anyone.

In place of the in-progress custom terrain elements I'm working on, I've used some papercraft terrain elements from Marcos from TopoSolitario.com. Well worth checking out as he's created some fantastic terrain elements for all sorts of modern and sci-fi themes.

Dust Tactics: Axis Feldwebel Lara Walter - Wehrmacht

In 1944 Axis weapons development scientists improved the already potent MG42. Combining two together with a steel reinforced blast shield and the MG44 Zwei was born.

"Ziz is ser gut, but I vant two!" exclaimed Feldwebel Lara Walter.

Lara is the last of the models that come with the Dust Tactics: Core Revised Set.

Lara is a potent Axis hero, capable of dealing out huge amounts of damage to light and medium infantry and even damaging light armoured targets and aircraft. With her powered armour she is also great for soaking up incoming fire from enemies and keeping a squad she joins alive for a few additional rounds.

I kept the main base coat pretty light and after some light washes added some line highlighting. She ended up pretty close to what I was after so I was happy with the outcome. It was nice to finish the basic play set and have enough to get some initial tester games in with them all painted.

Dust Tactics: Axis Heavy Flak Grenadiers - Scwer Sturmgrenadiere Ausf. C

The discovery of VK has lead not only to the development of walkers but to the creation of powered armour allowing infantry to carry even heavier weapons into the field.

The Axis Heavy Flak Grenadiers are equipped with hand-held Fliegerfausts, potent burst weapons that can punch through the armour of light vehicles. They can be devastating but the weapons do need to be reloaded. The power armour does mean that despite being a small squad, they are quite resilient to damage

This squad of anti-tank infantry come with the Dust Tactics: Revised Core Set. I used a light dusting of grey primer on top of the mid-grey primer that the models came with and then used diluted washes over some individual base-coats with a little additional line highlighting. A little darker than my ideal but to be honest I am still pretty pleased with them overall.

Dust Tactics: Panzer Aufklarerlaufer I-C 'Hans'

The Axis response to the Allied Light Assault Walker M1-B Blackhawk comes in the form of a similarly sized light assault scout vehicle.

The Panzer Auflarerlaufer I-C otherwise known as 'Hans' is the Axis light walker you get the with the Dust Tactics: Core Revised Set.

As a scout vehicle it get an additional move if it enters the game in the first turn. Armed with a Panzerfaust Werfer and Granate Werfer it can be deadly against both infantry and even the toughest of armoured targets.

Once again I used the hairspray technique to achieve the worn whitewash look and then weathered the rest of the model as normal. Overall I am pleased with the outcome.

Dust Tactics: Light Assault Walker M1-B Blackhawk

One of the cooler aspects of Dust Tactics is the walkers. You get two walkers in the Dust Tactics:Core Revised Set and this is the Allied version.

The Blackhawk is one of the 'Light' class walkers, it is a fast but lightly armoured walker armed with Dual Heavy PIATs that pack a punch even against the heaviest of vehicles.

I used the 'hairspray' technique on this model. First time I have ever used it. It you are not familiar with it, the process is simple. You treat the model with the basic colour and shading variation you want on the finished model and then give the entire model a coat of hairspray. You then airbrush your top colour, in this instance, white (Dust Tactics is, and when it is dry you use a rough brush or toothpick and some warm water to gently remove some of the upper coat, thus simulating a worn and weathered look. I touched up a few 'edges' of some of the weathering with the original white to give a chipped paint feel and then weathered the model as normal.

I was very pleased with how this turned out, it has certainly ended up much more on the lighter end of the scale, so far closer to the look I was after.

Incursion: 3D Play Set - Part 5 - Doomsday Device

Another one of Fenris' Incursion Objective Markers.

This one: The Axis Doomsday Device!

I've done this for my Incursion Playset but once again, it'll be great for a objective marker in Dust Tactics or any other Weird War II game as well.

It certainly makes me feel like we're doomed. Simple black undercoat, silver dry-brushing, copper detail, wash and some decals. The logo on the right hand side of the model is a simply printed onto paper and glued onto the model after it was matt varnished.

I'd also like a give a quick shout out to fellow blogger Simon Hunter of Project Zeke Miniatures who is undertaking a 24 Hour All Things Zombie: Final Fade Out marathon for charity with fellow gamer James Brown of Hive City Terrain.

The 24 Hours of ATZ is being held in a suitably apocalyptic location and takes place on the 5th-6th July 2014 and is all in support of The Sick Kids Friends Foundation.

Want to show your support? Check out the Safe House facebook page and get in touch or donate over at the Safe House JustGiving Page.

24 Hours of ATZ? That'll be at least 12 Batreps then? :) Good luck Simon!

Music for Zombie Gaming - Part 8

No Zombie Gaming playlist would be complete without the Resident Evil Soundtracks.

The score form the first Resident Evil movie features an awesome blend of orchestral work and industrial techno and Metal, a theme that continues through all of the Resident Evil movies.

However you feel about the transfer of Alice from video game to the big screen, the film's soundtracks stand alone as an epic background to any Zombie Gaming night.

Dust Tactics: Tank Traps

Similarly to the ammo crates, in most standard games each player gets to deploy one tank trap anywhere this is no other terrain feature.

In game terms; tank traps prevent a vehicle from entering a square and provide hard cover for infantry.

These are the plastic ones you get with the Dust Tactics: Revised Core Set.

Nothing complicated here, grey spray undercoat with a white spray dusting, gentle wash on the base and them a dry-brush before matt varnish.

You get a few more with some of the other scenario sets although there are very few scenarios in Dust Tactics when you actually need many more than two.

Dust Tactics: Sergeant Major William Springfield, aka 'Rhino'

One of the things I like about Dust Tactics is the Heroes and Squad leaders. Sergeant Major William Springfield, otherwise known as Rhino comes with the Dust Tactics: Revised Core Set and leads the allies forces. He typically hooks up with 'The Hammers', as shown in a previous post.

Painting Sergeant Rhino

The figure itself once again ended up being a bit darker than I really wanted, however I wasn't about to go back over the whole thing from scratch. I'd simply chalk it up to experience. Whilst I had adjusted my painting style, I'd not done so enough, but I had proved to myself that I'd found another way NOT to get the result I was after.

Incursion: 3D Play Set - Part 4 - Zombie Pinger

Slow and steady steady progress on the 3D board. I'll post some more pics soon. I got a little distracted and decided that some objectives were in order.

I also thought they'd work great for Dust Tactics, double win!

Fenris Games make a superb set of Incursion 3D Objective Markers, so they were a bit of a must.

The first one up is a 'Zombie Pinger'

Black undercoat, silver dry-brush with copper and grey highlights. The small decal is a leftover from a World War 2 Axis kubelwagon.

Dust Tactics: Ammo Crates Size Comparison

Following requests from Joe, aka Zabadak and Bob Kinnear on my previous post Dust Tactics: Ammo Crates, here's a size comparison with a few miniatures.

Crate beside a Dust Tactics Ranger

 The crates are 23mm x 23mm x 50mm. Dust Tactics is definitely 'Heroic' in scale. The figures are pretty chunky, especially the weapons.

Hasslefree Ken, Crate and Dust Tactics Ranger

You get one of each of the crates in the Dust Tactics: Revised Core Set and I have picked up most of the additional Dust Tactics: Operations (campaign and mission packs) some of which also come with additional crates.

A few creates from my Dust Tactics play set.

There are 3 types of basic crate available, Allied, Axis and SSU. I don't currently have any of the latter.

Dust Tactics Ranger and Crate stack.