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.