Issue #1 EditorialWelcome to our inaugural issue of Dust Chronicles. First things first, I have to give a big ‘Thank You’ to the staff who helped make this possible! Secondly, ‘Thank You’ to all the community members who have and will be submitting articles, pictures, fiction or whatever else strikes their fancy. (send submissions to dustfanzine@hotmail.com).

So, what can you expect from Dust Chronicles? Well we hope to bring you everything you guys want to see in a Dust Fanzine! That’s why we solicit you for content. We want this to be a magazine ‘by the community, for the community’.

This issue sees our first ‘From the Front: Tactics and Warfare’ reports. In FTF:Tactics we see Larry White and Jason McFarland playing out mission 3 The Hidden Lab from Operation: Zverograd. In FTF:Warfare, Michael Cefarratti’s Allied Army dukes it out in the ruins of Zverograd against my Axis Fallschirmjager.

In ‘How2’ Viet Nguyen shows us how to paint our SSU infantry and how to base them for the ruins of Zverograd and I’ll show you how I modeled the Ruins for the Zverograd table in the FTF:Warfare report.

We have a ‘Heroes of the Month’ article from Leutnant Manfred Hirtzel. Paolo Parente was nice enough to answer some questions from the community in an interview.

Rounding out our first issue we have some Fan Fiction and scenarios for Dust Tactics. We hope you enjoy your first issue of Dust Chronicles.

A word on submissions.We are planning to ‘theme’ each issue towards new releases (Operation: Zverograd, etc) and to environments (winter, the desert, etc.). As we receive submissions from you we will sort them into ‘immediately useable’ and ‘future’ categories. So if you send us an amazing FTF:Warfare report set in the desert featuring the NDAK battling a desert themed Allied army and we don’t use it right away, it’s because we’re hanging onto it for future inclusion.

We’ll try to communicate with each of you as to the status of you submissions but of course can not guarantee it. To have your submissions included in a certain issue, send it to us one month before the issue is due. For example, to have something included in the October Issue (‘Fall’ themed) send it to us by August 30th. That will give us a month to edit and assemble the magazine.

We are looking for any content that relates to Dust Tactics and Warfare, not just what’s in this issue. So send us your articles and pictures. Send your submissions to dustfanzine@hotmail.com and type ‘submission’ and a couple of words as to what the submission is in the subject bar. I will also read and possibly answer your hate mail. Just type ‘hate mail’ in the subject bar.

So enjoy this issue. And if you don’t, then send us stuff that you think we need to include to make this YOUR magazine, and the best version of your magazine possible. After all, this is supposed to be a FANzine!

-Patrick Doty

Dust chronicles – issue 1

table of contents:Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03Spotted!: Interview with Paolo Parente . . . . . . . . . 04How2: Modelling Ruins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08From The Front: Dust Warfare Axis vs Allies In The Ruins Of Zverograd . . . . . 12How2: Painting SSU Walkers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Fan Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26How2: Making Urban Bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32From The Front: Dust Tactics Operation Zverograd - Mission Three . . . . . . . . 34How2: Painting SSU Infantry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Operation Coldsnap - Dust Tactics Mission . . . . . 43Tactical Corner: Damsels Causing Distress . . . . . . 44Dust Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Next Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Dust Catalogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 “The Medvedi”: Patrick Doty“Fakyeli”: Ignacio Brizzio, Viêt Nguyên, Floris Hussaarts“Frontoviki”: Jason McFarland, Lee Langston,John Sisk, Rick Ivansek, Kenneth RB Chipman“Ohotniki”: Paolo Parente, Olivier Zamfirescu

Cover Illustration by: Mauro Dal Bo & Davide Fabbri

Names and artwork are © 2012 Dust Ltd. and/or FantasyFlight Games Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Dust Tactics &Dust Warfare and their logos are trademarks of Dust Ltd.Images and trademarks used without permission.This magazine is unofficial and is not endorsed byDust Ltd. and/or Fantasy Flight Games Ltd.

Thank you for taking the time to answer a few interview questions for us Mr. Parente. Before we start, are there any confessions you want to make, anything you need to get off your chest?Can you please refer to me as Paolo? Mr. Parente doesn’t sound like me…. J

I will confess to you that l am having a blast.. Dust Tactics is giving me the best time of my life, thank-you guys for welcoming it on your gaming tables and for dedicating so much passion to it. It’s so good.

Do you play Tactics and/or Warfare? If so, which faction(s)?I play Dust Tactics, and I tried warfare in January, played with Mack Martin, it was fun.

As you can expect I have all factions, right? And multiples of each model, plus some crazy conversions... I play both Axis and Allies, soon I’ll start playing SSU.

What is your favorite Dust creation so far?The Recon Mickey and the Axis Heavy Walker amongst those already released, and my favorite of all will be in the display cabinet at Gencon… cannot say more for now, but you’ll spot it immediately.

Now that we can see tanks on the horizon, what are the plans concerning armor 1 infantry?

All categories that you can find on the cards will be present in the game one day. I have a concern about Type 1 infantry, in my opinion with the rules that we have today they don’t stand a chance on the battlefield, let’s say… in my opinion we need a second edition of the game to really be able to display infantry 1 units. Please note that infantry 1 does not necessarily mean “not wearing armor” it mostly means “Greens/Recruits” where inf.2 means “Battle-hardened Veterans”.

What are the future plans for the NNO? Will they be a playable faction or will they remain in the background?OK… I cannot actually disclose what will be released in the future, but you need to know that at the beginning of the year the release plan is discussed with FFG in detail, that’s the moment where l show my ideas from my sketchbook and we organize them into a release schedule . I am developing new armies as well as sub-factions for each major army with Special Characters. I think that this answers the next question too.

Majestic 12 and Abenerbe, will we be seeing more/any characters and models from these organizations?

[editor]: See above.

Vrill. Hollow-earth or outer space? Can we expect to see them next year?Vrill are both in my sketchbook, their release date has not been decided yet, next year a 4th army will be released for sure. What makes this decision tricky is that, as it seems, our audience is divided in two. One part of the gamers would like to stick to WW2 quite strictly while another more open minded part would go more “Pulp”. Pulp is totally the spirit of Dust…..

Any plans to do more comic books based in the Dust world?I wish! I wish that I had all the spare time to sit at my desk and draw comic book pages J Preparing and following-up all the Dust Models and figurines actually absorbs all of my time, everyday. We have been talking about having a new story entirely drawn by Davide Fabbri, but he’s busy with Dark Horse and he has only drawn 3 pages so far.

On the other side, we have a trilogy of novels being written by our good friend Matt Forbeck, and we’re preparing an illustrated version of the first volume to be released early next year.

What about branching out into other media? Like video games or film.I hate non disclosure agreements!! No movies for now… one video game under development.

What about a Dust RPG?I would love the idea, one of our FaceBook friends has started to work on it, hasn’t he proposed to publish on the fanzine yet?

[editor]: We are working with Christopher Barnhart, keep your eyes on these pages.

Are you happy with the level of success Dust has reached so far?TOTALLY HAPPY, but we need more players…. Thanks to all of you guys who are spreading the word every day we will get those soon.

The company is healthy and self-sustaining, unlike Rackham we are very well financially managed, we are here to stay and to share more than Dust.

Will Anastyr be played on the table top or will it use the tiles and squares system of Tactics?Anastyr is not a game for now, but is one of the 3 universes that we’re developing at the moment, being Barbaric Fantasy we can disclose the designs and start selling the minis as High Quality Resin Figurines without revealing much, we cannot do the same with other WIP that we make grow locked in the drawer everyday.

Anastyr will be a game when we will have the technology to release hard plastic very detailed minis like those new beautiful plastic characters that GW is making for Warhammer Battle. For now we cannot reach that standard, so we will not have a game soon.

Allow me to say that l refuse to battle with figurines armed with bending PVC swords…

Who do I need to talk to around here to get a Fallschirmjager platoon list for Warfare? And when do we get our Raketentruppe?Warfare is a licensed product of FFG, so u need to talk to Mack… but you might have noticed that DW and DT go at the same pace, those units that you are wishing for are in my plans.

What conventions and shows will you be at in the next 6 months or so?Unfortunately I cannot travel much, my work keep me so uber-busy… I wish that I could leave the Factory/Monastery more often…. For the moment I have been invited to Sandiego Comicon but it`s not confirmed yet, as it`s not sure for GenCon, for sure at the moment is Tokyo Wonder Festival at the end of July and Vulcon next year.

There's been speculation about what the future of Dust might include based on previous works (like the Japanese walkers from the Dust Source book, and the Vrill Hecaton). Are those previous works going to be part of the Dust canon, or should we expected changes and evolutions to the Dust universe?Some of those creations still make sense in Dust today, others like the beautiful Hecaton

remind me too much of the AT43 Therians, and I am looking for a much more Pulp take on the Vrill at the moment.

Since a lot of the traditional factions from the World War II era have been combined to form the Allies, Axis, and SSU, how much room is there for new factions to expand the range of the game?Factions and thematic sub-factions is, in my opinion, a very interesting way of developing new armies.

British SAS units for example might play in any Allied Army, but a Full SAS army list might access to special exclusive SAS characters unavailable otherwise. This is just my take, nothing g has been decided yet.

The game stats for the Dust Warfare/Tactics minis have some unfilled holes (like Infantry 1 and 4, and vehicles 1, 2, 5, and 6). Do you see all those spots being filled with models at some point in the development of the game?Absolutely yes, any category on the cards is meant to be in the game.

Are there any future plans for AT-43? Is there any chance that game would ever make a comeback in any form?SAD, SAD and SAD….. I have a lot of affection for AT-43, but it does not belong to us. Besides, the actual owners don’t care for this game at all. And worse news is that all the molds for the figurines and vehicles will be melted by the end of the year since nobody has serious intentions to make use of them, so sad. I know this well, my bedroom at the Factory/Monastery is located exactly above the warehouse where they are stored….

Do you want to give us any hints about what is coming our way in the future that hasn’t been addressed by other questions? (Hint, yes you do.)I really have nothing to disclose here besides a new faction at the beginning of next year.

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, we look forward to seeing what the future of Dust has in store for us.Many thanks to all of you, your enthusiasm for Dust gives me a better sense to my days.

In this How2 I’m going to show you how I made the buildings for the Zverograd table featured in this month’s From The Front: Warfare (page X).

First you need to gather your materials. You’ll need a 1/4‘ thick piece of wood (MDF works well enough), super/plastic glue, wood glue, sand, thin cardboard (the kind that cereal or Cerberus come in work fantastic), paints, Dust Building (from Zverograd, Cerberus etc), and any extra ‘bits you might want to use (I used a crater and some large bricks from Pegasus). You’ll also need the following tools: xacto knife, broad brush, strong clippers/side cutters, and scissors.

Above you can see the materials we are going to use.

For our first step you need to glue your building to the wood base. For my purposes a 12’x14’ base works best but any size will do. You should ‘dry fit’ your building first to make sure you like the layout and that it fits your base the way you need it to. Once you are happy with the fit and layout, glue your building together with plastic glue and glue it to the base with either wood glue or super glue.

Next, cut 1’ square tiles out of card stock (the packing box from Cerberus works real well for this). Water down some wood glue and spread it around the base of you building on the outside edge. This will be your ‘sidewalk’.

The sidewalk taking shape.

Once your building is glued together and secured to it’s base, use a strong pair of clippers to clip your building’s edges into a jagged shape. You can clip it before gluing but I always lose track of what parts are supposed to go together and find it easier to do it like this. Save any parts you clip off for later.

Now it’s time for the floors. I use the floors provided in the kit but you can also use the Tactics tiles and Squares or foam core. Fit (cut if need be) the floors into the slots of the building walls as normal, once happy with the fit and layout, cut the edges towards the inside of the building in a jagged manner to simulate broken flooring. I use strong kitchen scissors to cut through the card stock. Don’t tell the wife.

Make sure your floors get glued into the wall. Wood glue works best. Once that’s dry, water down some wood glue and spread it on the floors, exterior (just along the base of the wall, you don’t want to cover the whole sidewalk) and interior base of the building. Use the broad brush from earlier to spread it around, and don’t water down the wood glue too much. I wish I could give you a good ratio but am afraid trial and error works best. When you’ve got the glue in the areas described, pour some playground sand over all the wood glue. If you have some bricks or some slightly small pieces of rubble add that before the sand. Let this dry for a couple hours or even overnight if you’re that patient.

Once the glued sand has completely dried (completely I said!), grab those building clippings from the earlier and select a few choice pieces. Super glue them to the base. You can add as much ‘rubble’ and clippings as you like but I find that too much makes the piece unplayable as models don’t want to stand up, there isn’t enough room to get your squad into the building, etc.

Once everything is good and glued, trim the sidewalk flush with your base.

Now comes the fun part; painting . . . . .

I recommend you primer the plastic bits the same way you normally would any plastic model. I use Citadel’s Chaos Black Primer but any brand will do. For the sandy parts; water down some black paint (I recommend getting some wood toll art paint or even having the local DIY hardware store mixing you up a pint or gallon for larger projects) and brush on a thick layer of paint.

To paint your ruins I recommend a broad brush, maybe even a house painting brush. If you are doing a lot of buildings, maybe even a whole city, I recommend getting your paints matched at a DIY and getting them by the pint or gallon.

What colors you use depends on your preference. I did mine in a dark grey base with a lighter grey highlight. Each coat was applied as a dry-brush. I’ve seen great results with rattle cans and airbrushes too. The above method is quick, easy and above all, cheap ;)! In order to break up the color a little bit, I also dry-brushed a medium brown (Citadel’s Graveyard Earth) along the bottom of the walls at the base.

I also found a couple soviet WWII propaganda posters on the internet (a simple Google image search should suffice) and printed them out. I glued them to an exterior wall with watered down wood glue. Once everything was dry I sprayed some sealer on it. First coat was Purity Seal followed by Dullcote from Testors.

Our inaugural From the Front: Warfare report, pits Mike Cefarrati’s Allies against Patrick Doty’s Axis amidst the ruins of Zverograd. As all factions strive to claim the secret that lies beneath it’s streets, Zverograd plays host to battles from all factions.

We decided to use the Battle Builder to set battlefield and victory conditions. We had the terrain set up in a mutually agreed upon manner rather than using competitive terrain placement, as with the city terrain there is only so much you can do anyway.

After dicing off we ended up with Assassination, Advancing Lines and ‘none’ for our game parameters.

Patrick: I usually hope for ‘key objectives’ but I couldn’t complain since for once I wasn’t facing an Allied army in ‘Force Collision’!

If you are interested in building your own terrain for Dust Warfare, then check out the“How2: Modeling Ruins” article on page 8.In it Patrick Doty explains how he went aboutbuilding the terrain used in this report.

1st Platoon: Sturmgrenadiere

Kommandotruppe 25Recongrenadiers 17Recongrenadiers 17Recongrenadiers 17Ludwig 40Ludwig 40

Sub Total: 156

2nd Platoon: BlutkreuzSturmpioniere 25Zombies 19Panzerkillers 20Zombies 19Recongrenadiers 17Sigrid Von Thaler 20Grenadier X 21

Sub Total: 141

Total: 297

Patrick: My Fallschirmjager Armyhas, for most of it’s existence, avoided the ‘weirder’ units available to it. It has instead, relied on Recongrenadiers and light walkers to give it that ‘Airborne’ feel.

It was always difficult for me to imagine Luftwaffe personnel luring a troop of Apes or a gaggle of Zombies onto a plane. It was even harder for me to imagine that same loading officer trying to convincing them to jump from that plane while airborne.

Then I got my hands on an AT-43 (RIP) cargo crate….

Why not make it into a meat locker, or some kind of special Blutkreuz container? We’ll lure the Zombies into the container with promises of fresh Blutwurst and Sauerkraut, and then turn the temp down, making them slow and docile. Load up the crate and parachute it down onto the unsuspecting enemy… Presto! Airborne Zombies!

We’ll see just how much screaming Mike’s ‘Eagles’ do…

1st Platoon: CombatBoss Squad 25Sniper Team 12Death Dealers 20Recon Boys 16Bazooka Joe 15Pounder 40

Sub Total: 128

2nd Platoon: AssaultHellboys 25Observer Squad 8Gunners 17Reconboys 16Airdrop 5Red Devils 32Action Jackson 24Steel Rain 45

Sub Total: 167

Total: 295

Mike: With the recent anniversary of D-Day, I’ve been watching a lot of Band of Brothers. I had four units for my allies that I hadn’t worked on yet, so I decided to paint my remaining units as Easy Company.

Using the Separate-Head-System from WestWindProductions.co.uk, I swapped out the heads on those remaining units and printed out some Screaming Eagles decals. Easy Co. forms my Assault Platoon.

Death from Above!

deployment

Mike had spent the first SP and so deployed first. He had ended up on the northern edge of the table and immediately made use of the large three story building. He placed his Observers, Snipers and Boss Squads on the third, second and first floors respectively.

Between the tall building and NKVD Headquarters (the long building on the short edge of the table) Joe and his attached Deathdealers prepared to hold down the flank backed up by some Gunners. Steel Rain set up in the ruined Propaganda printers shop, while Pounder deployed between the Boss’ building and the print shop.

The Hellboys and Reconboys set up in the ruins on the far west flank taking advantage of cover as they could.

Meanwhile, Patrick had been deploying into the ruins across the board. Between the platform and the train went a Recongrenadier squad while a Panzerkiller squad took up position on the other side of the train.

Two squads of Recongrenadiers took up positions in the central southern ruins and the Kommandotruppe hid in the alley behind them. In the neighboring ruins another Recongrenadier squad set up with Grenadier X and a squad of Zombies in the street between the ruins.

Both Ludwig’s deployed into the southeastern corner, supported by a squad of Zombies and the Sturmpioniere with Sigrid Von Thaler attached.

Round 1

Mike won round 1 initiative with 3 total commands to issue and Patrick with 9.

Command Phase

Mike’s first order of business was to try and call in a Long Tom artillery strike on the Zombies by the Ludwigs. Not for the last time he failed to call it in. Next up he used the Assault Platoon’s ability to create a smokescreen which went off without a hitch. The Boss radioed the Gunners and told them to move up 6 inches. Joe used Black Ops to move his squad forward.

Patrick’s Kommandotruppe radioed a Blitzkrieg order to the Ludwig to move it closer to the Pounder. Sigrid and her Sturmpioniere squad moved up along with the nearby Zombies. Grenadier X and his Zombies also moved up 6 inches.

Unit Phase

Mike’s Pounder opened up on the eastern most Ludwig with sustained fire causing 2 wounds and setting the hapless Ludwig on fire! The Sniper positioned on the second floor drew a bead on the zombies and managed to put hole right through it’s head. The Hellboys moved swiftly along the edge of the western board in an effort to outflank the axis positions.

Joe and his squad moved towards the Ludwigs and Zombies. The well positioned observers attempted to zero in on the burning Ludwig but their radio message was garbled and Steel Rain’s fire fell ineffectively to the rear.

Patrick: The start of my 1st round and one of the Ludwigs has already taken two hits and is on fire? Clearly the only sensible course of action is to sustain fire with the blazing Ludwig right back at the Pounder!

The Gamble paid off as I scored 6 hits and the Pounder only saved 2. Kaboom!

The Zombies and Sigrid’s squad surged 12’ forwards. Grenadier X’s squad did likewise, moving toward the Boss’ building. All other squads held their positions except the Panzerkiller who raced for the cargo containers, trying to get closer to the Steel Rain sheltering in the ruins.

“There she is Boys!”

Round 2

Mike wins initiative again with a total of 3 commands to issue while Patrick has 7.

Command Phase

Mike’s Boss squad calls in a Long Tom strike on the Zombies and the nearby Sturmpioniere killing one zombie and suppressing Sigrid’s squad. The sniper took aim at Grenadier X and wounded him. The Gunners opened up on the nearby Zombie squad and killed one. Joe and his boys, utilizing Black Ops and not to be outdone by the Gunners, also opened up on the Zombies and brought down one of the beasts.

Patrick’s Sturmpioniere Blitzed up 6’ to take cover behind some conveniently placed barricades. The two remaining zombies moved to protect Sigrid’s flank from the approaching Allies. And the Panzerkillers moved into the cargo area, getting ever closer to Steel Rain…

Unit Phase

Action Jackson and his attached Red Devils took this opportunity to show Easy Co. how air drops are executed in 1947 and moved into position behind the Ludwig.

Meanwhile, Joe and his aptly named Deathdealers gunned down the remaining Zombies. This time they would stay dead! The Gunners, clearly in competition with Joe and his boys, fired into the Zombies around Grenadier X, injuring him and killing another Zombie.

The Observers manage to call in the correct co-ordinates to Steel Rain and the burning Ludwig, already reduced to just one wound, explodes in spectacular fashion. The Hellboys continue their advance, secure in the knowledge that they haven’t been spotted by the enemy. The Reconboys fire on the advancing Panzerkillers but their armor manages to absorb the incoming fire.

Sigrid’s squad is unable to remove their suppression marker but manage to kill the entire Gunner squad in a hail of Lasers, rifle fire, panzerfausts and insults.

Grenadier X and the remaining three zombies Assault into the Boss’ building and manage to eat the medic. The remaining Ludwig attempts to avenge his wing-man by firing at the observers with his 88s. He misses.

The Panzerkillers move towards Steel Rain but lose two members to reactive fire form the nearby Reconboys.

The Recongrenadiers near Action Jackson fire on his squad from the window and inflict two wounds on him. All other units surged forwards.

Round 3

Mike again wins initiative with 2 commands to issue and Patrick gets 3.

Command Phase

The Sniper squad takes careful aim at the Sturmpioniere and kills one of it’s members. The Boss tries to call in the Long Tom but fails to get through again. Must be the weather. Joe uses Black Ops to get his squad firing at Sigrid’s squad, but they shelter behind the barricades and suffer no hits.

One of the Panzerkillers rises unsteadily to his feet as the Wiederbelebungsserum takes effect. Meanwhile, the Ludwig receives radio orders to Blitz up 6’.

Unit Phase

Joe and his Deathdealers reload their grenade launchers. Next time Sigrid won’t have the benefit of cover… The Sniper squad fires on the Sigrid and her squad but manage to miss their mark. The Observers also fire on her but only hit the barricade.

The Boss squad shoots at Grenadier X and his Zombies, killing the remainder of the squad but allowing Grenadier X to get closer by reacting to the shooting with a move.

Action Jackson and his British Paratroopers advance and fire on the Ludwig and the Recongrenadiers in the ruins. They miss Ludwig and the Recongrenadiers but take a wound and lose a squad mate to reactive fire from the Grenadiers!

Steel Rain’s crew hurriedly reloads it’s weapon and fires the Petard mortar at the Panzerkillers hit several. Once again their armor saves them from death. The Hellboys break cover and move next to the train, causing panic on the other side as three squads react to their movement by running away.

The 101st Reconboys Airdrop into the alley the Kommandotruppe recently occupied. They weren’t about to let the Limeys show them up!

The Reconboys reload and fire on the newly risen Zombie and the Panzerkillers, once again the Panzerkillers suffer no wounds and the zombie is missed.

Grenadier X gets back to the important task of eating the Boss squad and eats the mechanic. While choking on a wrench, the Boss squad manages to stab Grenadier X, taking his last wound and putting him down. For now.

Sigrid breaks cover with her squad and moves to avenge Grenadier X, getting as close to the Boss squad’s building as possible. Ludwig fires and manages to kill one of the Spotters.

The Kommandotruppe and two Recongrenadier squads move through the cargo container area seeking safety from the Hellboys and the Airdropped 101st. The Failsafe Zombie moves to attack the Reconboys but they flee to the safety of the crater in the Rail line. The remaining two Panzerkillers fire on and manage to miss Steel Rain.

The Recongrenadiers that have been hiding from the Hellboys in the southwestern corner move forward and fire on the Hellboys, killing two of them.

Round 4

This time Patrick wins initiative with four total commands to issue and Mike has five total.

Command Phase

The Sturmpioniere try to raise one of their fallen comrades with the special serum but fail. The Failsafe Zombie from the Panzerkiller squad attacks the Reconboys but they manage to escape it’s clutching claws. The Panzerkillers fire on the Steel Rain…a HIT! That is negated by cover and armor saves…

The Kommandotruppe Blitzes into the ruins, seeking safety from Steel Rain.

The Boss tries to call in Long Tom but continued interference from the weather, gremlins in the radio, etc. ensure that the Long Tom is SNAFUed. Joe and his squad pour fire into Sigrid’s squad, wounding her twice and killing two Sturmpioniere.

Action Jackson and his Paratroopers’ Phasers malfunction and were unable to hit anything yet again.

“Joe and the Deathdealers punish Sigrid”

Unit Phase

The Failsafe zombie lives up to it’s name and fails to kill any of the Reconboys. The Recongrenadiers closest to Steel Rain fire their Panzerfausts at her and fail to score any damage against her.

The Kommandotruppe secure the perimeter of the central building and sit tight.

Ludwig fires on but fails to hit the Boss squad still sheltering in their bunke-uh, building, but manages to kill one of the Red Devils with it’s turret mounted MG. Using the cloud of dust thrown up by the impact of the Ludwig’s shells as cover, Sigrid and the remaining Sturmpioniere storm the building. Sigrid goes Bezerk and she and her squad kill two more members of the Boss squad.

Meanwhile, across the board, the Recongrenadiers who had previously killed two members of the Hellboys squad open fire and fell another one.

Joe and the Deathdealers move forward to try and support the Boss. The Snipers also descend to the bottom floor to lend their support to the hard pressed Boss. The 101st

Observer meanwhile, moves to a better vantage point, trying to spot the Kommandotruppe in the rubble.

Steel Rain fires on the Panzerkillers but, incredibly, their armor saves them once again.

The Hellboys climb over the railcar in order to get closer to the Kommandotruppe. The recently arrived 101st Reconboys fire on, and kill, the entire Recongrenadier squad that had been vexing Action Jackson for most of the battle.

Round 5

Both players agreed this initiative roll could be crucial. As who went first could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Mike won by rolling ALL blanks!

So he ends up with one command and Patrick has a total of three.

Command Phase

For Mike’s one and only order he tried to call in Long Tom. There was no response on the radio. At this point it was assumed they had been overrun by enemy forces. Joe’s Black Ops rule allowed him and his squad to open fire on Sigrid but all they managed to hit were the walls of the building.

The Recongrenadiers received a Blitzkrieg order and moved away from Steel Rain and towards the Boss squad. Sigrid and the remaining Sturmpioniere fired on and killed the Boss. Finally.

“Sigrid guns down The Boss”

Lastly, the Recongrenadier squad that had been securing the Kommandotruppe’s southern flank moved to engage the Hellboys.

Unit Phase

Action Jackson and his remaining Red Devil work the bugs out of their Phasers and reduce the remaining Ludwig to slag.

The “13 Foxtrot” Observer spots the Kommandotruppe and calls in the Steel Rain’s 4.2” rockets. The rockets miss their target, reducing yet another building to rubble.

Patrick: Having killed the Boss squad I was now desperate to get at the Hellboys. I was afraid that having messed up the Command phase I would now be wrong-footed. I should have killed the Boss squad with Sigrid first, then moved the Recongrenadiers towards the Hellboys. Oh well.

The Panzerkillers activated first removing both suppression markers, and fired on steel Rain.

They missed but elicited a reaction, taking fire from Steel rain’s .30 cal. but suffering no wounds. This meant the Recongrenadier squad was now free to move back towards the Hellboys without being shot at by the Steel rain in passing. Instead the Recongrenadiers in the crater reacted to their movement and fired on them but caused no wounds. The Failsafe Zombie that was standing in front of the crater and had not managed to do anything useful so far was no free to act. It fast moved towards the Hellboys who reacted by shooting at it but missing. The Zombie swung with it’s combat-knife-like claws and…MISSED! With all four dice. Failsafe Zombie was promptly renamed FailZombie.

The rest of the Axis squads stayed as they were.

“The FailZombie in all his... uhm?... glory?!”

End Game

As that had been the last round, both players revealed which command squads had been marked for assassination. For the Axis, the Kommandotruppe had been marked but was safely sheltered in some ruins. For the Allies, the Boss squad. It took Grenadier X, Sigrid Von Thaler and numerous nameless lackeys to do it but in the end the Boss was dead and the Axis could claim a victory.

AXIS VICTORY!Afterword

Mike: Great Game! I should have made the Hellboys my squad that needed to be assassinated. One would not think that someone would rush their squad forward, and with fast they would have had a better chance to escape if things got dodgy.

Looking back on the game, I should have Airdropped my second squad sooner and moved the Boss sooner from his hole rather than having him stand his ground. First time using Airdrop and it’s not too bad aside from some bad dice rolls from Action Jackson and the Red Devils’ phasers.

Patrick: Oh man, good game! I thought I’d really messed up in round five’s command phase when I Blitzed the Recongrenadiers towards the Boss and away from the Hellboys. I should have attacked the Boss with Sigrid first and then moved the Recongrenadiers closer if need be, or move them towards the Hellboys if not.

Luckily it was the Boss squad that had been marked for death! This was my first time using the Zombies in Warfare, not a stellar debut but they were fun and I like the way they play. My only strategy had been to protect my Kommandotruppe and try to kill his command squads.

Sounds simple but half the time I lose sight of the victory objective and become fixated on killing one particular unit. That almost happened to me again, but I managed to resist the siren call of the Steel Rain.

As the SSU’s primary combat walker platform, the KV47 forms the backbone of SSU defenses across Russia. It’s durable frame allows it to be outfitted with a variety of armaments. Whether you want to incinerate the enemy with Nadya’s Sulfur Jets, cut them apart with Natalya’s Chainsaw or root them out with Natasha’s Howitzer, the KV47 is the right tool for the job. Here we’re going to examine how to paint a KV47, from primer to finish.

LIST OF MATERIALS USEDWar Paint British Armour Late Primer

Citadel Paints:Knarloc GreenSunburst YellowBleached BoneMechrite RedBlood RedBolgun MetalNuln OilGraveyard EarthPurity Seal

Vallejo Paints:BlackRussian GreenGerman Grey

Secret Weapon Terracotta EarthSecret Weapon Rust Brown

Isopropyl Alcohol

MicroScale Micro SetMicroScale Micro Sol

The Army Painter Strong Tone Ink

STEP #1Primer your KV47 with War Paint’s British Armour Late. Alternatively, brush or Airbrush the model with Citadel’s Knarloc Green instead. Before priming, I masked the light on the cockpit. Once the whole model is finished, you can peel it off and you’ll retain the clear plastic lens.

STEP #2Once your primer is dry, cover the KV in a nice, even coat of Knarloc Green. If you sprayed Knarloc Green onto the model in Step #1, then it is not usually necessary to paint on more Knarloc. Just make sure your color coverage is nice and even as this is going to be your basecoat after all. Once you’ve got your green on, paint all the cables, gun barrels, chainsaw teeth and anything else you’re going to paint metallic with black. I used Vallejo Black for it’s matt finish but any black acrylic model paint will work. In order to add some color contrast I painted the fuel drums and the ammo hoppers on the Howitzer Vallejo Russian Green. The left shoulder armor plate received a 75%/25% mix of Citadel Mechrite Red/Blood Red.

STEP #3The next step is to wash your whole model, you can skip the black bits but the rest needs to be washed with brown ink. I usually use Citadel’s Devlan Mud but since that’s pretty scarce I’ve found an excellent replacement that I used here, The Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade Ink Strong Tone. The stuff in the dropper bottle not the big can of dip! One even coating does the trick.

STEP #4Make sure your ink is completely dry before going on with this next step. Dry brush all areas of Knarloc Green with Knarloc Green. Be sure to keep out of the recesses, you want that to be shaded.

Add a little Bleached Bone to Russian Green and reapply the the raised areas of the fuel drums and ammo hoppers, once again staying out of the cracks and crevasses.

Paint red onto the shoulder plate just as in the first step, being sure to get an even coverage and staying out of the area around the rivet. Try several thinner layers of paint if you are having streaking issues. Just be sure to let each successive layer dry completely before continuing with the next layer.

STEP #5Mix your Mechrite and Blood Red into 50/50 mix. Apply just around the edges of the plate and a small amount to the top of the rivet.

Mix Knarloc Green and Sunburst Yellow 75/25 and dry brush all over the Knarloc Green areas. Make sure to catch the raised areas to highlight them but don’t neglect the centers of the large flat panels.

Add a bit more Bleached Bone to the Russian Green and paint the edges of the fuel drums and ammo hopper. Just the sharp edges as all you’re doing here is highlighting the drums.

STEP #6Add more Sunburst Yellow till you have about a 60/40 mix (60 Knarloc Green) and apply to the edges of all the Knarloc Green areas. You can dry brush it on or use the flat side of a standard type brush and run it along the edges. This is the highlight of the Knarloc so make sure to concentrate it on the edges and keep it off the flat areas. You can always add more Sunburst to your mix to get a stronger highlight. Just remember that it’s a lot easier to add paint than it is to remove it.

STEP #7At this point I add decals. I used the SSU decals from Dust-Models.com. Before adhering them, I painted MicroScale’s Micro Set onto the areas that would be receiving the decals. Once they were set, I painted MicroScale’s Micro Sol over the decals. Sol helps the decals contour onto the model and I find it helps to blend the decal into the paint job once the sealer is sprayed on.

STEP #8You’ll need a bit of packing foam for this step. The kind often found in blister packs works well but I find the best foam is the stuff from the Battlefoam trays. You’ll want a section that’s about ¼ inch square at the ‘business’ end. Put some German Grey onto your pallet and dip the foam into it. Dab the foam onto your pallet or a paper towel till the excess paint is off. You want to have very little paint on your foam, kinda like dry brushing. Remember, you can always add more if need be. Carefully dab the foam onto your model around the edges that would normally have paint chipped off. So around the lower legs, all outside edges, around hatches and foot plates, handholds etc. Add as much or as little as you like. It’s not a bad idea to dab just a little over the decals as this will help them look less ‘pristine’.

STEP #9Dry brush some Graveyard Earth onto the lower legs and knee armor. Also dry brush a bit onto the lower halves of the armor plate. This is designed to add the impression of dirt and dust. As with the chipping it is up to you how heavy to do the dry brushing. Since this particular KV47 will be operating in an urban environment I decided to keep the dust pretty light.

STEP #10With the model nearing completion, it’s time to get the metal done. Paint Bolt Gun Metal onto all the areas you previously painted black. Once dry, wash with Nuln Oil. I like to do a second coat of Nuln once the first is thoroughly dry.

STEP # 11To get some rust onto this guy, I turned to Secret Weapon’s weathering pigments. I mixed some Isopropyl Alcohol with Terracotta Earth and carefully washed it into the recessed areas around bolts and rivets and any other areas I thought needed some rust. Once that was dry, I repeated the process with Rust Brown.

For more on weathering, keep a look out for an article by Isaiah Burgess (winner of FFG/Dust Studio’s Conversion Contest-Best Axis Model) here in the pages of Dust Chronicles.

STEP # 12To finish your model, apply several even coats of Purity Sealer (or really any flat sealer you like) allowing each layer to dry between coats. Peel the glue/paint off the searchlight lens and give it a dab of gloss varnish.

Base you walker to match you army or table. This Kv47 was given an urban base to match both the table and the army. See this issue for a How2 on urban basing.

He squinted against the clouds of brick and cement dust filling the air of the small alley he crouched in, shaken loose by the cannon shells exploding all around the mouth, and the collapsing store-front across the rubble strewn street beyond. As the pace of explosions began to lessen, Nathan, gritted his teeth and clutched his combat shotgun tighter to his chest.

"Okay, boys, get ready! The krauts are on the way!" He shouted past the last of the fading artillery explosions. Behind him, the rest of Nathan’s Assault Ranger squad, "the Stokers", settled behind whatever light cover they could find, crates, dumpsters, piles of the rubble left over from the destruction of the buildings forming the ally they waited in.

Pvt. Pinski crouch-ran forward to a spot right beside his Sergeant, bringing his flame-thrower to the front of the squad. Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, the 19 year old from Queens lit his weapons pilot light.Nathan patted Pinski lightly on the back to reassure him, then perked his ringing ears up at the tell tale sounds of boots sliding on broken masonry out in the street beyond the ally. He raised his massive Remmington 10 gauge combat shotgun to his shoulder, just as the first pair of Axis shocktroopers rounded the corner into the alley at a trot. Nathan held his fire and held still as the rest of the Germansquad followed. The moment the leading German noticed the Allied troops hidden among the clutter in the alley, was almost comical to Nathan. While his gasmask hid the surprise on his face, the shock was written all over his body language, as he skidded to a halt.Nathan grinned, locking eyes with the Germans red lenses, as he pulledhis weapons trigger. The boom of his big gauge shotgun was deafening in the enclosed alley, followed a split second later by three more as his squad opened up behind him.

The first three Germans seemed to literally fly apart in the storm of heavy shot.Body parts sprayingthe men behind as well as the fractured walls to either side. Recovering quickly, the two surviving shocktroopers dove behind what little cover they had in the mouth of the alley, Nathan, and his boys racking the slides on their shotguns as fast as they could fire. As the shotgun fire slowed due to a lack of visible targets, Pinski stood up and with a searing woosh, unleashed a three second, fanning burst of burning napalm from his fearsome weapon.

A brief, agonized scream from the inferno at the alley mouth marked the last of the shocktroopers terrible deaths. Pinski panted and shook as he lowered his weapon, pale and wide eyed, staring at the burning bodies.Nathan stood and layed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Good job, soldier", squeezing until Pinski finally tore his eyes from the fire and looked him in the eye. Steeling himself, and nodding once.

"Okay, fall back, men! Lets head up the next block and join the L.T. at the meet up point! Low and fast, move out!" As his men stood from their cover, Nathan could see the exhaustion etched in all of their faces, and in the way they moved, like men carrying jeeps on their backs.

Nothing in this mission had gone right so far, not from day one, Nathan brooded as he and his men hustled out the other end of the alley and headed south along the ruined street.

* * *Forty-eight hours ago, Sergeant Nathan Miller, ASOCOM attached US Rangers, 3rd Squad, 2nd Assault Platoon, Zverograd Expedition, was sitting in his company commanders staff tent with his fellow Section leaders and their CO, Lt. Vitelli, on the captured dockside warf in south Zverograd. The sound of distant shelling could be heard on the north end of the shattered city,

the earth vibrating with every bass crump.A loud cough drew his attention back to the mission briefing, and his Company CO, Captain Rice, "All right, boys, 2nd platoon is going to handle the extraction."

He nodded to the LT, "and 1st and 4th will head up the waterfront and make enough noise to hopefully draw off some of the krauts from the commercial district, here." His crop smacked into the city municipal map on the wall with a snap Nathan felt unwarranted this early in the morning, just shy of 0500.

"Its not an easy walk, at least 40 blocks," he continued, "but, scouts report very light Axis presence, and the Ruskies were pushed out by Manfred weeks before we arrived. Just a couple of rear supply dumps and motor pools." Cpt. Rice paused and looked pointedly at Nathans LT, "And, no, you cant make any side trips on this run, Vitelli." The assembled men chuckled at the young Lieutenants crestfallen look.

Nathan clenched his jaw at the humoreveryone saw in his eager Cosreputation for gettinghis men, Nathans men,into glory hounding,explosive situations.Vitelli seemed to feel a RangerAssault Platoon had a certainreputation to uphold, no matterhow stupid! And Nathans squadhad the replacement kid after thelast time to prove it! The Captain continued. "Ok, Vitelli has the intel packet ASOCOM sent for the meet up. Its got the pass code and id packet for the asset your there to get." He paced back to his desk and sat on the edge,"3rd platoon will act as the cavalry. If things go bad for you out there, Vitelli, call it in, and Carmicheal's platoon will come to the rescue." Rice paused and ran his hand over his eyes.

"This is extremely hush-hush, boys. I don’t even know what’s in the intel in that packet. All radios are to be locked on ASOCOM frequencies, and absoluteradio silence unless the mission is blown, or youare on the hoof back here with the asset.No exceptions." He stood and rolled the map up inhis hand, signalling the brief was almost over. "One more thing, since this is supposed to be a quiet little outing, Cahill and his 'Zippo' are staying behind. But I’m loaning you Ramirez and his spotter."Nathan nodded in appreciation, Ramirez and Sloan were the best sniper team in the company, normally attached to Captain Rice's Command squad. Although, he would miss the reassuring presence of 'Zippo' the platoons usual companion, stomping along ahead of them.

There was something comforting about having a M2-B flame tank between him and the Krauts. "All right, go time is 0600, good luck and god-speed out there, boys. Dismissed." The gathered section leaders snapped a disorganized salute and filed from the tent. Outside Lt. Vitelli rounded up his men and pulled them into a huddle, the breath fogging in the sub-freezing January air. "Right, you heard the Captain, have your squads ready and assembled at the north checkpoint at 0550." Vitelli looked far too eager, Nathan thought sourly. "ASOCOM orders are to open the packet once we clear the ACA ( Allied Controlled Area), then we'll know what we have to expect. Load up your men, we might be out there longer than anticipated, and we dont want to come up short on ammo." Vitelli paused, going over his mental check list. "Haines, you and Miller make sure to pack up some demo charges. Dismissed." As Nathan headed to his squads bivoac in a burned out dockside boarding house, he had a sick feeling inside. The Captain said "no side trips", but Vitelli just didn’t want to hear it. Demo charges? On a sneak mission? That West Point cowboy was going to get people killed. Nathan’s mood got worse the more he thought about it. Banging into the boarding house in a temper, Nathans men were just coming awake, rubbingsleep out of puffy eyes, stretching kinked backs. All but Private Pinski, the new kid sent up a few days ago to replace Madigan, the grizzled old flame-thrower man who bought the farm to a kraut snipers bullet in the fight to take the docks ten days ago. Pinski was wide awake, and pale, cleaning and servicing his weapon, the dreaded M1-9, man portable napalm fuelled flame gun. The kid was a combat cherry, send here fresh from Ranger school. Nathan shook his head in disgust, god damn Vitelli! "Al right, ladies, thirty minutes to shave, eat, and load up, full kit. We got some sneak'n to do today?" He shouted with false bravado, to a corrus of groans and mumbled 'yessers'. Nathan winced when he saw Pinski try to swallow, and fail. God damn Vitelli...

As Nathan’s men trotted towards the north checkpoint, through the bustle of the waking base camp, each man veered over to the motor pool to slap the armored side of the large, dirty green, M2-B Medium Combat Walking tank. The large yellow letters spelled 'Zippo' extravagantly on the side of the hull, and the huge, evil looking muzzle of the walkers M-4 heavy napalm thrower a stark contrast of humor and unleashed horror.

At the checkpoint, Lt. Vitelli and the rest of 2nd platoon had just finished assembling."Section leaders up!" Vitelli quietly ordered. So close to no mans land everyone felt compelled to whisper. The platoons four squad leaders, including Nathan, gathered around Vitelli, the young, lanky black haired LT, looking comical in his Ranger plate and parka.

"We'll head in north in the usual advance order, 3rd section takes point, then 1st, Command, 2nd, and 4th bringing up tail end. Ramirez and his spotter will scout ahead, and keep visual with Sgt. Millers men." Nathan nodded. This was all old hat for the men, Vitelli was just psyching himself up to go.

Vitelli pulled out his small copy of the city map, and pointed out a curving route he had marked in grease pencil. The route diverted to the west about seven blocks from the strait line to the meet point. Right towards the reported depots, Nathan thought, barely restraining himself from voicing his objection. Instead, Nathan caught Vitellis eyes, and held his gaze until the Lt. Looked away, with a flash of guilt.

Nathan Miller was an old man in this war, a veteran at 34, he served two years as an instructor at Ranger school, and taught survival courses to the British in the early months of Americas involvement in the war. He had a talent for the "drill instructors stare".

"OK, we've done this before, so lets get to it." The Lt. finished quietly, dismissing them with a nod.Nathan motioned his men forward and smiled a predators smile, "We've got point again, boys. Keep to the façades, and the route is, north two blocks, west one, repeat. And keep an eye out for Ramirez," Nathan nodded towards the two rangers dressed as piles of grey newspapers, the Scottish guile suits making them look like hairy beast men, "they're gonna be our eyes for this one."

They waited as Ramirez and Sloan trotted silently into the ruins and took up positions at the first intersection, a block ahead. One of the barely discernible piles of rubbish raised its arm and waved the go-ahead. One by one, the sections of 2nd platoon moved quietly into the city, disappearing into the rubble strewn streets.

* * *Two days, and no sleep later, Nathan lead his men from the ambush in the alley, and moved as fast as they could north along the wide, cratered street. The rally point Lt. Vitelli pointed out a few hours ago when he left Nathan's 3rd section to set a trap and bog down pursuit, was another ten blocks north, well out of the slowly tightening noose of Axis troops.

But ten blocks was a marathon to his exhausted men. They had been running and gunning since the first night of the mission, when, God damned Vitelli, had ordered them to demo the supply dump they just "happened" to run across. What their intel didn’t mention, was the full company of Axis Grenadiers less than half a mile away heading for the depot to resupply! Their only saving grace was that the Axis troops were fresh from the front, tired and low on everything, and with the destruction of the depot, they had been playing it cautious, not wasting ammo while chasing the platoon.

2nd platoon had been forced far off course to make the meet, and once the hornets nest was kicked over, Vitelli broke radio silence to call for help. But, lucky them, the ASOCOM handler on the radio ordered them to try to complete the mission! The rescue platoon was dispatched to try to divert the Axis response to the 2nd, but the company chasing them would not be drawn away, they wanted blood!

'The rest of the platoon should have made contact with the asset and be at the rally point by now', Nathan thought, as he jogged along next to Pinski. He had to push himself hard, he had to be stronger than his men, they had to be able to draw from him when all they wanted to do was sit down for a while. Nathan smirked as he thought, 'why oh why did I ever take the chevrons!' Leadership was for suckers!

Pinski looked at his Sergeant when he heard him faintly chuckle with a maniacal grin on his face, 'oh my god!' The kid thought, 'he's actually ENJOYING this!' His eyes widened as he started trotting faster to keep up with his terrifying Sergeant. Six blocks, and about an hour of cautious stop and go, later, Manny Malone, the squads pointman, stopped in his tracks as a figure dressed as a pile of garbage rose from the rubble just ahead in a burned out store front.

Nathan hurried forward when Ramirez waived him up and then fell to his knees on the broken sidewalk. The first thing Nathan noticed, was the dust caked blood all over Ramirezs ghillie suit, the second more telling thing was that the Sniper was alone..

Nathan pulled out his canteen and helped Ramirez sit back against the wall behind him, quickly checking him over for wounds, but it appeared that except for some scrapes and bruises, the blood all over him was not his. "Report, soldier." Nathan said softly, trying to get Ramirez to focus on him. The rest of the squad took up positions all along the street, from one end to the other, keeping a look out for pursuit. "Yes, Sergeant." Ramirez gasped out. "We linked up with the spook, Sarge, and made it to the rally point about four hours ago, in the first floor of an old department store." He paused to drink from Nathan's canteen. "The LT was getting impatient, and sent me and Sl...me and my spotter, to get you and your men early for the withdrawal." Ramirez stumbled when he tried to say his long time spotter, and best friends, name, "we hadn’t made it two blocks before all hell broke loose behind us! We high tailed it back to the store, and all the way there we could hear guns go'n off like fire crackers, and screams. A lota screams, sarge." Ramirez shuttered as he continued.

"The shoot'n died off as me an...my spotter approached the front, we was in a hurry, but we had ta be careful, see? You don’t just run into a firefight all willy-nilly, see?" He started getting worked up, what he saw playing behind his eyes, "we entered careful-like, cover to cover, but didn’t see nobody, not even the sentry from 4th squad at the top of the stairs."

Nathan's eyes stayed locked on the Sniper's face, gauging the truth versus the fear induced panic he saw there, as Ramirez continued.

"We got to the first floor lobby and all we saw was....was... blood, sarge, like paint! On the walls! On the floor! And bits'a meat, and broken shotguns lay'n everywhere! Must'a been all of 4th squad, tossed about up there! I..I tried real hard not to puke, but..." he took a series of deep breaths, even now sickened by the memory.

Nathan laid a steady hand on Ramirez's shoulder, lending him strength, "We moved into the main floor where everyone was gathered, and it was a slaughter house, sarge! Dead men everywhere! The...the whole platoon, sarge! All of 'em! Wiped out. They fought like cougars, casings everywhere, one whole wall was burnt, but it didn’t matter, they was all dead." Ramirez was shaking now.

"I..I sent my spot..Sloan. I sent Sloan to the second floor to check on 1st squads lookouts." The snipers voice started to break, "Not ten seconds later

I hear a shot and then a scream from up stairs, so I take off up the steps to help Sloan. But bye the time I got up there, he was gone, well most of him. He looked like he'd been blown if half, I looked everywhere, but no-one was there, just him. I tried to stop the bleed'n, but he was too bad off. He was...was already dead when I got there."

Nathan squeezed Ramirez shoulder, all the while the painful knot in his gut getting tighter and tighter, 'please, god, don’t do this to us.' He prayed silently, the dread building with every word the sniper said.

There was anguish in his voice when Ramirez continued, "I ran, Sarge! I ran and I ran! It was blocks away when I remembered our....my orders to get you an your men, so I doubled back and started working south, from cover to cover, when I spotted you guys a few blocks down. So I just hunkered down and waited for you."

The Sniper seamed to deflate as his story came to an end, exhausted from the telling. Nathan needed Ramirez ready to fight, especially now, he couldn’t let the shock and guilt get a hold on him, he would have time for that later. If they faced what he thought they faced, he needed every man ready!

"You did your job, soldier." Nathan told him firmly, pride in his voice. "No man can expect more, against an unknown force of that lethality, you did the best thing, coming to get us, orders are orders." He continued, purposefully glossing over Ramirez's panicked flight. "I want you to attach yourself to my squad for now, Ramirez, we need your marksmanship to help cover us."

The Sniper looked up at Nathan's eyes, looking for accusation, or pity, but saw only confidence and expectation. "Yes, Sergeant." He said, more strength in his voice. "Yes, of course, Sergeant"

Nathan clapped him on the back and stood, whistling for his men to regroup. He filled the men in with a brief, less graphic version of the Snipers report, but even still, the fear on the men’s faces was noticeable. Oddly, the one who seamed to keep his morale best, was Pinski, a look of stoic stubbornness locked like a mask on his young face. 'That’s because he hasn’t guessed what the rest of us fear we are up against, yet.' Nathan thought sourly.

"We need to go to the rally point and try to salvage ammo and gear, especialy the radio from the command section, and.... try togather tags, if we can."Nathan reasoned, everyoneseamed to handle the newsokay, even Ramirez justpaled a bit. "Lets rest up for ten,then we move out."Everyone movedto comfortablespots in therubble, stillkeeping watchas they rested.

Nathan sat tiredly against the store front and quietly watched his boys, his men, readying their weapons, checking their ammo, ready to do their jobs, despite everything they had been through the last two days. He closed his eyes and prayed to a god he hasn’t believed in since he was ten, 'Please let me do right by my men, let me get them out of here. And PLEASE let me be wrong about what we've stepped into!' Nathan shuttered as the memory of a smell filled his mind, a rancid, rotten smell, a chemical, unclean smell. Unconsciously, he clutched his Remington tighter.

Pinski heard a creaking sound, and glanced over at the Sarge, his knuckles white as he gripped his gun like he was trying to wring the life out of it. A cloud of disquiet passed over Pinski, a frown of apprehension fluttering across his tired, but youthful face. He went back to cleaning the muzzle of his flame thrower, frowning.

With this issue’s focus on Operation: Zverograd and the SSU, we thought we’d show you guys a couple simple urban basing schemes. First the materials you’ll need: wood glue, plastic glue, some plastic card, plastic rod, small bricks from Pegasus. You’ll also need an xacto knife and a brush.

Carefully cut off a small section of plastic card and snip off a small section of plastic rod.

Bevel the edges of the small piece of plastic card. That helps make it look more natural. Attach the plastic card and pipe to the base with some plastic glue.

Using your brush spread some slightly watered down wood glue around the base.

Carefully arrange some of the Pegasus bricks on the base. You can even do several rows of bricks to do the remnants of a small wall.

Sprinkle some sand on the rest of the base.

Once the glues are completely dry it’s time to paint. Primer your models as normal, if you plan to paint over the primer that’s already on the model you’ll have to apply brush on primer. Point is, you want it to be black.

Over the black dry-brush a dark gray, I used Citadel’s Adeptus Battle Gray. Paint the ring of the base a blueish gray, I used Citadel’s Shadow Gray. Paint the pipe metallic, Bolt Gun metal works well.

Dry brush the dark gray with a lighter grey, Fortress Gray in the example. Edge highlight the ring with a lighter blue-gray, Spacewolf Gray in the example and then wash it with black ink. Stipple the pipe with dark brown.

Once the ink is dry, pick out the bolts with some metallic. Stipple the the pipe with some Solar Macharious Orange and then wash it with a bit brown ink. Once the ink is dry stipple it just a bit with Solar Macharious again.

That’s it for the basic base but if you are feeling especially ambitious you can pick out the bricks in Mecharious Red. Once dry wash it with brown ink. Highlight the edges with more Mecharious.

In our inaugural From The Front: Tactics battle report, Jason McFarland and Larry White get to grips in scenario 3, The Hidden Lab from the Operation Zverograd Campaign expansion. Jason’s allies will be protecting the Lab against the counterattack launched by Larry’s SSU.

Each side will be fielding 200 points.

Jason’s Allied List:

Bazooka JoeOzz 117BBQ SquadRecon BoysGrim ReapersTank BustersCrack ShotsCobra

Larry’s SSU List:

KoshkaMedvediFrontovikiFakyeli3 Chinese Volunteer SquadsSSU Airborne Transport

Zverograd TodayWhen the strange discovery was made beneath the city of Zverograd, The Soviet Union failed to keep its secret secure, and soon their enemies became interested as well. No one is really sure what lies below, but all parties have their suspicions. Some say it’s a large underground VK mine. Others, including members of the Allies’ ASOCOM and the Axis’

Blutkreuz Korps, think it could be much more than that.

SMERSH has found what looks like an “entrance” to the structure, but have yet to gain access. Time is running short, however, as all three blocs are now fighting to control Zverograd’s secret. The violently executed interest of the enemy blocs has reduced the city to rubble. On the path of the invading Axis Army as it made its way towards the petrol fields of Grozny and Northern Iran, the city was poorly located. Now it is situated at a crossroads between all three blocs, and the city has suffered greatly.

Nearly half of the city’s buildings have been destroyed, most are completely roofless, and nearly all remaining windows stand empty and glassless. The medieval town in the city center has burned almost entirely to the ground, the only surviving structure is the sturdy stone monastery. The fight for control of the city is continuous; it has been years since any force has been able to claim it entirely.

Mission 3 – the hidden labThe industrial sections of Zverograd have seen some of the heaviest fighting in the city, and those buildings that still stand are key staging grounds for resistance. Having narrowed down the possible location of Winter Child's facility, the last step is to scour the industrial quarter located near the river docks.

Objective:The Attacker is attempting to locate the entrance to Winter Child's laboratory. If, at the end of turn eight, the Attacker controls 2 of the Attacker Objective spaces, he is the winner. Otherwise, the Defender wins.

TURN #1

It was the allied job to protect the objective points. The SSU split into 2 different flanks to try to spread out a bit and make the allies spread their forces thin for easier ways to the objectives.

The allies went for the safety of the buildings and then had the heavy hitters come up the flanks to envelope. On the allied left flank, the Tank Buster squad whittles down a Volunteer squad a bit. The Recon Boys hit the upper point in the field and were able to score hits on the Frontoviki. Cobra comes in the allied right flank and takes an opportunity on the Medvedi. Turn 1 was very heavy on Allied activity.

“The SSU sweep in to attack the Cobra”

“The Tank Busters shooting up some SSU”

“While the Recon Boys score hits on the Battle Squad”

“The Cobra spits death at the Medvedi”

TURN #2

The SSU took some heavy casualties during the first turn, and were hoping to gain a foothold in turn 2. The Grim Reapers head out of the safety of the building with Ozz and use their Heroic Attack.

The SSU Battle Squad was able to take some sweet revenge on the Recon Boys and whittled them down to one man. Tank Busters finished off the Volunteer squad that they attacked in turn 1.

Koshka and the Fakyeli do everything they can to try to remove the Cobra. Doing so would give them a huge advantage on the right flank, but completely miss with all their attacks that mattered! The Cobra decides to split its fire between the upper Volunteer squad with machine guns, and use the Phasers on Koshka’s squad in front. The Cobra manages to reduce the Volunteer squad to one man, and gets 2 wounds on Koshka.

The remaining Victory Machinegun soldier from the Recon Boys squad sustains fire on the 3 members left of the Battle Squad and scores all 3 hits! Turn 2 ends with a seemingly even heavier Allied advantage.

“Turn 2 ends withthe Allies enjoying battlefield supremacy”

“Koshka and the Fakyeli strike at the Cobra ineffectually”

“The Recon MG takes revenge on the SSU”

TURN #3

If the SSU are going to make a stand and get those objectives, now would be the time!

The Allies get the initiative and try to take out the biggest threat, Koshka and the Fakyeli. The Cobra starts and scores some great hits against the Fakyeli, killing Koshka. The Fakyeli flamethrower tries to take out the Cobra and whiffs again, furthering the SSU's dismay.

Unbeknownst to the Crack Shots, the last Volunteer of the upper squad sneaks into the building and puts a shot to the back of the sniper. The spotter regains control of himself and puts the Chinese soldier down.

Turn 3 ends with the allies controlling the left flank. The Grim Reapers heading for a showdown with the Chopper, and the right flank still uncontested, but the allies may be stalling the SSU enough to keep them away from the objectives.

“Turn 3 and things look down right grim for the SSU.”

“Koshka’s sacrifice counts for naught as the Fakyeli fail yet again to take out the Cobra.”

“The Sniper is eliminated by the surviving Volunteer.”

TURN #4

The SSU finally get a little going for them with a round of fire from the chopper taking out Ozz and 2 of the Reapers!

That leaves the Allies free to try and mop up the other parts of the right flank and they do so with the Cobra taking out the rest of the Fakyeli.

“The Chopper opens up with Quad Dshk and cuts down Ozz and a couple of the Reapers.”

The Medvedi remnants take advantage of the distractions to enter the building and try to head in and claim an objective. Crack Shots swing and miss against them in the low light.

The remaining Reaper tries his best and gets a bit of damage on the SSU Chopper. It's looking dismal for the SSU, but they can still make a game of it...

“Can the SSU do anything to snatch victory from the jaws

of defeat?”

“The Medvedi maneuver towards an objective.”

TURN #5

The Grim Reaper starts this turn by sustaining fire on the Chopper, doing a bit more damage but failing to bring it down.

Unfortunately, the Chopper claims the Reaper on the return fire…Meanwhile, the Crack Shot spotter is able to make out where the Medvedi is shooting from and is able to inflict another casualty.

The commander tries an all out attack against the Crack Shot spotter, misses, and ends up perishing in close combat. At this point it's looking like an allied route....

“Turn 5 draws to a close.”

TURN #6

During all the firefighting, Bazooka Joe and the BBQ Squad were going to camp on the objective markers and lay in wait for the SSU.

“The Reaper and the Chopper exchange fire.”

Unfortunately the Chopper caught a bead on them and decimated their numbers down to two and eliminating Joe.

“Joe is gunned down but it doesn't matter, as there is little chance of an SSU victory

at this point.”

TURN #7

The Cobra comes around the building to bring it’s 50cal to bear on the Chopper, but failing to bring it down.

Unphased by that, the Chopper ignores the impenetrable Cobra and instead takes the rest of the BBQ squad out of action.

One turn left...

“The Cobra swings round to down the chopper but fails in it’s attempt. Meanwhile, the Chopper

guns down the last of the BBQ squad.”

TURN #8

The last turn was an exercise in futility as the Cobra 50 cal couldn't quite bring the Chopper to bear. This left the end with the Allies getting a pretty solid victory.

ALLIED VICTORY

AFTER ACTION REPORT

Jason: I felt my plan was pretty solid. The buildings were very important to me and I tried taking advantage of the somewhat random deployment area to make sure he couldn't throw a lot on one flank.

I also thought I was going to lose the Cobra 2 or 3 times, but the dice gods were with me.

Larry: I had a lot just go wrong. I forgot Grand'Ma, so ended up giving it a go with everything I had.

I split myself up a bit too much, and should have focused more, but the rolling was atrocious on my side, I'm guessing there was heavy vodka drinking the night before....

Hello everyone. For the first issue of the Dust Chronicles Magazine, I will cover how to paint an SSU Army in a weekend.

I did this army as a commission piece and the customer needed the models back pretty fast. In this guide I will show the techniques I used to get a tabletop quality army out in record time.

Since I knew I would not get the chance to add too many highlights to the figures, I used Krylon Camouflage Khaki to add some depth to the models.

I misted this spray paint from the top of the miniatures only similar to highlightingwith an airbrush. Here is what themodels look like after this coat.

First I base-coated the infantry. I used Reaper Master Series High Definition paints here to get maximum coverage with only one coat.

The armor is painted with Reaper Master Series High Definition Dark Olive. The brown on the gloves, straps, and backpacks are done with RMS HD Woodland Brown. The boots are painted Pure Black and the Metal is painted with Blackened Steel.

For the camouflage I painted a rough amoeba pattern. If you take more time you can make it as detailed as you would like. For a tabletop standard, just the rough shape is fine.

The final step is to shade the model. I used Citadel Agrax Earthshade to add definition to the uniform. Reaper Black Wash was used on the metal and Reaper Brown Wash was used on the browns. And there you have a finished SSU infantry model.

Reports indicate that a base, north of Zverograd, long thought abandoned has been receiving supplies in the last few weeks. The derelict buildings above ground are not being used. This means there is an underground base. Perhaps you will find more information about the secrets beneath Zverograd inside that base.

It is important to get a team to the base, infiltrate it and retrieve any secret research material hidden underground, before anybody else does.

Mission 1 – down the hole

Your force arrives early in the morning. As your men make their way to the base parameter you catch a glimpse of enemy troops. The race is on, whoever gets into the base first can take advantage of its cover. Out here, in the open you are sitting ducks.

Special rules:For this mission both forces have access to the same number of points, we recommend 200ap.

Both players roll three dice and whoever rolls the most HIT symbols becomes the attacker.

Each player has a total of two ammo crates that can be placed anywhere on the map.

The time limit for this scenario is 8 rounds.

Attacker Deployment

Defender Deployment

Objective Area

objective:Each player is trying to get into the underground base before the other does.The only way to win this game is by having an unit standing on either of the Objective Areas (doors leading down into the underground base) at the end of round 8.

If neither player achieves the objective then the game is a draw and will need to be played again (sorry).

If only one player achieves the objective then that players wins the first mission and becomes the Attacker in Mission 2 (to be published in the next issue of Dust Chronicles).

If both players achieve the objective then the game is a draw and both sides make it into the underground base.In this case play Mission 2B (also published in the next issue of Dust Chronicles).

by Leutnant Manfred Hirtzel

This issue we’re going to look at three of the thinnest and deadliest femme fatales in the Dust Universe, and see just how *ahem* flexible they can really be.

AngelaThe Natural Choice: Sniper Grenadiers

It only seems natural to pair a sniper with another sniper, and the effect is devastating. Giving Angela access to a spotter can make her a squad killing machine, and the other Sniper can act to pick off squads, or allow you to target two different high-priority targets at once. The down side is despite the Sniper Grenadiers excellent cover saves, you’re still spending 37 points on what is ultimately a 5 health squad. Angela is certain to draw a lot of aggro, so you’ll need to get the most out of her before she’s replaced with a very large crater.

The Unusual Choice: Virtually any other squad

Take a lesson from the upcoming SSU Rifle Squad and pair Angela with a full strength squad. While she doesn’t deal as much damage without the aid of a spotter, your costly hero investment will be better protected.

Combined with Battle Grenadiers or Tank Killers, you can use her Solothurn’s range and penetration power to wither down walkers so that your Panzerschrecks can finish them off.

Combined with Recon Grenadiers, you can create a deadly infantry-hunting squad. Your enemy might think twice about charging this powerhouse of firepower. She also increases the squads ability to finish off walkers, her rifle augmenting the short-ranged panzerfausts.

If you’re feeling particularly bold, combine her with Sturmpioniere. Frenzy works any time she is targeting infantry, so her Mauser and melee attacks will add to her deadliness.

RosieThe Natural Choice: Gunners or Bot Hunters

Apples go with apples, and high-power anti-tank rocket launchers go with other anti-tank rocket launchers. Rosie is one of the strongest Anti-tank heroes in the game, beat only by Action Jackson on a good day with fair phaser weather. Combined with the Bot Hunters, she can bring some nasty death down upon even the heaviest of walkers, dealing a maximum of 10 damage between three bazookas.

The Unusual Choice: Crack Shots or SoloSpotter works on Bazookas too, and no bazooka is deadlier than Rosie’s. This combo makes Rosie a threatening ambush hunter against light and medium walkers, and gives the Crack Shots some much needed health points. It will also make your enemy think twice about sending a walker to take out this sniper team.

Alternatively, you can make ample use of Rosie’s Tank Head skill by fielding her without a squad. Just place her behind your Heavy Walker of choice, and have her advance with it (or in it, if there’s room).Once your costly investmenthas taken a few hits, justhave her pop off tank head andyour walker is as good as new.By fielding her alone while youdo this, you avoid tying up oneof your squads with chasing aFireball half way across the map,or having your transported squadexpose themselves too early whileshe jumps out for a quick patch job.Plus you can confuse the enemyby having her stand in one of thewalker’s square, a perfectly legalmove when she’s alone.

KoshkaThe Natural Choice: Grand’Ma

Koshka is the first hero to be able to pilot a walker. So why wouldn’t you field her in this unique and versatile walker. With an extra point of health over your normal armor 4 walker, Grand’Ma makes a good close-medium range walker. In addition, her Fighting Spirit skill can make Grand’Ma’s Sulfur Jet and Howitzer extra deadly for when it counts the most. Should Grand’Ma fall, Koshka will still be there to prove a thorn in your enemy’s side.

The Unusual Choice:Frontoviki, Fakyeli, or Chinese Volunteers

Wile it originally appeared that Koshka's Fighting Spirit would only work while she piloted Grand'Ma, the release of Operation Zverograd's rules stated that any pilot skills were always useable both in and outside of the walker. With this revelation, Koshka becomes a valuable hero for embedding in squads,

since SSU squads are outfitted with short-ranged PPSH sub-machine guns rather than your archetypal assault rifle.

Placing her in the Frontoviki gives them some much needed health with which to advance into SMG range, as well as some extra firepower with her Grenade Pistol. In addition, since Fighting Spirit transfers to squads, the result can be devastating with this fully automatic team.

Embedding her in the Fakyeli also causes no issue with her range and gives her a potentially even more devastating use of Fighting Spirit. The Fakyeli could always benefit from her health points as well, since they lack the fast skill of their BBQ squad cousins.

Lastly, placing her in with the Chinese Volunteers creates a hero-squad combo that is very cheap at only 30 points, yet very high firepower once in range. She easily transforms this meat-shield into a squad your enemy should never underestimate.

Dust linkshttp://dust-models.comPaolo Parente’s main page. ‘The’ place to get all your Dust Studio models, premium pre-paints, swag, etc.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.comFFG’s website. Home to the official forums and webstore.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/303941853917The official Facebook page for Dust.

http://www.dust-league.comThe World Wide Dust League. Track your ranking among the world’s players. See which faction holds the upper hand in the struggle for the world’s Vk resources.

http://radiodustinforma.blogspot.comA Spanish Language Dust resource.

http://twc-dust-tactics.blogspot.comA great blog with Homegrown rules for Historical vehicles and Super Heroes for Dust tactics.

http://homepage.mac.com/brentdietrich/companyB.htmHas some good aftermarket bits for your walkers. IR lights and scope, tarps, sacks, battlerattle, etc. Also has some vehicles but are a bit small in comparison to Dust models. They have 28mm Gear Krieg.

http://www.warlordgames.com28mm Historical WWII miniatures. Their plastic multi-part kits are a great source of bits for upgrading your infantry models. They also have some vehicles and terrain you might find useful.

http://www.secretweaponminiatures.comBits for infantry conversions, weathering pigments and washes, and basing materials

http://www.westwindproductions.co.ukWest Wind Production’s Secrets of the Third Reich and Berlin or Bust, a great source for alternate heads and weapons. Some of their miniatures work well for Dust too.

http://www.tamiyausa.comA source for 1/48 scale WWII models.

http://www.quarter-kit.comThey have some conversion kits for 1/48 models that allow you to ‘update’ your historical mundane vehicles to the Dust world. (Panther II turret etc.)

Throughout the Dust Chronicles magazine you will find links to external websites. Although we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, the staff of the Dust Chronicles cannot take responsibility for pages maintained by external providers.

Games and expansions – part 1

dust tactics core setcontents:Rulebook, Quick Start Rules, Blue Thunder Campaign book, 18 Two-sided Terrain Squares, 12 Unit Cards, 9 Two-sided Terrain Tiles, 4 Ammo Crates, 2 Tank Traps, 12 Dice, 2 Allied Walkers (Hot Dog & Pounder), 3 Allied Infantry Units (The Recon Boys, The Gunners & BBQ Squad), Captain Joseph Brown, 2 Axis Walkers (Ludwig & Luther), 3 Axis Infantry Units (Recon Grenadiers, Battle Grenadiers & Laser Grenadiers) and Colonel Sigrid Von Thaler.

standard ◊premium ◊

dust tactics core set revisedcontents:Rulebook, Victory Bridge Campaign book, 9 Two-sided Terrain Squares, 10 Unit Cards, 2 Double-sided Posters, 2 Ammo Crates, 2 Tank Traps, 6 Dice, 1 Plastic “Loaded” Token, 1 Allied Walker (Blackhawk), 3 Allied Infantry Units (The Hammers, Hell Boys & Death Dealers), William “Rhino” Springfield, 1 Axis Walker (Hans), 3 Axis Infantry Units (Heavy Flak Grenadiers, Heavy Laser Grenadiers & Sturmpioniere) and Feldwebel Lara Walter.

standard ◊premium ◊

dust Dice packcontents:15 dust Dice

standard ◊

dust tactics operation “cyclone”contents:Rulebook including Cyclone Campaign Missions, 9 Two-sided Terrain Squares, 2 Unit Cards, 6 Two-sided Terrain Tiles, 4 Ammo Crates, 4 Tank Traps, Master Sergeant Rosie Donovan and Oberleutnant Manfred Kreuzer.

standard ◊premium ◊

dust tactics operation “seelowe”contents:Rulebook including SeeLowe Campaign Missions, 2 Unit Cards, 6 Two-sided Terrain Tiles, 2 Ammo Crates, 2 Tank Traps, Ozz 117 and Markus.

standard ◊premium ◊

dust tactics operation “cerberus”contents:Rulebook including Cerberus Campaign Missions, 1 Multi-part Building (three levels), 2 Unit Cards, 1 Smoke Token, The Chef and Angela Wolf.

standard ◊premium ◊

Games and expansions – part 2

dust tactics operation zverogradcontents:Rulebook including Zverograd Campaign missions, 1 Multi-part Building (one level), 2 Double-sided Posters, 1 SSU Walker (Grand'Ma) and Koshka.

standard ◊premium ◊

dust tactics operation hadescontents:To be confirmed.

standard ◊premium ◊

dust building accessory packcontents:1 Multi-part Building (two levels).

standard ◊

dust tactics terrain tile setcontents:12 Double-sided Terrain Tiles, 2 Double-sided Structure Tiles, 9 Double-sided Terrain Squares and the Operation Blue Thunder Scenario Book.

Standard ◊

dust tactics unit card pack contents: Updated Unit cards for use with Dust Tactics.

Standard ◊

dust warfare core rulebookcontents:This book provides advanced rules for playing out tabletop miniatures battles with the same Dust miniatures used in the Dust Tactics board game.

Standard ◊

dust warfare campaign book zverogradcontents:This book the Dust Warfare rules for the SSU Dust miniatures used in the Dust Tactics board game.

Standard ◊