Russian lighthouse and administration building

I like to build tables that reflect the story/ background of whatever game I am playing with that in mind I set to creating some specific Zverograd buildings. I have already created boards to represent the coast of the Caspian Sea and only needed to make a Russian Lighthouse to defend against the Allied assault as described in the Dust fluff. 

I first searched the Internet using Google for images of Lighthouses in Russia and used one that was built in the Baltic. 

So the design was decided upon I then messed around with the Dust buildings to create the rough outline. I then glued the plastic pieces together and cut a piece of 3mm MDF to base the building upon. I added extra sections using 3mm MDF but the hardest part was the octagonal tower. 

Unsightly joins were covered up with cardboard stripes (shown in white above).

Removable MDF roofs were covered in cheap corrugated cardboard (above).

 

I created a removable section for the building do that it could become a Admin building instead of a Lighthouse (above).

First base coat on the two variants (above and below).

Detailing of the two variants (below).

Admin building variant finished and used in a large 550 point battle. 

I will show the finished lighthouse and Caspian Sea boards when I play the Allied assault upon the lighthouse. 

Gamecraft Foamcard buildings Part 1

I bought 6 destroyed foamcard buildings from Gamecraft Miniatures when I had ordered two of their excellent factory buildings. They come flat packed and only require minimal assembly using PVA or white glue. The foamcard has been cut with a laser cutter and are crisp and accurate. They also do a fantastic bridge that is perfect for your Zverograd harbour table.

Many people would assemble and then spray these and be very happy with the result however I like a little more detail.    

Flat pack foamcard buildings after being glued together (usually 2 -4 pieces).

The first thing I did when the building were dry was to add a few floors to each building all roughly cut from MDF.

The addition of floors give your buildings extra places to put your troops and now you have coolsniper-positions for your forces. I like to add a few other details to give the buildings a better look. I do not add too many extras as these are pieces I game with and need to survive a trip in the car down to my local club. I used some thick cardboard strips to add outline to the building.

As you can see just a little extra work starts to really bring the building together. I am going to cover the outside of my buildings with a mix I use for modelling to add texture. The mix is made from tiling grout mixed with PVA or white glue. The grout has a rough texture as you can see below.

The grey area is the tiling grout mix going on. When the mix is dry it provides an excellent rough finish which takes a dry brush very well. I like using foamcard as I can scribe details upon the walls. below you see some bricks simply drawn on and when surrounded with the tiling mix they will provide detail and extra colour. 

I will finish this building over the weekend and I will show how I went about painting it.

Gamecraft Miniatures are available from this site address: http://www.gamecraftminiatures.com/

They are having a 20% off sale over the long weekend so get in and order some very cheap Dust terrain. 

Russian village table

Had lots of fun on this table. Buildings are a mix of resin, expanded urethane and scratch built kits. 

Favourite Table

Here is a couple of photos from a great game I played about 6 months ago. What I enjoyed most was the cluttered feel of table with lots of cover and buildings to fight over. The game was a close one with lots of close assaults and massive casualties on both sides. 

Zverograd Admin BUilding

Large building I did for for my Dust collection using two and half Dust building kits and lots of MDF, cardboard, foamcard, plastic sheeting and lots of paint.

Terrain for Dust

Dust Warfare needs lots of terrain I feel, whilst the Dust building kit is fantastic there is a need for other models. Gamescraft Miniatures in the US is a great source of very cheap MDF and Foamcard buildings which need finishing. http://store.gcmshop.com/c/100/mdf-and-foam-board-city-building-series?pagenumber=2

My first buy was two factory buildings which needed cladding and roofing. 

SSU walker shown next the building for size. 

The first thing I did was to base the building on a 3mm MDF board and then I cut and glued cheap corrugated cardboard from my local art shop onto the sides of the building. MDF pieces were cut for the roofs and clad with corrugated cardboard. Building was then sprayed and detailed with SSU propaganda posters copied from the Internet. Finished product below but the second one will look different. 

SSU Tractors

When this model was announced I decided straight away that I wanted 4. They looked great but seemed easy to kill but after a few games I feel they are good value for points and can cause lots of pain to the unwary Axis and Allied player.

Dust Warfare: SSU armoured vehicle Dustifications BTR 100 and 200 APC

        

                                         BTR 100 APC based upon the T34 chassis

The Dust World has close links to the real WWII one, which always made me wonder what would have  happened to the thousands of AFVs built by all three power blocks prior to the discovery of VK technology. Wouldn't the engineers and scientists of the SSU, Axis and Allied Blocs modify or upgrade these readily available armoured vehicles and send them back into the fray? 

This is the world of Dustification, where you can take your favourite Panther and equip it with a weapon that brings it into the alternate world of Paolo's Dust. This is the modellers dream world, where you can take your favourite Tamiya, Italeri, Bandai or another 1/48 scale model and convert away providing alternate but plausible (in this world) modifications.

I like to give my Dustified models a background, how and why were they built or modified and what role did they play on the world wide battlefields of Dust? Here is my first background story upon the SSU creation of their first APCs.

                                                    

                                                                 The BTR 100 and 200

The discovery of VK technology through the medium of a captured Axis walker had revolutionised the way that the SSU developed their armoured formations. Newdesigns for heavy tanks and medium and heavy walkers had quickly made the solid T34, KV and JS chassis out dated and virtually redundant. This was seen by manymilitary experts as a waste of valuable resources and ways to use these tanks for the war effort was seen as a priority vital for success. The most popular and accessible way to utilise the tanks was to make them into armoured personnel carriers or APCs.

The Axis forces had used their SDKFZ range of armoured halftracks very successfully in the early years of the Russian campaign and had supplemented them with the new Katzchen; Prinzluther and Sturmprinz. The SSU had a huge manpower pool to draw upon but losses on the Eastern Front alone had been horrendous. These losses were especially heavy amongst the experienced battle-hardened veterans who trained to fight with the new SSU tanks and walkers. High ranking SSU officers wanted another way to support their armoured assets whilst keeping casualties to an acceptable SSU level. It was some unnamed but innovative engineers from the famous Red October tank factory in Stalingrad who came up with the basic APC designs during one of the many battles for the city. These engineers took damaged T34 and KV tanks; removed their turrets, added extra armour, infantry handles and numerous machine guns and sent them back into battle manned by factory volunteers to support their armour in the street battles for the city. Following many interviews with the survivors of these battles SSU armour specialists settled upon the design for the T34 and KV APCs, thus the BTR 100 and BTR 200 were officially designated.

The BTR 100 was a design based upon the T34 chassis and was the most radical of the conversions with the engine moved from the back of the vehicle to the front. Whilst a major change with much work done on the gearbox, the move allowed a relatively spacious infantry compartment with room for 6 fully equipped soldiersinside and 6 hanging onto rails welded along the body of the vehicle. The removal of the heavy turret allowed extra armour to be added to the front and sides making the BTR 100 a vehicle that could survive on most battlefields (T4 D4).  The BTR 200 was a much easier design with the removal of the turret and the creation of an infantry compartment with space for 6 fully equipped soldiers. Some additional armour was added to help survivability on the battlefield (T4 D4 with damage resilience). The limited number of KV chassis compared to that of the T34 has ensured that the BTR 200 is used in SSU armoured companies as a command vehicle. The vehicle has been fitted with additional radio equipment designed to keep the numerous and effective SSU artillery constantly in touch and on call.

The limited but ever increasing production of the BTR 100 and 200 will one day see the SSU Armoured and Armoured Infantry Regiments reach the same levels ofprofessionalism displayed by the much feared Axis Panzer Divisions.

                                                     BTR 200 command APC based upon the KV and JS chassis.