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editorial

The last few months have been very, lets say,


interesting for players of Dust Tactics and Dust
Warfare. The move from Fantasy Flight Games
to Battlefront Miniatures has been more complicated than most of us would have liked and everybody involved is still trying to find their footing and getting to grips with everything.

But lets be honest. When has a move ever gone


smooth? Ive completed a house move over a
month ago and there are still boxes in the garage
that Ive not even opened (it took me two weeks
to find the tv remote). Every move comes with
unexpected events and moving not one but two
game systems from one distributor to another
was always going to be a massive undertaking.
For some the wait has been to long and this has
caused plenty of heated discussions on facebook
and other social media. Every day without new
information was seen as a day closer to the demise of Dust and every day with new information was greeted with cries of rushed work or not
enough news.
Here at Dust Chronicles we have also noticed
people not being sure about the future of Dust.
The number of articles received as dried up as
players are concerned about investing time into
the hobby and as a result the issue you have in
your hands (or on your screen) is not the content
packed magazine you have come to expect from
us.
However, Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare are two
very good games that are being supported by two
very healthy companies (Dust Studio and Battlefront) and already we can see that things have
started moving again. Facebook and Twitter
have new official World of Dust accounts, Wave
8.1 (Achilles) has begun arriving at retailers and
if you look at the Dust-models.com website you
will see plenty of units on advance order and in
the Coming Soon section.

Instead of judging the new partnership on this


transition period with all its bumps and challenges, lets allow the people involved the benefit of
the doubt and see what happens when Operation
Babylon is released. That expansion will be the
first expansion released as part of the new partnership without any limitations caused by the
ending contract with Fantasy Flight Games.
So what about Dust Chronicles? Well this issue
was a challenge to say the least. Writers had to
drop out due to commitments and or loss of interest. A handfull of super heroes stepped in to
provide as much content as possible in a very
short space of time and then there where some
technical problems (mainly caused by my house
move) and all of this has caused the magazine to
be two weeks late. Like you Im not happy about
this and I hope to not have it happen again. If we
want to keep the magazine going we need you to
help us out.

Submissions

We are always looking for reports From The


Front for either Tactics or Warfare, painting and
modeling How2 articles, unit reviews and event
reports. If you have ideas for submissions that
dont fit the current layout of the magazine submit them anyway. If they are good, well find a
way to make em fit.
Due to the time it takes to edit and layout the content of the magazine, please submit your content
10 days prior to the date of publishing. The next
issue will be December and so content needs to
be submitted by the 20th of November.
Submit articles, communications and complaints
to dustfanzine@hotmail.com
Temp. Editor-in-chief
Floris Hussaarts

dust chronicles - issue 8

Table of contents:

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02
Table Of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03
News From The World Of Dust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04
Inside Dust Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06
SSU Steel Guard Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
A Whole Lotta Grit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Dust Tactics Experimental Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Dust On The Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Gen Con 2013 (in pictures) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
To Warfare Or Not To Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Art Of War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Dust Tactics Scenario: All Your Base Belong To Us. . . . .31
DDI Campaign Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Going Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Unit Storage On A Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Dust Day Italy (in pictures) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Fortificazioni (Ialian Global Content) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Zombie VS Gorilla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Dust Devils News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Floris Hussaarts as Battaglia
Patrick Doty as Captain Stein
Paolo Parente as Col Joseph L. Ryan
Olivier Zamfirescu as Corporal Giannini
Vincent Fontaine as Capt. Oriani
Michael Stacy, as Costanzo
F. Haugh as Sgt. Dunbar
Umberto Bonomi as Sgt. Bostick
Frank Latimer as Private Ames
Cover by: Gregory Withrow
Names and artwork are 2013 Dust Ltd. and/or Battlefront Miniatures. All Rights Reserved.
Dust Tactics & Dust Warfare and their logos are trademarks of Dust Ltd.
Images and trademarks used with permission.
We do our best to ensure www. links are correct but do not take responsibillity for the content of web pages this magazine links to.

news from the world of dust


In August we were given the first glimpse
of what is in store for Operation: Babylon
with the reveal of the NDAK miniatures at
GEN CON. Now Dust Studio is showing the
first images of the Allied camo scheme for
Babylon.
The Pre-order pages at www.dust-models.
com have been updated with the Allied
Pounder, The Choppers and Recon Mickey.
All of these will soon be available in the Operation: Babylon colors, with plenty more to
follow.

news from the world of dust


One of the units available for pre-order is the
Allied Recon Mickey and up until now the unit
was not available with legal rules for use in your
games of Dust warfare.
That is about to change with the release of the
Dust Warfare Appendix Volume I. This PDF release contains official rules for the range of D-48
units and is available free from the Dust Devils
International website at www.dust-devils.com.

T h e W o r l d s P r e m i e r Ta b l e t o p G a m i n g M a g a z i n e

LDS
The WOR

PREMIER

TA B L E T O

G
P GAMIN

M AGA ZIN

Free
intelligenge
handbook
with this
issue

FREE

ARAbIsRAElI WAR
INTEllIGENCE
HANDbOOK

10

the alamo

1
9 770957 64412

NFEDE
plus: CO

the tanks of 67
Here we focus on the stars of the Fate Of A Nation game the tanks. Providing information on those used by both sides
in the conflict.
the colours of 67
The Arab-Israeli War of 1967 presents a whole new palette
of colours for Flames Of War players. This article is an
introductory guide to painting the forces that fought in the
Six-Day War.
battlefields of the Six-Day war
We continue to provide you with all the relevent information
you will need for your Fate Of A Nation games.

ober 2013
Issue 312 - oct 0
4.50 6.5
$12.00
US $8.50 Aus
444
ISSN 0957-6

the Six-Day waR


Our theme content kicks off with your handy guide to the
Six-Day War, arming you with background information to
get you swiftly into the period.

ronin

nt demo table
A look at this excelle

ANTR
R AT E I N F

photoS
lutionary

ing Samurai rules


New Osprey Publish

ric
Y, h i s t o

revo
tion
Independence inspira
American War of

ore!
rt and m
on repo

missions of 67
Gavin Von Rossum explains how existing Flames Of War
missions can be converted for use with Fate Of A Nation.
Outfitting: Confederate infantry
Don Effinger and Mike Evans return to continue their l
ook at the uniforms and equipment of the American Civil
War. This time theyre reviewing the average
Confederate infantryman.
saluting the alamo
One of the most impressive tables from Salute 2013 was
Gringo 40s Alamo game. Following the show we tracked
down the guys who had put on the game and asked them to
tell us how it came about, and played out on the day.
the savage wars of peace - part four
Colonial buff Andy Hoare takes us back to his series on the
small wars of Queen Victoria, this time taking a look at
the 8th Xhosa War, and adding various Objectives to his
growing set of campaign rules.

Wargames
Illustrated

#312 - Oct
120 Pages

4.50
Released:

28/9/13

Each issue of Wargames


Illustrated will feature a
mini-theme of sorts. With
these themes we will bring
you a closer look at a battle,
campaign, or theater of war.
As well as a look at the history,
well provide a lot of great
ideas for your own
wargaming adventures!
In addition to these themed
articles (highlighted in blue)
well bring all the articles you
expect to see each month,
covering all periods, wargames,
manufacturers, and scales.

ronin designers notes


We are treated to a quick glimpse of the rules behind Osprey
Wargames latest offering - Ronin - from the author himself,
Craig Woodfield.
photographing: the american revolution
Bill Gaskins American War of Independence collection is a
sight to behold, and thats exactly what you can do in these
eight pages of photos on the subject.
wrestling with raphia
Chris Hahn talks us through his struggle to best represent
elements of the 217BC Battle of Raphia in a wargame.
great warriors: butlers rangers
Our Great Warriors series returns with a focus on one of the
most famous ranger regiments of the American Revolution.
In addition, Fighting Talk! returns to the musings of Barry
Hilton, and we report from HISTORICON 2013.

wargamesillustrated.net

SSU STEEL GUARD SHOWCASE

d
r
a
u
:
g
y
b
l
e
e
ed
t
t
s
n
i
ssu es pa ess
r
rg
u
u
t
B
a
mini Isaiah

10

11

a
whole
lotta
grit
By Leutnant Manfred Hirtzel
Some men have seen too much of war. Theyre
tired, jaded, and know only pain. And sometimes
you need these sort of men, because while they
may not be as flashy or as awesome as other heroes, they get the job done. With Guns, skills,
and a gratuitous application of high explosives,
theres nothing that they cant overcome. After
all, would you be frightened at the sight of these
men? You should be.

The Unusual Choice: Sniper Grenadiers


and Virtually everything else too

Lets face it, everyone hates snipers. Few squads


draw more aggro unless theyre armed with
flamethrowers and somehow snuck up on you
(Pro tip: beware of tall grass and raging brush
fires, for these are the flamers natural habitat).
Manfred is quite inexpensive, and can lend these
guys quite a bit of health, which is extremely important when a single point of damage will drastically impact the effectiveness of this squad. His
assault skill also allows you to make strategic
disengagements, for those times youre staring
down a Rattler.
But in the end, Manfred is so basic-yet-beautiful in design that theres hardly a squad that he
doesnt fit in. Lacking the above, I still highly
recommend placing him in any squad that your
army build may rely on.

Manfred

The Natural Choice: Sturmpioniere

Manfred works so well with this squad, he gives


Stefan a run for his money, payable in whatever currency the Axis uses in this timeline. His
otherwise mundane armament, consisting of an
StG-47 and a bottomless bag of Panzerfausts, fits
in perfectly with the armaments of the Sturmpioniere. His Assault skill lets you close the gap,
of course a valuable skill for any flamethrower
squad. But the real boon to the Sturmpioniere is
his 5 health, because Manfred knows The Chef is
a 3-health lightweight PANSY. Traipsing around
like he strolled out of the kitchen

12

The Priest

The Natural Choice: BBQ Squad


or Hell Boys

Dont let his name fool you, The Priest is no


saint. Unless of course there is, in fact, a patron
saint of demolitions and sabotage. Been meaning to research that. Hes an unusual hero, armed
with nothing but a Webley from His Majestys
armories and a few dozen sticks of commercial
dynamite. Where is he keeping that much dynamite? Youd be amazed what you can hide under
a trench coat. Nevertheless, The Priests short
range gives him a natural home in any close combat squad. His agile ability gives a divine grace
to your units as well, and grants your Fast squads
a dizzying pace across the board. Considering
that dynamite hits walkers as hard as a flamethrower, and his prestigious award gives him a
built in reroll, your enemies will rue the day they
crossed this angel of death.

The Fonvizin

The Natural Choice: Fakyeli

Few men dare charge across a field of enemy


fire. In fact most commissars dont, thats the
other soldiers jobs. But the Fonvizin has decided
to take the radical approach of leading by example. And no other squad benefits more from his
Assault skill than the Fakyeli, the only armor 2
flamethrower team without the fast skill. For this
slow mover, a second use of the assault skill can
mean the difference between death and a slightly
prolonged life, with a greater return on your investment.

The Unusual Choice: Frontoviki,


Chinese Volunteers, Drakoni, Nabludatyel

The Unusual Choice: 13 Foxtrot


or Any unit going bunker raiding.

Snipers are agile, why arent observers too?


Well, for a cheap (by hero standards) 18 points,
your radio junkies have a little more protection
and can move into the right position a little easier. But even more valuable is the new skill for
Dynamite: Explosive Weapon. While at the time
I am writing this I have not been privileged with
reading the rules for bunkers, the rules for Explosive Weapon state that you can reroll misses
when blowing off the back doors of said bunkers.
That means The Priest can try three times, which
makes for pretty good odds for cracking that
door open.

Assault is a rather ubiquitous skill. Used early in


the game, it can get you closer to that key point.
Used in the midst of battle, it can let you close
with the enemy. Almost any squad will benefit
from The Fonvizins presence. Frontoviki can
close into PPSh range and unleash hell. Chinese
Volunteers can be transformed from a cheap
squad to a hidden danger. A commissariat Drakoni team is transformed into something a little
deadlier. And the nimble Nabludatyel can move
into position easier to squeeze off that fabled Sino-Soviet artillery strike.

13

The Derzhavin / The Sumarokov


The Natural Choice: Red Assault

Why isnt there enough ammo in the Sino-Soviet


army? Because these guys are carrying it all, and
giving it only to the most worthy squads. And
no other squad is deserving of the Badass skill
than the Red Guards Assault Squad. Armed with
an astonishing 9 limited weapons, this squad has
nothing to lose and everything to gain. With the
addition of one of these two commissars, the Red
Assault will have 6 health, 5 unlimited UGLs,
and 5 unlimited Molotov Cocktails. Add a hero,
and the killing only gets better.

14

The Unusual Choice: Red Thunder,


Red Command, Fakyeli

Any squad with a limited weapon stands something to gain. Red Thunders UGL and Bazooka
combo, with the addition of a Badass commissar,
transforms this squad into a versatile machine
ready to take on the toughest of tanks and most
entrenched of opponents. Red Command squads
become more equipped to lead in tight maps,
where anything can happen and anyone can be
a target. And the Fakyeli, while certainly being
better led by the Fonvizin, still becomes fiercer
with extra molotovs. Never forget, though, that
while not all units have a limited weapon to gain
from, The Derzhavin and The Sumarokov are
a cheap point of health at five points, and their
UGL is never empty.

EXPERIMENTAL DUST TACTICS UNIT


AXM-18-22 ALLIED FROGMEN

By: Dust Chronicles Staff

In 1715, two English inventors developed what


are believed to be the first diving suits. John Lethbridge built a completely enclosed suit, which is
basically a barrel full of air, a glass porthole and
two enclosed sleeves. In a separate development,
Andrew Becker created a leather-covered diving
suit with a helmet featuring a window. Becker
used a system of tubes for inhaling and exhaling,
and in a demonstration was said to be submerged
for an hour using his suit.
The first diving suits were Standard Diving
Dresses, which could be described nowadays as
an ambient pressure diving suit, and were made
out of a metallic diving helmet, a canvas diving
suit, diving knife and boots.

The first modern frogmen were the Italian commando frogmen, of Decima Flottiglia MAS
which formed in 1938 and was first in action
in 1940. Originally these divers were called
Uomini Gamma because they were members
of the top secret special unit called Gruppo
Gamma, which originated from the kind of
Pirelli rubber skin-suit nicknamed muta gamma
used by these divers. Later they were nicknamed
Uomini Rana, Italian for frog men, because
of an underwater swimming frog kick style, similar to that of frogs, or because their fins looked
like frogs feet.

In 1944 the Allied forces landed in Anzio, Italy.


By June the same year Rome fell and most of
the country was liberated. Without delay ASOCOM started gathering up all details of military
projects and this included all data on aquatic
warfare. ASOCOM moved the frogmen project
to Brazil where scientists specialised in various
fields started work on improved suits. recently
the XM-18-22 aerial assault armor has started
field tests to see if it can be adapted for aquatic
warfare.

The XM-18-22 armor was developed from materials stolen from the Axis Raketentruppen program and despite some early issues with leaks
and erosion it shows potential as a basis for frogmen suits. At this time no AXM-18-22 (Aquatic
XM-18-22) units are combat ready but a handfull
of Heavy Ranger Assault Squad members have
received orders to ship out to Brazil and there
is talk of at least one attempt at sinking an Axis
submarine using the AXM-18-22. The rumors of
the outcome of this vary greatly from source to
source.

15

The Allied Frogmen - Heavy Ranger Aquatic


Squad may only be used in friendly games of
Dust Tactics where both players have agreed to
their use.
Only a few of the AXM-18-22 armor suits have
been produced and for this reason a force may
never include more than one unit of Allied Frogmen.
To represent this unit you can use The Hammers from the Dust Tactics Revised Core Set
with some form of visual aid added to identify
them as Frogmen. For our unit we added a clear
plastic dome from the AT-43 range of models.

16

17

DUST ON THE WEB

SELECTION OF WEBSITES AND BLOGS


www.dust-models.com The website for all your Dust Premium painted models, Dust-48 and
Dust scenery needs.
www.dust-devils.com Home of the Official Social and Competitive Play organization for all of
Paolo Parentes Dust Games.
www.flamesofwar.com Battlefront Miniatures are the distributor for Dust Tactics and Dust
Warfare. The company is also responsible for the further development of the Dust Warfare
rules.
www.budgetwargamer.com The fine people at this website go out of their way to track down
cheap and effective ways to get the most out of your hobby budget.
www.dust-warfare.net Website with interesting weekly articles about Dust Warfare.
www.twenzet.blogspot.de Blog with a lot of nicely painted Dust units.
www.unitforward.com Collection of the latest Dust news from around the world.
www.dustaustralis.blogspot.com.au Blog with a nice mix of Dust related articles.

Facebook groups and pages of interest:


www.facebook.com/groups/303941853917 The official group for Paolo Parentes World
of Dust.
www.facebook.com/pages/The-World-of-Dust/218430508316841 The official page of
Paolo Parentes World of Dust.
www.facebook.com/groups/341879275955791 The Canadian Dust Devils group
www.facebook.com/groups/generalhoth/401833526611267 Group for Dust Devils Normandie.

18

19

gen
con
2013
a selection of pictures

20

21

22

23

to warfare or not to warfare?


that is the question

By: Frank Latimer

[Editors Note: This article is a combination of


two articles published on the Dust Devils International website and has been used with permission of both the author and the DDI]
My name is Frank Latimer and our household
has always been interested in board games and
card games. Personally I never could get my head
round all the books and weird dice that are required to play miniature or Tabletop War Games.
Having two sons who caught the board game bug
early on it was inevitable that war games made
their way into the house.
Space robots and mighty dragon kings didnt do
anything for me. Then my sons bought me the
Dust Tactics game for Christmas last year and
the combination of miniature game and board
game worked for me. It initially didnt work for
my wife but perhaps that is a story for a future
article. In June this year I came across the Dust
Warfare book while looking for a birthday present and I decided to get myself a gift to go with
that for my son. If you want to know, the nice kid
in the store suggested a box of Eldars.
I have been reading the Warfare book and I am
afraid that it just isnt for me. I like that in Dust
Tactics the scenario is given and you are shown a
map that explains what you need to place where.
Warfare is to open and random for an old guy
like me. But I do have to say that the terrain in
the pictures looks impressive.
That got me thinking about using the Dust Tactics scenarios for Dust Warfare. Now I understand that one of the appealing parts of a tabletop
war game is the terrain instead of flat boards.

24

So with that in the back of my head I started


investigating how I can turn my Dust Tactics
boards or posters into an actual piece of terrain.
Many of the scenarios require a bridge. So my
first project was to be a bridge. Keep in mind
that I have never done anything like this before.
I dont even perform any DIY on the house if I
can get away with it. I started by placing a river
across the centre of the table. This river was made
from sheets of blue paper but cloth should work
just as well. The bridge that the two forces are
fighting over can be represented in many ways.
My bridge was made by placing a book over my
river. That didnt look right so I went for the simple method of some brown paper to indicate the
location of the bridge.

If I like games of Dust Warfare then I might spend


a bit more time on the next bridge and make it
one out of balsa wood or even ice-lolly sticks.

After showing my creation to my sons they suggested I do a web search for a free paper bridge
model. Ive not found one that I like yet but who
knows.

For the mission itself I am going to use a variant


on the Secret Mission from page 75 of the Dust
Warfare book.

a few tips from a regular customer (I doubt he


will see it, but thanks Jeffrey). I want to make a
bridge to replace the one featured on the posters
that come in the Dust Tactics Board Game and I
promise to record my progress for a future piece
on the website.
On Friday afternoon I sat down with my son and
our Warfare book. Now all we have is the Dust
Tactics box and an extra tank for each of the parties included. For this reason I decided to skip
the list creation and just use everything from the
box. I removed the tablecloth from the table as I
felt a wooden battlefield looked better than a blue
field with white stripes (my wife later pointed
out we actually have a green cloth for the table,
so that will be used from now on).The battlefield
was decked out with the strips of paper to make
a river and my temporary bridge made from a
piece of dark brown plastic I bought at the Signal
Box. We both set up our force and with book in
hand were ready for battle to commence. Both of
us had prepared for a very long game due to rule
checking and new tactical opportunities thanks
to the removal of the squares that make up the
board for Dust Tactics.
We quickly worked out that the river was eight
inches wide and this meant that two of my units
(Hammerers and Hell Boys) needed to cross
the bridge to reach the enemy with their weapons. The enemy had weapons in every unit that
reached over the river and my son decided to stay
on his side of the water and just shoot at me from
afar. This made us realise something else.

Both players will earn points by removing enemy


units and both players will have Capture Strategic Point as their Secret Mission. Now obviously
in this case the mission isnt secret. I feel that
is ok as it represents both armies trying to take
control of the bridge.
Now that I have agreed to try Dust Warfare with
my son it got my creative juices flowing and I
have picked up some materials from the Signal
Box, my local model train shop. I also received

25

There was nowhere for soldiers to hide. Up to


this point the squares used in Dust Tactics have
always provided ways to stay out of range by taking advantage of diagonal lines of fire using up
more of your range, in Dust Warfare there is no
such thing as a diagonal shot and any unit sixteen
inch away from the enemy was a valid target.
Both of us had expected it to be a long day and it
turned out to be over in less than an hour. Clearly having a board that looks like a desert with a
lone bridge and no other features is not the best
way to play a game of Dust Warfare. We got our
heads round the movement and combat rules but
it felt more like a shooting gallery than a battle.
Since our game I have been back to the Signal
Box to see about terrain features. The owner
dug out some walls that are the right height so I
bough those but I have promised my wife I will
stick together my bridge before I go out and buy
any more train scenery to spread out onto the

26

kitchen table. After that I will investigate further


and when there is a bit more for soldiers to hide
behind we will have another game.
That is it for now. The hobby bug truly has gotten
hold of me and I have noticed myself looking at
packaging materials no longer as waste but as a
potential piece to be turned into cover. See you
next time.

27

THE
ART
OF
WAR
THE WORK OF GREGORY WITHROW

The cover of this issue of Dust Chronicles


is by the talented Gregory Withrow. You
might not realise it but the last few months
his work has been appearing all over the
place. Gregory is the man responsible for
many of the excelent pieces of art used
for a number of Dust Devils International
Fronts and Posts and who know where his
work will show up next?

28

29

The Allied 414th Tank Buster Squadronss Jenni, tail number 8675309, and Desert Rosalita,
45329, provide air cover as elements of Task
Force 1st Armored Division move against the
Neues Deutsches Afrika Korps, led by the famed
81st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, and El
Aqrab. El Aqrab The Scorpion Staff Sgt. Dusti
Killian, Troop B, 81st Cavalry Reconnaissance
Squadron, 1st Armored Division. While only a
corporal, Killian earned her nickname of El
Aqrab while on a long-range reconnaissance
patrol in cooperation with an ad-hoc party of
Libyan locals, disabling two DAK Tigers and
destroying three. Although she favors the new
phaser technology of the Allies, she is adept
with the full gambit of SSU, Axis and Allied
anti-armor weaponry. Fluent in Arabic,
French, Italian and German, Killian is actually an OSS/ASOCOM asset, but fits well
in the ranks of 1st Armored Division. Although no one in her unit yet suspects her
real role, she once told Patton, Put your
helmet on, Sir.

30

your base belong to us


dust tactics scenario

By: floris Hussaarts

Two forces come across a row of abandoned bunkers out in No Mans land.
Taking control of them will allow your block to establish a foothold in the area.
The objective for both the Attacker and Defender is to have a unit inside one
of the two bunkers. The game ends as at the end of any round when only one
player has a unit inside one of the bunkers and that player is declared the winner. If neither player has a unit inside a bunker or both players have got a unit
inside a bunker by the end of round 8, the game ends in a draw.
Scenario Notes: It will be tempting to make a run for the bunkers early on in the
game but this means running into the open and risking your unit getting shot
before it gets to its objective. Dont let your opponent get to a bunker, once a
unit is inside it will be very hard to get them out.
Finding the right balance between soldiers and walkers is important. An all soldier army might be very fast, it is going to get shot by the opposing walkers and
to many walkers means you might not have any units to move into a bunker.

31

ACHILLES EMERGENCY RATIONS


THE FIRST DDI CAMPAIGN PACK
In September Dust Tactics - Operation: Achilles
was released. This expansions marks the closing
chapter of the Zverograd storyline. The box set
comes with a number of scenarios that describe
the desperate struggle of the soldiers fighting in
the Doomed City and their constant battle for
survival.
To celebrate the release of the expansion, the
Dust Devils International have released a Campaign Pack to go with Operation: Achilles.

This campaign pack is only the first of many


packs. The plan is to release a new Campaign
Pack for each major expansion release along
with a few surprise campaign packs. The next
Campaign Pack will tie in with Operation: Babylon but for now lets take a look at this first pack.

Supplies are running low in the city of Zverograd


and every piece of equipment or crate is a potential source of food or at least something that can
be traded for food, dry clothing and even ammunition. Soldiers have been issued ration books so
that the few supplies that are available are shared
out in a fair and organised manner (well that is
the theory anyway).
The Achilles Emergency Rations Campaign
Pack comes with enough ration books and stamps
for up to eight players. As the players fight out
the scenarios in the book they earn stamps by
achieving objectives. These range from simply
taking part in the scenario to winning a game and
a number of extra (bonus) objectives.

Once all the scenarios from the Operation: Achilles book have been attempted by all participating
players the winner is declared by checking who
has accumalated the most ration stamps.
The Campaign Pack isnt just for players of Dust
Tactics however. Each pack comes with an instruction booklet that gives details of scenarios
for Dust warfare and also additional rules for use
in the game. warfare players use the same Ration
Book and collect stamps to decide a winner.

32

Each Achilles Emergency Rations Campaign


Pack costs $25 (USD) and this includes postage
within the United States Of America (USA). Go
to www.dust-devils.com/campaign-packs for
more details and to order your set.

The Operation Achilles Emergency Rations


Campaign Pack contains the following:
* 8 Ration Books (campaign records);
* 7 Participation Ribbons;
* 1 Winners Ribbon;
* 1 Participation Sign-up Poster;
* 1 Organiser Instruction Booklet;
* Enough Ration Stamps for all 8 Ration Books.

The DDI Campaign Packs are designed with


Clubs and Retailers in mind but dont let that
stop you from grabbing one and using the contents with your friends and bring some excitement to the Dust tabletop battlefield.
Please remember that a copy of the Operation:
Achilles expansion for Dust Tactics is required
to use the contents of this Campaign Pack. For
players of Dust Warfare the pack contains all the
details needed to play the scenarios, however
there are some 2D terrain elements in the expansion that will be a great help.

The Instruction Booklet contains rules and information to enable both Dust Tactics and Dust
warfare campaigns.

33

34

GOING global

dust chronicles global content explained


Last issue we introduced a new feature to the
pages of Dust chronicles in the form of Global
Content. The article was received with mixed reactions. Not because of the content of the article
Philipp Lohmann created a great campaign) but
because the article wasnt in English.

writting for and reading Dust Chronicles. Luckily one sollution fixes both problems. Each issue
there will be at least one article in another language. This allows us to reach more readers and
also allow more authors to write that article they
always wanted to write but never did.

One of the concerns I often hear is that a writer


isnt confident about his/her grasp of English
and it stops them submitting an article.

When possible the English version of the article


will be made available either in a future issue or
in some other format.

This has made us aware of two challenges that


are connected. Not everybody is fluent in English and this gets in the way of enjoying both

Global content can be recognised by the national


flag symbol in the top left/right of the corner.
Look for an Italian contribution later this issue.

35

UNIT
STORAGE
FOR THE COMMANDER ON A BUDGET

bY: leutnant Manfred Hirtzel


Part 1: Infantry and Regular Walkers
Effective storage for your Dust Tactics miniatures can be difficult. And not storing them isnt
much of an option either, they take up too much
room and become susceptible to stray damage. I
dont know how many times I have broken the
machine gun off my Lothar.
My preferred method of storage would be foam
trays: solid, compact, and good protection. Problem is, they cost a fortune to buy, and that is
money Id rather spend on Dust. So I set out to
make my own, and doing so at a rate I could afford.
Before I begin, let me make clear that this is not
penny-saver storage. I probably spent around
$160 on just the foam to protect all of my units.
However, in the end I was able to construct trays
for a sizable army, and for a lot less than I would
spend on whats commercially available for the
task. To those that also feel that the sight of an
unpainted army is a travesty, I apologize (Sorry
Paolo). Storing them become a more pressing
need, painting them will have to come for a later
project (and later article).
Furthermore, I live in America, so everything
here is in inches. While Id love to give support to the rest of the metric using world, I dont
know whats commonly available for you. You
will have to do your own research, and you might
have to do your own foam shopping given international shipping rates these days. Sorry. :(

36

The Materials

Heres what I used to complete my task:


* Pick & Pluck foam in both 2 inch and 1.5 inch
thicknesses, divided into 12x13 inch rectangular
trays. I purchased the large (24x26 inch) sheets
of foam from The Foam Factory, which was the
most cost effective manufacturer I found. They
also offer free shipping on orders of $75 or more.
http://www.thefoamfactory.com/packagingfoam/picknpluckcr.html
* Foamcore or corrugated cardboard, available
at any supply store or your local big box mart.
The idea here is something sturdy to create the
base for the trays. Foamcore will be sturdier, but
cardboard will be cheaper.
* Tacky Glue, or another type of home craft glue.
* Good, sharp box cutter. I recommend using a
fresh blade, otherwise youll tear the foam/cardboard, rather than making a clean cut.
* Tape measure
* Pencil
* Bankers boxes, available from any office supply store.
* (Optional) Pick & Pluck .5 inch thick foam.
This is not required, but it helps for those times
when something is just a little too tall for the tray
you constructed.
You can elect to purchase solid foam, rather than
Pick & Pluck, for a more exacting fit, if you want
to cut the foam yourself. Its a little cheaper, but
will take a lot more effort on your part.

Preparing your Foam

The first step upon receiving and unpacking your


foam sheets is to divide it into 12x13 inch size
trays. The best way to do this is to count plucks,
since each pluck is a inch square piece of
partially cut foam.
Your actual sheets will be slightly larger than
what you ordered (in my case, 24x26), because
they do not cut the foam precisely to the same
lines that the plucks were made. Most trays will
have a ring of excess around the sides. Count
out the number of plucks (or count pairs, since
2 plucks is an inch) you need, and carefully tear
the foam in two along that line. If you can extract
more than one tray from a sheet, I recommend
measuring out all of the trays first, the measure
twice, cut once philosophy. Sometimes a sheet
will be poorly cut, and youll need to use some of
the excess foam as a tray edge.
Once your trays are divided, tear off any excess
along the edges (again, I recommend measuring
before you do this). I found it easiest to pinch
the top edge and tear several pieces downwards,
rather than trying to pull it off from the side.

Trays for Infantry

Infantry may often make up the bulk of your


forces, especially if you are a Dust Warfare player. Infantry are also one of the most space efficient models, taking up little room and requiring
only one 1.5 layer of foam per tray. In my experience, you can fit around 8-10 squads in a tray,
depending upon what those squads are.

For infantry, I start in the upper left hand corner


and work across the 13 inch side and down the
12 inch. Learning how to pick the inch square
plucks out without tearing adjacent squares can
take time, but thats what makes infantry trays a
good starting point. I like to start a tray with 5
man squads. These squads tend to fit snugly into
a 2x3 (1x1.5) pocket. If the figures weapons
or limbs stick out the top of the tray, try rotating him to take advantage of corner space. If he
just wont fit, tear out a piece where necessary to
make him fit.

This will use up over half your tray. You have a


few options for what to use in the other half: heroes, small squads (snipers and observers make
good options, especially with the observers tall
radio antennas), 5 man squads placed up-down
rather than left-right, and heavy infantry squads.
I normally use heavy infantry squads, then use
other things, like heroes, to fill the rest of the
tray. Heavy infantry (excluding zombies) are a
bit taller than their less armored brethren, and so
youll probably need 2x4 (1x2 inch) pockets to
fit them. Heavy infantry also tend to overstep the
bounds of their base with large, dynamic poses,
machine gun belts, and power cables, so youll
likely need to take extra foam out for at least one
of them. To be safe, I recommend pulling out a
single 2x4 pocket, and testing all three figures
inside it to see who takes up more space. If more
than one do, odds are youll need to put them on
the left side with the 5 man squads.

37

Sometimes, especially if you follow the pattern


I mentioned above, youll be left with enough
space at the bottom to fit infantry pockets, but
with a 90 rotation from what youve been using.
I like to save these spots for command squads,
because it makes it easier to fit the extra height
of the radio man.
Depending on how many squads and heroes you
have, you may be left with some unused space
on a tray. Thats OK, when we get to constructing the final trays, youll see that I do so with the
intention of being able to go back and modify
and add to them.

Well, except for one tiny problem. The shell on


a Leathernecks Mortar Team, and possibly others as well, are just a hairs width too tall or the
tray. This can be solved one of two ways, either
you can keep the tray on top of a stack, or you
can use one of those optional inch thick trays
I mentioned above to add just a tiny bit more. Be
careful when tearing it though, the inch trays
will easily separate in the wrong direction.

Trays for Walkers

Trays for Weapon Teams

Since weapon teams have such a large base for


their height, I found it best to stand them up,
rather than place them on their side. For this, I
took a piece of 2 inch thick foam, and pulled out
a 5x5 square of foam. This will nicely fit the base
of the weapon team. Next, if one or more of their
weapons extends outside of the base, Ill remove
a couple plucks of foam to make room for them.
A single tray will probably hold more weapons
teams than youre likely to have for a while, so
expect to have extra room to expand in.

38

Obviously, walkers are going to take up more


space than infantry. However, your average onetile walker is still quite space efficient, and I have
been routinely able to fit 5-6 walkers in a tray.
The most valuable skill you can have with walkers, and vehicles in general, is learning how to
eyeball. Lay the walker on its side and line up the
base with where you want it to be (a walker base
routinely fits in a 7 pluck, or 3.5 inch, space) and
figure out how many plucks, and where, youll
need to pull out. Since were working from the
base with vehicles, I recommend starting from
the left or right bottom side.

Start with a piece of 2 inch thick foam. Excavate


the base, line up your walker, and start pulling
sections out as needed to fit your walker. Continue until you have an irregular shape that nicely
fits the size and shape of your walker. Dont be
afraid to lean towards a slightly looser fit, because if the foam is too snug you wont be able
to get the walker in and out without it frequently
snagging on something. And dont be afraid to
pull out extra around delicate parts like machine
guns, otherwise they may break in travel (Again,
my Lothar suffers from frequent mechanical
failures). Also keep in mind that you can flip or
rotate walkers, especially if this will produce a
more economic outcome.
When youve completed all your walkers, take a
piece of 1.5 inch thick foam and make an identical pattern. These two layers of foam will be
stacked to form your walker tray.

that the turret will sit straight up, rather than on


its side. Continue until the layer is finished.

When you move on to the 1.5 inch thick layer,


continue as normal, except do not mirror the turret pockets. Leave those sections as solid foam.
When you are done, stack the two trays so that
the 2 inch tray is on top. Now your turrets have
a nice pocket they can safely sit, without damaging their fragile parts, and because its only half
as deep as the full tray, it will be easy to remove
when its time to play.

Trays for Walkers with Turrets

Unless youre the type of person who glues the


turrets onto their models, odds are these pieces
of allied walkers are liable to fall off, and potentially get crushed, endangering their fragile
machine guns and search lights. To compensate,
I modified my normal walker tray to store the
about 4-5 of these walkers with the turrets stored
separately.
Start by taking your normal 2 inch thick layer, and
removing the space for the chassis of the walker,
sans turret. Next, remove a seperate pocket so

Cutting the Foamcore

As I said before, I chose foamcore because its


sturdier, but you can also use corrugated cardboard. These will form the base of your trays.
You can use any thickness you wish, as long

39

as its rigid, but 3/16 inch seems to be the most


common. You can buy foamcore in sheets that
will net you about two trays each, but I actually
recommend buying those three panel diorama
boards that you commonly find for class projects.
The side panels are just about a 1/16 inch smaller
than 12 inches, which is an acceptable margin of
error in my books. I can extract 8 trays from one
of these and save some money doing so.

Next, take your box cutter and cut through the


first outer layer of cardstock. Do not try to cut
the whole thing at once, as you will chew up the
foamcore interior and wont have a smooth edge.
Youll also want a sharp blade, otherwise the
same will happen. If you have troubles cutting
reasonably straight, feel free to grab a straightedge and use it to help you cut. Once youve
made the first cut, continue through the board
with a second or third pass. I can usually cut with
two with a good blade, but the more cuts you use,
the cleaner your edge will be.
After that, its as simple as repeating. Once you
get to the middle panel, or if youre using simple
sheets, youll just need to measure both ways before cutting. Dont try to measure more than one
board at once, too. Otherwise you may end up
with some incorrect measurements.

First step is to cut off the side panels


(if youre using a diorama board).
Take your box cutter and carefully
cut through the cardstock layer holding it together. Please use common
sense and obey standard rules of sharp objects,
such as cutting away from you when you can,
and keeping body parts out of the way if you
cant. Once the panel is detached, measure 13
inches down with your tape measure and mark
the board several times (3 minimum, preferably
4-5). Then, use the tape measure and draw a
straight line.

40

Fixing Mistakes and Constructing


your Finished Trays

No matter how careful you are, youre bound to


make a mistake somewhere. Perhaps that pluck
didnt want to tear easily. Perhaps you pulled a
section out, only to realize you wouldnt need
that space after all. To fix this, simply apply
some tacky glue to all sides that will be bordering the rest of the foam and put it in place. The
glue should be plenty sticky enough to hold the
foam in place, so you wont have to worry about
holding it.

I chose tacky glue for a number of reasons. Its


cheap, available in large quantities, and will hold
just about any two materials together. Its strong
enough to hold in case of accident, yet weak
enough that you can easily break the glued sections of foam apart without anything more than
cosmetic damage. This is important, since youll
want to be able to modify and expand your trays
as your collection grows. I imagine plain old
elmers glue would also do the trick as well, but I
havent tested it.

top of your models and the underside of the tray


above it. Your trays will be a little thicker, but
your models will be extra protected, and the
inch solid foam is pretty cheap.

Once any little structural fixes are in place, its


time to construct the trays. Simply squeeze a line
of glue along the outer edges of the underside of
the foam tray (be careful, otherwise your trays
will be backwards) and place the foamcore base
you cut in the last step over it. Flip the tray over,
and adjust the foam to align it with the foamcore
base, as needed. I recommend not gluing every
section of foam down, unless youre certain that
you wont be expanding it and want the extra rigidness. For multiple layer trays, such as walker
trays, simply repeat the above process to apply
the subsequent layers. I usually glue the thicker
layers first, then the thinner, although youll want
to do the opposite with the turret walkers. Allow
glue to dry fully before filling with models.
Finally, construct your banker boxes (instructions
should be printed on the box). Banker boxes are
durable, inexpensive, standard sized, and have
hand holes for easy carry. A standard bankers
box has an interior space of 12x15, therefore you
tray should fit snugly inside, with a inch on the
left and right sides to make removal simple. You
can fit about 5 infantry trays, or 2 walker trays
and an infantry or weapon team tray in a box.

Join me next time for - Part 2:


Heavy Walkers, Tanks, and Aircraft
If youre particularly concerned about your
models rubbing against the foamcore base, I
recommend buying some inch solid foam
(also avaliable in the Foam Factory link). Take a
12x13 piece of that and glue the whole thing to
the foamcore. Then proceed as normal. You can
even use a loose piece as a shield between the

Next time, Ill show you were things get a little


more complicated, with featured constructions
such as SSU helicopter trays. This is also where
your models are going to start chewing through
foam at an alarming rate, especially with the allied heavy walker chassis.

41

DUST
DAY
ITALY
2013
A PICTURE SHOWCASE OF THE DAY

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TO ADVERTISE YOUR EVENT OR TOURNAMENT CONTACT US VIA EMAIL


DUSTFANZINE@HOTMAIL.COM

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48

Fortificazioni
Facili (circa)

Di Umberto Bonomi

Con luscita di Achilles, Dust Tactics ha introdotto le fortificazioni come elementi giocabili.
Lo studio Dust ha in produzione tre eccellenti
bunker a configurazione multipla ma io non ho
resistito alla tentazione di costruirne uno. Avendo a disposizione un sacco di materiale grezzo
ho iniziato a pensare a come sarebbe dovuto essere il pezzo e sono giunto alla conclusione che
il cemento armato sarebbe stato ideale. Ho fatto
quindi un piccolo progetto, prima molto grezzo
su carta e poi un po pi preciso con un CAD 3D,
il risultato stato quello della figura 1.

Ora posso quindi mettere qualche misura, Il fortino avr una dimensione di 18 x 18 cm in modo
che occupi 4 quadrati del tabellone di Dust Tactics, naturalmente potr essere usato anche per
Warfare dove non esiste il tabellone. Ecco il risultato:

Il secondo passaggio stato quello di dividere la


fortificazione in forme pi semplici e pi facili
da ritagliare. Il risultato si vede in figura 2.

49

Ho ritagliato le forme da una


lastra di Styrodur (polistirene ad
alta densit) che si pu reperire facilmente nei negozi di fai da te o di edilizia.
Ho incollato le forme secondo il progetto
utilizzando della semplice colla vinilica:

Mentre la colla faceva presa ho ritagliato la piastra antiscivolo da un foglio gi pronto (li trovate
nei negozi di modellismo il mio lho preso da
Antenociti Workshop), lho poi colorato con un
primer spray verde militare e lho invecchiato e
aggiunto lusura utilizzando per prima la tecnica
del colore spugnato (un marrone-rossiccio) e poi
diversi passaggi di filtri True Earth (www.trueearth.com) terminando poi con un leggero passaggio di pastello a cera argento.

Torniamo per alla struttura principale, spalmiamo il tutto con dello stucco per interni (il polyfilla si trova in tutto il mondo) lasciando il pavimento pulito per applicare in seguito la piastra
antiscivolo. Non state a lisciarlo troppo, cos
grezzo pi realistico.

Adesso con della cartavetro grossa passate la superficie per livellare un po e per incidere altri
particolari.

50

Ci siete? Bravi, ora il fortino pronto per la


pittura. Io gli ho dato una base di grigio caldo ottenuto mescolando un acrilico avorio con un po
di nero. Quando il tutto si asciugato ho steso
una bella mano di filtro True Earth invecchiamento generale (un jolly, funziona su tutto).
A questo punto aggiungo la piastra e il lavoro
finito, ecco il risultato:

51

Il fortino pu gi essere usato ma si pu andare oltre. Con un po di nastro mascherante,


colore spugnato e un invecchiamento mirato il pezzo acquista pi fascino.

Beh, il lavoro veramente finito, potremmo aggiungere un tetto e farlo diventare un bunker ma questa
unaltra storia
Grazie a tutti e alla prossima.
EDITORS NOTE: This article is also available
in English at www.dust-devils.com/forum
Thanks to Umberto Bonomi for his hard work
providing both versions of this article.

52

zombie vs gorilla
dust tactics unit comparison

bY: F. Haugh

When I first began playing this wonderful game,


it was my wife and I using the Revised Core Set.
After the repeated butt-whoopins handed out by
the Hammers, I decided I could use a close combat unit to back up the Fatherlands finest. Which
led me to the question, Gorillas or Zombies?
From a game flavor standpoint I was torn. After what the apes did to Charleton Heston/Mark
Walberg, you know they can kick butt. On the
other hand, ZOMBIES! I mean, we all know at
least one person gets eaten every time you run
into them. So I started looking at the stats.
At first glance the Gorillas are cheaper, but the
Zombies are a 5 man squad. Per figure, or per
wound I prefer to say, the Zombies are actually
cheaper. Then I looked at the number of attacks
each squad can dish out. I did an average of the
full squads attack versus infantry defense 2 & 3,
and vehicles. For each attack dice, the zombies
are still cheaper.
Finally I looked at the abilities of each squad.
They both have Fast, but the Gorillas have the
standard cover saves. The Zombies get nothing in soft cover, and need a Hit to save in hard
cover. It would seem that the Gorillas are finally
better at something. That is, until you realize
how many Allied/SSU weapons ignore cover.
Between flamethrowers, phasers, UGLs, teslas,
howitzers, and artillery, cover is almost a moot
point for the Axis forces. What the Zombies do
get that the Gorillas do not, is Damage Resilience. This is effectively the same as soft cover
anywhere, and nothing takes it away. In situations where the Gorillas would get hard cover
the Zombies instead get two soft cover rolls. Its
the difference between 66% chance to save (hard
cover) versus 56% (2 soft covers).

Looking at just the squad, the Zombies seem to


be a much better deal. Of course we all know
that a good hero is what makes a unit great. The
two Zombie heroes are identical in all but their
special abilities, so I just looked at Grenadier X.
The Zombies with X gain a 4 more wounds and
4 more attacks. Marcus on the other hand, being
the undisputed heavyweight champion of close
combat, transforms the Gorillas into something
frightening. Once you add the heroes stats into
the math, the balance of power shifts dramatically. Now when you compare the AP cost per
wound the squad can take, the Gorillas are a
bargain. Looking at the AP per attack and the
Gorillas are beating the Zombies with their own
rotting arms.
The abilities that the heroes bring to the squads
only reinforce the Gorillas superiority. While
Grenadier X has Assault, Marcus packs the more
potent Charge. Assault will allow the Zombies
to move 5 or move 3 and attack, but only once
per game. Charge means every turn the Gorillas
can move 3 and attack! Not even those annoying
Allied armor 3 squads have that kind of mobility.

53

dust devils news


new additions to the ddi website

The Dust Devils International (DDI) have been


hard at work ever since taking on the challenge
of setting up Organised Play for the games of
Paolo Parentes Dust. We managed to catch up
with Dee Dee (mascot and website manager) to
find out what has been happening and perhaps
find out about what the future holds.
Dee Dee: When we started Gen Con 2013 was
only a few weeks away so it was all hands on
deck straight away. Thanks to the hard work of
People like Ken Squire and Richard Busby the
show and tournaments turned out great. The
www.dust-devils.com website showed pictures
of upcoming models previewed at Gen Con and
shots of the Dust tournaments and booth.

54

Since then we have added a lot of content to the


website. The Dust Player Search allows people
worldwide to find out if they have any local players and/or clubs.
The number of Fronts and Posts has been growing so fast that we are now nearly at 200 registered locations.
Our first Campaign Pack has been released in the
form of the Operation: Achilles Emergency Rations and the first Dust Warfare Appendix will
be released in a few weeks (Editors Note: due to the
magazine delay, the Appendix was released before this issue came out).

The DDI Forum has just gone live and some


interesting conversations have already started.
Soon the Trophy pages will go live. Im really
looking forward to those. There are some cool elements that Ive come up with during my morning jogging sessions.

next issue

dust chronicles issue 9


1st of december 2013
DUST TACTICS
REPORT
FRONT
THE
BATTLE
FROM
: ACHILLES
OPERATION
EVENT REPORT FROM THE UNITED
KIN

GDOM

AND . . . . . . . ??

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