Manfred Kreuzer by Best Painted Squad Winner, Nam Nguyen

By Guest, in News

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Fantasy Flight Games congratulates Nam Nguyen, the winner of the Best Painted Squad award for our first Dust Tactics miniatures painting contest. He submitted his Axis Command Squad and included the embedded Axis hero, Manfred Kreuzer . Paolo Parente, the creator of the world of Dust Tactics , personally noted that Nam’s expert technique and dramatic paint scheme did a tremendous job of capturing the drama, the fun, and the excitement of Dust Tactics !

Today we’re pleased to offer you Nam Nguyen’s step-by-step guide to painting Manfred Kreuzer .

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Preparation

Nam uses the following paints, listed here as a reference in the order they are applied:
Vallejo German Beige WWII
Vallejo Splinter Strips
Citadel Scorched Brown
Citadel Gryphonne Sephia
Citadel Dark Angels Green
Citadel Chaos Black
Citadel Adeptus Battlegrey
Citadel Badab Black
Citadel Codex Grey
Citadel Fortress Grey
Citadel Boltgun Metal
Citadel Mithril Silver
Citadel Tallarn Flesh
Citadel Ogryn Flesh
Citadel Elf Flesh
Citadel Snakebite Leather
Citadel Desert Yellow
Reaper Master Series Stained Ivory

Manfred’s head is taken off the model and mounted on a stand for easier painting later.

Step One–Camouflage

Start by covering the uniform with German Beige WWII. Apply the green with Splinter Strips. Remember the camouflage pattern has straight edges instead of curves. Apply brown patterning in the same way with Scorched Brown.

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Editor’s Note: Nam took his camouflage design beyond the initial tricolor patterning with numerous tiny splinters. Before he applied the splinters, he added depth to the camouflage with a wash. Washes apply several very light layers of watery paint across the folds in the uniform. This darkens the color in the folds and crevasses of the sculpt work, darkening them so the color reflects a more natural balance of light and dark tones.

Before painting the splinters, the uniform is washed with Gryphonne Sephia to give it depth and its used, faded look. When the wash dries, carefully paint in the splinters with two parts Dark Angels Green to one part Chaos Black. Use the smallest brush possible, and remember not to make the splinters too small or too large! You’ll want to practice this technique before applying paint to the model.

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Step Two–Armor

Use Adeptus Battlegrey to touch up any spots on the armor that might have another color of paint. Carefully wash Badab Black into the recesses of the armor.

Editor’s Note: Nam makes great use of multiple highlights in his painting of Manfred Kreuzer to draw attention to the miniature’s dramatic features. The fine control required for highlighting can be the most demanding aspect of painting a miniature, but strong highlights can create spectacular contrasts that cause colors to leap to the eye.

The first highlight on the armor is done with Codex Grey. Finally, Fortress Grey is applied to deepen the contrast.

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Editor’s Note: Expert painters frequently weather their miniatures. This technique adds extra realism by aging the design with a measure of wear and tear. Here, Nam adds small “imperfections” to Manfred Kreuzer’s armor to make it appear as though it has been through multiple battles.

To weather the armor, paint small chips of Fortress Grey, particularly on the edges. The weathered areas are given depth as the middle of the Fortress Grey is filled with Chaos Black.

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Step Three–Metal

The metal on Manfred is simple! First, cover all the metal parts with Boltgun Metal. Then washed the surface of the metal with Badab Black. When the wash dries, apply highlights with Mithril Silver.

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Step Four–Face

The face is given a basecoat of two thin layers of Tallarn Flesh. Do not apply the paint too thickly! Next, the face receives a wash of Ogryn Flesh. When the wash dries, you will once again build up the basecoat layer with thin layers of Tallarn Flesh. Be careful to leave the wash in the recesses.

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The face’s first highlight is a one-to-one mix of Tallarn Flesh and Elf Flesh. Apply this to the high areas of the face, mainly the cheekbones, nose, chin, and forehead. Give the face a final highlight with Elf Flesh, focusing on the highest areas of the face–the top of the cheeks, the tip of the nose, and the bottom of the chin.

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Step Five–Hair

The hair is base-coated in Snakebite Leather. Apply the first highlight with Desert Yellow. Take care to leave the previous colors in the recesses. The final highlight is Reaper Master Series Stained Ivory. This is applied only on the tips and top of the hair where sunlight would catch most strongly.

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Step Six–Reassembly!

Glue the head on the body, and you now have Manfred Kreuzer painted and ready to lead your Axis forces. You can add basing to your liking.

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Thanks, Nam! We are happy to present this detailed look at all the work and care put into this miniature, and we enjoyed seeing your Axis Command Squad as well as all the other great submissions we had for our miniatures painting contest.

We will continue featuring other excellent examples of painted Dust Tactics miniatures along with our previews of upcoming units, tactical spotlights, and other news items as we support this thrilling, fast-paced game of alternate reality World War II.

To share your painted miniatures, to find others, or just to join in the conversation and learn why people are talking about Dust Tactics, head to our community forums !