With their fantastic strength and intellects boosted to unknown levels, the intelligent Axis Gorillas race into battle to pummel opposing forces with their panzer gloves. The Axis Gorillas may be limited in number, but their natural armor and savage speed makes them fearsome additions to Dust Tactics.

Today, Martin Niklaus presents a quick and easy guide to giving the Axis Gorillas a paint job sure to spark fear and awe in your opponents’ hearts.

Preparation

Martin uses the following paints, listed here in the order they are applied:
Vallejo “Dark Grey Blue” Model Air
Vallejo “Black Grey” Model Color
Citadel “Codex Grey”
Citadel “Boltgun Metal”
Citadel “Baddab Black”
Citadel “Fortress Grey”
Citadel “Skull White”
Citadel “Mithril Silver”
Citadel “Vermin Brown”
Citadel “Snakebite Leather”
Vallejo “Khaki” Game Color
Citadel “Bleached Bone”
Citadel “Mechrite Red”
Citadel “Devlan Mud”
Citadel “Blood Red”
Citadel “Blazing Orange”
Citadel “Baal Red”
Tamiya “X-27 Clear Red”

Step One: Primer and Base Coats

I primed the Ape with a thin coat of Dark Grey Blue. Then I used a 1/1 mix of Black Grey and Codex Grey to paint the skin at the face, stomach, breasts and feet. The gauntlets received a coat of Boltgun Metal.

Step Two: Wash

I washed the whole ape with Baddab Black. You can also use strongly thinned black. It should have the consistency of milk, or it will cover too much of the base colors.

Step Three: Drybrush

After the wash dried, I drybrushed the ape’s fur with Codex Grey, followed by Fortress Grey and Skull White. With every change of color, I applied less color and pressure to the brush. That way you can be sure that the former paint won’t be totally covered.

The gauntlets were drybrushed with Boltgun Metal followed by Mithril Silver.

Step Four: Highlights

The ape’s skin was first highlighted with a mix of Black Grey and Codex Grey. I followed the first highlighting with a second one of Fortress Grey.

The ape’s skin was washed again with a 1/3 mix of water and Baddab Black. After the wash dried, I made my last highlights with Fortress Grey, taking care not to cover up the previous highlights. Always remember to leave a frame or shadow of the former color when you’re using highlighting techniques. The eyes were touched with a thin line of Skull White, and I gave the iris definition by applying a small dot of Vermin Brown.

The teeth, fingers and toenails were highlighted first with Snakebite Leather. Then I applied a smaller layer of Khaki, followed by Bleached Bone and a last dot of Skull White.

Next, I painted the mouth with Mechrite Red. After the paint dried, I washed the mouth with Devlan Mud. I painted the details in Blood Red and made some final highlights in Blazing Orange. The mouth was completed with a wash for all of it, except the teeth, with Baal Red.

For the final highlights, I applied X-27 Clear Red to the gauntlets, using a medium stippling brush.

Step Five: Basing

Now that the ape was finished, I had to create a base for the poor guy.

Clumps of cork were glued to the base, and I used smooth sand to fill the remaining cracks.

The sand was painted with Dark Grey and the cork with Codex Grey, followed by a wash with Baddab Black. Once the wash dried, I drybrushed the base with Codex Grey, Fortress Grey and Skull White.

Finished!

Finally, I glued the ape to the base, and it was done!

Thanks, Martin! Your Axis Gorilla looks truly ferocious, and if Christopher Smith proved anything en route to winning the first ever Dust Tactics World Championship, it was that these are some mean apes.

We will continue to post more painting articles, along with notices of upcoming releases, strategy articles, and other materials on our Dust Tactics website, so be sure to keep your sights trained.