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EDITORIAL

DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11


Welcome to DUST Monthly Magazine,

I really can’t believe that it has already been a year


since I sat down to write my first editorial. During that
time there have been so many people who have made
my job easy beyond belief and I can’t thank everybody
enough for the amazing and exciting time.

As the personal assistant to Sigrid I always knew that I


could be out of the office for a longer period and now
that time has come. I don’t know how long the assign-
ment will be and I know even less about where Frau
Von Thaler is planning to travel next.

Thank you to everybody who has helped to make


DUST Monthly Magazine possible and thank you to
the readers who have downloaded the magazine every
month.

I will try and keep an eye on what is going on in the


office but I’m not sure how well communication is pos-
sible from where I will be the next few months.

My desk has been cleared and I have passed all the


work in progress articles to Floris who will take over
as the editor from next issue.

I had a great time and I look forward to reading the


magazine and finding out where Floris will take it.

Giselle.

If you want to ask Tactical Abby for help with your games of Dust Tac-
tics or Dust Tactics: Battlefield then you can contact her at the following
email address:
ABBY@DUST-MONTHLY.COM

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DUST MONTHLY- ISSUE 11

DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11


Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02
Table Of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03
Dust World Expo 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04
Dust News
- Latest Releases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05
- Works in Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
....- New Marketing Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08
Using Battlescribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Dustify My Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Cali’s Bandits Past: 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Future of DUST Monthly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Next Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

THE DUST CHRONICLES TEAM

Giselle Helga Fred Rosie

Bub Abby Floris


Special thanks to the following people for their support and enthusiasm with all things Dust:
Paolo Parente, Olivier Zamfirescu, Vincent Fontaine, Rick Ivansek, Joe McLaughlin, Bradley
Hicks, Gregory Withrow, DDI, and the UK Dust Knights

Names and artwork are © 2016 Dust Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Dust Tactics, Dust Tactics: Battlefield & Dust Warfare and their logos are trademarks of Dust Ltd.
Images and trademarks used with permission.
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DUST WORLD EXPO 2016
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
Get ready for the 2016 Dust World Championships

WHERE IS DUST WORLD EXPO ?


Falcon Field in Mesa Arizona
Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force Museum
2017 North Greenfield Road, Mesa, AZ 85215
Another great Pre-release available at the Dust World Expo!
A limited number of this beautiful set of scenery sculpted by Vin-
cent Fontaine for the Babylon Campaign will be available as un-
painted resin kits.

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DUST NEWS

DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11


The latest releases from Dust Studio

Jagdluther
The sPz. KpfL. IV-A “JagdLuther” is armed with a pair of 7.5 cm FpK 42 L/70. It’s a longer ver-
sion of the old 7.5 cm gun, much more deadly and accurate. It’s even more powerful than the first
“8.8” used on early Tiger tanks!
With its weapons the “JagdLuther” can destroy armored targets up to two kilometers away. It’s the
bane of all armored vehicles.

Barking Dog
Filling a gap in the Allied armoured arsenal between the M3A2 Mickey (Light) and the M3C
Pounder, the M3G2 Barking Dog (Light) is an excellent anti-tank walker and can serve as a close
support vehicle. Its six M40 recoilless guns fire in sequence, aimed at the same point thanks to a
very advanced targeting system.

Anatoly
Another tropical variation based upon the classic KV47 series, the L model, or Anatoly, mounts
two very efficient Tesla guns, derived from the Red Lightning support weapon. The Anatoly’s
capacitors allow it to fire both Tesla weapons in rapid succession, but this leaves it defenceless
until the capacitors recharge. Being a Tesla weapon, it incapacitates its targets, even if it does not
destroy them outright.
Lost in the sands of Babylon, you can make the most amazing dis-
coveries! The Lamassu are very often found in the sands where the
different forces of Operation Babylon fight. These ancients guardians
must protect very valuable secrets to attract warriors for thousands of
years...
This terrain can be used with Dust Battlefield and Dust Tactics rules to
block line of sight. Everything is painted for use in a desert or sandy
environment and is perfectly suited for Operation Babylon operations.
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DUST NEWS
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
The latest releases from Dust Studio

The famed Raketentruppe Korps of the Luftwaffe has arrived in the Middle East! Along with the
rest of Operation Babylon’s forces, the dreaded Raketentruppe are now fighting the Allies and the
SSU in this part of the World.

Dust Studio is very proud to present this new starter with slightly revamped rules for Dust Tactics!
The very beginning of a new era starts now with an amazing box full of treasures!
We’re certain that it will appeal to new players and veterans alike. Whether you’re new to the
World of Dust or have been hanging out with us for some time now, you’ll love the Luftwaffe
Starter Set: Kampfgruppe Florentine.

Content of the box:


- one hero: Florentine Engel
- one squad of five Raketentruppe, the Crows
- one Fallschirm RSO / Pak 40 with crew
- one rule booklet with the introductions rules to Dust Tactics
- twelve Axis Dust dice
- one tank trap
- one ammo crate
- one gaming mat
- six terrain tile
- one catalog
- 3 unit cards
- and one leaflet

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DUST NEWS

DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11


Dust Studio works in progress

ON THE WORKBENCH! DUSTIFIED “VAMPYR” Pz4 and 251!!


Using a new sprue of Axis accessories to Dustify your kits, soon the same for Allies and SSU.

Dustified Horch 108 (Tamiya 1/48 scale) mit 10.5 cm Leichtgeschütz 42

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DUST NEWS
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
Dust Game Marketing Manager
Hello Everyone !
I want to introduce myself : I’m Gregoire (Greg) Boisbelaud,
I’m the new Marketing Manager for Dust Game.

First I wanted to let you know I’m amazed by the quality of


the community on the various groups and forums I have been
lurking for the past few months. It is nice to see people enjoy-
ing a game that much and to read the general enthusiasm about
every new release we publish.
...
As you know now, the company is self-distributing our world
famous Dust Tactics game and miniatures range. That means
that we are free to sell our products to all distributors and re-
tailers willing to carry our range of products, and you guessed
it… I’m charge of doing that.

What does that mean for you all fans of Dust ?

That means that I cannot invite you enough to let your friendly local gaming store and encourage
them to contact me on my email : gregoire@dustgame.com

I will be glad to help find the right products and the right prices for them to start stocking Dust for
you guys !

Of course, you can also send me the details (email, name of contact) for your LGS on the same
email, I will gladly contact them.

This sales effort is also part of a more global long term effort to enforce Organized Playing in your
stores, with regular scenarios already releasing on our website but also some reward programs for
demonstrating our products in stores, clubs or during conventions and for organizing tournaments
in the same venues.

Thanks for your support to our game, and thanks for your help bringing Dust back on top, where
it belongs.

Greg

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11

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USING BATTLESCRIBE
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
WRITTEN BY: JOE MCLAUGHLIN
List building for your Dust armies
INTRODUCTION
A long time ago you started out in the Dust hobby and purchased your first models. Maybe you
purchased one of the early core or revised core sets. Maybe you purchased a starter kit that came
later. Maybe you picked up a whole army from a friend or online. Or maybe you just went crazy
with the credit card in your local game shop.

However you started, you probably started with just enough models to field a 50 point army or so.
When you went to a game at the local game store or your buddie’s house, this is what you brought,
because this is all you had. As time went by, you were able to pick up more models. Eventually,
you had a 100 point army. As you continued collecting, your total army went over the 100 point
mark. Now you had something that you didn’t have before: a choice.

Prior to exceeding the 100 point mark, you pretty much showed up to a game with what you had.
Now that you exceeded 100 points, you had a choice to setup your 100 point army one way or
another. Do you go with an infantry rush and leave the heavy tanks at home? Do you bring in the
big Konigsluther, hoping to have some armor to shoot at with those big guns? Should I add Rhino
with a squad of hammers? Add Bloody Baron for sustained attacks with my aircraft?

Welcome to the world of list building.

LIST BUILDING
List building is an exciting part of our hobby, and one of my favorites. It allows you to do “What
if” scenarios to help you optimize your list. List building will help you identify combinations of
units that you might not have considered in the past. It allows you to try to find an army that meets
your needs within your point cost.
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For list building, I often identify list types that I want to build:

DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11


Infantry based army list optimized for urban close combat (flame throwers & shotguns)
Armor based army list optimized for big open maps
Mixed infantry/armor list with Air Support
Zombie List!!!!
Army list with multiple light combat walkers.
Mixed army list with Artillery support

You might often find yourself building opponent focused lists. I’ll often jot down the list of what
my opponent brought to the table and then build a few lists that I think might nicely counter that
list.
In my introduction, I discussed list building as an exercise to organize the miniatures you currently
own into optimized lists. However, a list building exercise can also help you identify units you
may not currently own but might want to purchase in the future.
When you start into list building, you may find yourself facing serious choices that you might
never have considered before. For example, is it worth 3 more points to add a 3 man squad of
“Faceless Death” to your army list over a 5 man squad of “Death Masks”??? Is it worth the one
point to add a “Six Shooter” to my list over a “Barking Dog”??? The possibilities and debates are
endless.

LIST BUILDING TOOLS


Some people will build their lists simply with the
Dust cards and a calculator. When it comes time for
a game, they just lay down the cards they have for
the miniatures they own and select the ones that they
want for the game, using a calculator to add up the
cost. This method works, but lacks the analysis that
true list building provides. Additionally, lists built
“on the fly” like this are rarely saved anywhere. It’s
hard to come back next week and say “Let’s play
again with that same list you used from last week”.

Some people will use a spreadsheet or word proces-


sor to write down their lists. This makes keeping
track of point costs easier, but it doesn’t really help
with the analysis of the units to quickly identify the
strengths and weaknesses of the list. Unless you
want to do a lot of writing, just having “Red Storm
– 8 points” and “Red Thunder – 8 points” doesn’t
really help you identify which roles each unit will
fulfill in the army list.

BATTLESCRIBE OVERVIEW
There are several list building software packages available online. Some require payment while
some are free. Battlescribe is my software package of choice for army building. The free version
of the software comes with all the functionality you will need. The paid version primarily drops
the ads that you might see in the software, but this isn’t really too intrusive.
The software is built for generic army building so you can actually use it for several game sys-
tems. Normally, this “swiss army knife” approach means that the software might not work well
with your particular game system, but in this case, it fits like a glove.
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The software is available for multiple platforms. I have it loaded on both my iPhone and iPad,
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
which is available through the apple store. I also have it loaded on my Windows laptop, which is
available through their website at www.battlescribe.net Because the graphic user interfaces dif-
fers between the PC version and the phone/tablet versions, I won’t go into the specific screens.
Suffice it to say, the PC version has a much richer interface.

When you first load Battlescribe, you will need to go to the Battlescribe website to download the
data files for Dust. Note that there isn’t a difference between Dust Tactics and Dust Battlefield for
Battlescribe. At this time, there is not a data file for Dust Warfare. The software will occasionally
go out to the website to update these data files automatically.
This is brings me to my first big selling point to Battlescribe, those updates. The software up-
dates are amazingly current with new Dust releases. I’ve found statistics for units that I’ve only
heard rumors about on other websites. I’ve been able to experiment building lists with units that
have not been released yet. I’ve become aware of some new units only because they appear in
Battlescribe after a data file update. This alone should be reason enough to get you interested in
Battlescribe.

BUILDING A LIST
Building a list in Battlescribe is quite easy. You start by creating a new roster and giving it a name
and point size. Since Battlescribe can support multiple game systems, make sure Dust Tactics/
Battlefield is selected.

Once you create the list name, you add forces. The tool allows you to create a force with multiple
factions. In other words, you can create an Allies list with a secondary faction of Mercenaries or
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Captured Walkers. You can also do something like an Allies list with SSU as a secondary faction,

DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11


representing some temporary alliance between the two factions. However, I’ve found this feature
of the tool to be lacking so I normally just stick with a single faction, which is what most people
will do anyway.
Once you have selected your faction, Battlescribe will display all of the forces available to that
faction in an easy to read tree format. Units are broken into several categories: Heroes, Infantry
(1, 2, 3) , Vehicle (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), Aircraft (1, 2, 3), Support Weapons, and Fortifications.

In the PC version of Battlescribe, holding your


mouse over a unit in this list will pop up the unit
information. The format of the information in this
popup is very similar to Dust Tactics/Battlefield
cards. The only real differences are that the “blast”
shown on the cards is substituted by an asterisk in
Battlescribe. The “skull” to show instant death on
the cards is replaced by a pound (#) sign in Bat-
tlescribe. There are a few other minor limitations.
For example, a card might show that a unit is an
Expert and even specify what the expert rule does,
but it does not specify which weapon gets the ex-
pert rule.

To add a unit to your list, just double click on the


unit. Your list will be built in the same category
groups that the available forces are organized into.
This makes it easy to see how many points were
spent in each category. The list shows the cost for
each unit and the weapons available for each unit.
The list automatically keeps track of how many
points were spent on the total list and will alert the
user when the point cost for the army has been ex-
ceeded.
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This list will also show special modifications you might make to a unit. The SSU benefits most
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
from this feature as you can show which commissars you want to add to a squad, which attack
helicopter type you want, or which KV model you want to field. You might even find some
modifications you never knew about, like the ability to field Sigrid Von Thaler in three different
configurations.

The one feature I wish Battlescribe had is the ability to specify which units you owned and high-
light those units for you. The online X-Wing squadron builder has a similar feature, where only
the units you own are highlighted and can be selected, but the full list is still shown so you know
what other units are available. This feature would be difficult to implement with Dust, however,
as it’s possible to have a multi-vehicle kit like the Bulldog/Six-Shooter. Owning this kit means
you can field two Bulldogs, two six-shooters, or one of each. This problem becomes compounded
if you buy Pershing tank hulls allowing you to field Pershing II or Pershing III models by combin-
ing the Pershing kit with the Bulldog/Six-Shooter kit.

REVIEWING YOUR LIST


Once you have your list complete, there is a “view roster” button which will display your entire
list with stats for each unit. This gives the same look and feel as laying out all the dust tactics/
battlefield cards that you are going to use. This list will also include all the special rules for each
card at the bottom of the view, so if you don’t remember what “Black Ops” does, you can just look
at the bottom of this view.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
This view can be printed or saved as HTML. With a few exceptions, this view is good enough to
use during a game as a substitute for having the game cards. I’ve seen gamers print out this view
and use it during the game or use the view directly from their tablet or phone.
The view also gives a good opportunity for you to review your list from a performance perspec-
tive. The summary view, for example can break down all the weapons used in your army list into
Vehicle and Infantry Weapons. You can then easily review this list to see what kind of firepower
you have available against armor, infantry and air. A similar view shows armor types and speeds
for all units, allowing you to do an analysis of your list endurance and speed.

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Together these views allow you to analyze your army list to see how will perform against a certain
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
type of attack. How will this list perform if you opponent brings several aircraft? How will it
perform against long range vehicle attacks? How will it perform against an infantry horde attack?
One topic that isn’t covered in Battlescribe is the concept of platoons. The application will not
identify that a combination of units will constitute a platoon and therefore provide platoon advan-
tages.

Once you are satisfied with your list, you can save the list and give it a unique name. Note that the
application allows the user to enter a description for each army list. This is a good place to take
notes on how you intend to use the list and perhaps how well it performed in the past. In the PC
version of the software, the save files are easy to identify and can easily be emailed to someone if
you wanted to share your army list ideas. (But who wants to do that?)

CONCLUSTIONS
List building is a fun part of this hobby. It allows you to think about unit combinations and how
they can work together. This can also help you determine how you can spend your hard earned
money for the best improvements to your army.

Whenever I play a game of Dust, I try to think of how I can modify my list to try to perform better
next time. I’ll often build lists in Battlescribe of my opponents list and then compare the strengths
and weaknesses of both lists. Once I find a list combination that I think might beat my opponents
list, I put myself in his shoes. How would I modify his list to defeat my new list? A few iterations
of this and I’m usually pretty comfortable with a list I think won’t embarrass me at the game store.
I’ve tried other methods for list building but I find Battlescribe has all the features I need for build-
ing and analysis. This is a great free product that will make the life of any serious Dust collector
much easier.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11

CONTACT@DUST-MONTHLY.COM
We are always looking for battle reports for Dust Tactics, Battlefield or Warfare, painting and
modeling articles, unit reviews and event reports. Really, we are looking for anything Dust related.
If you have ideas for submissions submit them. We’ll find a way to make ‘em fit.
Please submit your content at least 10 days prior to the date of publishing. The next issue will be
for March and so content needs to be submitted by the 20th of February 2016.
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DUSTIFY MY RIDE
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
HOW TO ARTICLE BY: ZAK TWENZET
How to create a Dustified Hanomag in steps
We all bought 1:48 scale vehicle kits with the intention of painting them up for use with our Dust
Armies. For many of us the building was easy enough (and a lot of fun because we can make lit-
tle changes to the actual WW2 characteristics of the vehicle). Then it comes to painting and a fair
few of us get stuck. Zak has created a handy step by step guide that can be used for various kits.

Step 1 Basecoat First Black then fog it white

Step 2 Base color Vallejo Model Color 70.995 German Grey.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
Step 3 Placeing masking tape for the camouflage.

Step 4 Camouflage painted with Citadel Mechanicus Grey.

Step 5 Wheels and Antenna painted with Citadel Abadon Black. Tracks and MGs first painted
with a mix from Vallejo Gunmetal Metal 72054 and Army Painter Dark Tone then washed
with Dark Tone.
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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11

Step 6 Ammo crates etc: Vallejo Panzer Aces Canvas 314. Canvas: Vallejo Model Color Ger-
man Camo Beige WW2 70.821

Step 7 Wood painted with Vallejo Game


Color Earth 72.062, then washed with Army
Painter Strong Tone.

Leather painted with Vallejo Model Color


Leather Brown 70.871, then wahed with
Army Painter Strong Tone.

Canvas washed with Army Painter Soft


Tone.

Step 8 Decals: First one Layer of Vallejo


Decal Fix 73.213. Let it dry.

Then the Decals. Let them dry. At last


one or two thin Layers of Vallejo Decal
Medium 73.212

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
Step 9. Decals - part 2: To give them a worn-out look, I attach the color, which is lying under
them carefully with a sponge on top.

Step 10. Darklineing -on Camouflage: mig Dark Steaking Grime MIG - 1206 -on Chests
etc.: mig Brown Wach for German Dark Yellow MIG - 1000 Drybrushing on Canvas: Vallejo
Model Color Ger. C. Beige WWII 70.821

Step 11. Edge Highlights with Citadel


Codex Grey and Citadel Mechanicus
Standard Grey.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11

Call it “Schwein”

Step 12 Apply Citadel Abbadon Black with a small piece of sponge.

Step 13 Apply Citadel Bestial Brown


with a small piece of sponge.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
Step 14. Paint lines with MIG Dark
Streaking Grime MIG - 1206 and MIG
Streaking Rust Effects MIG - 1204 on
the complete Vehicle. If you think after
that, that you have messed it up, it will
look great in the end...

Step 15. “Wash” the previous Enamel color with a brush and MIG Enamel Odourless Thinner
MIG - 2018 away. Move your brush always from the top to the bottom.

Step 16 Soldier: Trousers und Gloves- Valle-


jo Model Color Ger. Fieldgrey WWII 70.830
Jacket- Vallejo Model Color Beige Brown
70.875 Face- Citadel Tallarn Flesh.

Step 17 Wash skin with Army Painter Soft Tone.


Spots on the Jacket with Vallejo Model Color
German Cam. Dark Green.
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Step 18 More Spots with Vallejo Model Color Cork
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
Brown 70.843

Step 19 Even more spots. This time with


Vallejo Model Color German Cam. Bright
Green 70.833.

Paint small dots in with the previous used


colors.

Step 20 Drybrush the skin with Citadel Dwarf Flesh.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
Step 21 [above left] First painted the belt and the boots with Citadel Abbadon Black. Then
washed the clothes with Army Painter Strong Tone.

Step 22 [above right] Drybrush Trousers and Gloves with Vallejo Model Color Green Grey
70.886

Step 23 Base for the Mud: Glue, brown color and sand.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11

Step 24 Spread the mud...

Step 25 Mix some kind of wash from water and Forge World Weathering Powder Fresh
Mud. Apply it on the lower half of the vehicle and the base.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
Step 26 Drybrush the mud with a mix of water and Forge World Weathering Powder Dry Mud

Step 27 Again Drybrushing. This time with a mix of water and MIG Modelling Pigment Dark
Earth MIG - 3007.

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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11

Step 28 Add a bit MIG modelling Pig-


ment Medium Rust MIG - 3005.

Step 30 Baseedge painted with Citadel Mechanicus Standard Grey. Flag printed on paper.
Put glue on it. Bring it in the form you want. Let it dry.
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DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
If you liked this step by step then you are going to love the hobby content at Kleine Bunte
Mannchen on Facebook. Go and have a look, it is well worth your time.

29
CALI’S BANDITS - PART: 3
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
WRITTEN BY: FTYROSS
An exciting story set in the world of Dust
The coffee had gone cold by the time Heinrich had done talking. He had produced a small map,
drawn onto a thin sheet of tissue paper. The positions of enemy barracks were carefully picked out
against a backdrop of lines for roads, train lines and other notable landmarks. Googles had care-
fully transcribed the map onto another sheet of paper whilst Heinrich had talked of his knowledge
of the local area and of their primary objective. The priest had covered a large area in the past
several months, his cover as bike courier had allowed him virtually unlimited access to some of
the more sensitive parts of the local defensive positions - a fact not lost on Cali.

“Are the patrols going to be a problem?” asked Perks, who was sat several feet away on a pew
with his sniper weapon laid across his lap. He was toying idly with the lens caps of his scope as
he regarded the priest.

“They’re riding Vickers Cargo-8’s, you can hear them a mile off. Lots of grunt but not too much
power” Heinrich sniggered, nodding toward to the transport outside.
“Good” said Cali, “means that one extra cargo-8 isn’t going to go amiss then. How far you can
go?”
“As far as Hamburg. But I have an errand to run before I can join you.”
“And that would be?” said Perks, standing up to get his muscles to work again after being sat for
so long.
“I have to let Emily know of my altered plans.”
“Is she secure?” asked Cali, stepping closer to Heinrich. He could see her hand hovering above
the butt of her knife.
“As secure as I am” said Heinrich, feigning a smile of complete innocence.
Cali’s eyes narrowed for a few second. “You have two hours. We will be setting off without you
if you fail to return by then.”

*****
Emily was already up by the time Heinrich returned to the quiet farmstead. She was cooking
eggs in a skillet pan when he walked in.
“I have more work to do. I’ll be taking a trip of Hamburg.”
“Are you going to have some breakfast first?”
“I don’t have time, unfortunately” he said, kissing Emily on the lips before walking over to
where he left his brown kit bag. He habitually kept a bag full of dried food at the ready for times
when he needed to be dispatched at a moments notice. “Goodbye, love” he said, turning to leave.

*****
It was first light by the time Heinrich stepped into the little cupboard-like alcove he called “an
office”. Grubber was already there, tapping away on the coding machine. Heinrich had heard the
tapping of the machine before he entered, so he knew somebody was there.
“Wohin?” asked Heinrich.
“Luneburg. höchste priorität” said Grubber, handing him the prepared slip of paper from the
machine and folding it carefully before sealing it with a wax sealer.
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“Höchste priorität?” asked Heinrich, frowning.

DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11


“Die Garnison angegriffen wurde.”
“Wirklich? meine auf dem Weg besser, dann!” Heinrich snapped a quick salute before leaving.
Heinrich resolved to “lose” the report a few miles down the road.

The Bandits were already aboard the cargo-8 when Heinrich pulled up to the church. Their kit
was stowed and to Heinrich’s mild surprise, they had changed swapped their clothes with that of
the dead troopers and cleaned themselves up a little. He assumed that they had also taken care to
hide the bodies.
Goggles was up front in the driver’s seat, along with Gunthar. It wasn’t because Googles was
the best driver, but he was most fluent in German and could talk the talk as far check points were
concerned. Gunthar on the other had was a visible deterrent - his large muscular frame and di-
shevelled appearance made most patrol men look the other way rather than get on his bad side.
The other members were in the back, huddled around a wooden box containing their more “exot-
ic” equipment. The lid was open, allowing easy access should they need it, but they were out of
sight from casual observers. They had all taken a Gewehr 41 as their visible armaments - it had
been what the patrol had been carrying so it should suffice in a pinch and wouldn’t arose suspi-
cion.
“I’ll go ahead on my bike” said Heinrich, raising his voice over the din of the cargo truck’s en-
gine as it started up. He stepped over to his motorcycle and started her up. The heavy note of the
heavy-gauge engine made the trucks engine seem like a small scooter in comparison and Hein-
rich smiled to himself. He had intentionally fed the engine more gas then was required to fire her
up, giving her a deeper note than was normal. It was a small thing, but Heinrich was proud of
his bike - heaven knows he had spent enough of his meagre war-salary on it - much to Emily’s
chagrin. In fact, it had become a standing joke between them that the bike was his second lover,
after Emily of course, although some days, Emily never knew if she was the second fiddle.
With a grunt, the motorbike launched itself forward down the gravel pathway onto the road be-
yond.

*****
“Cheap Russian construction” spat Perks as the truck rolled onwards over another bump in the
road. Road maintenance had taken a second priority to the war effort which meant that the roads
were “patchy” in places, resulting in those in the back of the truck being thrown around every
few minutes. They were clocking up a good number of miles now they were truck-mobile.
They had passed a few trucks ferrying troopers to various places, some no-doubt were heading
to town to party and find cheap women. Others were probably being transported to new postings,
but on the large, the roads were quiet.

“Did that sign just say ‘Hamburg’?” asked Googles as he concentrated on keeping the truck as
steady as possible despite swerving around all the potholes.
“I dunno” said Gunthar, looking around sharply. Despite the bumpiness of the ride, it was com-
mon knowledge that Gunthar could sleep virtually anywhere. It didn’t help him much that he
was a heavy sleeper either, or that he had the intelligence of a dead fish. Something for which
Perks and Googles played with eternally. The old classic of a beer bottle in his butt-crack was
now a common occurrence where Gunthar was concerned.
“Why don’t you get out and look?” asked Googles.
“Do I have to?” replied Gunthar. Googles merely burst out laughing. Gunthar punched Googles
on the arm, knowing that he had just had the micky taken from him. “That’s not nice, Googles!”
“What’s not nice?” asked Cali from the back, through the open mini window at the back of cab.
31
“Nothing” they both replied at the same time. “Thought so” said Cali. “How far out are we?”
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
“I thought I saw a sign saying Hamburg about a minute ago, but Gunthar was sleeping so he
didn’t see it.”
Cali was silent for a few seconds, “where’s Heinrich?”
“Haven’t seen him in a few minutes. He usually waits for us at the junctions. He’s probably
already there by now if we are that close.”
“Okay.”

*****
Heinrich was standing beside his bike with his arms outstretched by his side. The trooper behind
was busy patting him down whilst another was covering him with his rifle.
“Dies ist nicht erforderlich” said Heinrich.
“Sei ruhig” barked the trooper behind him.
“Ich habe eine Priorität Bericht!” snapped Heinrich, remembering the slip of paper in his pocket
that he had forgotten to lose yet.
“Spielt keine rolle” said the trooper searching him. Heinrich rolled his eyes as the trooper finally
came upon the snub-nosed revolver in his coat pocket and produced it with a show of interest.
It was immediately seized upon by the two troopers who paraded it around in front of him like
they had found a large bar of gold. Heinrich got a good look at the trooper now. He was at most
seventeen years of age and was clearly enjoying the ego-trip of being given some measure of
authority over others - even if that was in some backwater road checkpoint.
“Ja, ich bin bewaffnet ihr Idioten” snapped Heinrich, rolling his eyes again as they extolled
themselves for catching such a mighty prize.
“Du hast gesagt, was?” asked the troopers, almost in unison, their good mood broken and turn-
ing decidedly darker.
“Ich rief ihr Idioten ! Wir sind im Krieg . Glaubst du, ich würde um zu reisen , ohne bewaffnet?”
he spat acidly.
The two troopers were quiet for a moment, before another sound broke them out of their train of
thought.

“We’ve found Heinrich” said Gunthar through the window. “He’s being held up by a check-
point.”
“Has he been rumbled?” asked Cali, her face appearing at the window.
“It’s hard to tell. That’s his bike half a mile ahead though.”
“Slow down and stop if the checkpoint flags us down. I’ll make sure the guys are ready if re-
quired.”
“Understood” said Googles, working the heavy clutch down a gear and applying the brakes
slightly to slow their speed.

“Stopp!” shouted the rifleman, swapping his aim to cover the advancing truck which had already
begun to slow down. It slowed down even more before coming to a full stop a few meters from
the checkpoint. The checkpoint itself was little more than a set of sand bags with a makeshift
stove set and portable vox unit in front of it - possibly a precursory checkpoint to a more elabo-
rate affair further down the road.
“Ausschiffen!” shouted the German trooper who still had Heinrich’s pistol in his hand and was
now brandishing it toward the truck.
“Do as he says” said Cali behind Googles and Gunthar.
The troopers heard the footsteps of the four troopers in the rear of the cargo-8 before they leapt
down from the truck, carrying their weapons in an easy grace of combat veterans.
32
The Bandits lined up in neat order whilst the two in the cab opened their doors and clambered

DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11


down themselves before moving over to the line of Bandits.
The check point trooper strolled forward, working down the line of troopers like a drill sergeant
does before fresh recruits. He eyed up each of the Bandits in turn before returning his attention
to Heinrich.

Cali gave the two Germans a quick appraisal. They certainly weren’t combat veterans. They both
were less than 18 and moved more like civilians in military uniforms than disciplined troops do-
ing their job to the best of their ability. They probably wouldn’t be missed much either.
“Perks, could you take out the rifleman from here without tipping them off?” asked Cali in a
hushed voice.
“Angles all bad” said Perks, eyeing the shot in his mind. “Heinrich is between me and him so I
could hit him instead.”

“Your shoe lace is untied, Perks” said Cali without looking.


Taking her point immediately, Perks bent down to look at his boots. The rifleman immediately
sidestepped, clearing the shot between him and Perks nicely.
“WAS TUST DU?” demanded the rifleman. His companion snapped around too to glare at
Perks.

“Schnürsenkel untied” said Perks, making a show of fiddling with his boot laces despite having
2 weapons pointed at him. This relaxed the two guards a little bit and when Perks was finished,
he stood back up. A brief flicker of a smile lit up the snipers face. Without thinking, he raised the
rifle and fired after seeing the perfect shot present itself.
The bullet punched through the first trooper - the one with the pistol and took the second cleanly
in the chest, knocking him back. The first German staggered, a look of confusion overtaking his
face as Perks put another round through the boy’s skull, ending his life in a brief flash.
“Thanks” said Heinrich, lowering his arms finally and wiping off the blood splatter on his coat
with a leather glove.
“Time to get moving” ordered Cali, moving off to return to the rear of the truck. “We don’t know
who is about who may have heard the shots” she called over her shoulder.

*****
Continues Next Issue . . .

33
THE FUTURE OF DUST MONTHLY
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
WRITTEN BY: FLORIS HUSSAARTS
DUST Monthly Magazine needs you
We have been going for a year now since the re-launch and during that time the staff at DUST
Monthly Magazine have done their best to provide an interesting magazine every month. This
would not have been possible without the support of people like Fred, Daniel and Joe. However
we can’t expect them to write articles every month (they have a family/work/hobby life to think
about).

This is where you come in, what we really need is contributions to the magazine in the form of
painting articles, units reviews, battle reports, event coverage and so on.

If it has to do with Paolo Parente’s World of Dust then we are interested. So please if you know of
anything that you feel is worth putting in the magazine then let us know about it.

From the next issue (out on the 1st of March) we will rename the Dust News section into the more
appropriate “The Month That Was”. It will cover all the things of interest that occurred the previ-
ous month. There will be some other changes but I’ll explain those in my editorial next month
when I can actually point at examples in that issue.

The last thing I want to mention this month is my desire to bring back the Worldwide Dust League.
I believe this was a success when it ran a few years back but please let me know what you think,
either via email, on Facebook or on the DUST Monthly Forum.

That is all from me for now, I hope you will join me next month when I settle into my new job as
editor of DUST Monthly Magazine.

Floris

34
DUST MONTHLY - ISSUE 11
WE WILL SEE YOU NEXT ISSUE

ISSUE 12
AVAILABLE FROM
The 1st OF March
35

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