Welcome back to our Allied modeling masterclass sessions with José Brito! In his last article he began to customize his Allied walkers from the Dust Tactics core set. Today, José will put decals on his walkers and camouflage them.

Step 1 - applying decals
When the paint has completely dried you can begin applying decals to your Allied walkers. Dust Tactics decal sheets are available at www.dust-models.com .

There are many different decal options available on the sheets for you to choose from, depending on which direction you desire to go with your own Allied walkers. Before you begin adding the decals you should decide what story you want your decals to tell. Do your decals depict walker identification numbers added at the factory? Are some of the images unique details added by your troops during down time in between combat?

To see an in-depth description of the process through which José Brito added these decals to his Axis walkers, read his third session .

Step 2 - camouflage
Once you have finished applying your decals and your walkers have dried it is time for you to camouflage them. When I began planning how to customize my walkers I decided that I wanted to apply a different version of camouflage to each walker. After some research I decided the winter camouflage I would apply would be inspired from World War II pictures that I had seen.

I began my camouflage process by cutting different shapes out of masking tape. The masking tape that I chose to work with is Tristar as it is a very soft tape that is easy to remove without damaging the paint underneath. You can replicate the same process with any brand of masking tape that is suitable for plastic models and painting projects.

In order to successfully cut shapes out of the masking tape, apply the tape to a clear plastic sheet. This will allow you to cut all of your shapes out at once and later apply them.

To achieve one of the shapes I wanted, I used scissors with triangular edges. You can find these scissors at any craft store. To create a different look for my other walker, I punched the other sheet of tape with a paper punch, so that I could use small circles.

What shapes do you want to make? Be creative, you could customize your walkers with any interesting shape for camouflage or another look. Maybe you want to make thin stripes or half moons?

When I finished cutting out all of the tape I wanted to use (it never hurts to cut out extra beforehand) I began to apply them to my models. Peel the tape carefully from the plastic sheet and place the tape on the desired spot. Make sure that the tape is smoothly and firmly placed to ensure that no paint bleeds under it and ruins the camouflage look. You also want to place the tape in a way that balances the colors that will be present on your walkers. If you put on too much or too little tape your walker might not have the desired look. This can be very time consuming as extra care is needed, but the end result is worth it!

With the masking tape firmly in place, you may begin airbrushing your walkers. Of course, if you do not have an airbrush tool you can paint the walkers with a brush. In either case make sure to apply the paint in a few very thin layers. I used Vallejo brand Model Air 71001 White. You can use any white or other color paint that is made for plastic models.

When your paint has dried completely you may begin removing the masking tape. Gently peel one piece of masking tape off your walker at a time. When you have removed all of the masking tape you will find that your walkers are starting to look very exciting!

Step 3 - painting small details

After I finished the full body painting I decided to add some extra detail to some of the smaller components of my walkers. You can choose to brighten up parts of your walkers for added visual appeal and interest.

I painted the periscopes with different Vallejo Model colors, as well as other small details on the walkers. The periscopes also received a coat of Vallejo Still Water 26230 to make their glass appear more realistically bright and shiny.

Thank you for that informative session, José! Watch for Jose’s next article, in which he will take you through the weathering and finishing process for his Allied walkers, and teach you how to add details to the walker bases.

Dust Tactics is a tactical miniatures game of brutal combat for 2-4 players. Based on the popular universe created by artist Paolo Parente, Dust Tactics presents an alternate 1940s reality in which alien technology fuels gigantic machines of war, and the world's superpowers clash over rare mineral deposits that could ultimately decide the outcome of WWII.