DUST: FP2P, ''203'' Sturmpionere

FP2P: From Plastic to Painted.

Today, I am going to show how I painted one of my Sturmpionere.
The inspiration will be from my favorite RTS of all time: Company of Heroes, more precisely the Panzer Elite.

A Panzer Elite's Tankbuster Grenadier.

But first, what are the Sturmpionere?

They are a platoon command section in Dust Warfare, allowing the player to field a Blutkreuz Platoon.
Up until Icarus, it was definitely one of the fluffiest but also one of the worst platoon choice you could make.

Why?
Because it had no radio (important) and mostly because the platoon order, while extremely fluffy (you get to reanimate dead soldiers into zombies) was far less tactically useful than the ''Blitzkrieg''(free move) order of the Sturmgrenadiere Platoon.

Now, the Blutkreuz Platoon got 3 things to make it one of the more competitive platoon options:
1- In Hades, they got access to the Sturmprinz, giving its troops the mobility they needed.
2- In Icarus they got exclusive access to the Ubertoten Assault squad: one of the best infantry unit in the game, able to slaughter enemy infantry at close range and a valid choice to load into a Sturmprinz
3- Still in Icarus, the Blutkreuz can update it's serum to a ''2nd generation serum'', allowing it to bring back zombies on 'blanks' instead of 'hits'...And it works on the Ubertotens!!

All these factors have turned one of the worst platoon into one of the best.
And that is why, gentlemen, I think we'll see a lot more Sturmpionere on our tables.

So without further ado, let's see how to paint a Sturmpionere from Plastic to a ''Panzerabteilung 203'' scheme.

My Sturmpionere has been primed with ''German Armour'' Primer from Battlefront, it was unnecessary but I did it. The base was textured using Vallejo Red Oxid Paste and painting it with PIP Umbral Umber.

My favorite painting station: on my floor using my knee.

Using PIP Cryx Bane Base, I paint the gasmask.

Cryx Bane Base

Then, using PIP Umbral Umber, I paint the belt.

Umbral Umber

Using GW Astronomican Grey (a sadly discontinued Foundation Paint), I paint the nose of the gasmask and the belt buckle.

RIP Astronomican Grey.

Now let's paint the most annoying and time-consuming part of the model: the yellow parka. Using Vallejo Air Colors Dark Yellow I basecoat the parka.

Vallejo Air Colors Dark Yellow

Mix the VAC Dark Yellow with SWM Soft Body Black Wash.

These two.

Now shade the model's parka with the mix.

When you're done, take dark yellow and touch up the parka.
Then do a 40/60 mix of VAC Dark Yellow with PIP Menoth White Base and highlight the parka.

We will paint the pants using VAC German Green. Then we'll shade them using SAC Soft Body Black.

Now the coolest part: the camo. First basecoat the armor plates and helmet using PIP Traitor Green.

Then paint horizontal ovals using PIP Sanguine Base.

This color!

Then use PIP Thornwood Green and do dots connecting two or more dots of the previously painted dots of Sanguine Base.

You could stop before this step and you'd have my Zverograd camo but I decided to spice up things a little and added a fourth step: do little horizontal lines of PIP Thrall Flesh, see picture.

One of the most useful color!

My finished camo. Now paint the flammenwerfer's tube using the same color as the gasmask (aka PIP Cryx Bane base), paint the gloves using Umbral Umber.

For the flammenwerfer's tank I wanted a green-blue so I did a 50/50 mix of GW Orkhide Shade (another discontinued paint) and PIP Trollblood base (yes, I do put this color everywhere). I think you can get the same effect with PIP Coal Black but I couldn't find my paint pot.

Orkhide shade is one of the most useless colors in my collection, glad it could do something today.

I then painted the metallic parts with PIP Ironhull Grey.

And proceeded to shade with SWM Soft Body Black. Then highlighted the metallic parts with GW Codex Grey.

I'll miss you Codex Grey!

Done! Meet the Pyro. ;)

''Hey wait a minute! You forgot my base!!!''
Okay, let me get: white glue, Fine Turf 'weeds' from Woodlands Scenic and a little flower from Army Painter ''Meadow Flowers'' and the base is ready. Oh! And a little black drybrush as if he already used the weapon a little.

Tadaaa!!
(eyes were done with GW Mechrite Red, a wash of SWM Soft Body Black and the metallic part is GW Codex Grey)

Feel free to add a skull decal on the flammenwerfer's tank for extra cool points.

Now I just need to paint my Ubertotens and I can field a fully painted Blutkreuz Korps in my 203 Panzer Abteilung army for Dust Warfare!

Hope you liked it! If you have suggestions, questions or anything, leave a comment.