HOW TO PAINT EARLY WAR WWII GERMANS (1939)

Color chart Black leather preparation

W
Skin
Base: Black SC-00 (Scale Color) e start removing the vents and mould lines with the help
of a modelling knife and files. This miniature came in a
Shade: TAN 066 (Vallejo)
Light: Black + Dwarf Skin 041 few pieces. After cleaning them, we fix them using cy-
(Vallejo)
anoacrylate glue; and then we put the miniature on the
Base: Dwarf Skin 041 (Vallejo base. Once the glue is dry, we can start creating the base. For ex-
Game Color)
Brown leather
ample, I use a little bit of modelling putty to adapt the own base of
Base: Chocolate Brown 872
the miniature to the plastic base, and then I used white glue to fix a
Light: Dwarf skin + Ivory 918
(Vallejo)
(Vallejo) little bit of beach sand and small rocks. Before starting to paint the
miniature is very important to apply a primer coat. I recommend
Light: Beige brown 875 (Vallejo) you to use the airbrush or a spray, since you will obtain a thin and
Jacket
homogeneous primer coat. I normally use grey color when paint-
Shade: German C. Extra Dark ing 28mm. I like to paint
Metal canisters
Green 896 (Vallejo) the base now because at
Base: Field gray SC-46 (Scale
Base: Ger. C. Extra Dark Green this stage we can do it
Color)
896 (Vallejo) freely. If we do it at the
Light: Ger. C. Extra Dark Green
end, we can accidentally
Light: Field gray SC-46 (Scale
896 + Ivory 918 (Vallejo) ruin the painted boots,
Color) + Light Yellow 949 (Vallejo)
for example. In this oc-
casion, I started painting
Trousers and Helmet Rifle the whole base with a
Shade: Graphite SC-03 + Black Wood base: Flat brown 984 dark brown color, such
SC-00 (Scale Color) (Vallejo) as Chocolate brown 872
(Vallejo) and then I used
Base: Graphite SC-03 (Scale Wood light: Flat Brown 984 +
Color) Orange Brown 981 (Vallejo) the Citadel Shade Agrax
Earthshade to create
Light: Graphite SC-03 (Scale some contrast. Finally, I
Color) + Ivory 918 (Vallejo) Metal: Gunmetal 054 (Vallejo)
applied a dry brush with
Iraqui sand 819 (Valle-
jo).

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 skin

F
irst, we paint the eyes. We start painting a thin horizon-
tal line on each eye, and then we paint a vertical black
line or dot. Because of we have not painted the face yet,
you can repaint the eyes until you obtain the results
you like. Once the eyes are ready, we paint the whole face (but
the eyes) and hands with Tan 066 (Vallejo). Remember that is
very important to thin regular acrylic paint with water. Always.
This is a must. By diluting the acrylic paints with water, (1) the
paint is easily applied, (2) we avoid weird textures (such as brush
strokes); and more interestingly, (3) we can create smooth transi-
tions between layers. The latter is very important when applying
the highlights, as you will see. To apply the highlights, we start
mixing Tan with increasing amounts Dwarf skin 041 (Vallejo) nose, forefront, upper part of cheeks and upper and lower jaws.
until we directly use this color. We can apply a final highlight by Try to lead the lights towards the most prominent area, always
mixing Dwarf skin with in the same proportion (1:1). The num- covering a smaller area than the previous layer. That is, do not
ber of layers depends on you. The more layers, the smoother the totally cover the previous layer. To paint the hands, focus on the
contrast between layers will be. I normally apply three or four. fingers (especially in the finger tips) and knuckles.
To apply the highlight on the face, focus on the following areas:

uniform & helmet

M1935 Feldbluse and trousers

T
he M1935 Feldbluse had a very characteristic grey green transitions between layers. In practice, this means that after us-
color with a very dark green collar, while the trousers ing 896 (the shade), we mix dark green 896 and field gray SC-
were made in stone grey color up to 1940. On the other 46 in the same proportion (1:1). This is the intermediate 1 layer.
hand, the stahlhelm M1935 was painted in dark grey. Next, we can apply directly field gray SC-46. This is the base. And
finally, we apply another two layers by mixing field gray SC-46
To paint the feldbluse we start painting the jacket with German with increasing amounts of Light yellow 949 (Vallejo). First 2:1
C. extra dark green 896 (Vallejo). This is our darkest color or (to parts of grey and one of yellow) and then 1:1 (same of each).
shade. But this is not the “real color” or base for our jacket. The These are the intermediate 2 and light layers. The yellow color
base color will be Field gray SC-46 (Scale Color). And finally, we will give warmer lights. You could also use white, which would
will apply some additional highlights by mixing Field gray with generate a colder effect. This is up to you. In fact, it might be
a little bit of white or ivory. In total, I normally apply around 5 interesting to mix jackets highlighted using different methods in
layers that can be defined as follow: shade > intermediate 1 > the same unit. This will give some personality to the unit. You
base > intermediate 2 > light. This method (painting by layers or can basically apply this system to any color you have to paint, just
layering technique) is based on the triad system (shade > base think about the shade, base and light colors, and then mix these
> light) but I add some intermediate layers to create smoother to obtain the intermediate layers.

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But, where to apply the highlights? We start from the darkest a dot or thin line. Lead always the lights to the most exposed or
color and finish painting the lightest one. That is, we work on prominent areas. Finally, you can use again the darkest color or
the highlights. This means that we will apply each layer (each shade to re-defined some shades.
one lighter than the previous one) on the most exposed areas of
the surface we are painting. In the jacket, these are the wrinkles, To paint the trousers, we follow exactly the same idea, but we use
elbows and edges, for example. The easiest way to apply the high- a different set of colors. To paint the stone grey color, I started
lights is to focus on lines sculpted on the miniature. In order to mixing black and Graphite SC-03 (Scale Color) in the same pro-
obtain smooth transitions between layers we have several tricks portion (1:1). This is the shade. Then, I added a little bit more of
on hand, as already introduced. First, remember to thin the wa- Graphite (2:1 proportion, double amount of Graphite). This is the
ter. Semi-transparent layers will create by themselves smooth Intermediate 1 layer. For the base I used directly Graphite. Then,
transitions. Second, by applying intermediate layers we will I mixed Graphite with increasing amounts of white for the Inter-
avoid striking contrasts. You can always increase the number of mediate 2 layer (1:2) and for the light (1:1). When painting the
intermediate layers. That is up to you. Third, it is very important highlights, focus on the wrinkles and knees. To add some dust or
that each new layer covers a smaller area. Do not cover complete- muddy effect, you can thin with more water than usual couple of
ly the previous layer. The last layer or highlight should be almost brown colors and apply them randomly on the knees and boots.

helmet

T
o paint the helmet, we
use the same colors we
used for the trousers, but
with a larger proportion
of black. To apply the highlights
on the helmet, focus on two are-
as: the lower edges and the upper
part. Leave the area in between
dark. In regards of the upper part,
you can paint concentric circle,
each one smaller than the previ-
ous one. For the lower part, lead
the highlights towards the edge of
the helmet. You can also add some
scratches and chips with the light-
est color and a thin brush.

Black profiling

S
omething I like to do before
starting painting the gear is to
apply a “black profiling”. This
consists on painting a thin black
line between each element of the minia-
ture. Somehow, with this line clearly sep-
arate each part. Just use black paint and a
thin brush. Remember to thin the paint.
You can also directly paint the whole ac-
cessory in black, as I did.

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 Gear and boots

T
o paint the black leather
of the pouches, webbing
and boots first be sure that
the surface has a homo-
geneous layer of black paint. Then,
start mixing black with increasing
amounts of rose or skin color. The
advantage of using any of these colors
is that the resulting lights are warmer
and more realistic. If you use white
or grey, we can involuntarily “trans-
form” the black into a grey color. Fo-
cus on the wrinkles of the boots and
edges of the webbing and pouches.
You can easily paint the edges using
the brush horizontally rather than
using the tip. I painted similarly the
binoculars.

To paint the brown leather straps

and the maps and bread bags we can
initially start painting these elements
with Chocolate brown 872 (Vallejo),
and then mix this color with increas-
ing amounts of Beige brown 875
(Vallejo). As a final highlight, we can
mix beige brown with a little bit of
white. Once again, to apply the high-
lights just follow the wrinkles and
focus on the edges using the brush
horizontally. You can also add some
weathering effects by painting some
scratches here and there.

To paint the metal canisters, such as

the gas mask can or the canteen we start using the same color we To paint the wooden part of the rifle, first we use Flat brown 984
use for the jacket, German C. extra dark green 896 (Vallejo). But (Vallejo). Then, we mix this color with Orange brown 981 (Valle-
this time we will use white instead of yellow for the highlights. jo) in the same proportion and apply the highlights by painting
This will create a more greyish color. Apply the lights on the edg- horizontal lines, which represent the veining of the wood. And
es, as before; and you can always add some scratches. finally, we apply an extra highlight directly with Orange brown,
following the same idea. To paint the metal parts, we can use
any metal color such as Gunmetal 054 (Vallejo); and once it is
dry, apply the Citadel shade Nuln oil. Similarly, we paint the flash
light.

Finally, we paint the collar with German C. extra dark green 896
(Vallejo) mixed with black in a 1:1 proportion, and with white
we paint the insignia on the collar and epaulettes by painting two
horizontal lines.

Base

F
inally, we add some vegetation on the base. First, con-
sider where you want to place your miniature. A forest
in North Europe might be different compared with a
meadow in France. You can work on the vegetation by
levels. First, you can add some electrostatic grass or saw dust.
Then, add some grass tufts of different shapes and colors. And
finally, you can add other elements, such as small branches (sea-
moss) with some train modelling leaves glued with white glue.

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