News From The Front
Painting "Guides" or better Painting Schemes for Miniature Wargaming
At the moment I use a lot of GW colours, most of this have a few years behind them. So they are from a lost range. I tried to translate them to the actual colour range. This is mostly intended for 15mm figures but can be up or down scaled.
Napoleonic Austrian Line Infantry (Shako)
I start by priming the models in light grey. Grey Seer Primer by Games Workshop. After this Faces and hands get a layer of Bleached Bone – know called Ushabti Bone. The Uniform gets base coloured with contrast paint Apothecary White.
I mostly use Contrast paints to speed up my painting. Some of the Contrast Colours cover miniatures quite well and are easy
to paint.
After this Guilliman Flesh is used on the hands and faces. Helmets, gaiters and boots, cartridge box, side arms and bayonetts are than painted with Contrast Black Templer. Backpacks are painted in Gore-Grunta Fur.
In the next step cockades are decorated with Iyanden Yellow and the rifles are painted with wildwood. The bases are than covered with Steel Legion Drab.
As last part of the basic paintjob regiments colours are put on collars, cuffs and turnbacks – here Deathworld Forrest for the 56th Regiment “Wenzel Collorado”. The folded Greatcoat is painted in Mechanicus Standard Grey. The Bayonett gets its layer of Ironbreaker.
After basic painting the figures get a shading with Nuln oil. This darkens the basic colours a bit, so the last part is lightning up the colours again.
With Austrian “German” line Troops this is done with Ulthuan Grey, which is ideal for this kind of uniform and pure white – skull white or White Scar – on straps or edges.
Flesh is accentuated with Kislev Flesh, Regimental colours get a highlight in their original colour and rifles are finished with Lead- belcher and Mournfang Brown.
At the end the cockade gets a black point into its middle.
I base my Napoleonic figures on premier bases by Warbases UK. These are primed with Army Painters “Leather Brown”. After fixing the figures the base is covered with Vallejo Earth Texture “Brown Earth”.
The dried base is then brushed with Tau Light Ochre and Ushabti Bone and static grass is added.
Napoleonic Austrian Line Infantry (pre 1806 helmet) & Officiers
To be honest the same procedure as described above. The Helmet is although painted in black (Black Templer) with a crest in yellow (Iyanden Yellow). A thin black line is added along the ridge of the crest. The front part receives a front panel in gold.
If painting officiers the underside of the helm crest is set off with gold.
The Officers greatcoats were started with a base colour of Contrast Basilicanum Grey.It gets a broad highlight with a steal grey (The Fang).
Austrian Grenadiers
Here, too, the painting corresponds to the uniform of the line infantry.
Grenadier caps are painted in Cygor Brown with a Retributor Armour Metal plate. I choose to paint the backsides of the fur caps not in regiment colours.
Around 1811 the rear patches were ordered to be yellow with white lace for all regiments.
This gives for my taste the grenadiers a more common paint scheme.
The backside of the furcaps is painted in yellow (Iyanden Yellow) set off with white (Ulthuan Grey).
Cuffs, collars and turnbacks are painted in regimental colours. For me two stands for one regiment.
Austrian Chevauxlegere
The miniatures used can be painted as both Chevauxlegere and Dragoons. I start with the light cavary option.
At first the figures are primed in light grey. The Horses are painted with Gore Grunta Fur and the saddle cloth with Contrast Blood Angle Red.
The Rider gets a base colouring with Caliban Green (uniform jacket), Guilliman Flesh (skin), Contrast Basilicum Grey (Trousers, sheepskin, musket, bed roll) and Contrast Black Templer( sword, ammo pouch, helmet, boots, mane and tail of the horse). For the helm crest Contrast Iyanden Yellow is used.
Steel Legion Drab colours the bottom plate. At last the base detailsare processed with Ulthuan Grey (straps), Wazdakka Red (collars and cuffs), Contrast Wyldwood (musket stock) and Ironbreaker (sword)
After base painting the figure is washed with Nuln oil.
When the wash is dried, the darkened base colours are restord.
For the horse thinned Skrag Brown (fure) and Dark Reaper (mane, tail) will do the work. The horse straps are added in Mournfang Brown. Alternative this can be painted in Black Templer. The skin of the cavalryman is highlighted with Kislev Flesh and his uniform with Caliban Green (jacket),The Fang (trousers) and Evil Sunz Scarlet (collars and cuffs).
The strap of the ammo pouch are highlighted with Ulthuan Grey.
Last details are added. Dawnstone for the horse hoofs. Administratum Grey for the sheep skin and Evil Sunz Scarlett for the hors cloth. (A small line of Wild Rider Red if you like.) Some Ulthuan grey is added partially abovw the hoofs or on the horse foreheads.
Metal pieces (stirrup, etc.) and sword are defined with Ironbreaker and the sword gets a cutting Edge painted in Runefang Steel.
The crest on the helmet is painted a black centerline and a frontplate and a chin strap is added with Retributor Armour.
Basing as above.
