WW1 - Which paints to use?

[DaveL]

Hi.
Have been asked to paint some WW1 British and German figures, but which colours to use?

There seem to be lots of different Khakis and drabs out there for the British, so any suggestions would be most welcome.

Re the Germans, did they have Field grey at this time, and was it the same colour as the WW2 uniforms.

Did the Brit and German cavalry wear the same colours as the Infantry?

Any feedback would be most welcome.

Many Thanks    DaveL

[paulr]

Hi Dave,

I used the following colours on Peter's ITLSU 1914 project. I light grey undercoat then paint the base colour. I then dry brush one of the dry brush colours on each of; jacket, trousers, hat & puttees (British only). Mixing the combinations up gives variety. All paints are Vallejo.

British
Base colour  921 English Uniform
Dry brush colour  880 Khaki Grey, 988 Khaki, 821 Germ Cam Beige WWII

Germans
Base colour  920 German Uniform
Dry brush colour  972 Light Green Blue, 905 Blue Grey Pale, 991 Dark Sea Grey

You can see the results in this thread

http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,10195.msg124706.html#msg124706

PM if you would like more info,
Paul

[Fenton]

I agree with Paul about the colours. Although I personally think that Vallejo Khaki is a better colour than English Uniform  10mm

[paulr]

I agree with Paul about the colours. Although I personally think that Vallejo Khaki is a better colour than English Uniform  10mm

In hindsight I am inclined to agree with Fenton

PS Don't tell Peter 

[Leman]

I am painting some stuff in 15mm at the moment. Selecting colours is really not easy for early WWI. For my German jagers I've used Miniature Paints Stone Green for tunics (and entire outfit for the officer), Vallejo Dark Sea Grey mixed with Blue Grey for the trousers. I will also use this for German line infantry trousers. I have yet to experiment with early war field grey but may well use Vallejo Grey Green mixed with Light Grey for tunics, as many photos show the tunic as much lighter than the trousers. Interestingly the two recent BBC dramas, Our World War and The Passing Bells, took this approach to the German infantry uniforms.

[DaveL]

Thanks for the advice guys - really helpful.  And great photos of great figures Paulr     I forgot to say that te figures are 54mm plastics,  so the paint ideas are really good to know

Thanks   DaveL

[Fenton]

For 54mm plastics I would use a 50/50 mix of English Uniform and Khaki then highlight with Khaki

[DaveL]

Thanks Fenton.  Will give it a go.

DaveL

[Leman]

My jager are now on the DP's progress thread and the colours used have come out well in the photos. Bear in mind these have had a coat of magic wash after varnishing.