ACW thoughts - Who makes a credible "Union" blue?

[sultanbev]

I use black undercoat with Humbrol enamel, as this sticks better than acrylic, and if you miss anything with the top coats, black won't show in the way that a white/grey primer would.

For Union coats my ACW colleague swears by Miniature Paints 24 navy Blue, which is a very dark blue.

Mark

[Noktu]

John,

I've got a newly acquired preference to basecoat miniatures with a Dark Brown colour, and this I do twice with a brush. (first layer to make a surface for the paint to stick to ( My Army painter Dark Brown is such a watery mix from the factory that I need to use two coats ), and then apply the final basecoat to form a solid colour all over the model. Then I go and paint all areas beige ( Army Painter - Banshee Brown - Very nice and solid colour ) , where I plan to use opaque colours on.

I started with using light grey basecoat spray, but soon I realised that more often than not I had to spend more time getting the paint to the right places. As when I go and throw a wash on the model, the model has to be solidly painted so that the very light undercoat wont show and make it look all messy.

But now with a dark brown undercoat ( NOT BLACK !!! ) , you get a really nice surface to apply your colours on and after throwing your base colours over there, accompanied with a healthy wash. It looks really good! As the dark brown undercoat further enhances the abilities of the wash! Makes it worthwhile in 10mm in my opinion. With dark undercoats in this scale, you can get very stark contrasts on the model which then pop on the battlefield. Most of my stuff is painted using this basecoating method.

[Noktu]

I use black undercoat with Humbrol enamel, as this sticks better than acrylic, and if you miss anything with the top coats, black won't show in the way that a white/grey primer would.

For Union coats my ACW colleague swears by Miniature Paints 24 navy Blue, which is a very dark blue.

Mark

Mark, if you enjoy using black undercoat. When you are starting a new project, please give the dark brown basecoat a try! I feel like it has been a great help defining my own style.

[Raider4]

. . . and if you miss anything with the top coats, black won't show in the way that a white/grey primer would.

This is why I've generally used black (or a medium brown for skeletons).

. . . please give a dark brown basecoat a try! I feel like it's the second best thing after sex.

Well, that's quite a claim! Must admit, there are quite a few things I could think of that are second best to sex, and none of them are anything to do with painting miniatures.

[Waremblem]

For those mentioning Vallejo Oxford blue - that's one of the first I considered but some people on TMP complained that it gives the figures a purplish tint. Have you seen anything like that in your use?

[Shecky]

I've tried Vallejo Oxford Blue and agree it has a purplish tint. My preferred Union blue is Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue with a Prussian Blue highlight.

[Westmarcher]

Has anyone tried any of the blues available from Warlord? It's always difficult to assess what you see on screen and what you get in reality but here's the link, anyway.

https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/individual-paints/paints-painting+paint-blue


p.s. @ Waremblem: did you get my e-mail with photos?

[DaveH]

I use Humbrol matt white enamel as an undercoat on metal and hard plastic miniatures. I prefer white for the fact it brings up the colours more than black, particularly on reds and yellows.

I might use try using Vallejo sepia wash on the figures as the black seems a bit too strong though if I drybrush a highlight it may not be such an issue, or create my own with Dark Prussian Blue thinned down and with my usual flow improver added.

[Waremblem]

Has anyone tried any of the blues available from Warlord? It's always difficult to assess what you see on screen and what you get in reality but here's the link, anyway.

https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/individual-paints/paints-painting+paint-blue


p.s. @ Waremblem: did you get my e-mail with photos?

I did, thank you. Nice terrain btw! Excellent figures, that's in the ballpark.

These warlords paints are interesting. Lots of shades in the blue spectrum. Warpaints electric blue looks like a good pants color. For coats the dark blue appears to have that purple tint. For a Grant uniform look night blue certainly could be a match although at 10mm might be black? Would need white primer I suspect. Warpaints deep blue is intriguing with warpaints ultramarine blue for variety or possibly imperial blue. I'm also curious if anyone has used these?

[Noktu]

50 by Atte, on Flickr


From my testing you can go pretty far with the basic Ultramarine Blue from any manufacturer, just use black / grey / dark grey to adjust the hue and you're good to go! ( The darker blue tone could be the base, then highlight with just the ultramarine )

[FierceKitty]

That chap's 10mm, Moomin? Phewwwwww....

[Heedless Horseman]

For trousers, the 'Howard Hues' blue available from Magister Millitum is excellent...has just the right 'green' hint. BUT... the big pots tend to dry if not used...although they may be saved with some watering if done in time! The Union blue for jackets from same source gave a reasonable 'BLUE' colour, but I thought Vallejo Dk Prussian was better. A mix of coat  shades is probably best...seeing as Confederates would be in various shades of 'Grey' or 'Stone'.

I spray paint Humbrol Dk Brown, (it is really an 'earth'!),  as base coat...esp in 10mm, as I base figs before painting. In larger scales, esp. 25mm, probably, Grey.

[Leman]

Depends whether you want a standardised toy soldier army or something resembling how the troops actually looked on campaign. A newly arrived regiment would have similar dark blue jackets, although the blues of different new regiments would not necessarily be the same as each factory would use a slightly different dye recipe. Troops that had been in the field for a couple of months would have jackets that had started to fade, some even having a puplish tinge to them. There was probably more uniformity in the Union regiments as there was a tendency to form new units rather than reinforce existing ones. The Confederates did reinforce, and sometimes veterans would 'swap' their clothing for that of the new recruits. Probably the best description of painting troops of both sides is to be found in Paul Stevens' guide to Wargaming the American Civil War (or is it Paul Stevenson/Stephenson - it's one of those books that hasn't made it out of the packing case yet).

[Terry37]

One comment I'll make re Union Uniforms. The sky blue color for the trousers and he winter coat with cape was not a baby blue shade as is often seen. I matched my paint chips to a real article and it is more like medium-dark sky blue.

Terry

[Last Hussar]

I go with dark-mid blue ish.

I would guess we don't know what the exact colour is. Even if there was a the 'perfect' example preserved by the union, it would have faded before colour photograph.

It's like the Rebel Yell - no one knows now what it sounded like, It was given at a 1913 Gettysburg dinner for the 50th anniversary (old men embracing former adversaries) for the last time.

I also undercoat grey - white is to bright to paint, black you can't make out the detail!