Painting Wargaming Figures – Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–45: British and Commonwealth, US and Free French 9781399005623, 1399005626

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Painting Wargaming Figures

ALLIED FORCES

IN NORTHWEST EUROPE, 1944–1945

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Painting Wargaming Figures

ALLIED FORCES

IN NORTHWEST EUROPE, 1944–1945 BR ITISH A ND COM MON W EA LTH, US A ND FR EE FR ENCH

Andy Singleton

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First published in Great Britain in 2022 by Pen & Sword Military An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd Yorkshire – Philadelphia Copyright © Andy Singleton, 2022 ISBN 978 1 39900 562 3 The right of Andy Singleton to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. Typeset in Gill Sans 12/16 by SJmagic DESIGN SERVICES, India. Printed and bound in the UK by Short Run Press Limited. Pen & Sword Books Limited incorporates the imprints of Atlas, Archaeology, Aviation, Discovery, Family History, Fiction, History, Maritime, Military, Military Classics, Politics, Select, Transport, True Crime, Air World, Frontline Publishing, Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing, The Praetorian Press, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe Transport, Wharncliffe True Crime and White Owl. For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Or PEN AND SWORD BOOKS 1950 Lawrence Rd, Havertown, PA 19083, USA E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.penandswordbooks.com

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Contents Introductionvii Chapter 1

Tips and Tools

Chapter 2

British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms

31

Chapter 3

British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms

57

Chapter 4

United States Army Uniforms

73

Chapter 5

United States Camouflage Uniforms and Insignia

93

Chapter 6

Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons

107

Chapter 7

Skin Tones

131

Chapter 8

Basing

141

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Introduction The fighting in North-Western Europe following the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944 has probably inspired more media, model kits and war gaming than any other period, with the possible exception of the Classical World. TV shows such as Band of Brothers, along with hundreds of movies and books, have led to this period also being a hugely popular way to enter into the world of historical war gaming. Although covering a comparatively short period of time, a staggering array of personnel, equipment and even terrain was committed to the fight, resulting in huge casualties and destruction across the theatre. Allied troops were drawn from not just Britain and the United States,

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 but also the Commonwealth and occupied Europe, Africa and the rest of the world. Uniforms were largely supplied to these forces in British and American designs, with the Free World troops largely organized along British or American lines, depending on the specific formation. However, all the forces feature a bewildering array of insignia that can be a fascinating rabbit hole of research and modelling to pursue. The popularity of this period has resulted in a huge range of figures and games available. Regardless of the size of figures you are working with, I’ve attempted to cover techniques that can be used on all sizes of miniatures. Hopefully, I have also covered enough painting techniques to cover most forms of uniform and equipment used and I thoroughly encourage you to experiment and expand your skills beyond what is presented here. Finally, good luck with all your hobbying and may your dice treat you kindly!

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1 Tips and Tools

GETTING STARTED Operation OVERLORD was one of the greatest logistical feats of all time. The sheer mass of equipment, supplies and manpower being transported over truly staggering distances was an absolutely incredible achievement. While the huge range of hobby products, paints and tools on the market is truly vast and expanding rapidly all the time, this book will attempt to provide some guidance and knowledge on the most commonly required tools and techniques. I’ll also attempt to cut through some of the 1

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 technical terminology, giving a bite-size description of what is required for a few of the most commonly used techniques. As a solid rule of thumb, when it comes to buying tools you’re better off buying better quality. This may prove more expensive, but will work out cheaper in the long run and the results will be more than worth it. That said, it’s probably also worth scouting out the internet and club mates or friends for reviews to see if it sounds like something you would find useful and fulfils your specific tastes and needs. Readers of the other books in this series will be familiar with the following chapter; however, for completeness I’ve repeated it here for those new to the hobby, as well as updating some of the information in line with changes in the hobby.

PLASTIC, METAL OR RESIN? The Second World War is probably the most widely supported period for models in any and all scales, with thousands of different products available. Generally speaking, for gaming purposes these are provided in either white metal, resin or hard and soft plastics. Recently thermoplastic has started to appear as a material from several manufacturers; this combines the features of both metal and plastic models, although it requires assembly with superglue. Plastic figures are typically provided on a frame called a sprue, from which they need to be removed. Since about the 1960s, many extremely popular and classic sets of figures from the likes of Airfix, Esci and Revell have been produced, predominantly 20mm-size figures produced in a soft, polythene type of plastic that required a vigorous scrubbing with warm water and washing-up liquid before painting. Thankfully this is becoming less prevalent and modern miniatures are typically being produced in hard plastic which is far less prone to warping and bending, has better adhesion for paint and is also far easier to glue. Most commonly 28mm-size figures are a hard plastic, though there are also several hard plastic 15mm and 20mm ranges. The majority of 28mm

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Tips and Tools figure manufacturers provide each figure in several pieces to allow you some variety in their posing, and I’ll go into more detail in assembling these a little later. Plastic figures are best assembled with special-purpose plastic glues, again something I’ll discuss later.

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Probably the most common material for the production of war games figures, however, is lead-free metal and this dominates all the various gaming scales. Most historical ranges are produced in this material, the figures are usually supplied as single-piece castings and typically come with a small stand attached to the figures’ feet to aid in placing them on their bases. Both plastic and metal figures can have moulding lines along their sides, and occasionally excess areas of metal or plastic, called flash, as a by-product of the production process that will need to be removed. This is a simple task and requires scraping along the line with the blunt side of a blade or quick sanding down with some files; again, I’ll cover that a little later too.

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Tips and Tools Metal models require assembling with superglue or an equivalent, and larger models such as artillery and cavalry will require a degree of patience as they can quickly become somewhat frustrating if you try to rush putting them together. When assembling any figure though, patience and test-fitting will always pay off here. Relatively rare, although some ranges are starting to introduce it as a material, is resin. This is at first glance much like plastic, though it is a little more brittle and is often supplied with casting blocks that need trimming away. Resin is light with crisp detail and is best treated as if working with metal, using superglue for assembly. Thermoplastic appears very much like a soft plastic at first glance, although it is far harder and more resilient and not prone to bending or flaking paint; it is incredibly durable. Unfortunately, this also makes the material very hard to clean up. If you attempt to remove moulding lines with a file, you will end up simply tearing the figure rather than sanding the lines away. Instead, use a very sharp knife blade and carefully clean up the part. You can also use very fine wet and dry paper, at least 1000 grit, to polish the part to a smoother finish. Thermoplastic figures are a type of resin, so will not bond with normal plastic glues and you will need to use superglue.

KNIVES, CUTTERS AND FILES The first thing you’ll need to do, unsurprisingly, is to get the component parts of your figure ready for assembly and clean away any residue from the manufacturing process. This can take several forms, but the most common are flash and mould lines, which form when the model is being cast in its mould. These appear as either prominent lines around a figure, as chunks or ‘worms’ of excess material most especially on edges and undercuts of the figure. These casting imperfections can appear in any material and removing them will massively improve the appearance of the finished model, especially when you are using the dry brush techniques. 5

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Hobby knife These broadly fall into two types: those with replaceable blades such as the ubiquitous X-Acto hobby knife, and the Stanley knife. Either one of these will probably be your most frequently used tool in preparing your figures, as the sharp side of the blade can be used for cutting things, while the blunt edge can be used to remove mould lines by simply scraping it down them a few times. This works, as the blunt edge is more forgiving of slips and follows the contours of the details well. Which type of knife you get is entirely up to you, but I’d recommend one of each, especially as they can be found pretty much anywhere that sells tools or hobby supplies at good prices. The replaceable blades of the X-Acto style allow different styles and shapes of blade to be fitted, as well as allowing you to simply replace the blade once it becomes dull. The slender, sharp blades do have their limits, however, and can blunt quickly when working with metal and may also struggle with cutting through thicker plastic sprues. They are very sharp though and give you a lot of control, especially for scraping off moulding lines or the remains of tabs

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Tips and Tools after using side cutters. The Stanley knife is handy if you need to do some heavier-duty cutting, such as trimming off parts for a conversion that side cutters can’t perform as cleanly as you need.

Side cutters Also known as sprue cutters, these are vaguely similar to scissors but with a shorter blade and more powerful tensioned action. As the name suggests, these are good at cutting things. Perfect for removing plastic parts from their carrying sprue, it’s best to trim the part while leaving a small stub of plastic that you can then trim with a knife or file. Also handy for metal, these can also be used for removing casting lugs or parts from moulding blocks. Sprue cutters can be found in the majority of model shops, both on and offline. I’d recommend getting maybe two sets and having one for metal and one for plastic if you’re likely to work on a lot of both materials as the set for metal will blunt faster than the set used on plastics.

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Files Files are another immensely useful tool and can be found in most tool/ hardware shops as well as in model and hobby shops. Ideally, what you want is a set of jeweller’s files or needle files. These typically come in sets of several different files, each being a different shape to allow the cleaning of most parts of a model. A file with a blade more than a centimetre wide will probably prove too big for modelling purposes, so aim for something quite fine. These are great tools for removing mould lines and getting rid of the contact points of sprue gates.

GLUES Now that we have established what the figures are made from and have trimmed and cleaned the parts, it’s time to start sticking things together. For this, we’ll need to ensure we are matching the correct bonding agent to the right material. Very broadly speaking, the most commonly 8

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Tips and Tools

encountered glues are PVA, superglue, cement and solvent. PVA is a sticky paste and fine for attaching the basing materials to your figures’ bases, but is pretty useless for actually sticking your figures together. Superglue, or cyanoacrylate to give it its proper name, is a rapid-curing cement that bonds most materials. Given the rapidity of the bonding process, superglue works best when used in small controlled areas. I tend to apply it with a cocktail stick or equivalent and apply small dabs to each part that will be bonded. It’s best to get the parts joined and then come back and carefully add more superglue if you feel the bond needs it, rather than flooding an area that will take forever to dry and potentially make a terrible mess of your model too. Adhesives for plastics such as those from Revell, Tamiya and Humbrol are all solvent-based to varying degrees and have a fairly wide range of drying times. In addition, there are also solvents designed with modelling in mind such as Plastic Weld, which are far more potent products. All of these, however, function on the basis of partially melting the two 9

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 bonding surfaces of plastic into a very strong bond. They won’t, however, bond metal, resin or plastic to metal or resin. For this you will still need superglue. Finally, we have cements. These typically come supplied in tubes and are very sticky and foul-smelling. While they can eventually give a decent bond, they are for the most part quite inferior to the purpose-designed adhesives already mentioned and should probably be avoided. It’s also worth checking the drying times for various glues. Superglue can have an activator that will speed up the drying times for when you need an even quicker bond. Alternatively, especially when working with small parts, a more gel-type glue is very good as this will hold the part in place and also allow you to adjust positioning and fit. It’s also handy when assembling figures as it gives you some time to play around with poses.

FILLER When assembling multi-part models, it is perhaps inevitable that some gaps or joins may not look as natural as we would like. This can result from a number of causes: ill-fitting parts, multi-pose sets being positioned beyond their designer’s original intent or even conversions where parts have been cut and repositioned, to name but three possibilities. Perhaps the most prevalent of these, though, is the seam between arm and shoulder or wrist and arm. Sometimes these can be hidden or cleaned up using files as described earlier, but other times the join will be too big or too prominent to hide. Now when you’re putting together a few hundred figures or building a full battalion of figures for a club or show game, these niceties may not be high on your list of priorities in terms of finishing the figures. The process can be quite time-consuming, although it’s worth doing, depending on the value of the additional time investment to you. If you do decide to fill the seams and gaps, then broadly speaking there are two types of filler you can use: epoxy putty and model filler. The key distinction between these is that filler comes pre-mixed and ready to 10

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Tips and Tools apply, usually in a tube not too dissimilar to toothpaste, and epoxy putty is made by mixing two compounds together. Model filler is pretty easy to find in most brick-and-mortar hobby shops and is widely manufactured by the likes of Humbrol, Revell, Vallejo and the like. Filler is very easy to use: simply squeeze a bit onto some card and then apply it to the necessary area with a cocktail stick. Once dry, it’s easily sanded with files or wet-and-dry paper. Most fillers take a few hours to dry before they are ready to be sanded and shaped. Epoxy putty, most recognizably Milliput or Green Stuff although there are others, is supplied as two essentially clay-like compounds which are mixed together in equal parts. Generally these will be in two contrasting colours, and when mixing them the idea is to create one consistent solid colour. Green Stuff, for example, is provided as a yellow and blue ribbon that when mixed makes green. Once mixed, epoxy putty can be applied to the model in the same way as model filler, applying it neatly to the gap. While epoxy putty needs slightly more preparation work, it does have the advantage of being easier to shape and sculpt. This allows you to use it to be pushed and blended into the area needing to be filled by simply keeping your tools wet and working it until you achieve the desired result. This then serves to minimize the amount of filling and sanding needed to finish the piece.

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 One other benefit of using epoxy putty is that it lasts a very long time without being mixed. I’ve had several tubes of differing types last several years and still be good to use. Price-wise, both types of filler tend to be broadly similar. The modelling fillers generally run a little cheaper; however, the epoxy lasts a lot longer so it broadly balances out in the long term.

PAINT, PRIMER AND SPRAY CANS Now that our model is built, we can start to paint it. Before we can look at some techniques, though, I should probably cover a few key types of paint and paint products on the market. Before this, though, it’s best practice to give your models a wash in warm soapy water to remove any release agents, dust, finger grease, etc. that can build up on the model and potentially spoil the finish.

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Tips and Tools All the following guides in this book will be painted over primed figures, and for most of these I’ll be using a grey primer as it’s tough, hard-wearing and easy to see to work over. Firstly, primers are probably the most important type of paint you can get, especially when working with resin or metal. These differ from paint in being specially formulated to give a hard-wearing coat that gives a resilient surface for handling and painting. With most paints for wargaming being water-based, this is especially important as repeated handling without a primer can cause paint to wear off a finished model. Primers typically come in black, white, grey and dark red, and I prefer to get them from places selling car body paints. If you have an airbrush, there is also a selection of good primers on the market for these; however, time and space constraints mean I’ll be avoiding discussing airbrushes in this book. When working with purely plastic models, you can get away with using coloured spray paints as the initial layer of colour. There are a great many of these on the market in both enamel and acrylic form, so finding something to fit your needs shouldn’t be too hard. Notable ranges, though, are the Army Painter, Plastic Soldier Company, Tamiya and Humbrol. When working with these sprays, I’d still suggest applying a light coating of primer and allowing this to dry thoroughly (for at least twelve hours, or preferably twenty-four) before applying the colour spray. By far the most popular medium of paint used for wargaming is acrylic. These paints are water-soluble but quick-drying and hard-wearing. Most paint when purchased requires some thinning to get the best results as paint that is too thick will not only be difficult to get where you want it to go but may also swamp the detail on your model. To thin your paint, simply apply a little paint to a pallet – an old tile or plastic lid is great for this – then add an equal amount of water and stir together using an old brush. For the best results, add a tiny amount of flow improver as this will hold the coverage of the paint together well while still keeping the paint controllable. It’s hard to give any ratio of paint to water as it depends on the paints you have, the brands and even the colours used. 13

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You may also encounter enamel paints. These are an oil-based product and while useful, especially for basing and wreathing applications on vehicles, are of less use to us in getting our armies finished as the drying times are considerably longer. I do, however, like to use enamel washes during the basing stage and these will be covered more in that chapter. The use of white spirit or odourless thinners is required for brush clean-ups.

PAINT BRUSHES AND CARE As with most tools, brushes vary between super-cheap where you get a pack of a dozen brushes for a few pounds up to fine Kolinsky sable brushes that can seem hugely expensive in comparison. As someone who paints a huge number of models, it’s worth splashing out on the best quality brushes you can afford, as not only will they last longer, they work out cheaper in the long term. 14

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To illustrate this, I’ve had some expensive brushes that are used pretty much every day for long periods, still very functional if now a bit worn. I also have a steady stream of cheaper brushes that seem to last a few months before being relegated to mixing and stirring purposes. A high-quality brush will also give you better control and a finer finish. Personally I predominantly use the Winsor and Newton series 7, Rosemary and Co and Broken Toad ranges. That said, for things like applying washes and dry brushing, I do find simple, cheap hobby brushes from the craft shop to be perfectly adequate. For less expensive though still serviceable brushes, Pro Arte, Army Painter and Games Workshop all produce useful brushes. Again though, it’s worth having some cheap, disposable brushes as well for jobs like mixing paint, applying washes, dry brushing and applying glue; anything for which you do not want to use your best brushes. Paint brushes themselves are typically made from either synthetic weave or natural hair. Synthetic brushes don’t tend to hold paint as 15

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 well as natural brushes; however, when working with acrylic paint this isn’t too much of a hindrance as you will be cleaning the brush anyway thanks to the rapid drying times of the paint. Natural brushes tend to give you better control over the application of paint. They are better at retaining their point for precision application and also hold more paint, giving the added benefit of being able to keep working on a subject for longer. Natural fibre bristles are at their best when used for detailed work, especially painting areas such as faces or fine layered highlights. As you work, you will naturally need to clean your brushes. When using most acrylic paints a simple pot of water will be sufficient for use between changing colours and to prevent paint drying in the bristles, and regardless of what your brush’s bristles are made from, I’d not recommend leaving it any longer than a few minutes before giving it a quick swish around in some water. You can add a little washing-up liquid to your water too, though I’ve not found it necessary myself. For more long-term care, there is a wide range of brush cleaners and conditioners on the market, and frequently there are products put out from each of the major paint ranges. It’s worth investing in either some brush cleaner or better yet some brush soap to prevent excess wear or damage to your brushes’ bristles. Odourless brush cleaner can be especially handy for aiding the restoration of brushes. Each of these products will have its own set of specific instructions, usually printed on the side of the packaging, typically involving giving the brush a solid swishing around in some cleaner or soap, leaving it to stand for a bit and then rinsing clean and shaping. I’ve used a combination of brush soap and high-end sable brushes to keep the same fine brushes in use nearly every day for several years now! With regard to what size and shape of brush you should be getting, a size 0, size 1 and size 2 round should be sufficient. Though it may seem counter-intuitive, a brush with a good quality point and fairly long bristles will be far more useful and give a much better result than a tiny size 000 for the vast majority of painting work.

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Tips and Tools You’ll probably spot in the painting guides the use of flat brushes and these are just what they sound like: a flat, chisel-like brush. These are great to use for dry brushing as they have a good amount of control and lend themselves well to pulling over the raised detail, allowing you to have fairly precise highlights quickly. They aren’t compulsory for dry brushing but do make life a lot easier.

PAINTING TECHNIQUES Over the course of the painting guides, I’ll be referring to several techniques. Rather than repeat myself in each guide, I’ll cover a few of the basic ones here and then they are ready for you to add to your toolbox.

Dry brushing Dry brushing is, as the name implies, the technique of using a small amount of paint on a dry brush to build up layers of colour by quickly flicking the brush over the surface of the model. This will have the effect of adding a contrasting colour to raised areas while leaving the remaining parts of the figure in shade. While simple in concept, it can take a little practice to really become proficient with dry brushing. Somewhat counter-intuitively, while dry brushing implies a completely dry brush, this can lead to streaking or powdery paint, and having a slightly damp brush before loading it with paint can give a much smoother effect. It can be difficult to gauge just how much to moisten the brush though, so the best thing to do is practise and find a level that works for you. Once your paints are applied to the pallet, avoid thinning them and just load up the tip of the brush with a tiny amount of paint. Clean this paint from the brush with some tissues, then test to see how much paint is present by lightly dragging the bristles over some card or an old figure. You want the paint to be landing on the tops of creases, folds and details of the model, but also want to avoid streaking or blobbing of

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paint. With dry brushing it’s best to allow several layers of paint to build up to achieve the effect you are aiming for as opposed to going in with one initial heavy dry brush as this can overwhelm your model. One tool I’ve found to be very useful for dry brushing is a make-up blusher brush; these have soft bristles and allow paint to build up into very nice gradients of colour. However, these are probably of more use on 28mm figures than smaller ones to get the best out of them.

Layering Layering (and edge highlighting) is a somewhat labour-intensive way of adding highlights and shade to our figures and is essentially simply the process of painting in contrasting colours to create the illusion of depth and shade. You’ll need to thin your paint a little more than you would 19

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Tips and Tools usually. It’s hard to give a precise mix of ratios, but by eyeballing it you want something fairly thin but that equally won’t flood the model. You need enough paint on the brush for it to flow smoothly, although not so much that it spills and floods once you apply it to the figure’s surface. You’ll be applying the paint to anywhere on the model that catches the light, such as the edges of creases, hems of garments, tips of cheeks and noses, etc. To get the most natural look, pick a direction for the light to be directed from and use this to guide where your highlights or shadows land. For more eye-catching highlights, keep applying increasing amounts of ever-lighter highlights to the model, applying the highlight to only the highest and most prominent areas of detail.

Washing and glazing A wash is a heavily-thinned paint applied to a model that flows and settles in the details of the figure. These can be purchased as ready-mixed forms or you can make your own. To make your own, simply add two to three

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 parts water, with a little washing-up liquid or flow improver, to one part paint and then mix these together. Paint this solution over the figure and allow it to accumulate in recesses and details, though equally try not to allow the wash to pool. This can be caused by too much wash being applied and thus flooding the model. A wash is best applied with an older though still well-shaped brush with soft bristles. A glaze or filter is a similar technique to a wash and is used to unify the highlights and shades already applied. The process is largely the same as applying a wash; however, it is applied far more sparingly. For applying a glaze, simply use a less heavily-loaded brush than you would a wash and paint this over the model, allowing the colour of the glaze to form on the figure but without flowing into the recesses as heavily as a wash. This is a very subtle technique and is likely to be one of the last you apply to a figure.

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Varnish A varnish is a clear protective layer applied to the model to protect the paint finish during handling. Varnishes are essentially gloss, matt or satin in finish. Gloss is very shiny, matt is very flat and satin is somewhere in-between and largely depends on the manufacturer just where it falls between the two. Whether you use just one type of varnish, all types or none at all is entirely up to you. Typically I choose not to varnish as it can have the effect of dulling the paint finish, although if you intend to do a lot of gaming with them, a layer of gloss followed by a layer of matt will serve you well, as the gloss provides a tougher surface and the matt will then give you a more realistic appearance to the finished model. Varnishes can be obtained in many forms, but most useful for our purposes are those in spray cans. Spray cans allow you to varnish many figures quickly and evenly, and also have the added bonus of generally being touch-dry reasonably quickly. Avoid spraying on hot or humid days, however, as this can cause the paint to cloud and potentially ruin your paint job! Brush-applied varnish will give you more control and is far less likely to cloud or have some adverse weather-related failing on your lovingly finished figure! Hopefully these tips and techniques will have you feeling confident about getting on with assembling and painting your figures, and as ever should be treated as a stepping-off point for your own experiments. Now on to actually building your models!

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

ASSEMBLING FIGURES So, with our tools collected and our miniatures sitting on the desk, it’s time to start getting them ready for painting. With multipart figures becoming increasingly commonplace, it’s handy to look at a few useful tips and tricks to enhancing the assembly process. While we’ve already covered tools pretty thoroughly and these should be all the tools you need, it’s probably worth getting hold of some finegrade wet-and-dry sandpaper too for cleaning up awkward shapes or particularly fine and light mould lines that may be too fine to require attacking with a file, especially when working with plastic figures. The figures used here are Warlord Games Fallschirmjäger. While metal figures are usually single-piece models, or at most have a separate head or limbs, plastic figures, especially those in 28mm size, are frequently provided in multiple components. This can be surprisingly time-consuming and labour-intensive, and there is an inherent amount of potential frustration in working with so many components. There are several steps for alleviating this, however. First of all, take the time to plan what you actually intend the figure to be used for. Will it be an individual figure? Will it be an officer as part of a command diorama, or will it be part of a rifle section of which you’re trying to quickly assemble a great many? This will help you plan out the rest of the assembly process as it will guide you in visualizing the finished display. I highly recommend working in batches for this process too. My preference is to work in squads of eight to ten, though three to five is also quite a manageable and handy number to work on without burning out either. Batches of this size mean that you can complete gluing a set of parts to one figure and then work through the group. By the time you are finished with the last, the first should be dry enough for you to do the next stage of assembly. I also recommend working in these batches when painting, as by the time you’ve painted the last figure in the group, the first should be dry enough for the next layer. More on this later.

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Tips and Tools Now that you know how many figures you need, firstly remove their bodies and, if separate, legs from the sprues, clean up any mould lines and stick these onto the models’ bases. If you are using MDF or resin bases, you’ll need to superglue the models to those bases.

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 When posing your figures, take a bit of time dry-fitting and playing around with the arms and bodies to see what sort of poses they create as some can work considerably better than others. A charging figure with a clearly aiming weapon will look a little awkward, while the same arms on a more static and careful figure will look far more natural. Some figures may have separate rifles or other weapons. I find it best to fit the weapon to the dominant hand – typically the right hand – and then allow this to dry, and allow this to guide the figure’s pose. Now the arms are on, it’s simply a matter of attaching the figure’s head. Again it’s worth test-fitting the parts first as sometimes the neck may need a little trimming at the base to ensure the best possible fit. Although an easy task, the position of the head is pretty critical to the final appearance of the figure. The head and face are pretty much always the focal point of a model, and as such need to be positioned in a way that is complimentary to the rest of the figure. The aforementioned example aiming its weapon will tell a very different narrative depending on the position and expression on the face. A calm, quiet face will suit a more statically-posed model, while a shouting head will look better on a more dynamically-posed model. The beauty of plastic models is that the number of poses and armament combinations possible from even a single box is simply staggering. The

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Tips and Tools

sheer variety of poses, however, is daunting and I can’t recommend highly enough trying out some of the poses for yourself to see if they actually work and feel ‘right’, as it’s all too easy coming up with something that looks spectacular until you find that an arm can’t actually bend that way or there’s now no room for the head to fit without some spectacular neck problems.

PAINTING GUIDES Now that the basics of tools and preparation are covered, we can start to look at actually painting your models. For most of these guides I will mention the primer colour used; however, these are not set in stone. If you have a primer you prefer using or want to experiment with using coloured spray primers, then I encourage you to experiment as much as you can. All the models in the painting guides are from AB Miniatures, Elhiem Miniatures, Warlord Games and Simon’s Soldiers. Vehicles are from a variety of manufacturers including Plastic Soldier Company, Trumpeter and S-Models. The majority of paints come from AK Interactive, Army Painter and Vallejo; however, you can use any range you wish as these 27

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 are just my personal preferences. It’s also worth reading through all the guides in this book as some colour combination techniques can be relevant or useful for other forces, especially for adding some subtle variation in a collection. The models used in these guides are all 20mm size, as this is what I use for my own collection and it’s also a good middle ground between the three main wargaming sizes: 15mm, 20mm and 28mm. The 20mm and 28mm techniques will be largely interchangeable, but where relevant I’ll note some steps that can be skipped when working with smaller sizes. With so many scale models available that can work well with gaming, it seems useful to add a quick conversion table. The figure sizes aren’t set in stone, however, and one manufacturer’s 28mm might be quite different to another’s, and even more so when taking into account heft and build of individual figures, so their relation to ratio scales is always a little problematic. This is therefore a more-or-less guide rather than exact. Some sizes have a bit of a range in scales associated with them. It’s fine to mix them, but best to remain consistent. For example, using all 1/56 or all 1/48 vehicles with your 28mm figures will look far better than a combination of the two. Also the lower the number in the ratio, the larger the model: 1/285 means the subject is 285 times smaller than the real thing, while 1/56 means it is only 56 times smaller.

SCALE Figure size 6mm 10mm 15mm 20mm 28mm 54mm

Ratio scale 1/300-1/285 1/160-1/144 1/100 1/76-1/72 1/56-1/48 1/35-1/32

Model railway scale ZZ Gauge N Gauge TT Gauge or HO Gauge OO Gauge O Gauge Gauge 1

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Tips and Tools

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2 British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms

Battledress is a collective term for the woollen uniform issued to British forces from 1939. The uniform was also issued across Commonwealth forces and Free European nations equipped by the British after 1940. Battledress in one form or another was worn by branches of all services and lasted into the 1960s in British service. 31

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 With the clouds of war gathering in the late 1930s, the British army sought to replace its aging service dress uniform with something more modern. The new uniform was intended to be practical and suited to use in mechanized warfare. Taking inspiration from popular outdoor clothing of the period, battledress did away with the smart tunic and puttees around the trouser legs, replacing them with a short waist-length jacket and baggy trousers, secured at the boot with canvas ankle gaiters. The colouring of battledress was essentially khaki brown with a tint of green to it. This varied a little by batch and date, with some having a greyness and others darker or lighter brown tones, but most sets appear to be a fairly mid-brownish green tone. Canadian battledress worn by Canadian forces was designed to be slightly different and had a distinctive green shade, being more olive than brown. Canadian battledress also exhibits a similar variation in tone to British manufactured garments, though it tends to maintain a greener shade. However, despite being greener, it still has a distinctly brown hue to it. Slightly outside the scope of this book although still worth mentioning, ‘War Aid’ battledress manufactured in America also had a distinct olive tone. This was predominantly issued to troops fighting in Italy, but is worth bearing in mind if you want to paint troops from this theatre instead. The initial design of uniform featured a fly covering over the buttons and pleated pockets, although this was fairly quickly changed after 1940 with exposed Bakelite buttons and the pleats removed from the pockets, as well as a slight change to the cut of the jacket. All these changes were brought in to be more economically efficient. Trousers were baggy and fairly high-waisted, especially by the standards of today. The trousers featured a large map pocket on the left thigh, with airborne and Commando forces having their own design of trousers that had a fitting for a knife, though in colouration and broad design they were the same as conventional battledress trousers. Gaiters, in the same colour as the rest of the soldiers’ webbing, were made of canvas and worn to support the ankle with the trouser bloused into them. 32

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms Headgear was pretty varied, and in terms of specifics this varied by unit. Apart from helmets, broadly speaking by 1944 the army wore either the beret or the General Service (GS) cap. We will look at berets in more detail a little later, but will discuss the GS cap for now. Visually somewhere between a Tam O’Shanter and a beret, the GS cap was larger and somewhat shapeless. It replaced the Field Service side cap and was fairly unpopular, being quickly nicknamed the ‘Cap, ridiculous’. Despite this, the GS cap was ubiquitous throughout the campaign in North-West Europe. Colour was essentially the same as for the rest of the battledress uniform. For cold weather, a greatcoat was issued. This was a single-breasted garment, with the brass buttons allowed to dull naturally in the field. Colouring was again the same khaki wool as the rest of the battledress uniform. Not strictly battledress, although very popular, a leather jerkin was frequently worn as cold or foul-weather wear. This was worn over the battledress jacket and was a roughly hip-length, sleeveless and pocketless waistcoat closed by four plastic buttons. The jerkin was generally a mid orange-brown colour. Finishing off the uniform, black boots with leather soles and metal studs were the most common type of footwear. Officers would sometimes wear brown leather boots.

BERETS AND INSIGNIA The British and Free Nations armies used a truly staggering array of insignia, and to cover every eventuality and combination of insignia used on uniforms solely between 1944 and 1945 would need a book several times the size of this one. However, there are a few broad generalizations that are very useful to us. The battledress jacket was used to display a fairly large amount of information regarding the unit to which the wearer belonged. Typically worn on both sleeves, starting at the shoulder seam of the battledress, were a shoulder title, divisional patch, arm of service stripe, rank badges and then, near the cuff, specialist trade badges if applicable. 33

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 The shoulder title was a strip of text stating the name of the soldier’s regiment, such as the Lancashire Fusiliers, REME or Royal Artillery. The colour of these could vary, although infantry regiments generally had a red background with white text (the rifle regiments wore green with black text). Commandos had black with red text and Royal Artillery navy blue with red text. This guide is by no means hard and fast, however, and it’s worth doing a little digging if there’s a specific unit you wish to represent. The divisional patch was a colourful design, as the name suggests displaying the divisional insignia. For a few examples, the Guards Armoured Division used the ‘All Seeing Eye’ on a dark blue background with a red trim. The Royal Marine Commandos used a red Thompson submachine gun and anchor on a black background, and the 50th Northumbrian Division had two interlinked red capital ‘T’s on a black square. Arm of service badges were 2in-long strips, coloured to the relevant branch of service to the wearer. Infantry, for example, wore red. Highland regiments were permitted to wear a patch of their tartan instead of the 2in strip and these were a variety of shapes. Rank badges for officers were worn on the epaulette; however, NCOs wore their insignia on both sleeves above the elbow. Rank badges were a pale khaki colour, as were trade and specialist badges. These badges would all be worn on the greatcoat as well. In theory, all these insignia were supposed to have been removed prior to going into action; however, this does not necessarily appear to have been the case, with some, none or all of the above appearing on uniforms throughout the period 1944 to 1945. Berets were famously worn by a few branches of specialist troops. As with most of the rest of the insignia, there are broad stripes of colours worn by specific formations; however, there is also some variation here, so again it’s worth checking some references for what you specifically want to represent. As a rule of thumb though, Commandos wore a dark, bottle-green beret, airborne forces a deep burgundy, armoured units black and reconnaissance troops khaki. Polish airborne forces wore a grey-blue beret. 34

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms

PAINTING BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH UNIFORMS Figures used in the following guides are from AB Miniatures, apart from the airborne figures which are from the Simon’s Soldiers range.

BRITISH BATTLEDRESS 1. Prime black We’ll use a black base coat for this figure. Grey would work well too; however, as the initial paint layer is going to be quite dark, it’s easier to work up from black. You could brush this on, but it’s far, far easier to use an aerosol can. I’ve used an automotive primer as it’s cheap and very hard-wearing, especially when working with metal miniatures. Brush used None (if applying by hand, use a size 2 round)

Paint Black automotive primer

2. Paint the whole figure dark brown Battledress has a distinctly brown tone, and to start building up a suitable colour, we’ll begin by painting the figure with what will ultimately be the shadow colour. While you can start with mid-tones and shade and highlight these, for gaming effect it’s quicker to start with the shade and then work up through a few simple tones. Paint the whole figure with dark brown, including the skin and weapons as it is a very handy base for painting those parts of the figure too. The colour you will want to use will be a rich though very dark brown. Keep the paint thin so that it flows well and apply multiple neat thin coats if needed to get a solid base colour. Alternatively, if you want to have a 35

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 slightly lighter battledress, especially when working with smaller-scale figures, you could skip this step and go straight on to painting the midtone directly over the primer. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3083 Umber

3. Mid-brown tones The next step is to get the basic colour of the battledress onto the figure. We’ll use an earthy brown colour, which has a good contrast with the dark brown applied in the preceding step. Apply the paint in thin layers, allowing the dark brown to remain visible in the recesses and areas of deepest shade. If you want to spend a little more time on the figure, apply the paint a little thinner. For the first layer, apply the paint as mentioned above. With the paint so thin it should give you a smooth but slighter darker finish thanks to the dark base. Once this has dried, paint the colour again onto the most raised and prominent areas, such as the tops of creases, shoulders, sleeves, or anywhere that would not naturally be in shadow. This can take a while but gives you a very nice subtle first highlight.

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms You could also call the figure’s uniform done at this stage and go on to the rest of their details and weathering if you don’t want to spend too long on an individual piece. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3081 British Uniform

4. Light brown highlight To enhance the contrast on the figure, we’ll now add a highlight. With battledress, there are a few options of colour you could use. I’ve used a light brown; however, you could use a pale greyish-brown, brown or greenish-brown depending quite what sort of colour you’d like to represent. With a fine brush and thin paint, apply the highlights to all the most prominent raised edges. If you’re in a hurry or don’t want to spend too long on the figures you can dry brush the highlight on instead. I’ve used a size 0 brush to apply the highlight. At this stage, the figure will look great if you want to call the uniform done and move on to finishing it off.

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3082 Dark Sand

5. Brown filter I like to apply a filter to the figure at this stage. This is a less intense application of colour than a wash, though it will serve to really unify the previous stages. If you want to, you can apply the filter over the webbing too at this point to save time. See the guide further on in the book for the colours to use on webbing.

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms For my battledress, I’ve used a brown filter. You could either heavily thin the dark brown paint used in step 2 and apply it evenly over the whole figure, being careful that it doesn’t pool or flood the model. I’ve used a commercially available filter as it provides more consistency when coming back to projects after a break to do other things. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3018 Brown Uniform Definition Filter

6. Highlight The filter may mute your highlights, so if you want to reinstate them go back with your highlight colour and apply some highlights to the most prominent areas. If you want a more intense colour, don’t thin the paint as much as you did in step 4. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3082 Dark Sand

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

7. Boots To finish the figure’s uniform, paint the boots a very dark grey. You could use black, but I find grey looks a little more fitting with a scale effect. You could always use the wash you use on the weapons, covered later, to darken them down if you wish. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 862 Black Grey

CANADIAN BATTLEDRESS The techniques for Canadian battledress are identical to those used for the British battledress, so I’ll avoid repetition and avoid repeating comments on technique here and simply focus on the relevant colours. As before, we’ll use a black automotive primer as a base.

1. Dark olive base For a base colour, you’ll want to use a very dark brown with a tint of green. You could use the same dark brown as above, although I prefer a deep olive drab as it will give a richer, more distinctive colour to the finished figure. 40

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3074 Brown Olive Drab

2. Dark green mid For this figure, I’m going to use a dark green as the main colour of the figure’s uniform. This may look a little too intensely green at this stage, although we will be toning it down through the other steps. If you don’t want such a strong green colour or simply want to apply one colour

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 over the base coat before moving on, use a greenish khaki brown colour instead. I’ve also painted the figure’s scarf with this shade of olive. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3071 Dark Olive Green

3. Light khaki highlight For the highlight, we’ll use a khaki colour. This will serve to tone back the green tone, yet still be distinctly different to the British battledress. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3076 Canvas Tone

4. Brown filter If the figure is still looking a little too green, you can add a brown filter at this step; alternatively, if you want to make the green more noticeable you can use a green one. I’ve used a brown filter on the figure in the guide. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3018 Uniform Definition Filter

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms

5. Light khaki highlight Again, to reinstate the highlights, go back in with your khaki and apply some spot highlights to the most prominent areas. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3076 Canvas Tone

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

INSIGNIA Painting insignia is entirely optional and can also be achieved using transfers. While these are available in 28mm, they are hard to get hold of for smaller sizes. Painting insignia is relatively simple though; often an approximation is enough rather than having legible text on a tiny area you then have to repeat over a whole platoon. Insignia was often simplified or removed too, so depending on the formation you are representing it may not even be required.

SHOULDER TITLE 1. Red background This shoulder title will be for a regular infantry regiment, so will have white text over a red background. When applying the red stripe, use a very fine brush and paint a curved line along the top of the figure’s shoulder seam, keeping it roughly centred. If you have a wobble with the brush, use your mid-tone colour of the figure’s uniform to neaten up. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 957 Flat Red

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms

2. White text The text can be daunting; however, it is very simple. For this figure, I’ll do small lines to represent the text of the figure’s regiment’s name. As he’s going to be from the 50th Northumberland Division and from the Green Howards Regiment, I’ll do two small lines of white to represent this. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 951 White

DIVISIONAL PATCH The 50th Northumberland Division used a black square with a red interlinked capital ‘T’ as its divisional badge. The badge varies by division, so check what was used by the formation you want to represent, but the principles here are largely the same for all of them.

1. Black square The divisional patch is worn just below the shoulder title. To start with, paint the outermost shape of the design, in this case a black square. You can tidy up any mistakes with your mid-tone colour if necessary. 45

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 950 Black

DIVISIONAL BADGE Some designs are more complex than others, but most feature a single colour design over a base colour. For the 50th Division’s badge, I’ll first paint two vertical red lines, then cross these with two horizontal red

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms lines before neatening up with black paint again. Keep the paint thin enough to flow but not so thin that it won’t cover with a strong colour. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 957 Flat Red

ARM OF SERVICE STRIP As an infantryman from the first brigade, we will apply one thin red line underneath the divisional patch. If the figure was from the second or third brigade of the division, he would have two or three horizontal strips as appropriate. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 957 Flat Red

RANK BADGE This figure is going to be a sergeant, so will have three chevrons on each arm below the rest of his insignia. While historically the insignia are a 47

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 khaki colour, these do not really have enough contrast to be clearly visible on a figure, especially those in smaller sizes. So instead I’ll use a pale warm grey to apply the rank badges. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 986 Deck Tan

PAINTING BERETS Berets are pretty simple to paint; they are generally pretty dark in colour and do not need a great deal of highlighting to look good. I typically do just a base and contrasting highlight. I’ll run through a few different colours for the most commonly encountered variants. For the badge on the beret, these varied very widely in colour, so again it’s worth checking references for the specific formation you want to portray. Once the rest of the beret is painted, for extra detail paint the brim of the beret where it meets the head in black. This will represent the sweat band and also give a nice neat demarcation on the figure’s head.

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms

COMMANDO BERET The Green Beret used by Commandos was a rich bottle-green colour. It has much more of a blue shift to the green rather than a yellow tint and is also quite a dark colour.

1. Black base tone First of all, paint the beret black. This will serve as both a solid base to work up from and also give a nice shade to the green later. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 950 Black

2. Green layer Apply a thin layer of your green over most of the beret, leaving the black in the darkest recesses, especially where the beret folds. This will still be quite dark thanks to the black base, so around the edges and most prominent parts of the beret go back over these with your green to make them more vibrant and to provide a subtle highlight.

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3064 Green Black

BRITISH AIRBORNE FORCES BERET British airborne forces comprised both glider-borne units and paratroopers. Both of these wore a maroon beret. Often referred to as a red beret, this can cause some confusion as they were not actually a bright red.

1. Deep red base The first colour to apply to the beret is a very dark red. You could use dark brown or even black as these can work especially well with 15mm and smaller models. Apply your base colour all over the beret. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 859 Black Red

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms

2. Maroon highlight As before, we will use two thin layers of maroon to apply the main colour to the beret. Two to three layers will give you a deep rich tone. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3014 Shadow Flesh

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

POLISH PARACHUTE BRIGADE BERET The Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade wore identical uniforms to British airborne forces except for their beret, which was a bluish-grey colour.

1. Rich blue base The Polish Parachute Brigade beret has a very warm, rich colour, which can be a little tricky to pull off without mixing paints. As with the other berets, we’ll keep the paint thin and use two contrasting layers. First of all, apply a warm, dark blue colour to the beret. The one I’m using has a bit of a purple hue to it, which will serve to warm the grey colour later. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 807 Oxford Blue

2. Blue-grey highlight To highlight the beret, we’ll thin the paint a little more than usual and it may require more than two layers to get a solid colour. What we are aiming to achieve is a blue-grey colour, letting the warm tone of the 52

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms base show through. It sounds complicated, but is no more difficult to achieve than any of the other berets. I’ve also picked out the cap badge with silver. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 816 Luftwaffe Blue Grey

RECCE TROOP BERET The Recce Troop beret is largely the same tone as battledress, so you could use those guides while painting the rest of the figure. However, if you want to make the beret stand out slightly, we can use the same twostep process as with the other berets.

1. Mid-brown base We’ll be skipping the dark brown base of the full battledress guide and go straight to the main uniform brown colour. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3081 British Uniform 53

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

2. English uniform khaki highlight To distinguish the beret from the battledress, we’ll use a different highlight colour, in this case a pale khaki. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3076 Canvas Tone

ARMOURED TROOPS BERET This is probably the simplest beret to paint as it was black. The simplest solution is to do just that: paint it black and call it done. However, if you want a little more variation, you can add a subtle highlight. 54

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British and Commonwealth Battledress Uniforms

1. Black base Paint the beret with a neat layer of black, ensuring the colour is even and smooth. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 950 Black

2. Dark grey highlight With this step, instead of highlighting the whole beret, simply apply the dark grey to the crown and maybe the peak of the beret, ensuring the rest of the garment retains its black finish. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 862 Black Grey

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

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3 British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms

With the establishment of the British airborne forces in 1940, specialized clothing was required for use in their operations. What was required was a garment that could be worn over the soldiers’ uniform and webbing, so that during parachute operations their webbing would not become entangled during the jump and descent process. 57

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 The initial design, the Jacket Parachutists, was very similar in appearance to the German Fallschirmjäger step-in smock. This consisted of a fairly long jacket part with built-in leggings that extended to the knees, intended to be discarded on landing. There was no disruptive pattern to the jacket and it was manufactured in a greenish khaki twill. This was replaced in 1942 by a simplified, more conventional jacket that retained the greenish khaki colour, though it lost the legs and instead was fastened at the crotch with a flap from the back during jump operations. By 1944, however, these earlier patterns of Jacket Parachutists had been replaced by the famous Denison smock. This was a baggy heavy cotton twill jacket with a sand base tone and a green and brown disruptive scheme. It’s long been debated how this pattern was achieved, being either screen-printed or applied by brush over the sand-coloured base. The smock also had a distinctly green tone. Two variants were produced during the war, with a later more simplified design. The Denison smock was used by parachute and glider-borne troops, as well as by SAS and Commando units. The Denison smock continued to be worn and developed post-war, finally being replaced in the 1970s. While the British army didn’t adopt a camouflage uniform to the same extent as the German forces, a camouflage oversuit was introduced in late 1943 and became more regularly issued from late 1944, though it was never commonplace, only really appearing with a few formations, notably 131 Brigade, 7th Armoured Division. This uniform, the Windproof, Camouflaged, comprised a smock and matching overtrousers. These garments were made from a lightweight windproof fabric and were designed to be loose-fitting and worn over the battledress uniform. Unlike the Denison smock, the Windproof uniform also featured a built-in hood. While at first glance the camouflage pattern appears similar to that of the Denison smock, the colours and design were actually quite different. The Windproof uniform uses a warm, pinkish tan base colour over which chocolate brown, mid-brown, light green and olive green were screen-printed in somewhat regular, hard-edged shapes. A tanker’s 58

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British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms camouflage suit was also issued at the end of the war. This was the same design as tankers’ overalls; however, it featured a disruptive pattern similar to that used on the Denison smock. For winter conditions, the British army had developed lightweight white cotton oversuits similar in cut to the Windproof uniform, again comprising both a smock and trousers. These uniforms were not padded or insulated and were designed to be worn over additional layers of warm clothing as well as the battledress. Generally, these suits were intended for use on patrol and other shortduration operations where the necessary supplies could be transported in the suits’ pockets rather than ruining the disruptive properties of the suit by wearing webbing.

PAINTING BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH CAMOUFLAGE UNIFORMS Figures used here are from Simon’s Soldiers for the British airborne forces and AB Miniatures for the Windproof uniforms.

DENISON SMOCKS When painting camouflage, we don’t really need to add much in the way of shading and highlight. The intention here is to showcase the camouflage pattern. It’s also important to exaggerate the colours slightly, as by its very definition camouflage is meant to be hard to see. However, for our models we don’t want our hard work disappearing in a blur of browns and greens, so will use slightly more contrast than might necessarily have been the case historically.

1. Black primer As our paratrooper has a combination of dark khaki trousers, it is going to be easier to paint him over a black base coat. The primer is simply 59

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 black rattle can car primer. After the figure was primed, I painted his trousers using the battledress guide in the previous chapter. Brush used None

Paint Black automotive aerosol primer

2. Tan base The smock is now painted with a tan base. This is a slightly greenish sand tone, and is best applied using two or three thin layers. As this is a light

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British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms colour being applied over black, we can use this to our advantage to create some subtle highlighting. A first layer of tan will establish a base, followed by painting in layered highlights with the next two applications to create a shaded effect. This is the process I’ve applied to the figure; however, you could happily just apply two decent coats to get a solid flat base if you just want to get the figure painted. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3026 Tan Base

3. Green camouflage pattern The dominant disruptive colour in the Denison smock’s camouflage pattern is a mid-olive green colour. We’ll apply this using flowing swirls with relatively thin paint; you’ll want to cover around a third to half of the figure’s smock with the green pattern. I’m using a good quality size 1 brush here as it holds a good amount of paint, yet still has a decent point. If your brush doesn’t have the greatest point, try a size 0. I’ve also used this green to paint the figure’s scarf. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3025 Medium Green

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

4. Brown camouflage pattern For the brown part of the camouflage, we’ll need a fairly bright, reddish brown. Apply this to around a third of the figure, again keeping the paint fairly thin. Ideally, you’ll get a slight darkening of brown where it passes over the green parts of the pattern. Try to keep both the greens and browns as sweeping smooth shapes. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3073 Red Brown

5. Green filter The figure is now perfectly usable at this stage; however, adding a green filter will unify the camouflage pattern and give it a rather more natural appearance, as well as providing some subtle shading. You could either make a mix of about 90 per cent of the green tone you used for the camouflage pattern or, as I’ve done here, use a commercially available filter. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3017 Uniform Filter Green Glaze

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British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms

PAINTING WINDPROOF, CAMOUFLAGED UNIFORM The Windproof, Camouflaged uniform uses a fairly warm, light buff base tone for its pattern. In addition to this, you’ll need a dark brown, a midbrown, a dark green and a light green. We’ll finish the figure off with a brown filter to bring all the colours together and give a warm unified tone.

1. Prime grey

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 As the Windproof uniform is going to have a fairly light base colour to the camouflage pattern, it’ll be easier to work from a grey rather than a black primer. I’ve used an aerosol grey car primer. Brush used None

Paint Grey automotive aerosol primer

2. Light sand base The basing colour for the Windproof camouflage smock is going to be a little lighter than we’ve used for the Denison and a little pinker. Keep the paint thin; with the grey base you should only need two coats but may need three to ensure coverage. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK303033 Light Sand

3. Light green disruptive pattern The Windproof camouflage suit has a far greater degree of disruptive colour than the Denison smock, the two most dominant colours of the pattern being the mid-green and mid-brown. We’ll apply the green first, 64

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British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms using hard-edge geometric patterns. Use a good brush and try to avoid using fluid, sweeping shapes as you want something with squares and triangular angles to it. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3025 Medium Green

4. Dark brown disruptive pattern

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Next we’ll apply the darker brown part of the camouflage pattern. You’ll want to have roughly as much of this brown on the figure as the green in the previous step. Use the same geometric shapes to apply the pattern. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3038 Umber

5. Dark green disruptive pattern These next two steps aren’t entirely necessary to complete a solid gaming standard figure and can be skipped, especially for 15mm and smaller-sized figures, although you could still do Stage 7 if you wish. The dark green is a little more complex to apply than the previous tones. Using a fine brush, apply the dark green onto areas where the green and brown parts of camouflage intersect. You don’t need to apply this everywhere; depending on the size of the figure on which you’re working, a few patches over the model will give a good impression of the pattern. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3064 Black Green

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British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms

6. Medium brown disruptive pattern To finish off the pattern, apply a few areas of medium brown adjacent to areas of the medium green. As with the dark green, you only need a few areas of this colour to complete the look of the camouflage scheme. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3081 British Uniform

7. Brown filter

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 The figure now looks more than acceptable; however, with so many colours in the pattern, applying a filter will help to level off the colours and pull the whole camouflage pattern together. A brown filter will help to create a warmer, earthier colour. You could use the dark brown you’ve used for the dark brown part of the camouflage scheme to mix a filter. However, I’ve used a pre-mixed one. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3018 Brown Uniform Filter

PAINTING WHITE SNOW SUITS 1. Prime grey While it might seem logical to use a white primer for these suits, it can make painting the rest of the colours on the figure far more complicated and frustrating. Brush used None

Paint Grey automotive aerosol primer

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British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms

2. Ivory base As an initial layer, paint the figure an ivory colour, ensuring you have an even, solid base tone. We’ll be using a wash next, so you’ll want to ensure a smooth, even tone. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 918 Ivory

3. Light brown wash

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 To add definition to the figure, we will next apply a light brown wash. You can make a wash with an approximately 70/30 water to paint mix or use a ready-mixed wash. I’ve used Army Painter Soft Tone, which does not tint the previous layer too much. Apply the wash, leave it for about twenty to thirty seconds, and then lift it from the model anywhere it is starting to flood or pool, leaving a subtly shaded effect. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint Army Painter Soft Tone

4. White highlight If you want a more worn-looking snow suit, you can skip this step; however, to make a nice, crisper-looking white, use some white paint to apply highlights to the folds and raised parts of the figure. You can apply two layers of these white highlights to make them particularly vibrant and bold. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 951 White

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British and Commonwealth Camouflage Uniforms

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4 United States Army Uniforms

This chapter will look at the broad uniform types used by the United States army in North-West Europe. These fall into four broad types: the M41 uniform seen worn through the majority of the war comprising a light olive jacket and brown woollen trousers; the M43 uniform issued from late 1944 in North-West Europe comprising an olive-green jacket and trousers; the M42 Airborne uniform used during the D-Day landings and Normandy campaign; and finally lightweight Herring Bone Twill (HBT) suits in both green and camouflage. 73

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 In addition to these there was a range of cold weather clothing and specialized clothing for armour crews and use in mountainous conditions. Largely, though, all these uniforms tend to fall into a range of similar colours and manufacturing materials. By 1941, the United States army was in a period of transition, with its uniforms switching from a largely obsolescent pattern of wool tunic, breeches and leg wraps to a more modern range of equipment with a lightweight, hip-length jacket, straight-legged woollen trousers and gaiters. This uniform was intended to be used in a variety of weather and climate conditions and consisted of several layers. Now known as the M41 field jacket, this was a replacement for the earlier service jacket and was designed to maximize practicality while being economical to manufacture. As a result, the use of wool was limited and instead it was made of a light olive green cotton poplin mixture. While new garments had a distinctly green tone, they had a tendency to fade to more of a light brown colour. The field jacket is distinctive from its hip-length wind-breaker style. It has a central button fly, with a slash pocket on either side of the waist. The jacket had a wool liner and appears to have been worn in all but the coldest of weather as its baggy design allowed it to be worn with several layers underneath. Intended to be replaced by the end of 1944, the uniform remained in service until the end of the war. Introduced shortly before the field jacket were straight-legged brown woollen trousers. These were a heavy dark brown and worn relatively high-waisted. They were universal to most branches of the army except when the lightweight HBT or Airborne uniform was worn. These trousers were worn with the service shoe, a brown leather shoe that was supported by canvas leggings that stretched to mid-calf. Initially introduced as an oversuit to protect the standard uniform, a Herring Bone Twill or HBT uniform was introduced. The HBT uniform proved to be especially comfortable in hot weather, and came as either a shirt and trousers combination or a set of overalls worn by vehicle crews. 74

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United States Army Uniforms The shirt, usually worn tucked into the trousers, had two breast pockets and a full-length button front. The trousers had a pocket on each thigh, worn higher than those on the later M43 uniform. The HBT clothing could also be worn with both the M41 and M43 uniforms; its most frequent appearance during the fighting in North-West Europe was during the Normandy campaign and break-out operations. Issued in a mid-green, the HBT suits often faded to a lighter green. To coincide with the M43 uniform, the colour was changed to the darker olive drab of this uniform system. When the United States began to experiment and introduce airborne and paratrooper forces into its military strength, a specialized uniform was needed for them. Unlike Britain and German attempts at paratrooper uniform, initially American forces wore a couple of different variations on overalls, one pattern being manufactured from a green silk-like material. These were deemed to be completely unsuitable and a new uniform was designed. This new uniform was a complete redesign and was made from cotton poplin in the same Olive Drab 3 colour as the M41 field jacket. The M42 paratrooper uniform comprised a tunic-style jacket with four front pockets as well as an integral belt. Trousers were of the same material with a pocket on each thigh. Given the specialist nature of airborne forces, specialist boots and head protection were needed. Externally the paratrooper helmet was very similar to the M1 helmet used by all other branches of the US military, though it features a more substantial leather strapping system. Boots were also unique to paratroopers, the famous Corcoran boots in brown leather. These were fairly long boots, and the whole uniform has a very modern appearance compared to other uniforms of the period. Unfortunately, there were a few issues with the M42 uniform. It was a fairly light colour when new and faded easily to a tan tone. The uniform wasn’t particularly warm either, especially during bad weather when protection from the elements was limited. Finally, the uniform had some significantly weak areas and was often patched at the elbows and knees; this can frequently be seen as a darker colour to the rest of the uniform depending on the material used for these patches. 75

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 While adequate, this uniform was lacking in practicality. Storage was limited, and the trousers restricted mobility while also having weak stitching. The M42 airborne uniform was also found to be lacking, being too light in colour, not warm enough and not resilient enough for sustained field use. As a result, the M43 uniform was designed to address these shortcomings. Externally very similar in design to the M42 uniform jacket used by the US and the ubiquitous M39 woollen trousers, the M43 was made from dark olive green-coloured cotton. To make the uniform suitable for all weather conditions, a liner could be fitted to both jackets and trousers for increased warmth. The jacket also had the option of attaching a hood for use in foul weather. As the trousers lacked the thigh pockets of the M42 trousers, the airborne uniform frequently added these, appearing sometimes in a different colour to the rest of the trousers. Footwear was also redesigned as part of the M1943 uniform programme intended to replace both the Corcoran and Field Shoe with a boot incorporating a leather-strapped ankle cuff, though this was rejected by the airborne forces who largely retained their jump boots. While trialled in early 1944 during the landings at Anzio in Italy, the M43 uniform did not appear in North-West Europe until later in the war. The most comprehensive issue was in September prior to Operation MARKET GARDEN, where both the 82nd and 101st Airborne were both re-equipped with the new uniform. Issue to the rest of the American-equipped forces was much slower, hampered by the logistical issues of an ever-lengthening supply line. Use of the M43 uniform started to appear in some airborne forces from late 1944, and although it became far more common by the end of the war, it was never universal. Post-war, the M43 uniform would go on to become the basis of most modern combat uniforms and its design influences can still be seen today. For cold weather wear, the US army supplied a variety of cold weather garments. Aside from liners and extra layers of clothing worn either under or in combination with the previously mentioned uniform 76

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United States Army Uniforms types, there were also a few other notable garments issued in addition to gloves, toques and scarves. Particularly prized by drivers and officers, the Mackinaw coat was an evolution of a garment first worn before the First World War. It was a hip-length, double-breasted jacket, secured at the waist with an integral belt. The jacket had a heavy wool lining and cotton exterior, appearing in the same sort of colour range of light olive to tan tones as the M41 uniform. With the layered approach to the warmth of uniforms, the heavy Melton wool overcoat was intended to be largely relegated to garrison wear and not required for combat use. The harsh winter of 1944 combined with the logistical issues around the introduction and supply of the M43 uniform was, however, to disprove this theory. Rushed to the front, the greatcoat was a very heavy garment but was invaluable for keeping soldiers warm, especially in static positions. The greatcoat was a shin-length, double-breasted garment manufactured from a heavy grade of wool that retained the same colouring as the woollen trousers, a mid to dark brown tone. Several other variations of lighter-weight raincoat were also issued, and they had a similar colouration to the Mackinaw coat. Finally and perhaps the most popular version of the cold weather uniform was the Winter Combat Uniform developed for tank crews. This comprised overall trousers and the famous tanker jacket. Similar in cut and colour, the Winter Combat Uniform was very warm and designed to allow a great deal of mobility. Intended for armour crews, this highly-coveted clothing would appear fairly widely worn by anyone who could acquire it.

UNITED STATES ARMY UNIFORMS Figures used here are M41 uniformed figures from AB Miniatures, M42 Airborne Uniforms from Elhiem Miniatures and M43 uniformed figures from Simon’s Soldiers. 77

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

M41 JACKET As both the M41 jacket and M42 paratrooper uniform are roughly the same colour, we’ll use these to demonstrate both the olive tone in which they were produced and the tan colour to which they faded. For the M41 jacket, we’ll paint it the standard light olive colour. Either of these guides would also work for figures wearing Mackinaw coats and tankers’ jackets.

1. Prime black For all the American guides, we will use a black primer layer. All the schemes will have fairly dark bases to work up from and these will have better coverage over black. Brush used None (if applying by hand, use a size 2 round)

Paint Black automotive primer

2. Dark olive base The initial layer for the M41 uniform will be a deep olive colour to provide the very deepest shades on the figure and also help to tone the colours 78

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United States Army Uniforms applied in the later stages. You can use any dark olive drab colour here for this stage. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3074 Brown Olive Drab

3. Khaki mid-tone For this colour, you will want to use a greenish khaki, a couple of shades lighter ideally so that it will contrast with the previous step. Apply the

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 paint in thin layers, letting the colour build up and allowing some of the deepest recesses to remain olive drab. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3076 Canvas Tone

4. Light khaki highlight You could leave the figure at this stage and go on to painting the rest of it; however, if you want some further highlights, use a light khaki tone and apply it to the most prominent parts of the figure. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3075 US Field Drab

5. Brown filter To unify the colours and enhance the olive tone of the figure, apply a brown-tone filter. I’ve used a ready-made brown filter, although you could also mix 10 per cent of the paint used in step 2 with 90 per cent of your thinner and make your own if you wish. Be careful not to allow the filter to pool or settle too heavily on the figure.

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United States Army Uniforms Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3018 Brown Uniform Definition Filter

M42 AIRBORNE UNIFORM While the previous guide is perfectly suitable for the airborne uniform and would work especially well for figures during the D-Day landings, for troops later in the campaign or those using M41 or tanker jackets that have become faded and weathered, these tones will be more suitable.

1. Mid-brown base Over a black primer, apply a medium-brown base tone over the uniform. Use a brown with a hint of green. Many paint ranges have a colour named either English or British Uniform. A tone such as that is perfect for this step. You may require a few coats to get solid coverage over the black. Just keep your paint thin and apply it carefully so that you do not obscure any detail.

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3081 British Uniform

2. Light khaki highlight Next, proceed to highlighting the uniform with a light khaki colour a few tones lighter than the base. A colour in roughly equal parts light grey, brown and green is ideal. You can leave the figure at this stage if you want a quick painting solution. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3076 Canvas Tone

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United States Army Uniforms

3. Light sand highlight As the olive drab cotton tended to fade to a brown colour, we’ll use a light tan tone as the highlight. Apply it sparingly, however, as you do not want to completely shift the figure’s appearance to a completely brown tone. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3033 Light Sand

4. Green reinforcement patches These patches are optional, although they frequently appear on airborne forces’ uniforms during the Normandy campaign and Operation

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 DRAGOON. Simply paint an olive green rectangle on the figure’s shins and elbows. You have a little leeway with colour here as there was a reasonable amount of variation; however, olive drab cloth seems to be the most common. Note these only apply to airborne uniforms and during the summer of 1944 when they were wearing the M42 jump suit. A greyish-green paint is ideal. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3141 Field Grey Base

5. Green filter To finish the figure and ensure that all the various parts of the uniform still have a slight greenish tone to them, use a green filter, either a premade filter or one that you have mixed yourself. Use the mix in step 5 of the M41 jacket guide if you decide to make your own. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3017 Green Uniform Definition Filter

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United States Army Uniforms

M43 UNIFORM The M43 uniform has a distinctly green colouring to it that even when faded and worn still appears a deep mid-green colour. While complete suits were almost universal within airborne units post-September 1944, this was not the case with the rest of the army and you may see men wearing a mix-and-match M43 trousers and jackets with older uniform which was very common.

1. Dark olive base Over a black primer, apply a dark olive colour. You could alternatively use a dark green or dark greyish-green. Whichever you use, you will want something that will provide a good contrast with your later stages. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3074 Brown Olive Drab

2. Mid-green highlight To get the uniform appearing in its iconic green, apply a mid-green tone; a warm green with a little brown is the ideal colour for the M43 uniform set. Leave some of the darker olive visible in areas of shadow and around 85

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 the deepest details. You can complete the figure at any point after this, including at this step. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3065 Medium Green

3. Khaki final highlight To highlight the uniform, instead of using a light green which can give the figure a little too much of a lime green or pastel appearance, we will

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United States Army Uniforms instead use a khaki, applying it to the lightest and most prominent parts of the figure’s clothing. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3076 Canvas Tone

4. Green filter To enhance the green tone, apply a filter layer to the model, using either a mix with the paint used in step 2 or a ready-mixed filter. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3017 Green Uniform Definition Filter

HBT UNIFORM For figures in the very late-war period, you can use the M43 uniform guide for their HBT uniforms; for earlier, though, you can do the lighter green version. This uniform was similar in tone to the German field grey 87

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 uniform, and also faded out to a fairly light colouring. We will use a black primer for this as it will be easier for painting the rest of the figure, though you could use a grey one if you so wish. This figure’s jacket has been painted using the M41 jacket guide.

1. Green-grey base Using a warm, grey-green colour, apply this to all the parts of the figure’s HBT clothing. You could alternatively use a mid-green or olive green colour as your base. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3141 Olive Grey

2. Green-grey first highlight Next, apply a light green-grey colour as a highlight to the figure, leaving the base visible in the recesses. For this tone, the colour wants to be fairly light, certainly several tones lighter than the base. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3045 Beige

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United States Army Uniforms

3. Light grey-green highlight As a final highlight, use a pale greenish-grey colour to the most prominent areas on the figure. Unlike the M43 uniform, this tone needs to be more pastel and quite pale. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3143 Grey Green

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

WOOL TROUSERS AND GREATCOATS 1. Dark brown base The woollen uniform is a fairly dark brown, similar although slightly browner in tone to the British battledress. To start with, use a dark brown base. I’ve used a slightly lighter tone than that used in the battledress guides for the American wool. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3053 Dark Brown

2. Mid-brown mid-tone For the intermediate layer, use a warm mid-brown colour, leaving some of the previous step visible as shade in the recesses. This is quite an earthy tone, although not quite as khaki we have used with the British uniforms. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3055 Winter Brown Spots

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United States Army Uniforms

3. Light brown highlight For the next level of highlight, we want a dark sand colour. You can use ones with varying amounts of ochre or green; this will bring subtle levels of variation into a force if you use a few different final highlight colours. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3082 Dark Sand

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

4. Brown filter Finally, to unify everything apply a brown filter, either a ready-mixed filter or one you’ve made yourself using the base colour you used in step 1 mixed with around 90 per cent thinner to paint. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3018 Brown Uniform Definition Filter

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5 United States Camouflage Uniforms and Insignia

The United States began experimenting with camouflage uniforms well before their entry into the Second World War. The Engineer Board developed various forms of experimental oversuits to be worn with the field uniform, finally settling on an HBT material. The first pattern of suit was a set of overalls and was largely issued to troops in the Pacific theatre. A second pattern of uniform was later developed, similar in cut to the army’s green HBT suits. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States army both used the same pattern of camouflage. Referred to post-war as 93

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Duck Hunter, this pattern has both brown and green dominant sides, though only clothing used by the USMC was reversible. All the examples used in Europe were the green dominant army patterns. While a helmet cover was used by the Marine Corps, this was not used by the army and did not appear in Europe. The camouflage pattern comprised a light khaki green base, with small irregular dots of roughly equal size in a dark brown, light brown, mid-green and light olive green. Issue of the suits was limited and the army was generally resistant to their use. Only a sample issuing was conducted at the insistence of the Board of Engineering, notably to units of the 2nd Armoured Division prior to Operation COBRA in the summer of 1944, and possibly parts of the 2nd and 30th Infantry divisions. The uniforms tend to disappear by late summer 1944 on a unit strength basis, although examples can be seen being worn by individuals until much later in the war. Further experience and study had shown that the camouflage properties of the HBT suit were lacking compared to the olive drab suits when on the move, and this combined with the already significant logistical issues regarding uniform supply led to no further issues of the camouflage clothing. The M42 Airborne uniform, while a fairly middling olive tone when new, quickly faded to a much lighter tone. To compensate for this, some units, notably the elite Pathfinders, applied black or olive green to their jump suits. Less common in Normandy, this overpainting was more prevalent during Operation DRAGOON, the Allied invasion of the south of France in August 1944. With the introduction of the M43 uniform the need for additional painted camouflage disappeared and these were not painted. When the savage winter of 1944 broke, the US army had no specifically designed winter white camouflage in its inventory. As an expedient solution to an urgent need, local units converted white sheets into overclothing to break up the soldier’s silhouette, typically fashioning poncholike garments for themselves. For painting these, simply use the white camouflage section in the British Camouflage section. 94

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United States Camouflage Uniforms and Insignia

UNITED STATES CAMOUFLAGE UNIFORMS Figures used in these guides are AB Miniatures for the figures in the Camouflage HBT Suit and insignia, and Elhiem Miniatures for the Paratrooper guides.

HBT CAMOUFLAGE SUIT As this is a fairly complex camouflage pattern, we won’t use any shading or highlight on this figure apart from a filter at the end. Adding in shading and highlights would distract the eye from the camouflage pattern you are painting and is best saved for larger-sized figures than typical gaming sizes.

1. Khaki base tone For this figure I’ve used a grey primer as the colours will be fairly light and the majority of the model is wearing the HBT suit. Any other areas we can pick out with dark base tones later as required. For the initial colour of the camouflage, you want a light khaki green colour. Don’t be afraid to use a few thin layers to get a solid colour if necessary. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3041 Khaki

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

2. Dark brown dots With the HBT camouflage suit, the largest dots in the pattern as well as the colour around which all the others are grouped is a dark brown. This is a very dark earthy brown, around the colour of milk chocolate. When spacing out the dots, you’ll have to use your best judgement but you want them fairly evenly-spaced and need to leave enough room for the rest of the camouflage pattern around them. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3053 Dark Brown

3. Medium green dots Working through order of visibility and prevalence on the suit’s disruptive pattern, we will next add the medium green dots. Apply these closely to the dark brown dots if you can, trying to make them a little smaller than the dark brown. If you are painting a 15mm or smaller figure or you do not wish to spend too long painting the camouflage, you can call the figure done at this stage. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3065 Summer Medium Green

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United States Camouflage Uniforms and Insignia

4. Light brown dots Using even smaller dots than either the medium green or dark brown, apply some light earth dots. Again, keep the spacing fairly even; no one colour should have more dots than any of the other colours. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3062 Cork Brown

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

5. Light green dots The final colour in the camouflage pattern is of some light olive green dots. These are the smallest of the dots in the pattern and should also be used fairly sparingly. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3063 Golden Olive

6. Green filter As we do not have any shade or definition painted into the uniform at this stage, as well as having used five different paints in the camouflage,

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United States Camouflage Uniforms and Insignia the figure can potentially look a little garish. To tone this down, apply a filter. I’m using a ready-mixed green one, but you could also use thinneddown dark olive green paint. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3017 Green Uniform Definition Filter

CAMOUFLAGE SPRAY-ON M42 JUMP SUIT The camouflage pattern on the M42 jump suit was an ad hoc, fieldapplied arrangement, using either olive drab or black paint and either sprayed or brushed onto the uniform. The appearance and application is fairly rough, so applying it to the figure is a fairly quick and easy process. To prepare your paratrooper, use either the M41 or M42 uniform guides in the previous chapter.

1. Camouflage pattern I’m using dark brown for the uniform’s disruptive pattern, although you could use black or dark olive. I feel the dark brown looks better with the

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 colours already on the figure as it has a good contrast without being too dark. To apply the pattern, use an older brush and just roughly apply the disruptive pattern using thin paint and a stippling motion. If the paint is a little too thin, once it has dried use a fine brush to apply a little more into the centre of the olive drab areas. Brush used Old size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3056 Brown Black

UNITED STATES INSIGNIA American forces used a fairly minimal array of insignia on their uniforms. Often none would be worn at all, though it does still appear all the way through the period, especially within airborne units. Insignia rarely appears on the HBT uniforms, either camouflage or green, but is far more common on the M41, tanker’s jacket and airborne uniforms. A typical array of insignia would comprise the divisional insignia at the top left of the soldier’s sleeve; this was generally a stylized image comprising several bold colours. Below that, approximately mid-biceps, were rank badges for Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs). Officers had metal insignia that could be worn at the collar rather than sleeve insignia. Military Police had a black armband with the letters MP in white text worn on the left sleeve just above the elbow, as well as various combinations of white lettering and paint on their helmets, depending on their specific role. Airborne forces used the same set of insignia, although they also had a small United States flag worn on their upper right arm. Note that the 101st Airborne do not appear to have worn these during Normandy, and the ones used during Operation MARKET GARDEN were part of a white armband, worn approximately at the right biceps. These flags tended not to be worn much past the first few days of the initial drop. 100

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United States Camouflage Uniforms and Insignia Many of these insignia are available as transfers, especially for 28mm figures; however, they are fairly simple although time-consuming to paint. With so much variation it is hard to cover all of them, so I’ll just give a few examples of technique. All these insignia are best applied once the rest of the figure’s clothing is painted. United States army rank badges are painted in the same way as the British badges, though they are inverted with the point of the chevron angled to the top of the sleeve.

UNITED STATES RECOGNITION FLAG For the Airborne United States flag patch, you have to decide how much fidelity you want to incorporate into your insignia. The US flag during the Second World War had forty-eight stars and seven red stripes. Here we won’t get too tied down in making something totally accurate and instead will give a clearly recognizable flag without taking an age to paint it.

1. White base Whether you are painting the D-Day or MARKET GARDEN flags, the easiest start is with a white background. For Normandy you will want a small square, roughly in the centre of the figure’s right arm. For MARKET GARDEN, you want to paint a white armband in the same position on the arm. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 951 White

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

2. Blue square Using a fine brush, paint a dark blue square in roughly the top right quarter of the area of the flag. Try to keep this as neat as you can, though you can always tidy up with some white paint before going onto the next stage. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 898 Dark Sea Blue

3. Red stripes For the stripes, as they are fairly large we will paint all seven of them. You do not need to go to this level of detail; a suggestion of the stripes is enough for most uses, especially in smaller sizes. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 926 Red

4. White stars The US flag with six rows of eight stars during the Second World War is quite a big ask to paint on a figure of gaming size. The easiest way to replicate them is to do some six rows of small dots in even rows within the blue square of the flag. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 951 White

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United States Camouflage Uniforms and Insignia

UNITED STATES ARMOURED DIVISION BADGE As an example of a divisional patch, I’ll demonstrate painting the badge style used by the armoured forces of the United States. Each armoured division had essentially the same patch, with the number of the division at the top changing between each formation. However, the principles shown here of painting the badge’s outline and then applying appropriate colours apply to all of them.

1. Black background Firstly, paint the design of the insignia with a dark colour; black or dark olive are the most common. For the armoured division badge we are going to use black. Note that the divisional insignia was only worn on the left sleeve, centred at the top of the arm. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 950 Black

2. Dominant colour Once the backdrop is dry, paint on the most dominant colour of the design. For some formations such as the 101st Airborne this will be obvious as it is the most significant part of the divisional patch. For other designs, such as when the colours are evenly divided as here, start with the lightest. Brush used Size 0 round

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

3. Secondary colours Now you can start working through the colours of the design in order of brightness, so we will follow up with red and then blue, being as neat as we can in their applications and using a good-quality fine brush. Brush used Size 0 round Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 926 Red Vallejo Game 021 Colour Magic Blue

4. Fine details Many patches have numbers, text or other such fine detail to them. Once the main colours are in, we can give an impression of these; often a few simple dots will be more than sufficient to give the required look. For the armoured badge, I’ve put a rough shape in the centre to give the armoured track insignia, and then a smaller dot above to represent the division’s number. The trick here is for the paint to be quite thin so you have the maximum of control. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 950 Black

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United States Camouflage Uniforms and Insignia

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6 Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons

Webbing is the collective term for the means by which a soldier’s fighting equipment is carried about their person. Typically it will consist of ammunition pouches, entrenching tools, packs, water bottles and bayonets, all held together by a series of straps and belts helping to support and distribute the weight around the wearer’s body. While traditionally the cross-belts and straps of soldiers have been made from leather, by 1944 this was gradually switching to a heavy-duty canvas webbing material across the world’s armies, Britain being the first to adopt such a system in 1908. British and American-supplied forces 107

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 were almost entirely equipped with canvas webbing systems by 1944. While I use the terms British and American here, they also apply to the webbing used by the Free World and Commonwealth forces supplied according to British or American doctrines. By D-Day, the British army was using the 1937 pattern webbing system. For the average infantryman, this consisted of a belt with two shoulder straps that crossed at the back, two large ammunition pouches at the front waist, a water bottle typically worn on the right rear hip, an entrenching tool carrier in the centre of the back, and a bayonet frog and gas mask case worn on the left rear hip. The soldier also wore a pack in the centre of their back. Manufactured from the same material were ankle-length gaiters worn in conjunction with the rest of the soldier’s uniform. Manufactured in a light, khaki canvas colour, British webbing was intended to be treated with a cleaner and whitener known as Blanco, with the brass fittings left unpolished. In theory, for operations in Northern Europe from D-Day onwards, this Blanco treatment was intended to be with a colour known as KG3, a dark khaki colour. However, there does seem to have been some variation with sets in lighter colours also appearing, and this may be either the medium green treatment or fading and wear of the original KG3. Very similar to the British webbing system, the American system of webbing was based on the M1910 design, and gradually had upgrades and alterations right the way through the Second World War and beyond, though essentially retaining the same basic concept and design. As with the British system, the standard army uniform on D-Day also featured gaiters worn over the lower legs in the same material as the webbing. American webbing was attached to the belt through a set of fasteners and was widely adaptable. Similar to the British set-up, to the front of the webbing the soldier had his ammunition pouches; unlike the British system, the majority of American weapon systems had their own bespoke pattern of ammunition pouch. To the rear was a water bottle, on their back a small pack and on their hip an entrenching tool and bayonet. These would be supplemented by haversacks, gas mask bags and bandoliers. Holsters would also be clipped to the belt, but would typically be made from leather. 108

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons Up until 1943 American webbing (and pretty much everything else the military used manufactured from canvas) was produced in a khaki tan colour. To a lesser extent, the webbing was also produced in a light olive colour, similar in tone to the M41 field jacket, and from 1943 webbing began to be produced in olive drab, though with the supply situation being somewhat stretched, neither of these replaced the khaki tan tone. In addition to this, both British and American Military Police units wore white webbing for certain duties, and a recipe for painting white equipment can be found in the British Camouflage chapter.

HELMETS At the outbreak of the Second World War, the British army was using a modernized variant of its famous Brodie helmet. This helmet was effectively a flat bowl with a broad, flat rim designed to give the bearer protection from falling shrapnel injuries. By 1944, further specialist designs had come to supplant the Mk II Brodie helmet. Notably the airborne forces used a specialized jump helmet, with good protection and a much reduced brim. A similar helmet was used by armoured forces. Introduced for D-Day, the Mk III helmet was used by assault troops and notably by the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division. Featuring a more modern design, this pattern features a smaller brim and sharper angles, as well as flaring out to provide more protection to the ears and neck. It never completely supplanted the Mk II, however, which remained the most prevalent British helmet among most formations until the end of the war. Up till the beginning of 1944, British metal equipment including helmets was intended to be painted Standard Camouflage Colour 2, SCC2. SCC2 was a dark brown, almost olive paint, although still with a distinctly brown tone. From the beginning of 1944, however, this was changed to a true olive drab colour, SCC 15 Olive Drab. This was intended to be very similar to the US olive drab; however, it is a touch greener in colouring. This colour is also used on Vickers guns, PIATs, mortars, grenades and so forth. 109

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 American equipment was pretty much universally painted Olive Drab No. 9. This does vary a little according to manufacturer; however, it is generally speaking a very dark green, somewhere between brown and green in colour. There is some variation in this, however, depending on batch as well as weathering, so this tends to serve as a bit of a catch-all, though it is hard to go wrong with a dark brownish-green. Some field units applied camouflage to their helmets using locallysourced paints; however, it’s a little beyond the scope of this book to go through those as it was very much conducted at an ad hoc level. More common, however, especially among British units, was the use of scrim nets with hessian camouflage to break up the outline of the helmet. The scrim net was usually a very dark green colour, with the hessian either a natural brown or dyed various shades of green and brown.

PAINTING ALLIED WEAPONS, WEBBING AND EQUIPMENT Figures used here are from AB Miniatures, Elhiem and Simon’s Soldiers as shown in the preceding chapters.

BRITISH WEBBING KG3 From examining colour photographs, KG3 webbing was very similar in tone to the khaki of the battledress uniform. This would be very hard to replicate on a figure, especially at gaming sizes, and get it to look anything more than you’ve simply painted it one colour without picking out any detail. To rectify this, we’ll use similar but different tones to the figure’s battledress. For non-Blancoed equipment, especially items such as bandoliers, use the guide for American webbing below.

1. Olive drab base Firstly, paint all the figure’s webbing with olive drab. You’ll want a dark, greenish-brown paint. This will also serve to provide a nice edge of shade to the figure’s webbing in later stages. 110

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3074 Olive Drab

2. Olive highlight To add some contrast, we’ll add a highlight to the figure’s webbing. As KG3 was quite a dark colour, we’ll be quite sparing with these highlights, applying it to the most raised and prominent areas of the figure’s webbing,

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 using fairly thin paint to give us more control. You can now leave the webbing as done and move on to the rest of the figure if you wish. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 924 Russian Uniform

3. Tan highlight If you want the webbing to appear faded or worn or simply have some more contrast, you can add an extra level of highlight to it using a sand colour. Apply this to edges and the most raised areas. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3076 Canvas Tone

BRITISH MEDIUM GREEN WEBBING When painting this webbing, we are aiming to achieve a relatively light, medium greenish-grey colour to the webbing. For a very quick process, if your figure is already painted wearing battledress you could simply skip straight to step 3 of this process. 112

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons

1. Dark grey-green base For medium green webbing, we’ll use a dark greenish-grey base. As with the KG3-coloured webbing, we’ll use this tone to act as a very dark base to provide a strong contrast with the rest of the figure. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3144 Dark Grey

2. Dark grey-green layer The next colour will be a dark grey-green. In essence, this is functioning as an intermediary layer between the highlight colour and the base, as the jump in tones is quite startling. This tone is a medium greenishgrey colour applied to most of the figure’s webbing, except for the very deepest recesses. For smaller-scale figures, you can afford to skip this stage if you wish to save some time. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3141 Field Grey Base 113

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

3. Green highlight While this is a highlight tone, we’re going to be applying it to most of the figure’s webbing, leaving the previous steps only in the darkest areas. You’ll need a mid greenish-grey colour for this. Try to avoid any colours that are too yellow or olive and intense.

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3058 Intermediate Green

AMERICAN WEBBING When painting American webbing, if you want to paint the olive drabcoloured webbing that started appearing late in the war, you can use the British KG3 painting guide earlier in this chapter. For figures wearing the M41 jacket or the M42 jump uniform, the American webbing can appear very similar in tone to the rest of the figure’s uniform, so we will exaggerate the colours slightly to give a greater degree of contrast to create visual interest.

1. Dark brown base We will first paint the figure’s webbing with a dark brown. This is intended to add a solid contrast to the figure’s uniform and rest of their equipment. You could also use a dark olive drab here; however, I want to further differentiate the webbing from the rest of the figure’s jacket. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3083 Umber

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

2. Dark sand mid-tone Apply the sand tone to pretty much all of the figure’s webbing, leaving the dark brown showing around the folds of pouches and where items attach to the belt and any other such naturally very dark areas. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3082 Dark Sand

3. Light sand highlight To finish the webbing, apply a light sand to all the raised areas of the figure’s webbing that will catch the light, such as the tops of pouches

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons and creases in fabric. Try to be fairly precise at this stage with your highlights. You could also dry brush these on if you want to speed things up a bit. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3026 Tan

4. US army stencil This is a completely optional step, but something you can add if you want to really add a lot of detail relatively simply to the figure. Most Americanproduced webbing features a US stencil somewhere on it. I’ll be painting it onto the water bottle as that is typically the most prominent place where it’s seen on the figure. To reproduce the stencil, paint two small dots of roughly equal size next to one another to give the impression of the letters ‘US’. If you’re feeling adventurous or working in a larger size, you can paint the letters themselves. Use a black or very dark grey paint. I’ve used a very dark grey as it looks a little more natural and realistic. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 862 Black Grey

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

WEAPONS Most small arms of the Second World War featured very dark metalwork, generally an oily black colour, and warm mid-brown metalwork, with some also featuring brass butt plates. There’s too much variation in fittings and design for every small arm used by the Western Allies during the Second World War, so checking out some references or an online image search are certainly worth doing to work out what the parts of your figure represent. Slings would typically be the same as the webbing, although some, especially American weapons, sometimes had leather. Again, it’s strongly advised to check what is appropriate for your particular figure’s armament. Some support weapons such as the M2 .50 calibre machine gun and even the wood of entrenching tools may benefit from these steps too. The browns used for the woodwork here will also be good colours for the leather parts of the figure, especially American footwear as demonstrated here.

1. Black base Although not entirely necessary, I like to paint the figure’s weapons as the last thing I do before painting the flesh. A thin layer of black paint from which to work up will give the later metallic paint a better base, and

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons will also give a nice deep demarcation line between the weapon and the rest of the figure. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 950 Black

2. Dark brown woodwork With a black layer down on the weapon, paint all the wooden parts of the rifle with some dark brown paint, being sure to leave the black paint in the deepest recesses and anywhere that would normally be metal on the real item. I’m going to use a deep, warm brown colour. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 871 Leather Brown

3. Light brown wood To highlight the wooden parts of the weapon’s furniture, apply a light brown tone. As the wooden parts of the weapon were usually treated with a preservative, the wood for most equipment generally took on an orange tone. I’ll be using a very warm light brown colour. 119

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 981 Orange Brown

4. Metallic black fittings For the metalwork, you can use a traditional gunmetal colour, though I find these look a little light. There are a few good metallic black paints

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons on the market that are perfect for the metal parts of weapons, so this is what I will use here. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo Model Air 073 Metallic Black

5. Dark tone wash Your weapons are now perfectly fine to use on the tabletop, although a few extra steps can really make them pop. Firstly, a black wash will unify all the colours, dull the shine on the metallic parts, add shade to the metal parts and help to enhance the areas of shadow on the figure. I’ve used a commercially available wash, although you could mix your own with some black paint mixed with water in a ratio of around 75 per cent water to 25 per cent paint. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Army Painter Dark Tone

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

6. Light brown highlight If you’d like the woodwork to be a little more vibrant, go back over parts of the highlights and apply some of your light brown colour again. Instead of painting long lines, paint these highlights with a few small dots; this will give the weapon a subtle wood grain texture. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 981 Orange Brown

METAL EQUIPMENT While the next few guides are labelled for painting helmets, the techniques actually apply to a fairly large array of equipment as most metal items tended to be painted in the same colour. Therefore, for British-built grenades and metal equipment such as Vickers guns, PIATs, mortars, jerry cans, ammunition boxes and so forth, use the British helmet guide. Likewise, for American equipment such as bazookas, ammunition boxes and machine-gun tripods, use the American helmet guide. 122

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons

BRITISH HELMET As the British helmet was a very similar tone to the American olive drab, you could use the American guide instead if you wish. However, to give them more of a distinctive tone, we’ll use a different process for them. Interestingly, British Mk II helmets seemed to chip very heavily around the brim and often appear quite a bright silver where they have worn.

1. Dark brown base The first stage of the helmet is to paint it a very dark brown. When applying this colour, it’s worth applying it to the whole head. This will ensure that you get the paint on the underside of the brim, will form an area of shade between the helmet and head, and also give you a base colour for the hair/facial hair and any chin strap the figure might be wearing. As a rule of thumb, most British helmets had a webbing chin strap, so you can pick this out with your webbing colour once the figure’s face is painted. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3083 Umber

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

2. Medium olive For the olive colour, you will want a green tone that still retains an element of brown. You also want a colour that’s relatively dark. The paint I’ve used is named Bronze Green; however, it’s worth sometimes ignoring the names of paints and simply picking something that looks about right. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3043 Bronze Green

3. Silver rim If you want to add some weathering to your figure, apply a layer of bright silver around the edge of the helmet rim. To get a neater finish, use the edge of the brush rather than the point. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo Game Colour 052 Silver

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons

AMERICAN HELMET Pretty much all American equipment was painted olive drab. This was a dark, brownish-green colour. There is a little variation apparent in tones, especially if it fades a little, although this guide will give you a good representative olive drab.

1. Dark brown base As with the British helmet, we will use a very dark brown base and apply this to the whole of the figure’s head. American helmets tended to have leather straps, and you could pick these out with a reddish-brown once the figure’s face is painted. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3083 Umber

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

2. Olive drab layer Apply your chosen olive drab paint to the entire helmet. If you want a greater amount of distinction between the colours, leave a little of the dark brown showing between the rim and bowl of the helmet.

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons Alternatively, you can use a faded olive drab colour as a highlight, which we will cover in the next step. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3074 Olive Drab

3. Faded highlight For further contrast, apply a lighter olive drab colour. You want a tone that is a little lighter than your previous olive drab and is also a little grey in tone. Some khaki or field grey paints can also work well here. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3044 Faded Green

HELMET CAMOUFLAGE It was fairly common practice to disguise helmets with a scrim net and hessian strips woven into and through them, especially in British and American airborne forces. These are typically a very dark green or 127

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 brown net, with naturally earth-brown hessian. Sometimes the hessian would also be dyed in shades of green or brown.

1. Olive base As the majority of the helmet is obscured by the netting, we will simply paint the helmet olive drab, regardless of which force it is intended for. This may take a few thin coats to ensure an even coverage, especially if the texture on the helmet is a particularly deep moulding. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3074 Olive Drab

2. Black wash While the netting was generally either a very dark green or brown, to emphasize the texture we will give the helmet a dark wash. Either a black or dark brown is fine; here I’ve used a black for extra visual impact. Brush used Small flat dry

Paint Army Painter Dark Tone

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Allied Webbing, Equipment and Weapons

3. Hessian strip brown base For the hessian strips on the helmet, paint them a mid earthy-brown colour. You can leave a little of the darker paints visible in the deepest recesses if you wish to add some depth to them. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Vallejo 983 Flat Earth

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

4. Light khaki highlight To finish the hessian strips, if you wish add a light khaki brown highlight to the most raised and prominent parts of the camouflage strips. You can use a few different tones for your highlight. I’ve used a warm light brown, although you could use a light sand or green colour instead if you wish. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo 988 Khaki

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7 Skin Tones

The skin tones of the figure are incredibly important to its overall appearance as the eye is naturally drawn to the face and the hands convey so much of the figure’s action and narrative. As a consequence of this, they can be very daunting to paint. While important, skin tones are pretty simple to do at a quick level, but can also be a way to push your skill, as well as adding a greater narrative element to the figure by including signs of stress such as facial stubble and reddening around the eyes. The Allied forces in North-West Europe were drawn from many different ethnicities, and in these guides I will cover a tanned skin tone, one that looks particularly cold and one suitable for black personnel. 131

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 I will also cover some special effects such as stubble, reddened cheeks and camouflage face paint. With regard to when you should paint the skin, that’s entirely down to personal taste. Some people like to work in sequence, starting with the skin first, then working out through a figure’s layers of clothing, others by the most prominent colours first, and so on. I like to save the skin tones until last, partly because I enjoy it the most but also because it prevents paint from the earlier steps accidentally covering the face. All figures used here are from AB Miniatures.

TANNED SKIN TONES 1. Brown base layer Given that the amount of time a soldier spent outdoors and exposed to the elements in the last year of the Second World War, a tanned skin tone is probably the one you’ll be using most on your figures. The initial tone is a warm, reddishbrown and applied all over the figure’s flesh areas. Ensure that you get a smooth, even base, as you will be working up with the other flesh tones from here. If you want to add some extra detail, leave a little black showing in the eyes. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3011 Base Flesh

2. Medium skin layer For the main skin tone, use a strong, peach colour; for a more tanned effect, you could use a warm brown or even tan colour. Apply this all 132

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Skin Tones over the skin, leaving the base colour showing in the deepest recesses. This is a good place to leave the figure if you want it finished quickly. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3012 Light Flesh

3. Flesh shade wash To add some extra richness and depth to the figure, I like to apply a wash to the skin tones now. There are a great many flesh washes on the market and I’ve used one here for simplicity; however, you can easily make one using the paint you used in step 1, thinned about 60 per cent water to 40 per cent paint depending on the brand you are using. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Army Painter Flesh Wash

4. Final highlight If the wash has dulled down the effect on the face too much or you wish to add more contrast, add some more highlights. You do not need to apply these highlights to all the areas you previously highlighted; simply adding 133

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 a few select highlights to the areas you wish to enhance or draw some subtle attention to can be sufficient. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3012 Light Flesh

EFFECTS STUBBLE AND STRESS You may not wish to add these. However, eyes can add a nice detail to a model and really make it stand out, plus when viewed the viewer tends to naturally look at the model’s eye, so a simple way to add them is to paint dark blue ink into them. I’m not a fan of adding whites to eyes, especially on figures in most of the average gaming sizes. If you want to give the figure the feel of having been in combat for some time, you can also add a thin layer of the blue ink over the figure’s mouth and jaw to give the impression of stubble. If you really want to give a feeling of stress, you can paint a thin layer of red ink around their eyes too. I’ve done both to this figure. I’ve also added the red to the figure’s lips. 134

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Skin Tones Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Army Painter Blue Tone Army Painter Red Tone

CAMOUFLAGE FACE PAINT While not common, camouflage face paint was sometimes used by specialist units such as Pathfinders, paratroopers, Commandos and sometimes scout and reconnaissance elements. Typically, this would have a greasy black appearance. To replicate this, thin down some black paint or use a black ink and apply the paint randomly to the face and hands of the figure. It’s worth testing the paint first; if it is too opaque you may need to thin it a little. Ultimately you want the paint to be slightly translucent, otherwise your figures may end up looking like cows. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint Vallejo Game Ink 094 Black

COLD SKIN TONES 1. Flesh tone base The fighting during the winter of 1944 in Belgium, Holland and Germany took place in bitterly cold conditions. For figures themed to these operations, you may wish to use a colder skin tone. For your initial layer, use any one of the readily available flesh tone paints; you want something relatively pink and vibrant. 135

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3012 Light Flesh

2. Pale flesh highlight As the base colour for the figure is already quite light, you can use a pale pink or even ivory as the next level of highlight. Apply this to all the most prominent raised areas of the skin. If the contrast is a little stark, do not worry as this will be toned down shortly. Alternatively you may happily call the skin tones finished here. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3013 Highlight Flesh

3. Purple wash To tone down the contrast as well as give a colder tone to the figure’s skin, apply a purple wash. Either thin down some purple paint by around 70 per cent water to 30 per cent paint or use a ready-mixed wash. With this, carefully apply the wash so that it does not flood or pool on the figure; you just want to tint the surface. 136

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Skin Tones Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Army Painter Purple Tone

4. Red glaze To really capture the feel of the cold on the figure, apply a very thin red glaze to the figure’s nose, cheeks, lips and knuckles. The aim here is simply to tint the areas being painted. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint Army Painter Red Tone

5. Final highlight To really enhance these previously applied effects and also tone down the effect a little if they are appearing too intense, reapply some very fine highlights using the tone you used in step 2. Be as precise as you can with these; for most of these highlights a small area or dot will be quite sufficient. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3013 Highlight Flesh

BLACK SKIN TONES While segregation was still in force in the US army, there were still numerous units of African-American troops, as well as French Senegalese colonial troops who served with distinction. Notable were the American 137

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 761st Tank Battalion, the Black Panthers who assisted the 101st Airborne at Bastogne, as well as being one of the spearhead formations going into Germany. The 761st was awarded a presidential unit citation for its services during the Second World War in 1978.

1. Burnt umber base There are several base tones you can use depending on the skin tone you want, but I’m going to start with a deep reddish-brown applied all over the figure’s areas of skin. Brush used Size 1 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3083 Burnt Umber

2. Warm brown highlight To highlight this, we will use a warm pinkish-brown. The paint I’m using is the base tone for white skin tones; however, over the dark brown base it will also make a nice warm highlight colour. Keep the paint thin, as you don’t want these highlights to look too blobby or extreme. You may even need to use two or three thin layers to get a good result. Brush used Paint Size 1 round AK Interactive AK3011 Base Flesh

3. Warm pink highlight Next apply a second, very fine set of highlights to the most prominent parts of the figure’s face. You do not need to apply many of these highlights as they are only needed on the most prominent parts of the figure’s skin. 138

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Skin Tones Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3012 Light Flesh

4. Purple wash To unify the highlights and even out the skin tones, we will use a purple wash. While this may seem an unusual choice of colour, it will provide a deep, rich colour that enhances what we have already applied. Using a black or brown wash would be too stark and mute the skin too much. Brush used Paint Size 1 round Army Painter Purple Tone

5. Final highlight If you want a little more contrast on the skin, go back in with your final highlight colour and add some very neat, sharp spot highlights to the parts of the figure’s skin you wish to emphasize. Brush used Size 0 round

Paint AK Interactive AK3012 Light Flesh 139

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

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8 Basing

The fighting in North-West Europe during 1944 and 1945 occurred in a wide range of weather and environmental conditions. Fighting occurred in urban environments, snow-filled forests and flooded fields to name but a few. While basing to a very specific theme can build a strong narrative to your collection, it can also prove somewhat limiting with regard to your games. I’ll present below the classic green fields, ruined urban and snow basing. These three will give you some solid tools to expand upon into more focused basing themes should you wish.

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 For me, basing is, along with faces, perhaps the most important part of the figure as it serves as both a frame to the model and also helps to tell the narrative of your models. You can have an array of figures in different uniforms and equipment, but if they all have the same style of basing, they will appear as a cohesive collection. Most bases have a slight lip to them, usually a couple of millimetres. You can extend the basing material over this; however, it looks neater and provides a good frame to the figure if you paint it with a dark or midbrown. Blacks and greys work well too, especially for figures with snow bases. It’s worth taking some time to experiment, however, and see what looks best to you.

TEXTURING THE BASE All of these bases will be created using the same basic texture. All will be working from a dark earth brown, with an ochre dry brush and then a selection of textures applied.

1. Brown texture paint Apply an even layer of texture paint. You can put this on fairly thickly, and then shape it to blend the tab the figure stands on into the base if it has one. You’ll need a brush with a reasonable bit of shape to it, but don’t use your best brush as with significant use applying texture paint will ruin the brush thanks to the microbeads in the paint.

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Basing If you are aiming to go for more of a summer and arid feel to the base, you could use a lighter, sandier texture paint and paler sand dry brush colour. Brush used Old rough

Paint Vallejo 218 Dark Earth Texture

2. Ochre dry brush Texture paint needs a fairly long drying time, at least a few hours, especially if you’ve applied a fairly thick layer. Once it has dried, however, you can add some more interest to the base. I often like to use an enamel wash of a light brown pigment; however, for this base I’ve kept things simple and used a dry brush of ochre paint. Brush used Size 2 angled

Paint AK3072 Ochre

GRASS BASE The majority of gaming tables and mats have a grassy, countryside theme to them, so matching that makes sense for most basing themes. There are lots and lots of ways to do a grass base. Most popular ways involve applying a texture layer to a base, and then adding clumps of either static grass or flock to the base. Traditionally the figure would be attached to the base and then have a layer of sand glued 143

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 to the base, which would then be painted and dry brushed to bring in some texture. This does work well; however, I like to use a texture paint to achieve the same ends.

1. Dark green clump foliage With all bases, I like to have an array of textures and colours to add more visual interest. With a grass base, adding a darker green clump foliage adds the impression of uneven ground and small dense areas of undergrowth. To attach the clumps, simply paint a pool of PVA glue onto the base, pick up a pile with tweezers and place them on the base.

2. Flowers and shrubs Adding flowers or shrubs can also add some interesting texture to a base, especially if you’re using the base for something larger such as an artillery piece. I’ve added a few different heights of tuft to this base and some flowers in small areas. It’s important to pay attention to where the figure and models are positioned on the base, as it’s easy to get carried away and start to obscure them behind the foliage. Another aspect to be mindful of is that when working in 15mm size or smaller you don’t completely overwhelm the figures you have painted. Attach the plants by applying a pool of PVA to the base roughly where you wish to position them, and then apply the plants with tweezers. 144

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Basing When in place, if you decide it doesn’t work, you can easily lift the plants off again as PVA has a fairly long drying time.

3. Static grass To add some actual grass to the base, first apply some PVA to the base to the areas of the base where you wish to place the grass. I like to use two different lengths of static grass and two different colours. For a spring-themed base, you could use two different greens: a shorter bright green and longer dark green. For an arid summer, you can use brownish greens and straw-coloured grass. With winter and autumnal bases, use brown and straw-coloured grasses. For this base, I’m aiming to create a spring-themed base, so will use the shorter fresh grass and a longer darker green as a final contrast to the other textures and plants on the base.

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945

RUBBLE BASE The fighting in Caen, Carentan, Arnhem, Aachen and countless other towns and villages during 1944 and 1945 is often the focal point for our gaming and can be an incredibly thematic style on which to base your figures. Larger bases give you the opportunity to add items such as furniture or architectural features; model railway scenery can be a great source of bits at very reasonable prices for these. Here, though, we will just do a simple base of rubble and a few wooden beams as urban basing can become quite the rabbit hole of super-detailing. This base will be created using the same basic textures already covered, with various grades of rubble added. For this base, we will need a few grades of gravel and fine stones. These are all readily available from model railway scenic providers.

1. Coarse gravel When creating a rubble base, you will want to use some larger areas of rock and then apply a finer gravel over the top. To add further visual interest, adding an organic element such as some tufts of grass or broken roof beams can add much more visual interest. Much as with the grass base, apply some PVA glue to the base and then add some larger areas of coarse gravel to the base.

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Basing

2. Organic debris Here I’m using some finely-chopped pieces of wood made out of a coffee stirrer and stained with dark brown and black paints fairly roughly to appear burned and weathered. While the PVA from step 1 is still wet, apply a few lengths of the wood to the base, doing your best to position them in a way that is complementary to the figure without obscuring it. Alternatively, you may wish to add some tufts of grass or plants to the base. Once placed, allow to dry before progressing to the next step.

3. Fine gravel With the larger components of the base added, you can now apply some fine gravel to simulate rubble. I like to use a few different colours and

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 consistencies poured into a tub and then sprinkle a pinch of it over the base after applying PVA to the areas I want it to fit. You could now call the base done; however, there are a few stages I like to do once the PVA is fully hardened to really bring the base to life.

4. Dark brown wash When every part of the model is painted, adding something that isn’t painted, such as the rubble we’ve added to the base, can be a little jarring to the eye as you view the model. This is quite simple to address but can make a big difference to the appearance of the base. With the previous stages dry, apply a dark brown wash to the base. Alternatively you could use a light grey to give a dusty effect. I’ve chosen the dark brown as it will complement the tones of the figure and frame it nicely. Apply the wash all over the base. Brush used Old rough

Paint Army Painter Dark Tone

5. Light grey dry brush If you wish, you can add some further contrast to the colours on the base by applying a light sand or pale grey dry brush. Ensure this is only a fairly light dry brushing to enhance the details as you don’t want to obscure too much of the texture and tones in the gravel. The base is now done, 148

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Basing but you may still choose to add further areas of grass or even detailed items like old newspaper, but I like to keep the bases relatively simple. Brush used Size 1 flat head

Paint AK3146 Grey Blue

SNOW BASE The winter of 1944 was the most severe in decades, and the spring wasn’t much better in terms of weather. There are two approaches to creating a snow base: either patchy, partly melted snow, where the snow is applied to a base using the above techniques, or alternatively, creating the impression of a deep, fresh snowfall. For a pure snow base, simply paint the base a pale blue or pale grey colour and leave to dry. I shall demonstrate the effect on both the rubble base we created earlier as well as a pale blue base. With either style, it is important to allow the base enough time for the paint and glues to fully harden. I’ve combined both stages in the accompanying images.

1. Applying water effect With both of these styles of snow base, we will be applying a layer of acrylic water-effect paste and then adding bicarbonate of soda. To add 149

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Allied Forces in Northwest Europe, 1944–1945 the water effect, simply paint it on fairly thickly to the required areas. For the pure snow base, apply a thick layer of water effect all over the base. For application over a base that has been detailed and textured, apply the water effect in patches to your chosen areas. The water effect is tough enough yet light enough to be applied to long tufts of grass too. Instead of the water effect you could use gloss varnish, but I prefer to use water effect as it is thicker and has a longer working time. Brush used Size 2 round

Paint Vallejo 201 Water Texture Acrylic

2. Applying snow While the water effect is still wet, apply your snow texture to the base. I like to use bicarbonate of soda, though there are a great many commercial products also available as ready-mixed snow. The bicarbonate partially absorbs the water effect and becomes impregnated by the acrylic so that once it dries it has a hardened surface, yet also retains a bit of texture too and some sheen. Once you have applied your snow, leave the base to dry somewhere flat and it is then done. As an important note, if you are intending to matt varnish your figure, do this before applying the snow to the base as it will make the snow appear very dull and flat.

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Basing

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