I’m not a great painter, I am the first to admit that, but I wanted to get my guys looking at least acceptable for tabletop standard, and I wanted to do it quickly. So I painted these guys using my Flames of War US paint set, gunmetal grey, beige brown, flat flesh and that old favorite of mine Devlan Mud. (Not in the FoW US paint set, but OK! - J)
I’ve broken down my method here into steps, so you can see how quickly and easily a “Tabletop” standard army can be done. They aren’t going to win any Crystal Brush awards, but at arm’s length they aren’t too shabby, and can be achieved by anyone with a minimum of brush control.
I did these in batches, and painted 45 US infantry in 4 evenings, so you can really churn these out quickly and get them waging war on the tabletop faster than ever.
First things get your hobby zone set up, and your models primed. I went for black; some folks swear by white for priming, it’s all personal preference
Stage 1
Paint the trousers using US field drab, it doesn’t matter if you’re messy here.
Stage 2
Paint the tunics using khaki, making sure it’s neat where it joins the trousers. As for the rest, don’t worry too much if paint gets on everything.
Stage 3
Break out the green grey for the webbing pouches and gaiters!
Stage 4
Use your Red Leather paint on the boots and knife sheath. Make sure to be neat here, it saves time with touch ups.
Stage 5
Paint your weapon's woodwork with beige brown.
Stage 6
Hands and face should be painted flat flesh. Again, keeping it neat here saves touch up time later.
Stage 7
Paint the silver onto the bayonet, handles, gun parts, and anything else that needs it.
Stage 8
Brown violet for the helmets, and we are nearly there!
Stage 9
When everything is dry, give it all a liberal coat of Devlan mud. Go lighter or darker depending on your preference, it really makes a difference and brings the model details out nicely
Once you have done here and it’s dry just base to your preference and jobs done! You can really rattle these out and they don’t look too bad at all.
(Totally agree! If you've got some tips or a guide to offer, come over to our forum and check it out! Click below to educate us! - J)
