Team Yankee - Easy Guide to painting Soviet Armour

I have been asked by a few people how I painted my Soviet armour, so hopefully this guide will help you out. It is an easy technique and will get you an effective tabletop quality force in a very short time. The technique is nothing new but it may help out those that are not aware and just starting out in the magical world of painting.

For this guide I have used BMP's from Battlefront, which I found to be excellent miniatures. The same technique was used across the force however which meant that the 9 T72's from the starter box were finished in an hour or two of painting.



My aim with this technique is to get good tabletop standard miniatures painted and on the table so I can start rolling dice as I have an absolute aversion to playing with non painted toys. The most amount of time was taken with assembly and waiting for paint to dry.

Stage 1 - Priming

After assembly, I use an Army Painter Black Primer to spray the BMP, making sure I get into all the crevices between the tracks and wheels. I then put a light layer of white Army Painter spray aimed from the top looking down to act as a form of cheap modulation when the base coat is put on. This means that the top will be a lighter green and the bottom darker green using the same tone of green due to the variation in primer.

Stage 2 - Base Colour

I use an airbrush, but a brush is just as good and I put a light coat of Vallejo Model Air Russian Green 71.017 down. I then mix it with some Vallejo Model Air White 71.001 and place a single lighter highlight along the top from the front to the rear. This step is optional but I do it, as I find it helps create more colour modulation after the wash is placed on, but it's not essential.

The below photo was after the first application of Russian Green.

The below photo was after I had mixed some white with the Russian Green.

 Stage Three - Enamel Wash

Once the base colours are dry, I use a varnish to protect the paint work. This is essential, as the enamel will eat into the acrylic paint if it is not protected. The next step involves the use of AK Interactive Dark Wash for Green Vehicles. This is an enamel wash which means it is mixed with an oil rather than water (acrylic) and has a slow dry effect when compared to acrylic. It can be cleaned up with a solvent so if you put to much on or in the wrong place you can just wipe it off. It is advisable to grab an odorless solvent as it can be a bit overwhelming and AK Interactive have some products available to make it easy.

With the wash I just coat the entire vehicle with a brush and allow about 10 minutes for it to seep into all the crevices. Then using an ear bud dipped in solvent I clean up all the open areas of the BMP leaving the dark areas focused around joins etc.

 

 

Stage Four - Dry Brush

When everything is dry I use a Vallejo Game Colour Bonewhite and do a light dry brush over the BMPs to highlight all the raised edges. After this another varnish to protect them and they are ready to roll onto a tabletop.

Now these four stages represent a basic method to get your Russian vehicles tabletop ready. You can then use this technique as a base to do more weathering or other advanced techniques, or even base your miniatures as I have done. My force may never win a painting award but for the time I have spent on them I am happy to put them on any table.

By Patch.