"20mm WWII German Uniform color" Topic

So I've been using Vallejo #830 German Fieldgrey WWII for painting 20mm German WWII Uniforms (non-early war). However, I can't get the color jump out. I need to find a different base color to help the Fieldgrey pop. Any suggestions or is the #830 the problem?

thanks
Duane

Dark blue, maybe?

Life color they pop

I'd go with a black or graphite gray undercoat and a lt gray dry brush over the top after you apply the feldgrau.

I tell you again these colours pop all on their own

Glad to hear your recommendation Cardinal. I just ordered 2 of the Lifecolor sets yesterday.

Any particular retailer you would suggest? I am in the States and ordered from an EBAY seller located in Hing Kong.

Duane,

Use Vallejo German Camo Dark Green as the base, follow that with Vallejo German Field Grey. Then add a dollop of Ivory to the Field Grey for your final highlight to get the 'pop' you need…

Dan I am in Australia so I can't recommend a retailer for you.However the paint finishes very crisp and a bit vibrant.I have found it very useful indeed.There is yet another field grey variant as well and some of the Italian and French greens and khaki are most useful.I usually block in wash with sepia and reset but I have found that these colours work very well directly over black.You need to stir them well,quite well. I haven't ventured into using them for smocks yet but am most happy with the standard colours .They have an "edge" to them which I think is what the pop is all about.I have found the US infantry sets to be my choice now as well.
And their six color flesh is….totally magic I often only use 5 of the 6 but they were the first lifecolor set I used and was immediately sold on the subject.Best flesh EVER.(I do paint quite a lot)

I have no connection whatever with the company but I do have a lot of paint.

Big Dan

Red Frog Hobbies here in the US is one of the few places that offers the complete line of Lifecolor as individual bottles. Many folks don't care for the sets as they only need a color or two. For example in the box set above you may be interested in only the two Field Grey and not the set.

redfroghobbies.com

@Cardinal Hawkwood For whatever reason I had not really looked into these. Probably because I have hundreds of Vallejo bottles. But my paints are getting pretty old. I hear that Lifecolor paints are pretty thin. Maybe more like the Vallejo Game Color paints?

@Marc33594 Thanks for the link I might try a bottle or two and see how I like them.

@Thank you Piers, I had the higlight down, same as yours but it has been awhile since I lasted painted anything and couldn't remember what I use to do.

I tried 2-3 different Dark Greens, a couple versions of Dark Greys, and even black but was not happy. All of these colors were either too green or two black. I looked right over the WWII German cammo paints. I have to admit your recent posts have inspired me a bit!

thanks all for the suggestions,

Duane

Duane,

If you want a more deeper base tone, use US Olive Drab as the base colour.

Then the Field Grey over that… Comes out really nice when the final highlight goes on and gives a nice strong contrast.

I also then run some GW Nuln Oil (black) wash around the belts and in deep cuts just to add a little depth, again just adds a little more contrast.

This is the sort of thing that keeps me coming back to TMP, good thread!

Thank you Duane for starting it and thanks to Mark, Chris and Piers for some good info.

Dan

as we say over here they brush good.

Alright, I tried both ways suggested by Piers. The figure on the left has the German Dark Green Camo and the figure on the right has the US Olive Drab.

On a side note I also used the US Olive Drab as the base coat for the flesh. Thought I would give it a try cause I was to lazy to look for the right color. lol

Well did it make much of a difference? Which does everyone like? Personally I like the one of the right using the US Olive Drab. funny However, with fading and all that, both could be used!

thanks
Duane

Why not use both? It would give the uniforms subtle variety. I usually use Dark Green, Brown Violet (for that later war brownish fieldgray), and German Grey as base colors for my German uniforms.