"What color for 'White' SYW uniforms?" Topic

Whether due to the type of fabric used or just getting dirty from service in the field, I've noticed a number of depictions of SYW-era white uniforms with coat colors other than pure white.

What color do you use to paint SYW soldiers who wore 'white' uniforms?

(a) White
(b) Light Grey
(c) Cream/Off White
(d) Something else (please describe)

I paint mine an eggshell color. It is not quite cream but you can tell it is not pure white either. My main reasoning for this is so that portions of my figure which are white, stand out more.

I use plain white followed by a gentle wash of Army Painter acrylic soft tone.

Whether white is really white comes up time after time here and opinions vary. My take on this, using Foundry paints, had been to use their 'Austrian White' set which is a very slightly grey white for Austrians and Piedmont, whilst the French, which do seem to be slightly darker in pictures,are Arctic Gray dry-brushed white. If you like your figures to look in perspective, then you would probably want to undercoat in grey anyway and dry-brush white. Varying the amount of dry-brushing will give you a range of different 'whites' which one hopes is realistic of an army in the field. But as none of us were actually there, this is all surmise.

"What color for 'White' SYW uniforms?"

White. Or maybe (and perhaps more likely) a slightly dirty white …

If you take a look at the more contemporary of these pictures of Troupes de Marine – 219 and 220 – they appear to be pale grey although slightly paler for the officers. Later representations are clearly "whiter" and representations of earlier uniforms more obviously grey.

link

It is probably one of those instances where you pays your money and you takes your choice. Personally I paint WSS French troops a definite pale grey becoming lighter through the WAS to the SYW when I use Vallejo Offwhite over a light grey base.

C

I heard that they used pipe clay to whiten uniforms, just as they did cross belts. In that case, Light grey base with white highlights, I'd say.

I spray painted base coat with very light grey then drybrushed on white.

Austrian uniforms were issued as undyed wool and as mentioned above, pipe clay was used to whiten them in the field. Ottenfield, Rocco,and others show the uniforms as a very light grey that contrasts with the much whiter belting. One can only imagine the appearance of Austrian troops after a rain.

I use white with a soft wash like Jim

I use Vallejo Sky Grey as a base, then a first highlight with a 50/50 mix of Sky Grey and White and finally pure White for the last highlight.

When I am looking for a warmer White, I use Kakhi Grey as base, then I wash the white areas with Offwhite, and then the highlights with a couple of layers of pure White -paint must be fluid but not as much as with the washing-. It works very well and allows for smooth transitions.

Finally, to give them a dirty look I use MIG pigments. This step also serves to homogenize the look of the figure and to hide small mistakes.

Light grey over a black undercoat with a drybrush of white

Orange! they didn't have color photographs back then, so who's to say what color it really was. Maybe white used to mean orange back then.

Brown prime, white block, nut brown wash and highlight white works for me.

This is a Poll Suggestion????

Gunfreak – and no paintings, or uniform samples have survived? Really?

I black undercoat, use Vallejo Sky Grey as a base, then Vallejo Ivory. If I want real stark highlights, then Vallejo White. I don't use dip, but I do use GW washes on some parts.

The best looking white SYW uniforms I've seen were done by painting the coats in an off white cream color and then the belts in a pure white. I had forgotten about them until you asked and now it is making me want to go paint something like that….

Recently I've been doing white uniforms, sachels etc, using pale yellow as a base. Then a cream eggshell. Pure white for belts.

I paint the Austrians white and the French Grey.

I guess I differ some. I paint with an off-white cream color. I prefer a warmer brownish white rather than a grey white. I felt it was closer to a wool or linen color.

I then use pure white for belts, piping, and tassles.

That said, I wouldn't go crazy over it. It is about what looks good to you in a game, at the scale you are painting. The smaller the figure the brighter the white.

Light Grey Vallejo and highlighted with their Whitegrey

For my Österreicher, I use straight white, then apply a gray filter (5% paint to 95% thinner) over the white. I usually apply 1 coat, but additional coats are possible. If I put on too much the filter dries slowly, so with odorless turpentine can wash some away if desired. I tend to like subtle colour variations, rather than high contrast.

Once dried, I can use a gray wash with a thin brush to put a little gray in key areas for more contrast, like along a belt or strap.

Then I paint straps in white.

The effect is excellent, and not a lot of extra work for a lot of gain. The filters provide depth from very slight variations of the filter colour.

I use filters and washes for other areas, like a light brown filter for flesh areas, and a dark filter for brown backpacks, weapons, etc.

in a nutshell

ivory for woolen uniforms – for belts White – for contrast

For my Austrians and Saxons I use a colour called Dolphin Grey (Apple Barrel Craft Paints) for the coats etc. and a white for the strap work. This seems to be a good combination. The grey seems to be a blue based one so does not look like cream. This is the type I prefer.