"how many shades of gray" Topic
13 Posts
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idontbelieveit | 31 Mar 2017 9:51 a.m. PST |
do you use to paint your rebs? I go for a *mostly* regular look for my early war stuff – the same shade within a single regiment, but as the war moves on I try to use a lot of subtle variation |
Ragbones | 31 Mar 2017 9:54 a.m. PST |
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skinkmasterreturns | 31 Mar 2017 10:00 a.m. PST |
I have no uniform look to mine. I think they look better that way.Too much uniformity and I think Kurz and Allison. |
Hafen von Schlockenberg | 31 Mar 2017 10:20 a.m. PST |
A Union soldier captured at Antietam recorded his surprise at seeing a Confederate regiment in gray uniforms. |
shirleylyn | 31 Mar 2017 10:25 a.m. PST |
When I paint North Carolina regiments, I like to stay with a "storm" grey. When I paint ACW for my husbands club, they always want their NC regiments in grey. Looks nice in contrast with the other reb units in mixed/butternut. |
Esquire | 31 Mar 2017 10:28 a.m. PST |
I have three -- light (with a hint of blue), medium and then dark. Smarter folks will chime in but I think the darker conforms to what was supposedly issued from Richmond. I agree with the idea to place the colors by regiment, but our basing system (stands of two affixed by magnet to steel base of eight) allows mix and match as desired. The next question is how many shades of butternut? I've stuck with two. |
ColCampbell | 31 Mar 2017 10:52 a.m. PST |
Here are some internet research sites that might help with colors of Confederate uniforms. From my reading, they could range from "standard" cadet grey to a grey that was almost so blue as to be indistinguishable from weathered Union uniforms. The "butternut" could also be many different shades, sometimes on the same coat or trousers, depending on the dye used on the various threads and how intense it was. link link This one has color photographs of surviving uniforms with a detailed description of how different dyed threads in the warf and woof could affect the overall colorization of the uniform. Jim |
general btsherman | 31 Mar 2017 11:02 a.m. PST |
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Pan Marek | 31 Mar 2017 11:11 a.m. PST |
As with the Continentals in the AWI, CS troops would generally receive clothing issues (when they came) all at once for the entire regiment. As the links provided by ColCambell indicate, the CSA had a regular supply system. So, the notion that members of one regiment would have extreme variety is likely incorrect. Contemporary research indicates that "butternut" was not achieved by receiving home spun from the folks, but rather fading of "gray" from erstaz dye lots. Such would likely produce one shade of butternut in any one regiment. Also like the AWI, uniforms would vary year to year depending on where the issue came from. And, as always, pants wear out first. |
skipper John | 31 Mar 2017 3:55 p.m. PST |
Ragbones… that was funny. |
mwindsorfw | 31 Mar 2017 6:50 p.m. PST |
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CATenWolde | 01 Apr 2017 1:42 a.m. PST |
For my 10mm figures, I found using several shades of grey to be lost in the tabletop. I started with 5, then reduced that to 3 at the more extreme ends of the grey spectrum, but found that that a color difference large enough to be really noticeable ended up looking like white/grey/black. So, now I stay with a single mid gray and just use differing amounts of light/brown/black wash. Much more visually effective and easy to produce – and to be frank I would rather have a more uniform grey look anyway. |
Okiegamer | 26 May 2017 9:58 a.m. PST |
Confederate uniforms varied considerably depending upon the period of the war, the materials that were available, and the circumstances of their manufacture. When the war first began, most of the regiments were either militia that had existed prior to the war or hastily equipped state volunteers. Most of the former had finer uniforms made of broadcloth, in a variety of colors, but which being a finer cloth tended to retain its original color. Many of the latter had no uniforms at all during the first several months of they war. By late-1861 and through most of 1862, the Confederacy followed the "commutation system," in which soldiers were given a clothing allowance which they used to have their own uniforms made. Some did this individually, by sending the money home and having someone in their family or local area make the uniform. Others pooled their funds and had batches made up at the company or regimental level. The regulations were fairly loose and there was a huge variety of styles and colors. This would be the norm for battles from the Seven Days through Antietam in the East, and Shiloh through Perryville in the West. By mid-1862, the commutation system was proving less than successful, so the central government began establishing clothing depots at various sites, the largest being at Richmond, Virginia and at Columbus and Augusta, Georgia. The dress uniform was still broadcloth wool, but few of these were produced because they were too expensive. The field uniform was made of a cheaper wool/cotton blend called "jeancloth." Depending on the batch, the material might range from an off-white (undyed) to various shades of gray. There is no evidence that uniforms were produced in brown or tan. All were some shade of gray. However, usually only the wool fibers were dyed and the cotton ones left their natural color, which tended to take on the dominant color of the soils in that region – tan-ish in the East and more of a "reddish" color in the west, especially Georgia. Also, the dyes themselves were less color fast and once exposed to sunlight and moisture, tended to take on a definite "tan-ish" cast. This is what "butternut" really is – a mix of white cotton and gray wool cloth that has taken on a tan or brownish color. The best way to simulate this with miniatures is to paint the Rebs with various shades of gray, primarily a light medium gray with a few darker gray coats or trousers mixed in here and there. Then go over both with a tan wash. This gives the best impression of gray uniforms that nave gotten dirty and oxidized into "butternut." Very late in the war, some imported broadcloth was brought in from England and Ireland and made up into uniforms that were issued to Lee's army. The image of the "ragged Reb" at Appomattox is probably inaccurate given that every man had gotten one of these just a month or two earlier! |
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