"Historically Correct" Topic

So how ‘historically correct' do we generally pint figures? Am doing a 25mm Aztec/mesoamerican army currently, am using a mix of foundry and assault group aztecs but also picked up some ebay foundry figures. So was thinking of a morphable type army, not exactly correct but………

The Inca's seemed to be very regimented in uniform and the Aztec's with the same sort of thing dependent on how many captives one took in battle. Am basing them for DBM but am thinking of future game sets to try and am looking at the Chanca federation that took on and I think stopped the Inca's northern expansion.

So I know we generally paint a little brighter than was in real life as, let's be honest drap, dirty uniform colours would look dull on the tabletop.

Thoughts?

I think 2 things about colours on little figures:

(1) Colours from vegetable dyes in the pre industrial world were brighter and more vibrant than today's colours, generally, though they tended to fade more rapidly.

(2) I find that its necessary to paint small figures lighter than the real colour might suggest, as the original colour looks darker if used on them.

Does it look good at two foot?

Plus who is to know? I mean, we are not even actually that sure what colour an early Imperial Roman legionary's tunic was, and that is from an Empire that left warehouses full of archival material

I usually research until I arrive at colors I am satisfied/can live with and then go with them. Somewhere along the line I find differing color interpretations and then others that differ also. It never ends. Sometimes I change but usually I find that if I change the colors, I will find a need to change again. Start your journey and have fun!

One tries to get good references and stay in the spirit of what is presented there.

Always with the thought in mind that in looking at uniforms and costume that we do have records of in more recent times that people in the military and tribal cultures like color.

I agree with all of the above.
I was fretting over a paint job on a ship one day and an old friend of mine said,"Hey, it;s just a game".
I've relaxed ever since…

I also just generally just start painting stuff and see what looks good and go with that, after reading sometimes conflicting references.
Also google what others have done with their figures. But I still paint elephants grey, like everyone else here. There is a thread here somewhe about how they are actually brown etc. but grey looks fine to me.
Aynsley