"Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo " Topic

Coyote; your Brits'll be fine, especially if they've got Lewis guns, as that dates them to anywhere from 1920s to early WW2. When the Japanese attacked in '41, British units were still wearing khaki drill, and even wearing pith helmets on occasion…. During '42, some units started dying their uniforms green for better camouflage, and this gradually became standard, with factory batches of khaki gear being vat-dyed in India. This period also saw the widespread adoption of the bush hat. It wasn't until fairly late on that uniforms were actually produced in jungle green. (If seriously interested, have your library scrounge up "Khaki Drill and Jungle Green", published by Windrow and Greene.)

Dom.

Great painting CaptWillard :)

Thanks Dom. What worried me is Tod is a lowly member of the local wargames club who will be running a Back of Beyond campaign. I assumed that if he was painting Brits and Japs it was for this campaign. Being relatively new to historicals I figured the error was more likely mine then Tod's.

BTW, Tod is not only a member, he's also the president. At least, I think. I don't show up that often and tend to forget details like that. In fact, I've sometimes been talking to someone and start wondering if what I think their name is, is their name, and whether I've been calling them something different all this time.

Who was that that said wargamers have no social skills?

Gah, I just painted my brits Khaki according to pictures from an Osprey and a book on The British Occupation of India.

Oh well, at least I got mostly everything painted. Tod's green brits can fight mine for who has a better uniform.

BTW, I have 3 Lewis guns but only one British unit. Do you think they'd attach a Brit with a lewis gun to a Sikh or Muslim unit in 1920ish? Would be nice, since I have a "leave no man behind" policy when it comes to unused troops.

Basically, if I buy a pack I paint the whole pack, even if I don't need all the troopers.

No worries Coyote, but you're quite safe there; Jungle Green is very much a Burma thing; if you're back of beyonding it, khaki is definitely the way forward. :-)

Dom.

I am in the process of assembling Japanese and mid – late war British for some Far East games.

I use Vallejo paints and I was looking for a painting guide for the Japanese and British in jungle dress (Malaya, Burma etc). Does anyone know of one or have any suggestions?

I know Vallejo does a Japanese uniform but I am looking for the colours for thier other equipment. Likewise what green does everyone use for "Jungle Green" British uniforms?

My Japanese are:

Black undercoat, very heavy drybrush with 923 Japanese Uniform, light drybrush 923 mixed with maybe 10% white.

Colour Party "Asian Flesh", Vallejo 880 Khaki Grey puttees, 924 Russian Uniform helmets, 984 Flat Brown leatherwork, 875 Beige Brown rifle stocks, 863 Gun Metal, black shoes. (Boots were brown, but most wore tabi instead.)

For the Brits:

Black undercoat, drybrushed in two coats with 886 Green-Grey. (I don't feel the need to lighten this one as a highlight, but try it and see what you prefer.)

I use Miniature Paints "Tanned Flesh" but you doubtless have your own preferences there. Hat and water bottle in 880 Khaki Grey, rifle stocks in 984 Flat Brown, Gun Metal for, umm, metal bits. Webbing and puggaree, 819 Iraqi Sand. Boots 862 Black Grey. Heavy weapons (mortars, PIATs etc) in 894 Russian Green, highlighted 850 Vallejo Olive.

Both the Brits and the Japs get an overall wash; experimenting with that at the moment; the British got a dark brown wood stain, which looks pretty good, although I've now discovered Johnsons Klear floor polish, so will probably go for 15 parts Klear to 1 part brown paint.

Cheers,
Dom.

PS – Even if you ignore my ramblings as rubbish, try the 886 Green Grey; I really like it for a somewhat worn jungle green look.

I have some pictures of my Japanese infantry here ajthomson.com/WW2Japan.html

Shirt = Khaki, Desert Yellow, Buff
Trousers = English Uniform, Khaki, Japanese Uniform (what else!!)

In case you don't already know, Vallejo's 'Japanese Uniform' is a pretty horrible 'baby-poo' greenish yellow, which isn't necessarily the colour of Japanese uniforms (which varied enormously). I made the mistake of using it with my first batch and wasn't at all happy once I'd read more. You live and learn…

As for khaki drill and jungle green – you might be surprised to know that units were still wearing khaki in 1944! For example, 81 (West African) Division went into the Kaladan in khaki drill and had their first jungle greens issued (by air drop!) during February! Their recce regiment, which was serving as a corps recce regiment at the time, stayed in khaki drill until they were dismounted as infantry in August 1944.

Remember that everyone could tell a member of 14th Army even when naked! Their skin was dyed bright yellow by anti-malaria mepacrine tablets (which 154 Para even used to dye lanyards a rich golden yellow) and it was often said that the skin tone was even more yellow than the Japanese!

My friend's dad, who served with 1st SLI in 7th Indian Division, 36th Division and one other Indian Division I forget, tells me that he and his comrades painted all their webbing with vehicle paint (either green or black) to stop it rotting in the festering damp of the jungle. He still has his bush hat (with the twinned-rings badge of 36 Div on it) and it is a typical 'battledress khaki' colour – the same colour as European BDs.

Thanks Bugsda. I have to disagree with RMD – I like Japanese Uniform – it's a pretty useful colour. I use it to highlight my 14th Army uniforms as well. It's also good for dry brushing on foliage too.

Hmmm – strangely yous look a VERY different colour to mine… Did I get a bad batch, or something?! Lovely painting by the way! :o)

Slight ammendment to the above – I should have said that SOME units were still wearing KD in 1944 when most had gone over the JG (it reads like I'm saying that all were still wearing KD in 1944!).

I just use it (Japanese uniform) as a final highlight. It's prodominately English uniform and Khaki on the trousers. I often think less is sometimes more. Definitely a mustard kind of colour though.

I am still searching for the straight out of the bottle khaki drill look. Vallejo Japanese uniform is perfect if your gaming centres around China as it was the wool continental version that looked the baby poo colour. I need khaki drill for the Southwest Pacific.

As I am focussing on China, Malaya and Burma it looks great to me – thanks for your help Dom – did my first platoon this weekend and I am pleased with your colours choices.

Not been back to this thread for a while; excellent; I'm glad you found them some use.

Cheers,
Dom.