"Painting advice for French and Russian armies." Topic

Hello guys. I ordered OG's 15mm metal French 1808-1815 French INF center company full dress, Foot Arty, Cav Dragoon's campaign dress and Russian 1812-13 INF Line/Jager in full dress. Russian foot Arty and Cav Hussars that will be some kind of "base" units for both armies. Want to prepare myself while they arrive.

I need advice on primer colors and brands (USA). Also paints for both.I already have Vallejo Imperial Blue 72020, Ultramarine Blue 72022, Dark Prussian 70899 and Dark Green 72028 and GW Citadels Kantor Blue, The Fang, Macragge Blue and Caliban Green. Hope I can use one or some of these to save some coin. Thanks for your advice. Cheers!

I use craft paint (Apple Barrel) True Navy or Prussian Blue for French. Shamrock or Dark Green for the Russians

In either case I prime White and try to keep that clean rather than painting white.

Not a Frenchman in the house but lots of Russians
link

Maybe odd but prime white then paint breeches white again.

I hit my French with a spray of Testors Blue Angels blue first. Acts as a primer and gives me the base uniform color in one go.

I use dark prussian blue for my French:

link

I've used both blue, black, grey and bone coloured primer, they all work.

I also have used Kantor Blue for my French. If you go too light, it begins to look cartoonish. For Russians, I have used Vallejo Dark Green.

Primer color is a matter of choice and painting style. I find priming in black to work best for me as I can leave recessed areas black and it gives shadowing. If you paint white, the only advantage you get is maybe making it easier to see for painting purposes. You might want to play around with all three primers and see what works best for you.

i have recently experimented with the contrast paints. For French, I think you can prime in white (I just use Krylon) and then paint the white parts (pants, vests, etc.) with Apotehcary white. Then you can paint the blue coats with Tallasar blue. Paint the flesh with Valejo flesh and then apply Agrax Earthshade. Pain the muskets with Snakebite brown. At this point, you are 75% done. You need to paint the facings, any visible hair, musket slings, headgear, footgear, backpacks, and blanket rolls.

I recently used this method to paint some of the soon-to-be-released Wars of Ozz figures from Blue Moon. See bucksurdu.com/blog for examples.

Buck

Thank you guys, excellent tips and advice.

Uniforms
All covered as to whites.
For shades of dark colours- lay down the original, then lighten with about 10% white, or a pale grey; darken in shadows where necessary by adding about 5% black, or dark grey.

Always use a palette, mine is 45 years old now and i can tell you what each mix was for.

Skin
I agree with using a darker brown for skin (depends on race but lets assume European) first, then apply a skin with a red hue added for top coat. If you must, go back and dot in eyes etc.

If in tropical climates, then some 'sunburned in' looks are ok.

Some paints mix better than others. I have some but miss the great versatile PollyS range. Some brands mix well, others dont. I have another US brand that doesnt mix well.

Undercoats
Specific colours-
Under red/ yellow/ light blues/ greens and cloth/ linen- use a pale ochre or flat white first course. These are 'translucent' colours usually- meaning not a lot of pigment. So they require multiple coats to achieve consist effects/ density. Not so much in small scales of course.

Under gold- use brown or at least tan, not black.
Under silver- use flat white.

When I want white, say belting, I'll often lay down ochre/ cream/ pale tan first, then the white layer last.
Glosses (if anyone uses them) are for top coats only.
regards
dave