spydr1222 | 16 Sep 2023 3:40 p.m. PST |
how do u guys feel about 3 or 4 kinds of Blue,Red or Green in the same battalion? i think it would show old and new uniforms. |
Rich Bliss | 16 Sep 2023 3:47 p.m. PST |
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Editor in Chief Bill  | 16 Sep 2023 4:35 p.m. PST |
Or maybe in different battalions, reflecting how long each unit has been on campaign? |
jwebster  | 16 Sep 2023 6:29 p.m. PST |
Matter of personal taste. My experience is that however careful you are with Napoleonics, someone will find a mistake. So just do what makes you happy In my opinion, multiple colors in a single unit will look strange unless you have a lot of highlighting and shading of the uniforms. It will also look strange if the underlying tones are different (eg one blue is more green than another) I have done Spanish units with several shades of brown and that works well, but that would be expected from Spanish John |
Rosenberg | 16 Sep 2023 11:14 p.m. PST |
I think it depends how long a period of time units are on campaign and other factors like weather and dust/mud. My French have a mix of trouser colour. With all countries I think wargames tend to not use enough figures in Greatcoats. Only some of my French are in greatcoats but none of my Austrians or Russians. |
Bandolier | 17 Sep 2023 1:28 a.m. PST |
If you are a good painter and the variation in shades are subtle, it could look very effective. If you just use say, 3 different blues, it could look a bit odd. Best thing is to experiment and see if you like the result. That's what matters, in the end. |
VonBlucher | 17 Sep 2023 4:28 a.m. PST |
Depends upon the year and whether it was the start of a campaign or not. Because of the dyes used my guess is to use the original color and add a little white to it as to add to the look of the color fading from washing and the sun. |
Cerdic | 17 Sep 2023 7:31 a.m. PST |
Depends on which army. In the British army all the men of a battalion got replacement uniforms at the same time. So each battalion should have a ‘uniform' age to their uniforms! There is an excellent description of this in the diaries of a private or NCO of their time in the Peninsula. Sorry, I can't remember which one as I have read dozens of them! Other armies possibly did something similar… |
14Bore | 17 Sep 2023 8:59 a.m. PST |
Patches on elbows, knees are another way to show wear |
Dennis | 17 Sep 2023 9:59 a.m. PST |
I figure that trousers would be the first to need replacement due to general wear, tears, etc. So, like Rosenberg, I sometimes paint trousers different colors to reflect local or enemy sourced replacements-I realize that the style and cut of issue trousers and such replacements would probably be different, but I don't think it's very noticeable in the smaller scales. To my eye that adds a bit of variety without being too obvious. And, as Skip says, a few patches of different colors here and there can add to the worn look, without worrying about the particular tint a normal uniform color would fade to. |
advocate  | 18 Sep 2023 1:06 p.m. PST |
Not the same period at all, but I painted my 15mm Russian Civil War figures in a range of khakis. I could barely tell the difference at 6" let alone 3'. |