15mm WW2 German Reinforced Rifle Platoon - fast and dirty paint up.

As part of our switch from Flames of War to Bolt Action MBB and I have started to collect some German troops. I've managed to do this bit by bit, picking up odds and ends of damaged blisters from bargain bins at various Salute and SELWG shows, plastic model kits from PSC and Zvezda and the few last bits from Peter Pig - mostly AT guns and crew.

In the spirit of my previous 15mm WW2 US Rifle Platoon Fast and Dirty Paint Up, I present my 15mm WW2 German Reinforced Rifle Platoon Paint up.

The paints I used for this were a mix of GW black undercoat, Tamiya XF-74 JGSDF Olive Drab, Tamiya XF-2 White and a selection of Vallejo Model (70.XXX) and Game (72,XXX) paints as shown below (excuse my crappy handwriting).

Check the paint codes below, I wrote some of them down wrong. It's XF-74, not XF-72, for instance.

I didn't have the equivalent Vallejo paint for the uniform base colour, Feldgrau, but after a little searching I found a recommendation for the Tamiya XF-74. The Tamiya website shows a very, very bright green colour for the XF-74 so I was initially sceptical. After I painted up a few test figures I was much more comfortable, though. The combination of a black base coat, heavy drybrush of XF-74 and then drybrush of XF-74/XF-2 mix as a highlight looked very good with a solid grey-green colour and not nearly as bright green as I had expected.

Black undercoat

XF-74 drybrush uniform base coat

Uniform highlight - 80/20 XF-74/XF2

Helmet, Gasmask holder and mess tin painted Heavy Charcoal (72.115)

Water bottle cover painted Beige Brown (70.875)

Camo cape and bread bag painted Brown Violet (70.887 - not 877 as indicated on chart above)

Rifle stocks and camo patches painted Flat Brown (70.984)

Ammo pouches and knapsack painted German Camo Black Brown (70.822)

Flesh painted with Flat Flesh (70.955)

Boots, Belts and Y-straps painted Black (70.950)

Any equipment, such as infantry mortars, ammo boxes, Panzerfausts was then painted with German Camo Orange Ochre. Mortar rounds were painted Cavalry Brown, as I'd read that German hi-explosive rounds were painted red somewhere. My Cavalry Brown is much more of a deep red than brown.

Once these steps were complete the figures got a generous wash with peat brown ink, allowing it to settle into the hollows but making sure it didn't pool anywhere. It's the same effect as you'd get from using one of the pre-made stains such as the Vallejo Washes, Army Painter strong/soft tone, a polyurethane wood stain any of the various recipes for "dip" using floor polish except much less sticky and smelly.  

Washed with Windsor and Newton Peat Brown ink

Completed platoon including Goliath, Panzershreks and support mortars and the materials and tools used.

The figures were then gently prized from the lolly sticks and based individually or in groups of 2-3 for the support weapons. For bases I used 2mm thick MDF circles in 20, 30 and 40mm diamter from Warbases

The figures still need to have their basing texture added and then be varnished, which I will do after I have painted the ATG's, IG's and various other bits that need to be based. AT the moment the ATG's are all loose, and I'm debating whether to base the motorbike teams, scout cars and Kubelwagens. I'm tempted to get a Kettenkrad and Schwimmwagen just for the lolz.

Here's the full platoon with an assortment of attachments. I have another 2 of the Zvezda Sdkf 251 halftracks to build, and a long barrelled PzIV on the way to me. The barrels on the Wiebelwind at the top right had to be replaced with brass rod as they were just too flimsy. I built up the muzzle brakes by dipping them into super-glue to get a blob on the end and then squirting it with accelerator to get it to dry fast, leaving behind a blob I could sand into shape easily.