RoE Hobby Painting German Infant

Painting German Infantry (Late War)

As usual with my hobby time, I like to mostly work with metal figures as the prep time is much shorter and, in general, and specifically with our figures, they just look better than plastics.  As with our other guides, the figures I painted in this article were part of a batch of 5 models that I completed in a single evening. The models in the guide are painted to a good standard for gaming and, as befits WWII figures, highlights and detail are not heavily accentuated. These are the colours I used; all Vallejo. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

German Fieldgrey (Jacket/Trousers/Cap)

German Grey (Greatcoat/Helmet)

German Camo Medium Brown (Basecoat for Gaiters, Breadbag, Gaiters, Water Bottle, MP40 Ammo Pouches)

Burnt Umber (Cup)

Black (Belts, Boots, Helmet Strap)

German Camouflage Beige (Breadbag, MP40 Ammo Pouches)

Green Brown (Gaiter highlight)

I haven’t listed the flesh, black/white and metal colours I used but, for information, I tend to use Vallejo Gunmetal Grey and Natural Steel for metal, often darkened with a bit of black.  For the skin on these models I have used Vallejo Brown Rose, washed with Sepia Ink (Vallejo Game Color range) and then lightened up with Medium Fleshtone and white.

First step is a basecoat of German Fieldgrey over black undercoat mixed with a tiny bit of black (darkening the uniform in this way is not necessary if you intend to use washed over the entire model) for the battledress, and German Grey for the greatcoat. Because of different materials and wear and tear, greatcoats varied in colour and shade and Fieldgrey is a good alternative colour.

A second wetbrush of Fieldgrey on the battledress, and German Grey on the greatcoat gives the first highlighting stage. 

By adding small amounts of white to the Fieldgrey and German Grey I then paint subtle highlights on the battledress and greatcoat (this shows up in further photos).  The belts are painted black then the water bottle, breadbag (the large, square bag under the water bottle) and gaiters are basecoated in German Camo Medium Brown. The cup is painted in a dark brown – the cup colour can vary quite a lot – and a little white is added for a highlight. A thinned German Camo Medium Brown/Green Brown mix is used to highlight the water bottle. The breadbag colour is built up using German Camo Beige and white.

A close shot of the gaiters shows that they have received a single highlight of Green Brown. By this stage, and throughout the painting process, I give the models a protective blast with Testor’s Dull Cote, the best matt varnish on the market.  This prevents damage to the paintwork while handling the models and is a good discipline to get yourself into. 

The MP40 pouches are painted in the same way as the breadbag with the straps picked out in German Camo Medium Brown, adding Green Brown and white for a highlight or two.  Alternative colours I may have used are black and Green Grey. 

I then finish the skin before giving the rifle a base of Burnt Umber. The gas mask canister was painted with USA Olive Drab, highlighted by adding white. The strap on the canister was painted with German Camo Medium Brown.

The skin was then painted and fingerless gloves (gloves should always be fingerless) were done in USA Olive Drab. Notice that the fingernails were highlighted; this is easily done by not highlighting the tips of the fingers and then adding a dot of a slightly lighter skin colour than the final highlight used on the knuckles.  For the rifles, I used Flat Earth or US Field Drab as the base.  I then add Medium Fleshtone and paint thin stripes (woodgrain).  Adding a little white, I then paint thinner strips.  Finally I do thin strips of Charred Brown between the lighter strip.  Once the metal is then done, the rifle is washed with a black-brown ink. The MP40 gets a subtle highlight of a greyish metal colour

To finish off the helmet, a very thin highlight is painted on the edge. The badge on the fieldcap is off-white. German helmets and greatcoats may gain a bit of depth and weathering by either adding chips and/or washing in a thin black-brown ink (see end picture).

Most painters will add the unit branch colour to the shoulder loops. Supply issues meant that these coloured shoulder loops weren’t always available, so it isn’t really necessary for late war troops. If you do choose to paint these shoulder loops, the table below details what colour you should use.

Army - White

Jagër/Gebirgs Regiments - Light Green

Panzer Units - Pink

Panzergrenadiers - Dark Green

Recce Troops - Golden Yellow

Artillery - Red

Engineers - Black

After the base was painted – I drybrushed a bit of Flat Earth followed by a very light Brown Sand – they got a varnish (Testor’s Dullcote) and some static grass and tufts. As with other figures done on the RoE Hobby Blog twenty of these figures could be completed in a week, with a couple hours spent each evening. Inks will quicken the process a lot; in a future blog article I will paint a unit from start to finish using washes in a single sitting.