Bolt Action: Stalingrad Soviets (Paint Guide)

Hi guys, after a few hours research on google (how did we cope without it) for uniform colours the first thing to note is that the Soviet Army uniforms come in a wide range of colours and shades. At the time they came from various sources and the Soviet Union was a vast area with millions of soldiers. Hmm, what to go for then.

I guess the classic "look" is greeny yellow sort of Khaki colour but the photos on Warlords Infantry box shows a more yellow/brown colour.

So I decided to just make something up! I knew I wanted a yellowish colour so decided to prime with a black primer rattle can (GW) then used Desert Yellow (Army Painter) rattle can which gave me a dark yellow base.

The plan was to use a wash over the entire model after painting all the base colours. One wash to rule them all.... 

So as far as the bulk of the models goes the yellow base was perfect. I then blocked in the flesh, weapons, helmet and straps. I then highlighted the flesh but at this point decided to leave the helmet the base colour and not highlight. It looked better darker.

If you plan on doing this or any other wash technique be sure to make the painted areas lighter than you want as the was will darken the areas as well as add definition to the piece. In terms of washes I made my own magic blend...

Gone are the days of making your own washes (thank goodness) and I like the GW range of washes but the following would work with any wash based product. I did not use inks. These radically alter the colours and would not suit what I wanted to achieve.

I started with 1 part Nuln Oil (GW), 1 part Baal Red (GW old name), 2 parts Flesh Wash (GW old name) and 4 parts Earth Shade (GW old name). I used an emply pot and made a full pot to use for the army. I even used it on the stone bases to break up the grey.

The final effect is great and I am happy with it. I plan to grubby up the units except the inexperianced squad to show they are new to the field.

I did plan on an all over light drybrush of Khaki but the models just do not need it. If it aint broke why fix it.

With the above techniques I can knock out a squad in two hours. To the standard achieved I am happy with that!

I have put some photos below including a paint list. I did use a metallic on the metal areas before washing as am after thought.

Any how 60 more dudes to paint so I will do another blog in a few weeks when more progress it made.

Enjoy.