Tommy's War painting instructions for British World War One uniform

Drilling the Figure
I always drill a small hole into the foot of the figure
and superglue a small piece of wire. This gives me
something to anchor the figure while painting but
also fits it into the base securely when it’s
completed.
Ready to Go
Once all the parts are fitted check your model, if
there are any small gaps fill with a putty and make
sure you’re happy with the finish. Before applying
a basecoat wash the model thoroughly in warm
soapy water.
It sounds like a lot, but getting a great finish really
does start at the preparation.
Paint and Colour
If elements of the clean-up cause some anxiety, then
that’s nothing compared to paint and colour choice
and is easily the subject I get the most emails about.
There is a huge amount of paint choice. In this guide
Alex references Vallejo, which is great as it’s one of
the easiest paint brands to get. Vallejo is an acrylic
paint which is the most popular paint type used
at the moment and there are a plethora of other
brands such as AK Interactive, Andrea, Ammo, Scale
75, Nocturna, Army Painter and Citadel (Games
Workshop).
This isn’t even the full list, and doesn’t even cover all
the paint sets that include everything from painting
flesh to a certain type of RAF aircraft.
It’s no wonder modellers are confused, it’s baffling.
The trick is to not get sucked into the marketing,
certainly at a basic level you won’t find too much
difference between the manufacturers, don’t fall for
thinking you have to buy a complete set, try
different paints and see which you prefer. I like Andrea
for it’s matt finish. Some people like Scale 75
but I find it hard to get out of the dropper bottles.
In-short they are all good paints and you can’t really
go too wrong.
The second part of this is uniform colour, on this my
advice is simple, don’t worry too mucn about it. Yes,
that’s counter to everything a modeller stands for
but it’s true.
There are two books on World War One uniform
references by Chris Pollendine, Campaign 1914 and
Campaign 1915. These books show original World
War One British uniform and equipment and I spoke
to Chris some time ago on colour.
Chris explained to me that in all the years of
collecting original uniform he’d seen a huge variety
of shades and colours, from mustard brown to dark
green there wasn’t one single shade that
represented what he had seen.
When you think that between 1914 and 1918 the
British were producing millions of pieces of clothing
each year in mills in Britain and Ireland and as far
away as Canada and the US. There were no colour
swatches to reference, no easy communication to
ensure a shade was right and very little quality
control.
However, as modellers, it’s important that th
colour looks correct, so my advice would be to check
online for original pieces of uniform and match to
that, alternatively Chris’s books are a great source of
information.
I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but Facebook
has some fantastic groups dedicated to uniforms
and I find those incredibly helpful.
Failing all of that, I have worked with the paint
manufacturer Lifecolor and we developed a set of
World War One uniform colour which you can use
‘from the pot’ if you wish.
And finally
My major piece of advice is to enjoy what you’re
doing. The best painters didn’t become great
overnight and while they have considerable
talent they also work hard at their craft.
Painting takes patience and it takes practice.
We’re fortunate in these times that there is a
wealth of knowledge online and take your time
to absorb that teaching but also make time to
paint.
I spend a lot of time watching tutorials on
outube, it really is a fantastic resource and there
aren’t many modelling topics you can’t find on
there.
But don’t be discouraged if your work doesn’t
look like those winning artists, enjoy the hobby
for what it is for you.
Have fun and keep smiling!
www.tommyswar.com
3