[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"faction-/factions/bolt-action-belgium":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":358,"description":359,"extension":360,"faction":361,"heroImage":362,"hex":363,"intro":364,"lastUpdated":358,"meta":365,"navigation":366,"path":367,"seo":368,"stem":369,"system":370,"__hash__":371},"factions/factions/bolt-action-belgium.md","How to Paint Belgian Infantry (Bolt Action)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":349},"minimark",[9,13,18,21,25,28,71,78,111,129,133,234,238,257,278,291,295,341],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Belgium is a four-box army for eighteen days of fighting, and that is exactly what makes it a satisfying paint: a small, coherent force you can finish rather than accumulate. The uniform is khaki - Belgium adopted khaki during the Great War and never went back - but it runs noticeably browner and darker than British serge, which is the distinction worth holding on to, because these figures share a table and a shelf with British ones. Three bottles and a wash cover the entire army.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"the-signature-look","The signature look",[10,19,20],{},"A brown-khaki tunic and trousers, brown leather belt, braces and pouches, and a helmet that is very often the old Adrian with its crest and front badge - the 1931-pattern helmet appears alongside it rather than instead of it, so a mixed squad is correct rather than careless. There are no bright facings and no camouflage: the whole model is one warm drab, and the shape comes from getting the leather a step warmer than the cloth and the boots a step darker than both.",[14,22,24],{"id":23},"the-1940-khaki-uniform","The 1940 khaki uniform",[10,26,27],{},"Undercoat black or dark brown.",[29,30,31,40,51,57],"ol",{},[32,33,34,35,39],"li",{},"Basecoat Vallejo Model Color ",[36,37,38],"strong",{},"US Field Drab",", two thin coats. It is the closest single bottle to Belgian 1940 cloth: browner and darker than British battledress, with none of the Soviet green.",[32,41,42,43,46,47,50],{},"Shade with ",[36,44,45],{},"Agrax Earthshade"," in the folds, or Army Painter ",[36,48,49],{},"Strong Tone"," for the same warm result. Keep it in the creases - a full-garment wash makes wool look like leather.",[32,52,53,54,56],{},"Layer ",[36,55,38],{}," back over the raised cloth: the chest, the tops of the shoulders, the front of the thighs and the puttee wraps.",[32,58,59,60,62,63,66,67,70],{},"Highlight with ",[36,61,38],{}," mixed two to one with ",[36,64,65],{},"Khaki",", then a very sparing final catch of ",[36,68,69],{},"Dark Sand"," on shoulders, elbows and knees.",[10,72,73,74,77],{},"For greatcoats and for cloth that has seen a winter, mix a drop of ",[36,75,76],{},"Khaki Grey"," into the base to take it greyer, and stop the highlight one step early. Two related drabs on the same model - tunic and rolled greatcoat, or coat and pack - is worth far more than a single flat shade.",[10,79,80,81,84,85,88,89,91,92,95,96,99,100,103,104,106,107,110],{},"Citadel equivalent: ",[36,82,83],{},"Steel Legion Drab"," with a touch of ",[36,86,87],{},"Rhinox Hide"," in the base to darken it, ",[36,90,45],{},", layer, highlight ",[36,93,94],{},"Karak Stone",". Army Painter Fanatic: ",[36,97,98],{},"Command Khaki"," with a drop of ",[36,101,102],{},"Monster Brown",", shaded ",[36,105,49],{},", highlighted ",[36,108,109],{},"Tomb King Tan",".",[10,112,113,114,117,118,121,122,125,126,128],{},"Speed route: undercoat ",[36,115,116],{},"Wraithbone",", one coat of Citadel ",[36,119,120],{},"Garaghak's Sewer"," contrast or Army Painter Speedpaint ",[36,123,124],{},"Desolate Brown",", then an edge catch of ",[36,127,65],{},". Four boxes is a whole national army, and at this speed it is a weekend rather than a project.",[14,130,132],{"id":131},"helmets-leather-and-metal","Helmets, leather and metal",[134,135,136,155,162,177,196,218],"ul",{},[32,137,138,139,141,142,145,146,148,149,152,153,110],{},"The Adrian helmet: ",[36,140,38],{}," to match the tunic, shaded ",[36,143,144],{},"Nuln Oil"," in the crest recess and under both brims, highlighted along the crest ridge and rim with ",[36,147,65],{},". The lion badge on the front is worth a minute in ",[36,150,151],{},"Gunmetal"," washed ",[36,154,144],{},[32,156,157,158,161],{},"The 1931-pattern helmet: same recipe, or a step greener with ",[36,159,160],{},"Bronze Green"," if your reference photograph shows it. Mixing the two helmets across a squad is historically right and visually excellent.",[32,163,164,165,168,169,171,172,84,174,176],{},"Belt, braces, ammunition pouches and pack straps: ",[36,166,167],{},"Cork Brown"," basecoat, ",[36,170,45],{},", highlight ",[36,173,167],{},[36,175,69],{},". Warm mid-brown leather, lighter than the uniform.",[32,178,179,180,183,184,187,188,191,192,195],{},"Boots: ",[36,181,182],{},"Black Grey"," highlighted ",[36,185,186],{},"Neutral Grey",", or ",[36,189,190],{},"Chocolate Brown"," into ",[36,193,194],{},"Beige Brown"," for brown leather. Either is defensible; keep one choice across a squad.",[32,197,198,199,202,203,205,206,208,209,211,212,191,215,110],{},"Mauser rifles, the Fusil Mle 1935 and the FM30: ",[36,200,201],{},"Flat Brown"," stocks highlighted ",[36,204,194],{},", metalwork ",[36,207,151],{}," shaded ",[36,210,144],{},", or Citadel ",[36,213,214],{},"Leadbelcher",[36,216,217],{},"Runefang Steel",[32,219,220,221,224,225,224,227,230,231,110],{},"Faces: ",[36,222,223],{},"Basic Skin Tone",", ",[36,226,45],{},[36,228,229],{},"Medium Fleshtone",", a touch of ",[36,232,233],{},"Light Flesh",[14,235,237],{"id":236},"variations-worth-painting","Variations worth painting",[10,239,240,243,244,246,247,249,250,253,254,256],{},[36,241,242],{},"Chasseurs Ardennais."," The large dark green beret with its boar's-head badge is the single best-known thing about the Belgian army of 1940 and the one place to spend real time. Base ",[36,245,160],{},", shade ",[36,248,144],{},", highlight the crown and the headband edge with ",[36,251,252],{},"Green Grey",", and pick the badge out in ",[36,255,151],{},". Keep it dark; a bright beret pulls the eye off the model.",[10,258,259,262,263,208,265,267,268,270,271,273,274,277],{},[36,260,261],{},"Vehicles."," The T-13 and T-15 take a dark green base of ",[36,264,160],{},[36,266,144],{}," and drybrushed ",[36,269,252],{},". Reference photographs vary on whether a given vehicle carried disruptive patches, so if you want them, lay soft blotches of ",[36,272,190],{}," and ",[36,275,276],{},"Iraqi Sand"," and keep them subtle.",[10,279,280,283,284,287,288,290],{},[36,281,282],{},"Free Belgians."," The Brigade Piron of 1944 fought in British battledress, so those models take the British recipe wholesale - ",[36,285,286],{},"English Uniform"," cloth, pale ",[36,289,252],{}," webbing - with a national flash as the only change. It is a cheap way to extend a small force into a late-war one.",[14,292,294],{"id":293},"tips-and-common-mistakes","Tips and common mistakes",[134,296,297,303,309,315,321],{},[32,298,299,302],{},[36,300,301],{},"Browner than a Tommy."," Side by side with British serge the Belgian tunic should be visibly darker and warmer. If it is not, add brown to the base.",[32,304,305,308],{},[36,306,307],{},"Warm brown leather."," Belt and braces in mid-brown against a dark drab tunic is what carries the figure; blackening the kit flattens it completely.",[32,310,311,314],{},[36,312,313],{},"Two helmets is correct."," Adrian and 1931 pattern in the same section is right. Painting a whole squad in one shape loses a detail the army is known for.",[32,316,317,320],{},[36,318,319],{},"Fresh issue, not campaign-worn."," This is an eighteen-day war in May: light dust rather than caked mud suits it, and it saves you a session.",[32,322,323,326,327,332,333,335,336,340],{},[36,324,325],{},"Dust the lower legs."," A quick ",[328,329,331],"a",{"href":330},"/guides/drybrushing","drybrush"," of ",[36,334,69],{}," over boots and puttees ties the figure to its ",[328,337,339],{"href":338},"/guides/basing-miniatures","base"," without touching the wool.",[10,342,343,344,348],{},"When the palette is settled, ",[328,345,347],{"href":346},"/tools/scheme-generator?color=5E5334","open this scheme in the generator"," to swap brands or grey the base towards a greatcoat tone.",{"title":350,"searchDepth":351,"depth":351,"links":352},"",2,[353,354,355,356,357],{"id":16,"depth":351,"text":17},{"id":23,"depth":351,"text":24},{"id":131,"depth":351,"text":132},{"id":236,"depth":351,"text":237},{"id":293,"depth":351,"text":294},"2026-09-04","How to paint Bolt Action Belgians - the 1940 brown-khaki uniform, brown leather kit, the Adrian and 1931-pattern helmets, the Chasseurs Ardennais beret and a Free Belgian battledress option.","md","Bolt Action Belgium",null,"#5E5334","A browner khaki than a Tommy, and two helmets in one squad",{},true,"/factions/bolt-action-belgium",{"title":5,"description":359},"factions/bolt-action-belgium","bolt-action","IcZxcvKBQtvJe3XiR16-biG2BD1-LVraMqwbWqNglbs"]