[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"faction-/factions/bolt-action-france":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":402,"description":403,"extension":404,"faction":405,"heroImage":406,"hex":407,"intro":408,"lastUpdated":402,"meta":409,"navigation":410,"path":411,"seo":412,"stem":413,"system":414,"__hash__":415},"factions/factions/bolt-action-france.md","How to Paint French Infantry (Bolt Action)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":392},"minimark",[9,13,18,21,25,28,71,87,113,130,134,137,163,181,194,198,201,278,282,300,322,338,342,384],[10,11,12],"p",{},"The single most useful thing to know before painting a 1940 French squad is that horizon blue is a First World War colour. The Armee de Terre began replacing it in the 1920s, and by May 1940 the infantryman in front of you is wearing a khaki uniform - a brownish, slightly yellow khaki of its own, not British serge and not American drab. The blue survives in exactly one place a Bolt Action painter cares about: the Adrian helmet, still widely issued in its old blue-grey paint, and on greatcoats and kit held by reserve and colonial units. That single blue-grey note against warm khaki and brown leather is the 1940 look, and it is why the swatch above is a blue rather than a drab.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"the-signature-look","The signature look",[10,19,20],{},"Khaki tunic and breeches, an Adrian helmet in blue-grey with its distinctive ridge and front badge, and leather everywhere - French field kit is belts, braces, cartridge pouches and pack straps in warm natural leather where every other army has canvas webbing. Get those three things right and the figure dates itself to 1940 without a badge in sight.",[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",{},"Khaki",", two thin coats. It is the closest single bottle to French 1940 cloth: browner than Soviet khaki-olive, yellower than British battledress.",[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.",[32,52,53,54,56],{},"Layer ",[36,55,38],{}," back over the raised cloth - the chest of the tunic, 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],{},"Dark Sand",", then a final sparing catch of ",[36,68,69],{},"Buff"," on shoulders, elbows and knees.",[10,72,73,74,77,78,80,81,83,84,86],{},"For the heavy wool greatcoat, which a great many 1940 figures wear, run a slightly greyer version: ",[36,75,76],{},"Khaki Grey"," basecoat, ",[36,79,45],{},", highlight ",[36,82,76],{}," plus ",[36,85,65],{},". Two related khakis on the same model - tunic and coat, or coat and rolled blanket - is far more convincing than one flat shade.",[10,88,89,90,77,93,95,96,80,98,101,102,105,106,108,109,112],{},"Citadel equivalent: ",[36,91,92],{},"Zandri Dust",[36,94,45],{},", layer ",[36,97,92],{},[36,99,100],{},"Karak Stone",". Army Painter Fanatic: ",[36,103,104],{},"Command Khaki"," shaded ",[36,107,49],{}," and highlighted ",[36,110,111],{},"Tomb King Tan",".",[10,114,115,116,119,120,123,124,127,128,112],{},"Speed route: undercoat ",[36,117,118],{},"Wraithbone",", one coat of Citadel ",[36,121,122],{},"Garaghak's Sewer"," contrast or Army Painter Speedpaint ",[36,125,126],{},"Desolate Brown",", then an edge catch of ",[36,129,65],{},[14,131,133],{"id":132},"the-adrian-helmet-and-the-blue-grey","The Adrian helmet and the blue-grey",[10,135,136],{},"This is where the horizon blue lives. It is a grey-blue, chalky and desaturated, and it should never look like a bright uniform colour.",[29,138,139,145,151,156],{},[32,140,141,142,112],{},"Basecoat ",[36,143,144],{},"Pastel Blue",[32,146,42,147,150],{},[36,148,149],{},"Nuln Oil"," in the recess behind the crest and under the front and rear brims.",[32,152,53,153,155],{},[36,154,144],{}," back across the dome.",[32,157,158,159,162],{},"Highlight the ridge, the crest and the rim with ",[36,160,161],{},"Pale Grey Blue",", then a hairline of the same on the very top of the crest.",[10,164,89,165,77,168,80,170,101,173,176,177,180],{},[36,166,167],{},"Russ Grey",[36,169,149],{},[36,171,172],{},"Fenrisian Grey",[36,174,175],{},"Stratos Blue"," into ",[36,178,179],{},"Marine Mist",". For a helmet repainted khaki - increasingly common through 1940 - simply use the uniform recipe and skip the blue entirely; a mixed squad of blue-grey and khaki helmets is historically right and visually excellent.",[10,182,183,184,187,188,191,192,112],{},"The chin strap and the front badge are worth two minutes: strap in ",[36,185,186],{},"Cavalry Brown",", badge picked out in ",[36,189,190],{},"Gunmetal"," and washed ",[36,193,149],{},[14,195,197],{"id":196},"leather-and-kit","Leather and kit",[10,199,200],{},"French leather is the other half of the scheme, and it should be noticeably warmer and lighter than German or British kit.",[202,203,204,218,230,241,263],"ul",{},[32,205,206,207,77,210,212,213,215,216,112],{},"Belt, Y-braces, cartridge pouches and pack straps: ",[36,208,209],{},"Cork Brown",[36,211,45],{}," shade, highlight ",[36,214,209],{}," with a touch of ",[36,217,65],{},[32,219,220,221,105,224,226,227,112],{},"Boots and the darker officers' equipment: ",[36,222,223],{},"Chocolate Brown",[36,225,149],{},", highlighted ",[36,228,229],{},"Beige Brown",[32,231,232,233,105,235,237,238,240],{},"Pack and mess tin canvas: ",[36,234,229],{},[36,236,45],{},", or ",[36,239,76],{}," for issue canvas.",[32,242,243,244,247,248,250,251,253,254,256,257,176,260,112],{},"MAS-36 and Berthier rifles: ",[36,245,246],{},"Flat Brown"," stocks highlighted ",[36,249,229],{},", ",[36,252,190],{}," metalwork shaded ",[36,255,149],{},". Citadel: ",[36,258,259],{},"Leadbelcher",[36,261,262],{},"Runefang Steel",[32,264,265,266,250,269,250,271,274,275,112],{},"Faces: ",[36,267,268],{},"Basic Skin Tone",[36,270,45],{},[36,272,273],{},"Medium Fleshtone",", a touch of ",[36,276,277],{},"Light Flesh",[14,279,281],{"id":280},"variations-worth-painting","Variations worth painting",[10,283,284,287,288,105,291,293,294,83,296,299],{},[36,285,286],{},"Chasseurs Alpins"," wear the large dark beret: ",[36,289,290],{},"Dark Blue",[36,292,149],{},", highlighted with ",[36,295,290],{},[36,297,298],{},"Grey Blue",". Keep it very dark; a bright beret pulls the eye off the whole model.",[10,301,302,305,306,176,309,312,313,316,317,321],{},[36,303,304],{},"Colonial and North African units"," - Tirailleurs, the Foreign Legion, Spahis - are the place for khaki drill and older stocks. Use ",[36,307,308],{},"Iraqi Sand",[36,310,311],{},"Pale Sand"," for drill uniforms, ",[36,314,315],{},"Off-White"," for Legion kepi covers, and mix in some genuinely horizon-blue greatcoats using the helmet recipe scaled up. This is the only context where a blue ",[318,319,320],"em",{},"garment"," is defensible on a 1940 table.",[10,323,324,327,328,250,331,334,335,337],{},[36,325,326],{},"Vehicles"," - Char B1 bis, Somua S35 - carry the three-tone camouflage: ",[36,329,330],{},"Olive Green",[36,332,333],{},"Flat Earth"," and ",[36,336,223],{}," in soft patches, separated by thin black dividing lines. Those black lines are the pattern's signature and worth the fine brush.",[14,339,341],{"id":340},"tips-and-common-mistakes","Tips and common mistakes",[202,343,344,350,356,362,368],{},[32,345,346,349],{},[36,347,348],{},"Khaki uniform, blue-grey helmet."," Painting the whole figure horizon blue puts him twenty-two years early.",[32,351,352,355],{},[36,353,354],{},"Warm the leather."," Light brown belts and braces against khaki are what make a French figure look French rather than a repainted Tommy.",[32,357,358,361],{},[36,359,360],{},"Two khakis beat one."," Tunic, greatcoat and puttees in slightly different shades reads as real cloth.",[32,363,364,367],{},[36,365,366],{},"Keep the blue chalky."," Add grey, never white, to highlight it. A pure white highlight turns the helmet into porcelain.",[32,369,370,373,374,379,380,112],{},[36,371,372],{},"Mud to the knee."," These are 1940 figures on the retreat; a ",[375,376,378],"a",{"href":377},"/guides/drybrushing","drybrushed"," earth tone up the puttees ties them to the ",[375,381,383],{"href":382},"/guides/basing-miniatures","base",[10,385,386,387,391],{},"When the palette is settled, ",[375,388,390],{"href":389},"/tools/scheme-generator?color=7B8899","open this scheme in the generator"," to swap brands or trade the blue for an all-khaki late-campaign look.",{"title":393,"searchDepth":394,"depth":394,"links":395},"",2,[396,397,398,399,400,401],{"id":16,"depth":394,"text":17},{"id":23,"depth":394,"text":24},{"id":132,"depth":394,"text":133},{"id":196,"depth":394,"text":197},{"id":280,"depth":394,"text":281},{"id":340,"depth":394,"text":341},"2026-09-03","How to paint Bolt Action French - the 1940 khaki uniform, warm brown leather kit, blue-grey Adrian helmets, chasseur and colonial variations, and where horizon blue does and does not belong.","md","Bolt Action France",null,"#7B8899","1940 khaki, brown leather, and a blue-grey Adrian helmet",{},true,"/factions/bolt-action-france",{"title":5,"description":403},"factions/bolt-action-france","bolt-action","jB0X82ykfgp9GpWmWAIjt2vdn0wr8DdfnF_rV07Uujg"]