[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"faction-/factions/bolt-action-germany":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":325,"description":326,"extension":327,"faction":328,"heroImage":329,"hex":330,"intro":331,"lastUpdated":325,"meta":332,"navigation":333,"path":334,"seo":335,"stem":336,"system":337,"__hash__":338},"factions/factions/bolt-action-germany.md","How to Paint German Infantry (Bolt Action)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":316},"minimark",[9,13,18,21,24,28,31,77,92,120,136,140,143,158,175,181,185,260,264,308],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Germans are the army most people paint first in Bolt Action and the one most often painted wrong, because feldgrau is not a colour you can guess at. It is not grey and it is not green: it is a desaturated grey-green with a brown undertone, and reaching for a bottle labelled \"field grey\" from a fantasy range usually lands you somewhere that reads as a Space Marine chapter instead. Get the base tone right and the rest of a squad - black leather, dull steel, one camouflage item - falls into place in an evening.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"the-signature-look","The signature look",[10,19,20],{},"A Heer section is deliberately low contrast. Feldgrau tunic and trousers, near-black leather Y-straps and boots, a helmet in the same tone as the uniform, and dull steel on the weapons. What lifts it off the table is the placement of contrast rather than the amount: the dark webbing works as an outline around the torso, and one camouflage item - a Zeltbahn, a smock, a helmet cover - carries all the colour interest.",[10,22,23],{},"The tone drifted through the war, which is useful to know. 1939-41 cloth is greener and better dyed; from 1943 it goes greyer, browner and far more variable, and by 1944-45 a single section can hold three visibly different shades. Lean into that: a drop of brown or buff mixed into the base on some models makes the unit look issued rather than moulded.",[14,25,27],{"id":26},"the-feldgrau-uniform","The feldgrau uniform",[10,29,30],{},"Undercoat black or dark grey. Feldgrau is dark enough that white primer fights you all the way.",[32,33,34,43,58,64],"ol",{},[35,36,37,38,42],"li",{},"Basecoat Vallejo Model Color ",[39,40,41],"strong",{},"German Fieldgrey WWII",", two thin coats. This is the reference tone for mid-war Heer cloth and the one bottle to own.",[35,44,45,46,49,50,53,54,57],{},"Shade with ",[39,47,48],{},"Nuln Oil"," in the deep folds only, or ",[39,51,52],{},"Agrax Earthshade"," across the whole garment for the warmer, dustier late-war look. Army Painter's ",[39,55,56],{},"Military Shade"," does the same job in a single pass and keeps the green alive.",[35,59,60,61,63],{},"Layer ",[39,62,41],{}," back over the raised cloth, leaving the shade in the creases.",[35,65,66,67,69,70,73,74,76],{},"Highlight with ",[39,68,41],{}," mixed roughly two parts to one with ",[39,71,72],{},"Green Grey",", along the tops of shoulders and sleeves and the front of the thighs. A final sparing catch of pure ",[39,75,72],{}," on knees and pack straps is enough.",[10,78,79,80,83,84,87,88,91],{},"For an early-war, greener tunic swap step one for ",[39,81,82],{},"German Uniform",". For a tired 1945 one, mix a little ",[39,85,86],{},"Green Brown"," or ",[39,89,90],{},"Khaki"," into the base and drop the last highlight - worn wool has no sheen.",[10,93,94,95,98,99,101,102,104,105,108,109,112,113,115,116,119],{},"Citadel equivalent: ",[39,96,97],{},"Death Korps Drab"," basecoat, ",[39,100,52],{},", then ",[39,103,97],{}," cut with a touch of ",[39,106,107],{},"Karak Stone"," to highlight. It runs browner than true feldgrau, so keep the highlight cool rather than sandy. Army Painter Fanatic: ",[39,110,111],{},"Uniform Grey"," is a near-direct match, shaded ",[39,114,56],{}," and highlighted with ",[39,117,118],{},"Ash Grey",".",[10,121,122,123,126,127,129,130,133,134,119],{},"Speed route: undercoat grey and lay a single coat of Army Painter Speedpaint ",[39,124,125],{},"Burnt Moss"," over it, then one edge catch of ",[39,128,72],{},". Twenty men in an evening. Citadel's ",[39,131,132],{},"Militarum Green"," contrast will do it too but runs yellow, so glaze it back with a thinned ",[39,135,48],{},[14,137,139],{"id":138},"camouflage-smocks-and-zeltbahnen","Camouflage smocks and Zeltbahnen",[10,141,142],{},"Two patterns cover almost everything you will be asked to paint.",[10,144,145,146,149,150,153,154,157],{},"Splinter (Splittertarn, Heer and Luftwaffe): base ",[39,147,148],{},"German Beige WWII",", then irregular angular patches of ",[39,151,152],{},"Bronze Green"," and ",[39,155,156],{},"Chocolate Brown"," - hard-edged shards, not blobs. Finish with a rain of short brown ticks laid on with the tip of the brush. Keep every shape smaller than feels right; at 28mm a generous patch just reads as a stain.",[10,159,160,161,164,165,167,168,153,171,174],{},"Pea-dot (Erbsenmuster, Waffen-SS from 1944): base ",[39,162,163],{},"Camouflage Olive Green",", then clusters of small dots in ",[39,166,156],{},", ",[39,169,170],{},"Iraqi Sand",[39,172,173],{},"Black Grey",". Dot with the side of the brush tip rather than the point and let clusters overlap.",[10,176,177,178,180],{},"Either way, wash the finished panel with ",[39,179,52],{}," afterwards. It pulls the pattern back into one garment instead of three colours arguing with each other.",[14,182,184],{"id":183},"webbing-gear-and-metal","Webbing, gear and metal",[186,187,188,198,206,216,238,244],"ul",{},[35,189,190,191,193,194,197],{},"Y-straps, belt, ammo pouches, boots and rifle sling: ",[39,192,173],{},", edge-highlighted ",[39,195,196],{},"Neutral Grey",". Never pure black, which kills the detail entirely.",[35,199,200,201,203,204,119],{},"Bread bag, canteen cover and mess-tin canvas: ",[39,202,90],{}," shaded ",[39,205,52],{},[35,207,208,209,212,213,119],{},"Gas mask canister and entrenching tool: ",[39,210,211],{},"German Grey",", edges caught with ",[39,214,215],{},"Gunmetal",[35,217,218,219,221,222,225,226,203,228,230,231,234,235,119],{},"Rifles: ",[39,220,156],{}," stocks highlighted ",[39,223,224],{},"Beige Brown",", metalwork ",[39,227,215],{},[39,229,48],{},". Citadel: ",[39,232,233],{},"Leadbelcher"," into ",[39,236,237],{},"Runefang Steel",[35,239,240,241,243],{},"Helmets: the same ",[39,242,41],{}," as the tunic, shaded harder and highlighted only on the rim and crown. Matching helmet to uniform is what makes a squad look uniformed.",[35,245,246,247,167,250,167,252,255,256,259],{},"Faces: ",[39,248,249],{},"Basic Skin Tone",[39,251,52],{},[39,253,254],{},"Medium Fleshtone",", then a touch of ",[39,257,258],{},"Light Flesh"," on nose and cheekbones.",[14,261,263],{"id":262},"tips-and-common-mistakes","Tips and common mistakes",[186,265,266,272,284,290,296],{},[35,267,268,271],{},[39,269,270],{},"Feldgrau is not green."," If the tunic reads as a colour rather than a drab, keep adding grey and brown until it stops.",[35,273,274,277,278,280,281,283],{},[39,275,276],{},"Vary the base between models."," A drop of ",[39,279,90],{}," in one pot, a drop of ",[39,282,72],{}," in another. Real sections were never one dye lot and the variation costs nothing.",[35,285,286,289],{},[39,287,288],{},"One camo item per figure, not five."," Smock, helmet cover or Zeltbahn - pick one. A squad entirely in splinter looks like a paint test.",[35,291,292,295],{},[39,293,294],{},"Keep the leather nearly black."," Germans are the dark-webbing army, and it is the strongest read at arm's length. Lightening it makes them look Soviet.",[35,297,298,301,302,307],{},[39,299,300],{},"Mud the boots, not the tunic."," ",[303,304,306],"a",{"href":305},"/guides/drybrushing","Drybrush"," earth up boots and gaiters only; weathering a wool tunic reads as a stain rather than campaign wear.",[10,309,310,311,315],{},"When the palette is settled, ",[303,312,314],{"href":313},"/tools/scheme-generator?color=5A6350","open this scheme in the generator"," to swap brands or push the base warmer for late war.",{"title":317,"searchDepth":318,"depth":318,"links":319},"",2,[320,321,322,323,324],{"id":16,"depth":318,"text":17},{"id":26,"depth":318,"text":27},{"id":138,"depth":318,"text":139},{"id":183,"depth":318,"text":184},{"id":262,"depth":318,"text":263},"2026-09-03","How to paint Bolt Action Germans - a feldgrau uniform recipe from basecoat to highlight in Vallejo Model Color, splinter and pea-dot camouflage, near-black leather webbing and late-war shade variation.","md","Bolt Action Germany",null,"#5A6350","Feldgrau done properly, and the camo that breaks it up",{},true,"/factions/bolt-action-germany",{"title":5,"description":326},"factions/bolt-action-germany","bolt-action","q-EubvvTD9urjmfGJrRy1aXJr0E7dq28YwrZEcpoVd0"]