[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"faction-/factions/bolt-action-great-britain":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":356,"description":357,"extension":358,"faction":359,"heroImage":360,"hex":361,"intro":362,"lastUpdated":356,"meta":363,"navigation":364,"path":365,"seo":366,"stem":367,"system":368,"__hash__":369},"factions/factions/bolt-action-great-britain.md","How to Paint British Infantry (Bolt Action)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":347},"minimark",[9,18,23,26,30,33,76,112,130,134,222,226,254,280,292,296,339],[10,11,12,13,17],"p",{},"British infantry are the low-contrast test case of Bolt Action. Everything on the figure sits within a narrow band of khaki and brown, so a squad painted carelessly turns into a beige smudge at table distance. The fix is not brighter colours - it is understanding that on a British soldier the webbing is ",[14,15,16],"em",{},"lighter"," than the uniform, the boots are much darker, and those two facts do all the structural work.",[19,20,22],"h2",{"id":21},"the-signature-look","The signature look",[10,24,25],{},"Battledress serge is a brown-khaki: warmer and browner than Soviet or American drab, with none of the green a lot of painters instinctively add. Over it goes 1937 Pattern webbing, blancoed to a pale green-khaki that stands out clearly against the tunic, plus dark brown or black ammunition boots and a Mk II helmet in a duller khaki-green. Get those three values in the right order - pale webbing, mid uniform, dark boots - and the model reads correctly even before the detail goes on.",[19,27,29],{"id":28},"the-battledress-uniform","The battledress uniform",[10,31,32],{},"Undercoat black or dark brown; battledress is a mid-tone and benefits from shadows already being present.",[34,35,36,45,56,62],"ol",{},[37,38,39,40,44],"li",{},"Basecoat Vallejo Model Color ",[41,42,43],"strong",{},"English Uniform",", two thin coats. It is the reference colour for battledress serge and covers well over a dark undercoat.",[37,46,47,48,51,52,55],{},"Shade with ",[41,49,50],{},"Agrax Earthshade",", or Army Painter ",[41,53,54],{},"Strong Tone"," for the same warm result. Keep it in the folds; a full-garment wash makes serge look like leather.",[37,57,58,59,61],{},"Layer ",[41,60,43],{}," back over the raised cloth - the blouse chest, the tops of the sleeves, the front of the thighs.",[37,63,64,65,67,68,71,72,75],{},"Highlight with ",[41,66,43],{}," mixed roughly two to one with ",[41,69,70],{},"Khaki",", then a very sparing final catch of ",[41,73,74],{},"Buff"," on the shoulders, the knees and the top of the pack. Stop earlier than feels right: wool serge is matt and dusty.",[10,77,78,79,82,83,85,86,88,89,92,93,96,97,100,101,103,104,107,108,111],{},"Citadel equivalent: ",[41,80,81],{},"Steel Legion Drab"," basecoat, ",[41,84,50],{},", layer ",[41,87,81],{},", highlight ",[41,90,91],{},"Karak Stone"," and finally ",[41,94,95],{},"Ushabti Bone",". Army Painter Fanatic: ",[41,98,99],{},"Command Khaki",", ",[41,102,54],{},", then ",[41,105,106],{},"Tomb King Tan"," and ",[41,109,110],{},"Urban Buff",".",[10,113,114,115,118,119,122,123,126,127,129],{},"Speed route: undercoat ",[41,116,117],{},"Wraithbone"," and lay a single coat of Citadel ",[41,120,121],{},"Garaghak's Sewer"," contrast, or Army Painter Speedpaint ",[41,124,125],{},"Desolate Brown",", then edge the folds with ",[41,128,70],{},". That is a tabletop-ready platoon in two sessions, and it takes a later highlight pass happily if you want to upgrade the officers.",[19,131,133],{"id":132},"webbing-boots-and-helmet","Webbing, boots and helmet",[135,136,137,159,173,187,207],"ul",{},[37,138,139,142,143,146,147,88,149,151,152,154,155,158],{},[41,140,141],{},"1937 Pattern webbing"," - belt, braces, Basic Pouches, small pack: ",[41,144,145],{},"Green Grey"," basecoat, shade ",[41,148,50],{},[41,150,145],{}," with a little ",[41,153,74],{},". Blanco was applied in various shades but always ends up ",[14,156,157],{},"paler"," than the tunic. Painting it dark is the single commonest error on British figures.",[37,160,161,162,165,166,169,170,111],{},"Ammunition boots, rifle slings and the leather jerkin: ",[41,163,164],{},"Black Grey"," for boots, ",[41,167,168],{},"Chocolate Brown"," for slings and jerkins, both highlighted with ",[41,171,172],{},"Beige Brown",[37,174,175,176,179,180,183,184,186],{},"Mk II helmet: ",[41,177,178],{},"Bronze Green"," shaded ",[41,181,182],{},"Nuln Oil",", highlighted ",[41,185,145],{}," on the rim and dome. Keep it distinctly greener and darker than the battledress so the head separates from the body.",[37,188,189,190,192,193,196,197,199,200,203,204,111],{},"Rifles: ",[41,191,168],{}," stocks, ",[41,194,195],{},"Gunmetal"," metalwork shaded ",[41,198,182],{},", or Citadel ",[41,201,202],{},"Leadbelcher"," into ",[41,205,206],{},"Runefang Steel",[37,208,209,210,100,213,100,215,218,219,111],{},"Faces: ",[41,211,212],{},"Basic Skin Tone",[41,214,50],{},[41,216,217],{},"Medium Fleshtone",", a touch of ",[41,220,221],{},"Light Flesh",[19,223,225],{"id":224},"theatre-variations","Theatre variations",[10,227,228,231,232,82,235,237,238,241,242,245,246,249,250,253],{},[41,229,230],{},"8th Army, Western Desert."," Swap the serge for khaki drill: ",[41,233,234],{},"Iraqi Sand",[41,236,50],{}," shade, ",[41,239,240],{},"Dark Sand"," layer, ",[41,243,244],{},"Pale Sand"," highlight. Take the webbing almost to ",[41,247,248],{},"Off-White"," and sun-bleach the helmet with ",[41,251,252],{},"Middle Stone",". Same sculpts, two colour changes, a whole theatre.",[10,255,256,259,260,262,263,107,265,267,268,270,271,179,274,276,277,111],{},[41,257,258],{},"Airborne, Denison smock."," Base the smock ",[41,261,70],{},", then paint broad, soft-edged sweeping strokes of ",[41,264,178],{},[41,266,168],{}," over it - long brush-painted shapes, because that is literally how the pattern was applied. Wash the panel with ",[41,269,50],{}," to unify it, then highlight only the raised folds in the base khaki. The maroon beret is ",[41,272,273],{},"Burnt Red",[41,275,182],{}," and highlighted ",[41,278,279],{},"Cavalry Brown",[10,281,282,285,286,289,290,111],{},[41,283,284],{},"Commonwealth."," Canadian, Australian and Indian units use the same recipe; the difference is the headgear and the amount of sun-bleaching. For Pacific and Burma theatres, mix a little ",[41,287,288],{},"Green Ochre"," into the base and fade the highlight further towards ",[41,291,74],{},[19,293,295],{"id":294},"tips-and-common-mistakes","Tips and common mistakes",[135,297,298,304,310,316,322],{},[37,299,300,303],{},[41,301,302],{},"Webbing lighter, boots darker."," If the webbing disappears into the tunic you have lost the entire silhouette of the model.",[37,305,306,309],{},[41,307,308],{},"No green in the serge."," Battledress is brown-khaki. Green belongs on the helmet and the Denison, not the blouse.",[37,311,312,315],{},[41,313,314],{},"PLCE is not WW2 kit."," The pouch-heavy nylon webbing people picture from modern photographs is a 1980s pattern; a 1944 Tommy wears canvas 37 Pattern with two big chest pouches.",[37,317,318,321],{},[41,319,320],{},"Vary the bleaching, not the colour."," Rather than mixing different khakis, keep one base and take the highlight further on some models. Sun-faded and fresh-issue in the same section looks entirely right.",[37,323,324,327,328,333,334,338],{},[41,325,326],{},"Mud the lower legs."," Boots, gaiters and the backs of the calves. A ",[329,330,332],"a",{"href":331},"/guides/drybrushing","drybrushed"," earth tone there ties the figure to its ",[329,335,337],{"href":336},"/guides/basing-miniatures","base"," and stops the khaki floating.",[10,340,341,342,346],{},"When the palette is settled, ",[329,343,345],{"href":344},"/tools/scheme-generator?color=6E6746","open this scheme in the generator"," to swap brands or shift the base towards desert drill.",{"title":348,"searchDepth":349,"depth":349,"links":350},"",2,[351,352,353,354,355],{"id":21,"depth":349,"text":22},{"id":28,"depth":349,"text":29},{"id":132,"depth":349,"text":133},{"id":224,"depth":349,"text":225},{"id":294,"depth":349,"text":295},"2026-09-03","How to paint Bolt Action British and Commonwealth infantry - brown-khaki battledress serge, pale blancoed 37 Pattern webbing, the 8th Army khaki drill swap and a Denison smock recipe for airborne.","md","Bolt Action Great Britain",null,"#6E6746","Brown-khaki serge, pale webbing and a Denison smock that works",{},true,"/factions/bolt-action-great-britain",{"title":5,"description":357},"factions/bolt-action-great-britain","bolt-action","9zSlkL03aX761Kd8HPxPoUSpHVSOlNR-htfU8dp9oy4"]