[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"faction-/factions/bolt-action-japan":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":347,"description":348,"extension":349,"faction":350,"heroImage":351,"hex":352,"intro":353,"lastUpdated":347,"meta":354,"navigation":355,"path":356,"seo":357,"stem":358,"system":359,"__hash__":360},"factions/factions/bolt-action-japan.md","How to Paint Japanese Infantry (Bolt Action)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":337},"minimark",[9,18,23,26,30,33,76,87,120,138,142,227,231,252,266,270,292,296,328],[10,11,12,13,17],"p",{},"Imperial Japanese Army infantry look wrong the instant the uniform goes too sandy. The IJA tunic is a mustard khaki - a yellow-brown with real chroma in it, not the dusty beige of desert drill - and if you paint it the same colour as an 8th Army figure you have painted a British soldier in a different hat. The second thing that makes them read as Japanese is that the puttees, webbing and pack straps run a shade ",[14,15,16],"em",{},"greener"," than the tunic. That two-tone khaki is the signature, and it costs one extra pot.",[19,20,22],"h2",{"id":21},"the-signature-look","The signature look",[10,24,25],{},"Mustard-khaki tunic and breeches, greener khaki puttees wound from ankle to knee, warm reddish-brown leather kit, a Type 90 helmet often netted or tied with foliage, and one small hot red note - a rank patch, a flag, the sun disc on a banner. The overall model is warm, which is unusual in WW2 ranges dominated by cool drabs, and it is why a Japanese squad stands out on a table full of Germans and Soviets.",[19,27,29],{"id":28},"the-mustard-khaki-uniform","The mustard-khaki uniform",[10,31,32],{},"Undercoat black or dark brown; the mustard is bright enough that a light undercoat leaves you no shadow to work from.",[34,35,36,45,56,62],"ol",{},[37,38,39,40,44],"li",{},"Basecoat Vallejo Model Color ",[41,42,43],"strong",{},"Japanese Uniform WWII",", two thin coats. It is the reference tone and covers awkwardly in one pass - be patient with the second coat rather than laying it on thick.",[37,46,47,48,51,52,55],{},"Shade with ",[41,49,50],{},"Agrax Earthshade"," in the folds. ",[41,53,54],{},"Seraphim Sepia"," over the whole garment is a good alternative that keeps the yellow, where a black wash will grey it out entirely.",[37,57,58,59,61],{},"Layer ",[41,60,43],{}," back over the raised cloth: chest, shoulders, the front of the thighs and the tops of the breeches.",[37,63,64,65,67,68,71,72,75],{},"Highlight with ",[41,66,43],{}," mixed two to one with ",[41,69,70],{},"Green Ochre",", then a very light final catch of ",[41,73,74],{},"Dark Sand"," on shoulders, elbows and knees.",[10,77,78,79,82,83,86],{},"For officers and for the sun-faded Pacific island garrisons, add ",[41,80,81],{},"Iraqi Sand"," to the highlight mix and take it a step further. For a browner, dirtier late-war look, mix a little ",[41,84,85],{},"US Field Drab"," into the base.",[10,88,89,90,93,94,96,97,99,100,103,104,107,108,111,112,115,116,119],{},"Citadel equivalent: ",[41,91,92],{},"Zandri Dust"," basecoat, ",[41,95,50],{},", layer ",[41,98,92],{},", highlight ",[41,101,102],{},"Karak Stone"," and then ",[41,105,106],{},"Ushabti Bone"," on the sharpest folds. Army Painter Fanatic: ",[41,109,110],{},"Command Khaki"," shaded ",[41,113,114],{},"Sepia Tone"," and highlighted ",[41,117,118],{},"Tomb King Tan",".",[10,121,122,123,126,127,130,131,134,135,137],{},"Speed route: undercoat ",[41,124,125],{},"Wraithbone",", one coat of Citadel ",[41,128,129],{},"Aggaros Dunes"," contrast or Army Painter Speedpaint ",[41,132,133],{},"Brownish Decay",", then a single edge catch of ",[41,136,74],{},". Both keep the yellow, which most one-coat khakis do not.",[19,139,141],{"id":140},"puttees-webbing-and-leather","Puttees, webbing and leather",[143,144,145,160,172,185,211],"ul",{},[37,146,147,148,111,151,153,154,156,157,159],{},"Puttees and canvas gaiters: ",[41,149,150],{},"Khaki",[41,152,50],{},", highlighted ",[41,155,150],{}," with a touch of ",[41,158,74],{},". Sitting a step greener and duller than the tunic is the whole point - if the legs match the body, the two-tone effect is gone.",[37,161,162,163,165,166,168,169,171],{},"Pack, haversack and shoulder straps: ",[41,164,70],{}," basecoat shaded ",[41,167,50],{},", or ",[41,170,150],{}," for a more worn look.",[37,173,174,175,93,178,180,181,184],{},"Belt, ammunition pouches, bayonet frog and boots: ",[41,176,177],{},"Cavalry Brown",[41,179,50],{}," shade, ",[41,182,183],{},"Orange Brown"," highlight. IJA leather is warm and reddish, not the cool near-black of German kit, and it is worth exaggerating slightly at 28mm.",[37,186,187,188,191,192,195,196,199,200,203,204,207,208,119],{},"Arisaka rifle: ",[41,189,190],{},"Flat Brown"," stock highlighted ",[41,193,194],{},"Beige Brown",", ",[41,197,198],{},"Gunmetal"," metalwork shaded ",[41,201,202],{},"Nuln Oil",". Citadel: ",[41,205,206],{},"Leadbelcher"," into ",[41,209,210],{},"Runefang Steel",[37,212,213,214,195,217,195,219,222,223,226],{},"Faces: ",[41,215,216],{},"Basic Skin Tone",[41,218,50],{},[41,220,221],{},"Medium Fleshtone",", a small touch of ",[41,224,225],{},"Light Flesh",". Keep the shade heavier than usual - almost every IJA figure is helmeted or capped, so the face sits in shadow.",[19,228,230],{"id":229},"helmets-and-foliage","Helmets and foliage",[10,232,233,234,237,238,240,241,243,244,247,248,251],{},"The Type 90 helmet is a browner khaki-green than the tunic. Basecoat ",[41,235,236],{},"Yellow Olive",", shade ",[41,239,202],{},", highlight the rim and dome with ",[41,242,236],{}," plus a little ",[41,245,246],{},"Green Grey",". The star badge is tiny: a dot of ",[41,249,250],{},"Carmine Red"," is more convincing than an attempt at the five points.",[10,253,254,255,258,259,262,263,265],{},"Netting and tied foliage are the Pacific-theatre signature. Scumble ",[41,256,257],{},"Camouflage Olive Green"," over the helmet in broken patches, add a few darker leaf shapes in ",[41,260,261],{},"Olive Green",", then catch the very tops with ",[41,264,70],{}," so the foliage reads as separate from the steel. Keep it to the helmet and one shoulder - foliage over the whole figure turns into texture rather than camouflage.",[19,267,269],{"id":268},"hinomaru-red","Hinomaru red",[10,271,272,273,237,276,278,279,281,282,284,285,288,289,291],{},"Rank patches, unit flags and the sun disc all use one red. Basecoat ",[41,274,275],{},"Flat Red",[41,277,250],{}," in the folds, highlight with ",[41,280,275],{}," warmed by a touch of ",[41,283,183],{},". For a good-luck flag, base the cloth ",[41,286,287],{},"Off-White"," rather than pure white, paint the disc in ",[41,290,275],{},", and suggest the written characters with fine grey-brown ticks rather than trying to letter them - at this scale, implied text reads better than attempted text.",[19,293,295],{"id":294},"tips-and-common-mistakes","Tips and common mistakes",[143,297,298,304,310,316,322],{},[37,299,300,303],{},[41,301,302],{},"Mustard, not sand."," If the tunic has gone beige, add yellow back until it looks warm again.",[37,305,306,309],{},[41,307,308],{},"Puttees a shade greener."," The two-tone khaki does more to identify the army than any badge.",[37,311,312,315],{},[41,313,314],{},"Keep the leather warm."," Reddish-brown belts and pouches against mustard cloth is the palette; blackened kit belongs on the Germans.",[37,317,318,321],{},[41,319,320],{},"One red note per figure."," The banners carry the rest of it.",[37,323,324,327],{},[41,325,326],{},"Do not net every helmet."," Two or three foliaged helmets in a squad look like field craft; a whole section of them looks like a hedge.",[10,329,330,331,336],{},"When the palette is settled, ",[332,333,335],"a",{"href":334},"/tools/scheme-generator?color=A38F52","open this scheme in the generator"," to swap brands or fade the base for a sun-bleached island garrison.",{"title":338,"searchDepth":339,"depth":339,"links":340},"",2,[341,342,343,344,345,346],{"id":21,"depth":339,"text":22},{"id":28,"depth":339,"text":29},{"id":140,"depth":339,"text":141},{"id":229,"depth":339,"text":230},{"id":268,"depth":339,"text":269},{"id":294,"depth":339,"text":295},"2026-09-03","How to paint Bolt Action Japanese - the IJA mustard-khaki uniform, greener puttees and webbing, Type 90 helmets with foliage, brown leather kit and hinomaru red banner accents.","md","Bolt Action Japan",null,"#A38F52","Mustard khaki, two-tone leg wraps and one hot red note",{},true,"/factions/bolt-action-japan",{"title":5,"description":348},"factions/bolt-action-japan","bolt-action","YqacYs5VdvUZzfaGwhvYiI1bETmg6e0JEdGHmMG6Mmg"]