75th Anniversary of Battle of Monte Cassino and Northern Italy (Army Build)

This project is overdue an update although this is more to do with the length of time this step has taken. I’ve completed the painting of 49 bases of Fallschirmjager and this is the method I’ve used,

I’ve started with a base layer of a cheap, dark brown paint mixed with watered down PVA. This is to seal in the sand that was applied at the end of the last update while creating a base colour. As the paint is quite watery, it acts a bit like a wash and leaves the higher areas coloured but quite light. This will help with the shading.

I’ve then applied an over brush of flat earth. This helps take down the reddish tint that the higher areas have following the last step.

I’m basing these models in spring at Monte Cassino. This is after the heavy rains and while the warm sun is now shining down. This has the effect of drying the top layers of earth and lightening them up considerably. To create this effect, I’ve applied a dry brush of Stone Grey

Finally, I’ve applied a very light dry brush of a light grey. This really adds some contrast to the bases. The rocks have been a thin stone grey layer.

I then complete the bases by painting around the very bottom with a flat earth and applying a platoon colour patch the back side of the base. This makes table top identification much easier. I also go the pointless extra step of numbering the squads in the platoon as well.

Once dry, I’ll give the whole base a quick spray of matt varnish.

The next step will be to add some flora to the bases, at which point, they will be finished and ready for battle!