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Painting a U.S.Marine

My wargames partner, Kevin, gave me the best advice regarding painting: “never truly judge a figure until it’s fully based up”. That pretty much sums up West Wind’s US Marines. It’s well into the paint job before the figure starts to come together.   I’d originally done mine in olive drab, but changed to a camo design as it was more fun.

Flesh
Orange Brown (V); Medium Flesh (V); Sunny Skin Tone (V); Basic Flesh (V); Light Flesh (V); White. I’ve mentioned it elsewhere, it sounds intense, but the final three or four highlights are not much more than specks of paint. Mouth is lined with Dark Flesh (GW); shadows are Snakebite Leather (GW); Eyebrows are Bestial Brown (GW).

Uniform / Helmet Cover
Because of the heavy camo pattern there’s no need for building up colours. Base coat is English / Japanese uniform mix; the only highlight is achieved by then adding white to the mix.  The pattern is a series of dots and splodges: firstly Golden Olive (V); then Snakebite Leather; and finally English Uniform.  I like to do rolled up sleeves a lighter colour than the base coat. I added a further highlight of Buff and final one of white to make the creases stand out.

Equipment
English Uniform; mix in a little white; then a little more white.

Boots
Chocolate Brown; highlight with Bestial Brown and a final highlight of Snakebite Leather.