Lighting styles in 15mm tanks

8 July 2021 9 Re.

I originally published this post seven years ago (in 2014). Since then, I have painted dozens (even hundreds) of small tanks and learnt from my mistakes. Therefore, I decided to update this article adding a few more pieces of knowledge based on my experience. In this article I would like to talk about some of the most popular lighting systems applied on scale models (or at least, how I understand them), with a special focus on small tanks in 15mm or scale 1:100. I will briefly review and compare a few of them. If you like this topic, do not…

How to paint 12mm (1:144) WWII tanks

1 June 2021 5 Re.

During the last weeks I have been painting several dozens of tiny WWII tanks in 12mm (1:144 scale) produced by Victrix Games, a new branch of Victrix Limited. I thought that my preferred scale for tanks was 15mm, but these lovely beauties took my heart. In spite of the small size, the level of details is outstanding and they permit a 1:1 level of game (= bigger battles).   And thanks to Victrix Games, now you can download totally for free a painting tutorial for each tank model. Each guide includes a complete step by step, with plenty of photos…

How to paint armed civilians in WWII

5 December 2020 4 Re.

As I already commented in my previous post, I had the great opportunity to paint the wonderful new 28mm range from JT Infamous featuring the WWII Polish Home Army and perfect for Bolt Action.We already saw how to paint step by step the armoured truck Kubuś, and today we will see how to paint the soldiers (or civilians).  Thanks to JT Infamous  and Wargames: Soldiers and Strategy you can download for free two detailed step by step painting guides showing how to paint a Civilian armed with a Molotov cocktail and SMG (originally published in WSS 101) and another civilian dressed with stolen…

How to paint German Gebirsjägers

6 July 2020 No re.

A few weeks ago I shared with you a painting guide featuring how to paint 28mm German soldiers in Kharkov parka (1943), which was the result of a collaboration with Heer46 miniatures and the PaintingWar editorial group. Today, I will share another painting guide about how to paint Gebirsjägers. In each guide of these guides (Kharkov and Gebirsjägers) you will find a short step by step tutorial explaining how to paint the different parts of a miniature, followed by painting sheets showing the color chart, painting tips and some historical facts of three different miniatures. These mini guides resemble what you…

How to paint German soldiers in Kharkov parka (1943)

12 June 2020 No re.

A few years ago, in collaboration with Heer46 miniatures and the PaintingWar editorial group, I prepared several mini painting guides featuring WWII German soldiers in 28mm. Now, you can download some of them for free! In this post you will find how to paint German soldiers in Kharkov parka, whereas in this other one I explain how to paint Gebirsjägers. In each guide you will find a short step by step tutorial to paint the different parts of a miniature, followed by painting sheets showing the color chart, painting tips and some historical facts of three different miniatures. These mini guides resemble…

How to paint gladiators in 15mm, and different human skin colors

29 March 2020 3 Re.

Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant! (“Hail, Emperor, those who are about to die salute you”). Today, we are going to focus on how to paint different types of skin using some lovely gladiators in 15mm from Forged in Battle. I will also say a few words about how to paint other parts of these gladiators, so that you will find a complete step-by-step tutorial below. In the following lines I will describe how to paint three different types of skin: dark skin (African people), medium skin (Mediterranean and middle-east people) and light skin (northern people). This is based on my…

How to paint Vikings in 15mm

6 February 2020 1 Re.

In the last weeks we saw how to paint different materials in 28mm miniatures: metals and leather. This time, we will change the scale and will learn a few things about how to bring to life 15mm miniatures using the layering method. For this porpoise I am going to use a Viking model from one my favourite 15mm miniatures brand, Forged in Battle. You can see a second article with more insights published in the issue 103 of WSS. This is not the first time that I have discussed how to paint 15mm miniatures here (you can check this or this).…

How to paint leather

26 January 2020 5 Re.

Last week we saw how to paint true metallic metals; and today, using the same miniature we will see how to paint different types of leather: black, dark brown and light brown (this recipe can also be used for canvas).  Once again, in the following lines I will describe my own method or recipes to paint leather. But this is not the best (or the worst) method to do it. This is just part of my own style. I would encourage you to check other tutorials and videos to learn different ways to paint leather. And this, you will be able…

True Metallic Metal (TMM): Steel

19 January 2020 16 Re.

Following another suggestion, I have prepared a small tutorial on painting metals, with a focus on steel. If there is a specific tutorial you’d like to see that I haven’t covered yet on the blog, feel free to drop me a message! You can also check out the second part of this post, which covers painting leather, here. Additionally, I’ve recently written an article on painting TMM gold, which you can find here. Painting metals can be challenging for some. Many metallic acrylic paints have low coverage when thinned even slightly with water. Conversely, if not thinned, these paints can…

How to make foliage camouflage for 15mm tanks

12 January 2020 No re.

Since I published the book Painting Wargames Tanks many people have asked me about how to do the tree branches or foliage I added to some 15mm tanks. Therefore, I  have finally decided to write a tutorial about it. I already shared some hints in the issue of The Weathering Magazine about Kursk, but I will explain everything more in detail here.  During the WWII many tank crews -specially Germans- decided to conceal a little bit better their tanks and other vehicles by adding tree branches and other vegetation. We can easily recreate this in our tiny models to add…