Glazing the Germans

I wanted to get into a few step by step articles on the winter German troops to get you through the post Christmas fatigue.  This is still not a pure start to finish article, but for now it will give you a decent idea of how I have been approaching the historical figures.

As I mentioned in the first Heer post, I have been using the Badger airbrush to create the Shaded Basecoat stage of the infantry.  Steps one and two illustrate that, while step 3 shows that more specific colors have been added to areas such as rifle stocks, skin tones, etc.

Stage 4 shows that the overall Shaded Basecoat is complete, and glazing can begin!

This image shows an unglazed figure to the right, while the figure on the left has a few quick glazes and tints.  I guess the best way to describe the glazes to folks who paint more vehicles as a filter, with the darker shading provided by those deeper panel line washes and dark washes.

Once again, a set of figures at the completion of the Shaded Baescoat. 

Just as you would with as vehicle, the colors are lighter than the final result.  

The idea is to allow me to match colors more easily by tinting and glazing, instead of having endless layers of progressively lighter colors.  It takes far less time, and it definitely makes the colors easier to remember.  Simplification is the key!

This figure has those glazes and tints, along with the deeper darks and more details in the middle tones.  That zone between light and dark colors is where I try to create the most interesting and subtle variations.

The first glazes were done on the bases.  Nothing fancy on the colors, but the goal is to set up the snow effects.  This means including some warmer browns and greenish tones to make the snow look "colder".

Some of this glazing is moved up onto the boots and leggings as well, sticking with those warmer tones.  As I mentioned previously, that will make the final snow application seem 'cooler' by comparison.

I am also putting a few glazes on the camo cloaks, helmets and other white surfaces.  This has less to do with making them darker, but adding some interest by tinting them.  Some glazes have more greenish hints, while others are more tan.  Doing so will make the other parts of the uniform and gear stick out less.

For instance, some of the colors of the packs AT weapons and gun stocks are quite warm.  A few hints of tan on the white will make them seem more a part of the figure and less like they were stuck on as an afterthought.

Glazes are placed on the gear next, such as the rifles and other weapons.

This might be a nice view of those pieces of equipment before and after glazing.  Think of it as if you were adding filters or washes to a vehicle!

The insert gives you a closer look at some glazing on the white areas, which is also used on the gloves, and even on the pants and faces.

I have a greenish black glaze set up for the areas of the uniforms that were painted medium to light green.

Finer glazes are applied to the faces and other small detail areas.

Once all the glazing is complete, I like to go back into those mid tone areas (those colors that fall in the middle between the highlights and shadows) and add extra touches of color, or simply clean up glazes that might have left rougher patches.

I also add my brightest highlights.  Having worked on the entire miniature at the same time (instead of one isolated portion), I get a better look at how the figure appears as a whole.  If I only worked on the white sections, any color I painted after that would have looked very dark!

By working on every section equally, I get an overview of how the white looks compared to the base, or the skin, etc.

Final precise details such as the eyes are among the most important!

It looks like these guys are read for some snow!  Stay tuned, because the next episode will take you through the Secret Weapon Miniatures crushed glass technique.