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PAINTING GUIDE:

TM

BLITZKRIEG GERMANS
The German war machine had been growing for
sometime, and Europe had been divided on how to
deal with the growing threat of National Socialism.
In 1939, however, as the Germans annexed Austria
and Czechoslovakia, and then invaded Poland, her
neighbors could no longer stand idly by. They were
ill-prepared for the speed with which the German
forces could move: Panzer Divisions manouvering
swiftly to take key objectives, followed closely by
mechanized infantry to exploit the gains. Blitzkrieg
was the term applied to this rapid and fluid form of
warfare, so very different to the static trench warfare
of the Great War.
This Painting Guide will provide you with a stepby-step guide to painting the basic infantryman of
the German Heer and one of the most-recognizable
vehicle silhouette of WWII - the Sd.Kfz 251/1
Hanomag half-track. These models are painted for
the early war period, representing the Blitzkrieg
forces that invaded Poland, France, and even the
early stages of the Russian invasion.
Following the step-by-step painting guides, youll find
a collection of other units from the German early-war
forces that display the variety of painting possibilities
when collecting these models.

There are many paint ranges available for painting


up your miniatures, and it doesnt really matter which
paints you use. Thats completely up to you. We used
a variety of paints in preparing this guide, and named
them with abbreviations.
These can be deciphered below:
VMC = Vallejo Model Color
AP = Army Painter

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Copyright Warlord Games Ltd, 2015. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, and the Bolt Action logo are trademarks of Warlord Games Ltd. All rights reserved.

Painting your Blitzkrieg Germans


1

The first step is always to prepare your models for painting. After
assembling a squad of five models, we applied a layer of fine basing
grit, and let the glue dry.
Many people undercoat their models with black or white sprays.
We chose to spray each model with AP Uniform Grey spray as
sometimes a black undercoat can mean you have to apply multiple
coats of your other paints, and white can leave the colors appearing
much brighter than the desatured uniform colors of WWII.

The next step includes painting the basecoats over the largest areas.
We started with VMC German Fieldgrey WWII over the uniform tunic
(leaving the trousers grey). This was followed by VMC German Camo
Dark Green for the helmet, gas cape pouch (on chest), and gas mask
cannister on his back. We then painted his face and hands with AP
Tanned Flesh, a good base colour for Caucasian skin.

Then we moved on to the wooden stock of the rifle, painting it


VMC Beige Brown. The next step was to paint the bread bag with
VMC German Camo Beige, followed by painting the canteen and rifle
strap with AP Oak Brown.
If you are painting a lot of models at once and are on a tight
timeframe, you might also choose to paint the black and silver
areas (covered in Steps 7 & 8).

We followed up Step 3 by painting a layer of AP Strong Tone Wash


over the entire model and let it dry thoroughly.
If you are painting a lot of models at once and chose to paint the
black and silver areas before the wash, you could finish your
painting here, although your models would like quite dark and not
quite as nice as they could if you decided to push on.

While the wash adds great shadows to your model, to make


it really pop you need to go back and add some highlights.
We started by highlighting the uniform tunic with VMC German
Fieldgrey WWII, then the helmet and gas mask cannister with
VMC German Camo Dark Green. The uniform trousers were
highlighted with VMC Basalt Grey. Finally, the skin was highlighted
with a 50/50 mix of AP Tanned Flesh/VMC Flat Flesh.

In order to help them stand out a little more from the equipment,
the uniform was highlighted again with a 60/40 mix of VMC German
Fieldgrey WWII/VMC Pale Sand, and the bread bag was highlighted
with VMC German Camo Beige. Finally, the skin was highlighted
with VMC Flat Flesh.

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Copyright Warlord Games Ltd, 2015. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, and the Bolt Action logo are trademarks of Warlord Games Ltd. All rights reserved.

The next step was to paint all the webbing and metal areas with
AP Matt Black. At this point we painted the eyes and the fine
piping on the collar and epaulettes with VMC White.
Epaulette piping would be a specific colour depending on
which part of the military the soldier served in. For the humble
infantryman this would be white. The collar tabs would have a
background in the same colour although for infantry this would
be the standard dark green of the collar itself.

We highlighted the areas with a 50/50 mix of AP Matt Black/


AP Gun Metal. The webbing and boots were given a quick highlight
with VMC German Grey.

Top Tip

Decals
If you feel like adding
more detail to your
German infantry
models, we make
a range of great
waterslide decals
covering a variety of
the units that were
part of the German
war machine.

Early in the war, the German forces applied unit decals to the sides
of their helmets to more easily differentiate them in the field. Over
time these decals would become obscured or damaged and,
by the middle of the war, they were rarely replaced.

Basing

Basing is the thing that really helps tie your army together.
There are many, many ways you can do you basing, depending on
where you want your troops to be fighting, and what your gaming
table looks like. For our purposes, we painted the base completely

with VMC German Camo Brown-Black, drybrushed the grit and


painted the edge with VMC Beige Brown, drybrushed the grit with
VMC Dark Sand, and then glued down different flocking materials to
give a variety of colours and textures.

The Completed Blitzkrieg German Heer Squad

This completed Heer Infantry


Squad (using the squad
listing on page 20 of Armies of
Germany), has the minimum
five men, including an NCO
with a submachine gun
and a soldier with an
MG34 light machine gun.

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Copyright Warlord Games Ltd, 2015. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, and the Bolt Action logo are trademarks of Warlord Games Ltd. All rights reserved.

VariAnts of blitzkrieg Uniforms


qThese German command models are painted in much the same way as our infantry. Note,
however, that the officers caps, greatcoats, and occasionally trousers are VMC German Fieldgrey
WWII - as the war progressed grey trousers would be replaced by field grey versions completely.

tThese soldiers of the German


Heer are dressed in early war
uniforms, and have been
shown a little more attention.
The 5 oclock shadow can be
recreated by mixing grey into
your base flesh color.

uThe German motorcycle troops (Kradschtzen) wear uniforms


indentical to our step-by-step example. Their motorcycle is
painted in VMC German Grey and highlighted with VMC Basalt
Grey.

tThese Feldgendarmes, distinguished by their silver and brass


gorgets, were the uniformed military police of the German
wehrmacht. Their uniforms differ in small ways, including the
fieldgrey trousers (instead of the grey), and red epaulets.

pEven from the outset of the war, the troops of the Waffen-SS were some of the best equipped
in the German armed forces. These early war SS soldiers are wearing fieldgrey trousers (instead
of grey), but retain the black leather jackboots (that would be later replaced by regular boots. All
are wearing plane tree pattern camouflage helmet covers and camo smocks.

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Copyright Warlord Games Ltd, 2015. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, and the Bolt Action logo are trademarks of Warlord Games Ltd. All rights reserved.

Painting your SD.KFZ 251/1 AUSF C


Much like the infantry, once the tank was assembled we
undercoated it with AP Uniform Grey. German vehicles
were all painted in a mid to dark grey during the early war
period, so this was a perfect starting point for us.

We painted the wooden slats on the seats in the rear of


the half-track with VMC Beige Brown, and the padded
cushions behind tem in VMC Red Leather.

We then gave the entire half-track a wash of AP Strong


Tone. This cover the exterior and interior, adding extra
depth to the shadows.

Once the AP Strong Tone wash was thoroughly dried,


we took a large brush and drybrushed VMC Basalt Grey
over the half-track. particular attention was paid to the top
edges and corners.

We decide to add a little more contrast to the model by


highlighting the sharp edges with VMC London Grey and
shading particular panels with another wash of AP Strong
Tone.

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Copyright Warlord Games Ltd, 2015. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, and the Bolt Action logo are trademarks of Warlord Games Ltd. All rights reserved.

The next step was a fairly simple one, paint everything


that wont remain grey with AP Matt Black.

For this German half-track we chose this stage to affix


the decals to ensure that any weathering we applied
would be applied to the decals too. During the invasion
of Poland, German vehicles used a solid white or yellow
Balkenkreuz as a national identifier. This evolved to the
symbol we have used here (the open white cross) for the
invasions of both France and Russia.

The next step was to apply a bit of chipping, areas


where the paint has been scratched or worn off and
reveals the original primer coat . For this we simply sponged
on VMC Hull Red using a folded piece of sponge from a
Warlord Games blister pack. Be careful to apply the chipping
in areas that would see the most wear and tear.

Of course, if you want your tanks to be factory-fresh,


you can skip this step.

At this stage we took the opportunity to paint up the


accessories we added in the build stage: a couple of
spare helmets, a tarpaulin, and the tow cable (rusty, of course)
at the front of the vehicle.

The Completed SD.KFZ 251/1 AUSF C HALFTRACK


And finally...
To give it the slogging
around Europe, seeing
lots of action look we
drybrushed a few different
browns onto the tracks,
wheels and undercarriage
to simulate mud and road
dust. We also added a
gunner with an MG34 and
another MG34 at the rear on
a pintle mount.

www.warlordgames.com
Copyright Warlord Games Ltd, 2015. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, and the Bolt Action logo are trademarks of Warlord Games Ltd. All rights reserved.

VariAnts of German Vehicles


tFollowing the annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1939,
the German Panzer Divisions adopted the Panzer 35(t)
and 38(t), such as the one shown here.
They were repainted in the dark grey
and German markings were applied.

uAlthough it was essentially obsolete by the beginning of the


war, a number of Panzer Ia tanks saw service in the invasion
of Poland. Most were withdrawn from service by the time the
Germans invaded France. Note the black uniform on the tank
commander.

tPanzer II tanks were the mainstay of German panzer


units from the invasion of Poland through to the
invasion of Russia. While this tank sports the same simple
grey color scheme, there has been recent conjecture that
German vehicles involved in the invasion of Poland
had dark brown camouflage patches too.

uThe Sd.Kfz 231 heavy armoured car (6-Rad) was used during
the early years of the war in reconnaissance roles, and during
the later years in policing and anti-partisan roles. This once has
recently seen a bit of service as the road dust around the lower
half would suggest.
qEven the motorcycles and sidecars of
the Kradschtzen platoons were painted
in the same German vehicle grey.

uThe Kfz 13 Adler armoured car was


designed in the early 30s, and really only
saw service during the invasion of Poland.
Note the early, solid white Balkenkreuz
and the white-trimmed wheelguards.

www.warlordgames.com
Copyright Warlord Games Ltd, 2015. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, and the Bolt Action logo are trademarks of Warlord Games Ltd. All rights reserved.

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