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Im wanting to theme my IG army in Vietnam style (Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now). I've painted a few of the models fairly crudely to try out a few different color schemes. I like these ones the best. One has a bowl-helmet that I custom made from standard IG heads carved up and then added green stuff and will act as my standard infantry. The other has a pigiron helmet gasmask that I will use as my veterans.

The standard troop has a First Calvary marking on the right shoulder, a bowl helmet, and bare hands. The Veteran has a First Calvary marking on the right shoulder, gasmask, leather gloves, as well as a spade with skull and crossbones inside (skull eyes red to match the gassmask) to signify First Calvary death squad.

Here are the pictures: I would REALLY REALLY appreciate any comments!


Side view of standard infantry (note the custom made bowl helmet)


Front view of standard infantry


Back view of standard infantry (note the First Calvary marking on the right shoulder)


Front view of Veteran killteam member (note the gasmask with red viewports)


Left view of the Veteran killteam member (note the spade with skull and crossbones inside as well as the red eyes on the skull)


Right view of the Veteran killteam member (note the First Calvary markings on the right shoulder)

I think that the colours are too uniform and are breaking the details. Camo rarely works on minis...

konst80hummel wrote:
I think that the colours are too uniform and are breaking the details. Camo rarely works on minis...

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I dont understand what you mean about the camo, they are painted in a single color and then hit with a couple different washes and a detailing brush. What would you suggest about the colors?

Its a little, well messy. I would suggest two things. First, i wouldnt paint the armor(helemet, shoulders, chest) the same color as the under jacket and pants. Second after you basecoat and wash take your time and go over the raised parts in the orignial base color and then find a slightly lighter color and do the "edges" of the raised area you just went over, like the top of the folds in the cloth. Maybe take your time with the first couple so you can get a smoother finish

When you said Vietnam, I expected Catachans, not long sleeve, fully clothed soldiers with gloves and gas mask, almost the contrary of tropical outfit.
Also, the non-generic camo in Vietnam was Tiger-stripes.

TableTopJosh wrote:
Its a little, well messy. I would suggest two things. First, i wouldnt paint the armor(helemet, shoulders, chest) the same color as the under jacket and pants. Second after you basecoat and wash take your time and go over the raised parts in the orignial base color and then find a slightly lighter color and do the "edges" of the raised area you just went over, like the top of the folds in the cloth. Maybe take your time with the first couple so you can get a smoother finish

The reason the uniform is painted the same color is because I am trying to pass them as US army vietnam infantry, they didnt have armor and generally wore just drabs. Same reason why they are messy.

How far are you along are you into this project? Madrobotminiatures.com just did DaNamiam Guard figures, based on Viet Nam.

 Kroothawk wrote:
When you said Vietnam, I expected Catachans, not long sleeve, fully clothed soldiers with gloves and gas mask, almost the contrary of tropical outfit.

Vietnam style (Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now). Not rambo lol.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

General Hobbs wrote:

How far are you along are you into this project? Madrobotminiatures.com just did DaNamiam Guard figures, based on Viet Nam.

I like to use GW parts, replacing the heads is as far as I stray from GW.

Guard infantry look a lot better on the tabletop with their armour in a different colour form their fatigues. Blending them in the same colour just doesn't do it for me.

I would suggest using more layering and less washes to achieve the effect you're looking for. Then get yourself some pigment and dirty them away!

I would suggest not using a fully clothed, semi armored model if you dont want one. Painting them all the same color and throwing a wash on them doesnt really work in my opinion.

Layering like someone else suggested is a good idea. Washes are meant to shade and create contrast, not necessarily for making things dirty, although earthshade does a good job on browns and other colors.

Alright, did another one with yall's suggestions, different color clothes and armor, two toned instead of heavy wash:

You could have made the pictures smaller...
I suppose the olive colour is ok.

Olive is fine as well. but i dont know if its the picture or what but it seems to have glitter or sparkles on them. (probably from metalic backwash in your water pot)

Also it seems to be chiped or rubbed off a bit.
as well it seems your primer is leaving a lot of dust on the model messing with the texture.

I like the scheme though and really like the shoulder patchs.

Id also love to see tiger camo on the vets .

Yeah it looks better but as he just said looks like its covered in dust and sparkles. Try to use different brushes and waters for metallics. Honestly you biggest improvements can be made in thinning your paints and going slower. I feel like if you slowed down a bit and focused on getting nice even coats it would look less rough and better on the table tap, even with yout wash, water it down a little and make sure there is a nice even coat with most of it in the folds and cuts of the model, keep workinf at it!

One easy way to paint guards infantry is to use the GW paint range. Here all i did was dry brush three.shades onto the pants and then washed it. Its a WIP and need to go back with on last highlight but this is easy to do and morw than meets tabletop.

Can you explain what generic and oliv temperate climate fatigues plus armour plus gloves plus gas mask have to do with Vietnam? I see absolutely no connection.
Cloths are okay for late autumn in Europe, but a killer for a rain forest, esp when you add a gas mask.

 Kroothawk wrote:
Can you explain what generic and oliv temperate climate fatigues plus armour plus gloves plus gas mask have to do with Vietnam? I see absolutely no connection.
Cloths are okay for late autumn in Europe, but a killer for a rain forest, esp when you add a gas mask.

Well, for starters, US troops in vietnam wore full combat fatigues and a helmet like the one I modeled. The reason I painted the armor the same color as the pants and coat is because they didnt use armor, so I wanted to make it seem like it was part of their regular uniform. The M17 was the standard issue gas mask for US troops in Vietnam. Those who recieved them also recieved NAAK kits and CANA tablets. You would not want your skin exposed, so in addition to wearing gas masks and their standard fatigues, they would also wear gloves to prevent nerve agents from harming them. Sarin nerve gas was used by SOG in Laos, they were the special forces (ie. IG veterans), and would have been wearing the M17 gas masks as well as gloves.

The idea that US troops in vietnam ran around with their sleeves cut off, no helmet, and huge rippling muscles is preposterous.

Edit: Also, the majority of the battles in Vietnam took place in cities, not the jungle. US troops and no reason to walk around the jungle waiting to get ambushed. Why would they be ordered to walk around in the jungle, there aren't anything strategically valuable, they were there to take cities.

Looks good but, like some others said a bit messy. Could be the flash on the camra picking reflecking off the white specks. However if you base /weather it rioght should be good.

http://subcultureentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Robert-Downey-Jnr-Tropic-Thunder.jpg

All valid points Ryan, just when you say Vietnam, people are gonna practically expect Rambo and a vest.

 Shenloanne wrote:
All valid points Ryan, just when you say Vietnam, people are gonna practically expect Rambo and a vest.

That was mostly guys like my uncle who were USMC recon or his buddy who were BUDS/SEALS. When they operated forward & without evac or resupply they did dress extremely light & far more individualistic. But according to both of them they were far more crazed. Lol

Rambo was such a huge hit that it completely misconstrues the average person's perception of what a typical US soldier in Vietnam looked like. Because the Marines typically used a lot of the same equipment and uniforms as the Army in the field, you couldn't necessarily tell the difference between the two at first glance. Sure it was hot as hell (I can only imagine), but our guys weren't running around oiled up and half naked in bandannas chugging muscle milk while carrying an M60 machine gun in each hand. They at least had to wear their flak jackets and helmets if they were regulars... I'm sure more elite and special units are a different story. I'm also fairly certain gas masks would have been standard issue.

I think you've got the right idea, but maybe look at some reference photographs in color of US troops in the field to see the difference between the shades of olives and greens they were wearing. I know many of the fatigues US soldiers wore were very prone to fading because of poor dyeing processes, hence the "lighter" shades you see on fatigues, and this is even more evident on the tiger stripe camo that was used by Green Berets, LRRPs, etc. Webbing and packs always seemed to retain their olive color/dye, at least from looking at photographs.

On a further note, if I am incorrect, please feel free to correct me. I am by no means an expert and my knowledge is only from what I've gleaned from reference books and personal interest.

Additionally, I agree with the others that you should thin your paints and move a little slower when painting, as it really allows you to clean up your paint job and make the finer details stand out!

AngularDeath wrote:
Rambo was such a huge hit that it completely misconstrues the average person's perception of what a typical US soldier in Vietnam looked like. Because the Marines typically used a lot of the same equipment and uniforms as the Army in the field, you couldn't necessarily tell the difference between the two at first glance. Sure it was hot as hell (I can only imagine), but our guys weren't running around oiled up and half naked in bandannas chugging muscle milk while carrying an M60 machine gun in each hand. They at least had to wear their flak jackets and helmets if they were regulars... I'm sure more elite and special units are a different story. I'm also fairly certain gas masks would have been standard issue.

I think you've got the right idea, but maybe look at some reference photographs in color of US troops in the field to see the difference between the shades of olives and greens they were wearing. I know many of the fatigues US soldiers wore were very prone to fading because of poor dyeing processes, hence the "lighter" shades you see on fatigues, and this is even more evident on the tiger stripe camo that was used by Green Berets, LRRPs, etc. Webbing and packs always seemed to retain their olive color/dye, at least from looking at photographs.

On a further note, if I am incorrect, please feel free to correct me. I am by no means an expert and my knowledge is only from what I've gleaned from reference books and personal interest.

Additionally, I agree with the others that you should thin your paints and move a little slower when painting, as it really allows you to clean up your paint job and make the finer details stand out!

You seem spot on. The difference in color in the fatigues were not only due to fading, but to the variants in the making of them in general. They varied between an almost black-green to an almost white-green. I think I will paint tigerstripes on a vet to see how it looks, it'll at least make them stand out more.