Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Has anyone here used GW paints for their American Civil War minis? If so, what did you use for colours like sky blue, butternut, etc.?
Thanks!!

Honestly...I don't know why you would.

Vallejo has an entire range that suits the ACW for 1/2 the cost of GW paints.

Thanks for the reply. Actually the only reason that I would use GW paints is that I already have them lol! But you are not the first to mention Vallejo, I think that I may give them a try !

why not just experiment and mix your own tones with the colours you have?

necroplayer wrote:
Thanks for the reply. Actually the only reason that I would use GW paints is that I already have them lol! But you are not the first to mention Vallejo, I think that I may give them a try !

Vallejo is also dropper bottles..

I’ve used GW paints for ACW minis, I’m actually in the process of painting some Confederates right now. I can get you a list, but some of the paints I’m using go back several iterations (and paint pots). *edit to add colors I used.

For union:

Blue jackets: GW Deadly Nightshade (this was an old hex pot). I might suggest going to McCragge Blue if you're going to wash it with a black wash)
Sky Blue pants: GW Ice Blue. Its a vibrant sky blue, but dulls down with wash/glaze.
Belts and other: Chaos Black, Boltgun, Scorched Brown, and Deneb Stone for the whiter straps and such

You're going to want to see what works from tabletop distance, and maybe use lighter colors with a dryrbush before the wash/glaze. Otherwise, they can look rather dark from a distance (i.e. no detail)

What I did was pick colors that approximated sky blue, tested them by washing them with agrax or nuln oil to see what they’d look like. I’ve been using some Vallejo, but just because I have them (and they’re the paints I was using for my ww2 FOW and TY).

The dropper bottles are not a selling point for me. Hard to mix and I had another one pop open and explode all over my painting desk yesterday. AND, at least in my area, no one carries Vallejo in store, so its a sight unseen online purchase and hope its the color I think it is.

Thanks for the reply ! The more I think about it, experenting with the colours will probably be my best bet. I looked at some of my old civil war reenactment pictures and realized that I had forgotten how much tones can differ from one uniform to the next. Even the blue federal uniforms differ somewhat depending on wear and dirt.

I only mention Vallejo because they have an entire range of "Model Colour" which is a line of less-fantastical coloured paints. They're roughly $2.75-$3.00 a bottle for 17 ml (vs. $4-5 for 12 ml in a GW pot). They make...genuinely maybe 20-30 browns, greys, and blues. They even sell a Civil War starter box.

Unless you need a GW specific colour, they're arguably the most expensive paint to buy/use for painting.