The Transition to FoW pt.3 – Painting 15mm Models

Starting Flames of War will get you into the world of painting 15mm models.  Here is what you need to know:

Hi all coxer here once again with what is probably my least favourite thing to talk about, painting. I actually enjoy painting but frankly I’m not very good at it so always feel a little bit of a fraud when talking about it – but I said I’d talk about it so I am!

So why is this such an important topic to talk about, well quite simply 15mm is very different to 28mm, and a lot of the techniques and styles which I’d developed over the years had to be adjusted when painting at this scale. Alongside this there are a couple of other differences when painting WW2 era vehicles compared to more ‘fantasy’ forces, and that is camouflage (or lack of), and the historical nature of camouflage schemes.

simple camo when i started

So lets start with the general painting of 15mm, firstly it’s a lot smaller, and trying to get the same level of detail is possible (I’ve seen some amazing painting over the years) but trying to do all the eyes and stubble etc is not simple. Alongside this trying to get the right level of ‘gaming detail’ is a bit subjective – all the infantry will come with entrenching tools, etc as will tanks with stowage – you really can go into as much or as little detail as you want.

Personally it was a bit of a progression for me starting of with British tanks, with little more than a drybrush, ink and a bit of weathering around the tracks, to camouflage, decals and more and more weathering and staining.

And personally this is the bit which really makes it fun now when I paint, the weathering, chipping, markings, and other alterations can really make a fairly plain olive drab model far more rich and interesting.

some of my more recent work

The interesting part of painting FoW models is the inspiration you can find, during WW2 there were multiple different camouflage schemes used, and I find that they are a constant source of inspiration. Whilst the internet does provide an invaluable resource, I have to say that living near Bovington Tank museum there are some fantastic vehicles which are in a variety of schemes. Of course the model are always yours and the pink panther is something we have all seen…