How to Paint Belgian Infantry (Bolt Action)

Belgium is a four-box army for eighteen days of fighting, and that is exactly what makes it a satisfying paint: a small, coherent force you can finish rather than accumulate. The uniform is khaki - Belgium adopted khaki during the Great War and never went back - but it runs noticeably browner and darker than British serge, which is the distinction worth holding on to, because these figures share a table and a shelf with British ones. Three bottles and a wash cover the entire army.

The signature look

A brown-khaki tunic and trousers, brown leather belt, braces and pouches, and a helmet that is very often the old Adrian with its crest and front badge - the 1931-pattern helmet appears alongside it rather than instead of it, so a mixed squad is correct rather than careless. There are no bright facings and no camouflage: the whole model is one warm drab, and the shape comes from getting the leather a step warmer than the cloth and the boots a step darker than both.

The 1940 khaki uniform

Undercoat black or dark brown.

1. Basecoat Vallejo Model Color US Field Drab, two thin coats. It is the closest single bottle to Belgian 1940 cloth: browner and darker than British battledress, with none of the Soviet green.
2. Shade with Agrax Earthshade in the folds, or Army Painter Strong Tone for the same warm result. Keep it in the creases - a full-garment wash makes wool look like leather.
3. Layer US Field Drab back over the raised cloth: the chest, the tops of the shoulders, the front of the thighs and the puttee wraps.
4. Highlight with US Field Drab mixed two to one with Khaki, then a very sparing final catch of Dark Sand on shoulders, elbows and knees.

For greatcoats and for cloth that has seen a winter, mix a drop of Khaki Grey into the base to take it greyer, and stop the highlight one step early. Two related drabs on the same model - tunic and rolled greatcoat, or coat and pack - is worth far more than a single flat shade.

Citadel equivalent: Steel Legion Drab with a touch of Rhinox Hide in the base to darken it, Agrax Earthshade, layer, highlight Karak Stone. Army Painter Fanatic: Command Khaki with a drop of Monster Brown, shaded Strong Tone, highlighted Tomb King Tan.

Speed route: undercoat Wraithbone, one coat of Citadel Garaghak's Sewer contrast or Army Painter Speedpaint Desolate Brown, then an edge catch of Khaki. Four boxes is a whole national army, and at this speed it is a weekend rather than a project.

Helmets, leather and metal

• The Adrian helmet: US Field Drab to match the tunic, shaded Nuln Oil in the crest recess and under both brims, highlighted along the crest ridge and rim with Khaki. The lion badge on the front is worth a minute in Gunmetal washed Nuln Oil.
• The 1931-pattern helmet: same recipe, or a step greener with Bronze Green if your reference photograph shows it. Mixing the two helmets across a squad is historically right and visually excellent.
• Belt, braces, ammunition pouches and pack straps: Cork Brown basecoat, Agrax Earthshade, highlight Cork Brown with a touch of Dark Sand. Warm mid-brown leather, lighter than the uniform.
• Boots: Black Grey highlighted Neutral Grey, or Chocolate Brown into Beige Brown for brown leather. Either is defensible; keep one choice across a squad.
• Mauser rifles, the Fusil Mle 1935 and the FM30: Flat Brown stocks highlighted Beige Brown, metalwork Gunmetal shaded Nuln Oil, or Citadel Leadbelcher into Runefang Steel.
• Faces: Basic Skin Tone, Agrax Earthshade, Medium Fleshtone, a touch of Light Flesh.

Variations worth painting

Chasseurs Ardennais. The large dark green beret with its boar's-head badge is the single best-known thing about the Belgian army of 1940 and the one place to spend real time. Base Bronze Green, shade Nuln Oil, highlight the crown and the headband edge with Green Grey, and pick the badge out in Gunmetal. Keep it dark; a bright beret pulls the eye off the model.

Vehicles. The T-13 and T-15 take a dark green base of Bronze Green shaded Nuln Oil and drybrushed Green Grey. Reference photographs vary on whether a given vehicle carried disruptive patches, so if you want them, lay soft blotches of Chocolate Brown and Iraqi Sand and keep them subtle.

Free Belgians. The Brigade Piron of 1944 fought in British battledress, so those models take the British recipe wholesale - English Uniform cloth, pale Green Grey webbing - with a national flash as the only change. It is a cheap way to extend a small force into a late-war one.

Tips and common mistakes

• Browner than a Tommy. Side by side with British serge the Belgian tunic should be visibly darker and warmer. If it is not, add brown to the base.
• Warm brown leather. Belt and braces in mid-brown against a dark drab tunic is what carries the figure; blackening the kit flattens it completely.
• Two helmets is correct. Adrian and 1931 pattern in the same section is right. Painting a whole squad in one shape loses a detail the army is known for.
• Fresh issue, not campaign-worn. This is an eighteen-day war in May: light dust rather than caked mud suits it, and it saves you a session.
• Dust the lower legs. A quick drybrush of Dark Sand over boots and puttees ties the figure to its base without touching the wool.

When the palette is settled, open this scheme in the generator to swap brands or grey the base towards a greatcoat tone.