Paint Your WWII Army From the Real Thing

Uniforms and kit for figure painters

A 28 mm figure is mostly cloth, webbing and a weapon. To paint them well, you need to see how real fabric folds, fades and catches the light:

• WWII Uniforms and Guns: 250 photos shot in New Zealand. It has 111 photos of WWII-era uniforms and soldiers' belongings, 105 of guns, from flintlocks to machine guns, and 34 more historical items.
• WWII Re-Enactment: 249 photos of Allied re-enactors with period equipment: weapons, crates, grenades, gas masks, tents, barrels, vehicles and tanks. Most faces have been blurred, and it is an Editorial pack, so use it as reference rather than in advertising.

Look at the webbing and pouches, which are often a different shade from the uniform. Look also at how wool darkens in the folds and fades on the shoulders. These 2 details make a big difference on a painted squad.

Bunkers and fortifications for your table

Concrete is easy to model, and harder to make convincing. These packs show how real fortifications age:

• WWII Concrete Fortification: 137 photos of a gun battery on the Australian coast near Melbourne. It was buried in sand after the war and dug out again recently.
• Soviet Coastal Battery: 180 photos of an island fortification on Russkiy Island, built to defend against a possible Japanese invasion during WWII.

Pay attention to the staining under gun ports, the cracks at the corners and the way sand and soil pile up against walls. For more wartime locations, see WW2 environment reference.

One vehicle for every army

Building a new force? Each nation has packs that cost $2.99 to $5.99 and suit a first unit:

• Germany: the Jagdpanzer 38 "Hetzer", 41 photos, $2.99. More on the German WW2 armor page.
• United States: the White M3A1 half-track, 50 photos, $3.99. More on the US WW2 vehicles page.
• Britain: the 6-pounder anti-tank gun, 52 photos, $3.99. More on the British armour page.
• Soviet Union: the ZiS-3 76 mm divisional gun, 63 photos, $4.99.
• Japan: the Type 95 light tank, 58 photos, $5.99. It is rusty, so it doubles as weathering reference.

Painting vehicles at small scale

At 15 mm or 20 mm, you cannot paint every rivet. What matters is the overall color, the contrast between panels and the wear in a few key places. Use the photos to see where paint wears through first: hatch edges, steps, the front of the hull and tool mounts. Remember that preserved vehicles are often repainted, so for an exact unit color, check period photos as well.

Frequently asked questions

Which armies do the uniform packs cover?

The re-enactment pack shows Allied forces. The uniforms pack covers WWII-era uniforms and soldiers' belongings photographed in New Zealand. Neither pack covers every army, so check each product page for what is included.

Can I use these photos for painting guides I sell?

Your own painted figures and your own written guide are yours. Reproducing the photos inside a guide you sell depends on the content type. Editorial photos, like the re-enactment pack, cannot be reproduced in products for sale.

Which scale suits these packs?

All of them. The photos show the real objects, so they help at 15 mm, 20 mm, 28 mm or 1/35.

Is there terrain to go with these?

Yes. For ruins, rocks and open ground, see wargaming terrain reference. For the ground under each figure, see basing and groundwork reference.