Ferguson County Militia: step by step.

I promise this will be the last post about rebel militia! I thought it worth doing this as a step by step guide. It should take no more than about six evenings depending on how much the wife and kids hassle you. Step 1 is making the figures so we go straight to...

Step 2: Undercoat. I spray on Army Painter White, Desert Sand and Skeleton Bone primer. This is all I keep in the garage, but other colours are available which I’m sure will work. Keeping the primer as a base colour speeds things up. Leave this to dry overnight.

Step 3: Base Colours. Paint the bases, coat, breeches, hats etc. Thin the paint down a bit, too. Here I’ve played about with some old Tamiya colours I found. They made little difference to the primer colours! The lesson here is to only use strong contrasts - subtlety with this method is a waste of time. Also don’t use black; dark brown or grey is OK. Avoid bright white too. I use Vallejo Ivory, Off-White or Pale Sand instead.

Step 4: Detail. Well, sort of. This is the equipment: weapons, pouches, boots etc. Again, try and use a contrast. Paint the faces and hands a light brown or dark orange. Metal is silver but don’t bother with buckles, buttons or whatever. 

Step 5: Smokin’! Wash the figures over Vallejo smoke. Thin with water to taste...

Step 6: Flesh them out! Paint faces and hands any suitably fleshy colour. I also give them collars of off-white with a dark grey stock. This really brings the figures to life.

And that’s it! Just base them in your preferred fashion and you are good to go. You can also add a movie star of your choice. My one just happens to be on the ground, smashed out of his tiny, covered in his own wee and puke, racially abusing anybody within earshot. Any resemblance to Mel Gibson is purely intentional... And shame on you if you haven’t worked out the regimental naming convention by now.