Interwar/WW2 Kriegsmarine Infantry

For my first (non-vehicle) foray into German WW2 forces, I tried my hand at German Kriegsmarine. In addition to their naval operations, Kriegsmarine infantry units took part in land operations from Danzig, Narvik, the Channel Islands, to the final defense of Germany itself. This is the full line of Tsuba Miniatures' "Red Sailors" and they are absolutely beautiful miniatures, well worth the money. Though they are normally meant to portray the mutinous Reichsmarine units of the German Revolution following WW1, they are equally usable to portray interwar and WW2-era Kriegsmarine (as the uniform didn't change much with the transition). I also feel that their older weaponry (in particular the Mg08/15 LMG and Bergmann SMGs) is in keeping with the secondary status of the Navy within the Wehrmacht, especially after the abandonment of Plan Z to get them up to bar with the British Navy.

First, the plain nature of their uniforms is deceptive - navy blue is very difficult to paint properly. Highlights can often run "too blue" if mixed improperly and it's tough to achieve a proper balance between dark and medium blue hues. For these, I mixed a custom batch of paint consisting of Admiral Blue, Fenris Grey, and Pewter Grey. Highlights were done using successively lighter tones of Admiral Blue/Pewter Grey, and finally Admiral Blue/White. I then toned the transitions between highlights down with a wash of GW Asurman Blue and P3 Armor Wash. Collar tabs are Cool Blue and buttons (as well as sword hilts) are Reaper High Density Candlelight Yellow (an amazing paint!).

Enlisted men are denoted by their white caps and some men have white scarves. This was a base of Cool Grey; then washed with Secret Weapon Cool Grey wash, highlighted with Cool Grey, Reaper Ghost Grey, and finally pure White. I tried my damnedest to replicate the embroidered "Kriegsmarine" lettering on each cap brim with squiggles of Reaper High Density Candlelight Yellow.

The light mortar is scratchbuilt to resemble a Leichte Granatwerfer 36. It and the ammo boxes are VMC Violet Brown, highlighted with Reaper Worn Olive. Gunmetal is Pavement, with highlights of Pewter Grey and Cool Grey, then washed with P3 Armor Wash. Wood furniture is Brown Umber, woodgrain in Khaki, then washed with Reaper Umber Wash.

The awesome KM flag was done by my friend at Dzign House Graphics!