Finally completed these excellent Gebirgsjager from Brigade Games' "Ends of the Earth" line. I had actually done a small squad of them for my Hungarians awhile back and was going to do a small Bolt Action army based around them, but ultimately decided to move on to other squads for my Germans (notably my Volkssturm from 2017). This is another project (much like the American Woodland Indians I finished awhile back) that had been sitting half-complete in my paint queue for about a year. I tend to be fairly scatter-brained when it comes to painting, in that I'll start a project only to get bored with it halfway through and move on to something else. It's actually rare for me - outside of painting done for commissions or tournaments - for me to complete a project from start to finish without stopping.
What attracted me to these figures were the unique anorak snowsuits and I wanted a squad that moved away from the complex and colorful camouflage patterns of my other German minis. The snowsuits themselves are Vallejo Blue Grey mixed with progressively more and more Reaper Misty Grey and finally Misty Grey and pure White. I've debated whether or not to give them pure White highlights but ultimately decided against it. To mimic the darkest shadows, I lined with Army Painter Wolf Grey. In the past, I've been unsatisfied with my normal painting technique for black leather, so I went with a Vallejo German Grey base, highlighted with Vallejo Dark Grey, and (at the most extreme) a 50/50 mix of Dark and Pewter Greys - though I used this very sparingly - and I think it worked better. Canvas kit was done in Battlefront German Camo Beige, highlighted with a mixture of Battlefront (darker) and Vallejo (lighter) GCB, with a final highlight of Vallejo GCB and Dark Sand, and washed in GW Fleshshade. Red leather kit is done in Vallejo Red Leather, progressively highlighted with a mix of Vallejo Orange Brown, and washed in GW Fleshshade. Brown leather is based in Vallejo Brown Leather, with a very light highlight of Brown and Red Leathers, and washed with GW Earthshade.
The biggest problem with these minis are the Kar98s, which aren't molded well and required that I file off the cleaning rod to look decent. It's a pretty small quibble and they actually slightly resemble the Hungarain FEG 35M now, which was used by the Germans under the designation G.98/40. The MG34 sustained-fire tripod is probably another semi-ahistorical piece but only because of how I painted it. I found pictures online that showed it in a very light green, almost olive color (rather than the more common dark grey or beige colors) so I decided to paint it that way. I used a mix of Vallejo German Camo Uniform and Vallejo Medium Olive, with highlights in Medium Olive, and washed with GW Green. I actually quite like the color.
Basing on these is probably the weak point. I wanted the snow to look somewhat melted, so did a very light layer of scenic snow and PVA, then brushed on some Vallejo Gloss, and finally a heavier layer of scenic snow to top it off. For some reason, my snow always tends towards a grey tone, which I'm starting to suspect is the Elmer's Glue I use, so I may try a different brand in the future.
What attracted me to these figures were the unique anorak snowsuits and I wanted a squad that moved away from the complex and colorful camouflage patterns of my other German minis. The snowsuits themselves are Vallejo Blue Grey mixed with progressively more and more Reaper Misty Grey and finally Misty Grey and pure White. I've debated whether or not to give them pure White highlights but ultimately decided against it. To mimic the darkest shadows, I lined with Army Painter Wolf Grey. In the past, I've been unsatisfied with my normal painting technique for black leather, so I went with a Vallejo German Grey base, highlighted with Vallejo Dark Grey, and (at the most extreme) a 50/50 mix of Dark and Pewter Greys - though I used this very sparingly - and I think it worked better. Canvas kit was done in Battlefront German Camo Beige, highlighted with a mixture of Battlefront (darker) and Vallejo (lighter) GCB, with a final highlight of Vallejo GCB and Dark Sand, and washed in GW Fleshshade. Red leather kit is done in Vallejo Red Leather, progressively highlighted with a mix of Vallejo Orange Brown, and washed in GW Fleshshade. Brown leather is based in Vallejo Brown Leather, with a very light highlight of Brown and Red Leathers, and washed with GW Earthshade.
The biggest problem with these minis are the Kar98s, which aren't molded well and required that I file off the cleaning rod to look decent. It's a pretty small quibble and they actually slightly resemble the Hungarain FEG 35M now, which was used by the Germans under the designation G.98/40. The MG34 sustained-fire tripod is probably another semi-ahistorical piece but only because of how I painted it. I found pictures online that showed it in a very light green, almost olive color (rather than the more common dark grey or beige colors) so I decided to paint it that way. I used a mix of Vallejo German Camo Uniform and Vallejo Medium Olive, with highlights in Medium Olive, and washed with GW Green. I actually quite like the color.
Basing on these is probably the weak point. I wanted the snow to look somewhat melted, so did a very light layer of scenic snow and PVA, then brushed on some Vallejo Gloss, and finally a heavier layer of scenic snow to top it off. For some reason, my snow always tends towards a grey tone, which I'm starting to suspect is the Elmer's Glue I use, so I may try a different brand in the future.
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