How to paint Japanese Infantry step by step!

I used the following scheme to paint all the infantry, gun and artillery men for my Japanese army, with small variations for each kind of unit. It is inspired on the Flames of War painting guide but with several differences.

My painting method consists on painting batches of 10-15 miniatures, applying the same color to all of them before moving to the next step. I reckon this method is good in painting speed and reduces wasting paint. I also paint the miniatures before gluing them to their bases so it is easier to get everywhere with the brush. The detailed coloring can be found in the previous post.

First step is to prime the miniatures with the black spray primer.

1 - Black prime coat.

Then I base coat the uniform (jacket, pants and soft cap) with a mixture of Vallejo Japanese Uniform and a little bit of Black. No need to be careful with the brush here.

2 - Base coat with darkened Japanese Uniform.

Next is a base coat of Battlefield Brown on the boots, bags, belts, rifle and any box they may have.

3 - Brown base coat.

And a last base coat of Army Green mixed with a little bit of Black on the helmet, grenades and water canteen. I also paint the artillery shells with this color.

4 - Darken green base coat on helmet, water canteen and artillery shell.

Following step is European Skin on the face and hands. I try to apply two thin coats of colour.

5 - Two thin layers of flesh.

Then i carefully paint Japanese Uniform over the base coat, leaving some areas to show the base coat color to give depth to the clothes.

6 - Japanese Uniform

Followed by a second layer of Battlefield Brown on the boots (but this time avoiding the "bandage" part), bags, rifle sling and belts.

7 - Second brown layer.

For the rifle, I mix Battlefield Brown with Red. Don't worry if it looks too red as it can be softened later on. I leave the rifle strap Brown as the other belts.

8 - Rifle starting to look good.

Also in the rifle, paint the metallic parts with Dark Gunmetal. I also use this color for some sword cases,for the pistols of the commanders and for machine guns.

9 - Metal parts of the rifle.

Now it is time to highlight the green parts with Army Green. I apply a thin line on the edge of the helmet and then around the center (without covering all the helmet) and some lines in the grenades and water canteen. I do also the same with the artillery shells.

10 - Highlight the green parts.

To give the bayonet a shiny sharp look, I scratch out the primer paint using a modeling knife, to bring out the original metallic material.

11 - Now that's an awesome rifle!

Last, paint the top part of the boots with Military Khaki. Try not to use a lot of paint here so it looks dark and dirty.

12 - Khaki to the legs.

At this point, the soldier should be looking good already. But let's add a few more details. Why stop at good when it can look awesome? Highlight the Brown bags and belts with Wool Brown.

13 - Highlight the brown.

For the artillery crew, dry brush the shell with Copper to give it a rusty look.

14 - That's a rusty scary big shell!

Finally, wash the flesh parts with Skin Shade to give some shadows to the skin color and then dry brush the whole miniature with Dry Dust to give it a dirty from the field look. I tend to focus specially on the helmet, grenades and rifle with this dry brush.

15 - Skin shade (left) and dry brush (right).

One can add even more detail at this point:

• For machine guns and pistols, highlight the metal parts with Oily Steel.
• For miniatures with soft cap, add a Yellow dot (simulating the characteristical Japanese star).
• Add collar tabs: Red for infantry units, Yellow for artillery. For the officers, you can add also tabs in the shoulders and chest.
• For the banners, base coat with Worn Canvas. Then highlight with White and paint a circle with Red.
• If you want to give your men a scary look, add some blood lines (Red) to some bayonets and faces.

All these details can be seen in the next pictures:

Detail: Collar tabs, soft caps and bloody bayonets!

Detail: Flag banners.

Bonus: Add to the banners the Japanese characters spelling Japan! You only need a very thin brush, black paint and a steady hand:

Japan in Kanji.

Bad ass looking banners!

In a later post I will describe how I based my infantry troops.

Banzai!