Hi,
I'm fairly new to the figure painting element of 1/35th scale military modelling & was looking to pick your brains on the subject of painting personal weapons.
I'm modelling some figures during the Vietnam war & was looking at M16's, M60's, M79 grenade launchers, LAAW's, frag grenades, smoke grenades, etc, etc...
I look forward to hearing your comments on this subject.
Thanks.

Joe.

joe, i use a mix of humbrol metallic 53, and metalcote 27004. it looks like parkerising when dry. it can be varied to look like new and older weapons. drybrush with a silver to show wear.

First off, probably a good idea to do your weapons separate, unless you're impossibly careful with a fine-tipped brush (don't think it needs to be said but it is easy to miss something fairly obvious).

As for painting I'll normally start by painting the wood, if there is any, then move to the more likely lighter color of the steel/gun metal. Then follow with a light coat of black pigment just to tone down the colors if needed.

Hope your figures turn out well!

Hi,
Thankyou both for your replies.
I'll try out some of your tips to see how they work out.
On the subject of painting the wood: how best to achieve the wood effect?
Thanks again.

Joe.

This might help:
http://usarmymodels.com/guidetopainting.html