Painting the Italian figures?

Visit the painting and modeling section of the forum. 
I learned a lot from some of the people who watch that thread.    :-D

I know exactly what do do when your mono painting a ‘batch’ in the same color

1. DONT buy hobbie model paint!  Just buy the basic spray can that is for plastic in the hardware section of g-OSH or Home Cheapo.

2. get a box thats flat. The perfect box is the box they pack 4 packs of soda cans.

3. hold can no closer than 8-10 inches

4. spray with sweeping motion left to right

5. toss the plastic pieces like a chef tosses his pasta in a sauce pan. spray and toss for about 20 seconds no more.

6. transfer the plastic semi painted stuff to a second box thats clean.

7. let dry for at least 1 hour

8. now paint and repeat one more time and transfer to the first box which you painted in but should be dry

9. this is by far the easiest method and VERY important to do this outside. Paint will get on furniture and it will smell. Do it outside. The suspended particles can kill you in your sleep if you paint inside.

IL’s method works beautifully if you just want a single color change.

The cheap spray cans are a must!

I get the old .99 cent one from any of the local hardware stores.

The spray enamel paint shrinks when it dries so it creates a flexible shell around the figure.

If you are into detailing them, you can then paint them any color you like with acrylic paints.  Finally, seal it with MinWax polyshades (i.e., antique walnut satin 340) to give it wonderful highlights and a protective coating – works wonders.  They can really take a beating.

why not painting the Russians on real red instead?

they were not red. They wore light earth brown uniforms.

They were called the red army because of the flag. that’s it. nothing was red.

@Imperious:

they were not red. They wore light earth brown uniforms.

They were called the red army because of the flag. that’s it. nothing was red.

yes, I know that.
But chip’s colors in AA are all kinda generic colors for each army (Germans Uniforms were not black, unless the game is representing only SS Officers)
I was suggesting the color just to distinguish from the Italians (otherwise you should paint the italians in some other non-realistic color – light blue like in TripleA?)

Are there best colors of spray paint that match the colors of each country?

Not to be annoying but, does anyone have an answer to my previous post? IL maybe? Please?

Germans: Grey Green
Italy: light grey
Soviets: Earth brown… not chocolate brown. a light brown like Milton Bradley edition but a little lighter
Japan: yellow brown. google a picture of a Japanese uniform for ww2 and you will get the idea
UK: Khaki
USA: olive drab #2

Thanks for the response but, I meant colors that match the colors of the pieces from AA50. Do you know of specific colors of paint that match the dark red of the Russians or the burnt orange of the Japs, and the dark brown of the Italians and all the rest? I just don’t want to buy some spray paint and start painting and see the colors don’t match.

oh i see… you will need to take the battleships of each side and head over to paint store to match. Their are no official names for these colors. forget this plan. just bring the pieces and match it up.

The German color is clearly black however…

@Imperious:

they were not red. They wore light earth brown uniforms.

They were called the red army because of the flag. that’s it. nothing was red.

Greetings everyone! I have just joined the forums here, but I have been playing AA Classic for over a decade, and I just got my AA:50 version! Of all the gripes with the figures, i thought the color similarities btw Italy and the USSR were a shame. You are quite correct in that Russian units wore brown. However, with Italy also colored brown (even though their uniforms ranged from beige to grey), I decided to go with a symbolic change that would give some readability to the board.

I went and bought some red spray paint and did just like you said. I also bought a tube of Naphthol Red acrylic paint and a small detail brush to get the hard to reach areas.  Now i have a striking looking Soviet military that stands out nicely from the Italians.

Also, I must point out that the Red Army was not called that simply because the flag was red. It was not a simple chromatic choice. There was much more to it. Red was seemingly the official color of the worldwide workers revolution, and the Red army was the armed wing of the proletariat that would facilitate the destruction of bourgeois capitalism. With a NO being the acquisition of new “buffer” territory in which to spread the Worker’s State, it makes sense to me to play that up. This war involved ideologies, and it just so happened that one such ideology could be represented simply with a color change that would also solve the contrast issue in the pieces. Two birds, one stone.  Anyways, thanks for the tips, and good work with that phase 2 map.

Anyways, thanks for the tips, and good work with that phase 2 map.

yes thanks. i have a new version to unleash real soon and the rule set supports it.

perhaps tomorrow.