Austrians - how white?
Team, A quick painting question. I have been having a dabble with Austrians, and BBC's splendid rendition of Eureka's Revolutionary Wars Austrians has rekindled a curiosity that may have already been addressed elsewhere. My apologies for not locating it. What colour do folk use for the uniforms (jackets & breeches) of Austrian line infantry? Some reading I have done suggests that the official colour was "pearl grey" rather than a stark white. And I imagine of course with campaign usage that whatever the original colour was it would become rather less pristine, but should not start as the same colour as the belts which could be blanco-ed/ pipeclayed. To date I have used a mix of off-white with light grey (4:1), or tried a light wash over off-white (all Vallejo). I have also come across an antique white which has a more satisfying yellow tinge to it. I'm very interested to hear what other folk, (particularly the creators of that inspiring Teugn-Hausen(?) game from last year) use.

It was undyed wool - hence the name of pearl grey. It was simply what came off a sheep's back and was then washed,. while on campaign, it was maintained with pipeclay, chalk, paint etc. It was not a dyed or bleached white.

white jackets
Hi, from real items I have seen taking into acount the age of the jackets, they look like an off white colour the leather belts a lot more white. It was said that the austrians liked white uniforms as they could be kept clean when the troops took to the field. I understand that flour, pipe clay, and anything else white was used on the jacket to mask marks. michael

Austrians - how white?
David, Terry, thank you for your swift responses. Is anyone able to elaborate upon the colours they use for painting their Austrian line infantry? As mentioned, I have been using varying combinations of Vallejo off-white with a touch of pale grey, or a light wash.

I paint white uniforms using Delta Ceramcoat craft paints. I apply a basecoat of their sandstone and highlight liberally with antique white (a very light ivory, pretty much an off-white). Straps and crossbelts are in soft grey (a very light grey) highlighted with a titanium white. I don't know what the Vallejo/ Foundry equivalents would be, as the Ceramcoat paints are readily available where I live, come in economical 2 oz. bottles, and do the job nicely.

Paint them all white and use the ArmyPainter soft shader. They look superb when finished with the anti shine varnish...

I can't recall where I saw it now (possibly the Steve Dean Painting Forum?), but someone recently posted some Austrians whose uniforms had been done using one of the Vallejo model colour "aluminiums" - not only did it provide a useful contrast to the "whiter" white of the belts, it also gave the dull matt texture of wool against the "shinier" leather.

I use Vallejo Silver Grey, followed by a black wash and a dry brushing with white. This produces a coat colour that looks off-white against the pure white of the straps.

Austrians - how white?
Gentlemen, thank you for your responses. It sounds like there are a few options, although I'm uncertain where I might get ceramcoat paints. Having gone down the grey/white path already (with satisfactory results) ,I might next try the ivory/antique white. As long as I maintain consistency within units, it should mix well. Now to finish the current batch, and get onto experimenting! Thanks again!

but if its speed your after........ forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=2980&highlight=speed" target="_blank">http://wdlovesme.19.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=2980&highlight=speed

try Foundry's Austrian White set. I am very much satisfied with its results

I use raw umber mixed with white to produce a shade colour for white however a very interesting entry on Martin Kelly's Befreiungskriege blog came up about painting white uniforms (something to do with the new Calpe Saxons, which are very nice by the way) Andrea Color have produced a range of colours for painting white, this was reviewed on Martin's Blog and an example of the results shown. As it turns out the darkest shade colour is not far off the colour I get when mixing raw umber with white. Here’s a link to Martin's blog entry for those who have an interest. I will however not take responsibility for anyone being tempted to buy some of the Calpe Saxons shown on his site, they are very very tempting Eugene http://befreiungskriege.wordpress.com/tag/andrea-miniatures/

Austrians - how white?
Lads, thanks again for these furtehr suggestions. The Andrea paint range looks interesting. I wonder if Vallejo has a similar range of colours, without being called out in teh same manner. VB, I do like your high speed paint system. It looks like a method whic is woirth giving a run with the next batch.

I know this is a very late posting for this topic. I cme across this while passing time on a quiet morning. All the photos and uniforms are great. At the end there are some close-ups of Austruian uniforms. More grey than I thought. Anthony

Austrians - how white?
Captain, it must have ben a quiet morning indeed. Any chance you could provide a link to the site you are reminiscing upon? :wink: