With my first 101st Airborne troops completed in 28mm, I’ve moved on to adding some support weapons. As a relative newcomer to World War II at this scale, I’ve also taken the opportunity to try another manufacturer’s miniatures for the sake of comparison.

In 2008, Warlord Games launched a small selection of WWII miniatures acquired from another manufacturer. To compliment the line of models, about three years ago Bolt Action came to the game scene with a slickly-designed rule set published by Osprey Publishing and a now vastly-expanding line of miniatures from multiple nations and combat theaters of WWII. The Warlord Games plastic and metal line of soldiers, artillery, transports and armor, along with the Bolt Action game system, have come to dominate the market and tournament scene for gamers playing tactical-level WWII in the larger 28mm scale.

For my first figures from Warlord Games, I stuck with a few metal models which scale nicely with my figures from Artizan Designs. The castings display a lot of exaggerated poses, animated facial expressions and detailed equipment which look great on a wargaming tabletop and reveal the influence of the designers who hail from the world of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 from Games Workshop.

In painting my first Warlord Games miniatures, I went with my same quick and simple painting scheme I’ve been using so far:

Painting 28mm US Airborne Support Weapons

1. Clean flash from metal models with a sharp knife and glue to metal washer or plastic bases.
2. Apply filler putty to bases. When dry, scrape off excess with a sharp knife.
3. Base coat models and bases with flat black spray primer.
4. Paint uniforms and bandages on helmets with Tallarn Sand.
5. Paint helmets and knee and elbow patches with Waaagh! Flesh.
6. Paint faces and hands with Tallarn Flesh.
7. Paint webbing and packs with Baneblade Brown.
8. Paint bases, boots, gun stocks and helmet straps with Dark Brown.
9. Apply Agrax Earthshade wash to uniforms, helmet netting, webbing and packs.
10. Mix 50/50 Baneblade Brown and Off White and lightly dry brush packs, webbing and socks.
11. Lightly dry brush bases, gun stocks, helmet netting, holsters and elbow and shoulder patches with Baneblade Brown.
12. Paint metal gun, bazooka and mortar parts with black and finish with a light dry brush of metallic silver.
13. Paint eyes with small dots of Off White and Dark Brown. Clean up around eyes with Tallarn Flesh.
14. Mix 50/50 Tallarn Flesh and Off White and brush highlights on cheekbones, chins, forehead, nose and hands.
15. Apply Company B decals to shoulders and helmets, followed by a coat of Solvaset decal fixative from Walthers.
16. Cover bases in white glue and cover in 50/50 mix of fine light green and dark green grass flock.
17. Glue small pieces of clump foliage to base.
18. Spray coat completed models with matte finish.

To begin, I’ve painted up a 60mm mortar team and a bazooka crew. here’s a few photos of the final results:

I’ll probably add a light machine gun and some other models from Warlord Games soon, but for now my US Airborne forces will be able to pack a bit more punch in upcoming games.