In my pile of lead I have two, count them, two battalions for the 14th Army in the Burma Campaign. One Welsh. One Gurkha. So I figured I needed a painting guide. Luckily most of the troops in the 14th army wore the same kit. Same with the Chindits. Whether the early redyed Khaki Drill (KD) or custom Jungle Green (JG) the troops in 1943-45 wore “grey-green” which was, once in combat, far more grey than green. Recommendations are for Vallejo Model Color although I occasionally mention alternatives using Humbrol paints.
I’m indebted to the various wargamers that have gone done this journey of exploration before me, particularly Mark Davies (aka Jemima Fawr), Doms Decals, Mick in Switzerland, and Paul Scrivens-Smith (AKA scrivs).
Painting Guide Infographic
This is how I would paint 14th Army figures using Vallejo Model Color Paints. Style is pretty simple. I use the Black Undercoat method with one or two colours on top. For small areas, e.g. webbing, I just have the main colour. For larger areas e.g. shirts, trousers, I have a main colour and a highlight. This is same Simple Shading I’ve been using for a while now.
Painting Guide with Colour Patches
I thought it would be helpful to show the colour patches from the Vallejo Model Color Paints. Be warned, although these patches are originally from Vallejo themselves they are often darker than the actual paint.
| Item | Main Colour | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Faded Jungle Green (JG) – Shirt, Trousers, Sikh turbans (‘Puggarees’) |
 (101) 70.886 Green-Grey |
 (103) 70.821 Ger. Cam. Beige WWII |
| Subdued Jungle Green (JG) – Shirt, Trousers, Sikh turbans (‘Puggarees’) |
 (094) 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII |
(101) 70.886 Green-Grey |
| Vibrant Jungle Green (JG) – Shirt, Trousers, Sikh turbans (‘Puggarees’) |
 (088) 70.895 Gunship Green |
Mix (088) 70.895 Gunship Green  with (123) 70.847 Dark Sand |
| Khaki Drill (KD) – Shirt, Trousers, Sikh turbans (‘Puggarees’) |
 (113) 70.880 Khaki Grey |
 (119) 70.914 Green Ochre |
| Battle Dress Khaki – Slouch Hats, Tam-o-Shanters, GS Caps, cap comforters, infantry berets, pullovers |
 (141) 70.921 English Uniform |
(113) 70.880 Khaki Grey |
| Slouch Hat Bands (‘Puggarees’) |
 (124) 70.819 Iraqi Sand |
No highlight |
| Armoured berets |
 (169) 70.950 Black |
 (168) 70.862 Black grey |
| Helmet, Heavy weapons (mortars, PIATs etc) |
 (096) 70.894 Camouflage Olive Green |
(094) 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII |
| Helmet netting |
(124) 70.819 Iraqi Sand |
No highlight |
| Sand Webbing – Backpacks, Straps, Webbing, Puttees / Anklets |
(124) 70.819 Iraqi Sand |
No highlight |
| Green Webbing – Backpacks, Straps, Webbing, Puttees / Anklets |
(094) 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII |
No highlight |
| Water Bottle |
(113) 70.880 Khaki Grey |
No highlight |
| Boots |
(169) 70.950 Black |
No highlight |
| Rifle, Thompson SMG, Bren – wood stock |
 (140) 70.984 Flat Brown |
No highlight |
| Sten, Rifle, Thompson SMG, Bren – metal bits e.g. barrel |
 Mix (179) 70.863 Gunmetal grey With (169) 70.950 Black |
No highlight |
| Skin – British |
 (020) 70.845 Sunny skintone |
No highlight |
| Skin – Gurkha |
 (036) 70.804 Red beige |
No highlight |
| Skin – North Indian |
 (129) 70.929 Light brown |
No highlight |
| Skin – African, South Indian |
(140) 70.984 Flat brown |
No highlight |
Colours
There are lots of colours in this painting guide but only three major colours: Jungle Green (JG), Khaki Drill (KD), Battle Dress (BD) Khaki. So I thought I’d start by having a look at each.
Jungle Green (JG)
Under the term “Jungle Green” I lump together both the bulk dyed KD in “a dark ‘jungle’ green colour” of 1942/43 and the ’43’ pattern Indian-made “jungle green” (JG) (Brayley, 2002). I ignore the ’44’ pattern clothing as it did not make it in theatre in any significant quantities.
I know for a fact that both shirt and trousers were issued in JG (Brayley & Ingram, 2000). Armoured crew also adopted JG (Brayley, 2002). I also know that the KD Sikh turbans (‘Puggarees’) were later dyed green and assume this is JG.
I offer three JG options which I call “Faded Jungle Green”, “Subdued Jungle Green” and “Vibrant Jungle Green”. I really like the vibrant JG but think, on balance, faded JG is was probably most realistic, and subdued JG might be a good compromise.
Faded Jungle Green
The ’43’ Indian JG was “grey-green” (Brayley & Ingram, 2000). Reproductions of the dark ‘jungle’ green of the redyed KD look more green than the ’43’ Indian JG, but apparently once in the field faded quickly to a grey shade. Illustrations in the Osprey books universally show this colour as a light grey, more grey than the “grey-green” of the custom JG (Brayley, 2002; Moreman, 2009). So on balance I think a grey with a slight greenish tinge is the right look for both.
Both Doms Decals (Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma) and Mick in Switzerland (Colour guide needed for Chindits) recommend 70.886 Green-Grey. This is definitely a slightly greenish grey.
Doms Decals (Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo) added that he mixes 70.886 Green-Grey with white for the highlights. But I try to avoid mixing.
Confusing the Vallejo range includes another “green-grey” i.e. (106) 70.971 Green Grey. This is too light for both the base colour of JG and for the highlight.
So I looked further afield. Major_Gilbear (Vallejo German Field Grey (WW2)) suggests how to highlight 70.830 German Fieldgrey WWII, “you could try VMC Green Grey 70.886 for a first highlight and then possibly either VMC German Camo Beige WWII 70.821 or VMC Stone Grey 70.884 for any extreme highlights.” So perhaps 70.821 or 70.884 will work as a highlight for green-grey. Both make the initial green-grey more grey which seems to match the illustrations well. Of the two I find German 70.821 Camo Beige WWII a bigger look.
Subdued Jungle Green
The Anzac in Vietnam wore jungle green and the Flames of War: ANZAC Infantry Painting Guide suggests using (094) 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII with highlight in (101) 70.886 Green-Grey. I thought that interesting because Green-Grey is the base colour in the faded look. This option makes it the highlight.
I have tried this out, but the contrast is not great. I think as I get into it I’ll look for a better highlight.
Vibrant Jungle Green
Some illustrations of Jungle Green are more vibrant than the more common faded look. Perhaps this is the freshly dyed dark ‘jungle’ green of the redyed KD, before it faded to a grey shade (Brayley & Ingram, 2000). Many wargamers like this vibrant look – it is certainly more eye popping than the faded JG. scrivs (Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma) has painted his 14th Army guys in a way that matches. He goes for a darker shade of green and uses Vallejo 70.895 Gunship Green highlighted by adding progressive amounts of 70.847 Dark Sand.
Humbrol
Mark Davies (The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 1)) uses Humbrol 116 (US Dark Green), highlighted with quite a lot of white mixed in.
Khaki Drill (KD)
Shirts, trousers, Sikh Turbans (‘Puggarees’) and puttees all started the war as undyed Khaki Drill. In 1942 the uniforms were bulk dyed green but the Sikh’s continued to wear undyed KD Turbans.
For KD James Brown, in Colour Guide for Painting Desert British Infantry, uses 70.880 Khaki Grey with a highlight in 70.914 Green Ochre.
In Humbrol Mark Davies (The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 1)) recommends Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill). He uses this for the Sikh Turbans (‘Puggarees’).
Battle Dress (BD) Khaki
In Burma this is only relevant for Indian made pullovers and some headgear e.g. the Slouch Hat, Tam-o-Shanters, GS Caps, cap comforters, and infantry berets. Of course in other theatres this colour was used for the blouse/jacket, shirt, trousers and puttees.
Vallejo BD Khaki
Mick in Switzerland (Colour guide needed for Chindits) and Some Chicken (British Uniform Question) recommend 70.921 English Uniform. Mick in Switzerland also recommends 70.819 Iraqi Sand for the Hat Bands (‘Puggarees’).
Farnsworth, 2010a suggest three colours for BD: Vallejo 70.921 English Uniform, 70.984 Flat Earth and 70.973 US Field Drab. Vallejo 70.921 English Uniform is very dark and brown, 70.984 Flat Earth or 70.973 US Field Drab are lighter tones (Farnsworth, 2010a).
I think the darker shade – 70.921 English Uniform – is fine as long as it is highlighted. Farnsworth (2010b) highlights 70.921 English Uniform with 70.923 Japan Uniform, but I found this colour too yellow.
James Brown (Colour Guide for Painting Desert British Infantry) uses 70.880 Khaki Grey as the highlight for 70.921 English Uniform, which looks pretty good to me. As it happens Doms Decals (Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo) suggests 70.880 Khaki Grey as the hat colour, but I think the combination of English Uniform and Khaki Grey is best.
Humbrol BD Khaki
Mark Davies uses Humbrol 26 Khaki for the khaki-brown of both slouch hats and temperate Battledress uniform (The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 2)).
Items of Clothing and Equipment
This section cover the items of clothing and equipment carried by the soldiers.
Slouch Hats
Slouch Hats are the iconic 14th Army headgear. Many or most units had them. Some units only wore them. However, many units replaced the Slouch Hats with helmets in combat. The example is described as “Broad-brimmed hat of khaki fur felt with a pugaree of almost white fabric” (Slouch Hat: British Army (Chindits)). By the way, ‘pugaree’ is used for both the band on the Australian slouch hat and for Sikh turbans (Australian Sikh Heritage – The “Puggaree”)
Slouch Hat – the hat
Mark Davies advises “For Gurkha-hats and the Australian-style bush-hats, use whatever brown-khaki colour you might use for temperate Battle-Dress” (Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma ). He (Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo) references a friend of the family:
My friend’s dad, who served with 1st SLI in 7th Indian Division, 36th Division and one other Indian Division I forget … still has his Slouch Hat (with the twinned-rings badge of 36 Div on it) and it is a typical ‘battledress khaki’ colour – the same colour as European BDs.
I discuss Battle Dress Khaki above, but the short story is 70.921 English Uniform highlighted in either 70.923 Japan Uniform or 70.880 Khaki Grey.
Slouch Hat – the hat band
Mick in Switzerland (Colour guide needed for Chindits) recommends 70.819 Iraqi Sand for the Slouch Hat Bands (‘Puggarees’). I tried it and I agree.
Slouch Hat – Camouflage
Some slouch hats were painted with green splotches to camouflage (Brayley & Ingram, 2000). Given webbing was also often painted green I assume this would look similar to Dyed Green Webbing. So 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII.
Slouch Hat in Humbrol
In you use Humbrol Mark Davies The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 2) suggests painting the hat in Humbrol 26 Khaki, with the puggri band in lightened Humbrol 72 Khaki Drill.
Helmets
From Mark Davies’s The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 2):
Helmets and vehicles in this theatre were normally painted in British Army Standard Camouflage Colour (SCC) 13 Jungle Green, which was introduced in 1943 (replacing the brighter ‘No.3 Green’ shade) and was a very similar, though slightly darker shade to the later SCC 15 Olive Drab or US Olive Drab. To be honest, the differences in shade are so miniscule and when subjected to the effects of damp, weathering, strong sunlight, deep shade, mud and dust, are completely non-existent. I therefore simply paint them the same colour as my NW European British kit: namely SCC 15 Olive Drab.
For my Kiwi Vehicle Camouflage during WW2 I had Dark Green (S.C.C. 15 Olive Drab; Olive drab matt HA/NIV/3235 or 3145) as (096) 70.894 Russian Green. Vallejo changed the colour of this code to (096) 70.894 Camouflage Olive Green. It is lighter but an okay green for helmets. It needs a highlight, and I found 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII worked.
Alternatives main colours are:
- 70.889 US Olive Drab, following Mark Davies’s recommendation above
- 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII, which is equivalent to the FWP348 Firefly Green recommended in A Guide To Painting British Uniforms, but I used this as a highlight instead
Some British helmets had a tan netting. Something like 70.819 Iraqi Sand would do.
In you use Humbrol paintings From Mark Davies’s The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 2) suggests a base of Humbrol 75 Bronze Green and a top-coat of Humbrol 159 Khaki Drab and a final dry brush of Humbrol 72 Khaki Drill.
Sikh Turbans (‘Puggarees’)
See Khaki Drill or Dyed Green
Tam-o-Shanters and GS Caps
Mark Davies (Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma) mentions “Other hats were also common, such as Tam-o-Shanters in Scottish regiments and GS Caps (big, floppy beret-type things) in other non-armoured regiments, including Indian infantry regiments. These were invariably temperate brown-khaki.”
I discuss Battle Dress Khaki above, but the short story is 70.921 English Uniform highlighted in either 70.923 Japan Uniform or 70.880 Khaki Grey.
Cap comforters
Mark Davies (Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma ) says “Woollen ‘Cap, Comforters’ were also popular and were usually olive-drab or brown-khaki in colour.”
I discuss Battle Dress Khaki above, but the short story is 70.921 English Uniform highlighted in either 70.923 Japan Uniform or 70.880 Khaki Grey.
Berets
Mark Davies (Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma) says “Armoured and mechanised recce regt AFV crews wore black berets.”
I assume infantry berets, where worn, would be Battle Dress Khaki: 70.921 English Uniform highlighted in either 70.923 Japan Uniform or 70.880 Khaki Grey.
Shirt, Trousers, Sikh Turbans (‘Puggarees’)
I lump together shirt, trousers, and Sikh Turbans (‘Puggarees’) as they shifted from Khaki Drill (KD) to Jungle Green (JG).
The KD shirts and trousers were bulk dyed to JG in 1942. Custom made JG uniforms appeared in 1943.
It appears Sikh Turbans ‘Puggarees’ stayed KD for much of the war. Mark Davies (Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma) says:
- “‘Puggarees’ were mainly KD, but could also be JG or some other colour.”
- “Sikh turbans usually remained KD, though JG items did appear toward the end of the war. These were sometimes covered by camouflage scrim.”
For Khaki Drill (KD): 70.880 Khaki Grey with a highlight in 70.914 Green Ochre.
For faded Jungle Green (JG): 70.886 Green-Grey with a highlight in (103) 70.821 Ger. Cam. Beige WWII
For subdued Jungle Green (JG): 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII with a highlight in 70.886 Green-Grey
For vibrant Jungle Green (JG): 70.895 Gunship Green with a highlight in a mix of 70.895 Gunship Green and 70.847 Dark Sand.
Webbing
Mark Davies (Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma) says “Webbing was the usual faded yellow-ochre colour, though some units and individuals dyed it JG and some Indian factories started manufacturing it in JG. A lot of men (including my friend’s father) painted webbing in green or black vehicle paint to protect it from damp and rot.” He adds (Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo):
My friend’s dad, who served with 1st SLI in 7th Indian Division, 36th Division and one other Indian Division I forget, tells me that he and his comrades painted all their webbing with vehicle paint (either green or black) to stop it rotting in the festering damp of the jungle.
As I understand it Puttees / Anklets were made from webbing material, so started sand and then turned green at a similar time to the appearance of JG.
I have found a three suggestions for how to paint the webbing in a “sand” colour: two Vallejo options and a Humbrol option for those who use it. After that I give the dyed green option.
Sand Webbing
James Brown, in Colour Guide for Painting Desert British Infantry goes for a dark shade for webbing. He suggests FWP326 Comrade Khaki highlighted in FWP327 Military Khaki. In Vallejo paints this corresponds to 70.880 Khaki Grey with highlight in 70.988 Khaki. I quite like this colour but I think it is more appropriate for webbing stained by blanco. Apparently blanco rotted off pretty quickly in the jungle.
Both Doms Decals (Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo) and Some Chicken (British Uniform Question) recommend 70.819 Iraqi Sand for blancoed webbing, packs etc. I assume it could be highlighted in either 70.837 Pale Sand or 70.847 Dark Sand, but I’m not sure a highlight is necessary for webbing.
Humbrol Webbing
Mark Davies (The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 1)) uses Humbrol: “For ‘scrubbed’ webbing I use Humbrol 83 (Ochre), again highlighted with quite a lot of white mixed in.”
Dyed Green Webbing
Ironically Evan Allen recommends 70.886 Green-Grey for webbing and anklets of the BEF uniform in 1940 (A Guide To Painting British Uniforms). I say “ironically” because this is a key colour for my version of both faded and subdued Jungle Green. I think I’ll go for something a bit darker to make the webbing stand out.
For the green webbing I follow Mick in Switzerland (Colour guide needed for Chindits) who recommends 70.924 Russian Uniform WWII for Webbing including Puttees / Anklets.
Boots
Boots were black so Mick in Switzerland (Colour guide needed for Chindits) says paint them black. Fair enough.
But Doms Decals (Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo) suggests 70.862 Black Grey for boots. Perhaps it is a more dusty/muddy look.
Weapons
Doms Decals (Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo) has a number of recommendations for weapons:
- Rifle stocks in (140) 70.984 Flat Brown.
- Gun Metal for, umm, metal bits
- Heavy weapons (mortars, PIATs etc) (096) 70.894 Russian Green / Camouflage Olive Green, highlighted (081) 70.850 Medium Olive.
Personally I always mix black into Vallejo gun metal.
Skin
Paul Scrivens-Smith, for his 14th Army Reinforced Rifle Platoon
, uses 50:50 Vallejo Beige Brown & Vallejo Basic Fleshtone for exposed flesh. Then highlights in Basic Fleshtone then highlighted again with a mix of Basic Fleshtone and Ivory. That looks good, but would kind of break my one colour rule.
My own painting style for skin is pretty simple: one colour leaving the black undercoat showing. The one colour depends on the ethnicity of the figure. For the 14th Army I’m using this selection of paints:
British: Vallejo (020) 70.845 Sunny skintone
Gurkha: Vallejo (036) 70.804 Red beige
North Indian: Vallejo (129) 70.929 Light Brown
African, South Indian: Vallejo (140) 70.984 Flat Brown
Mark Davies (Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo) says …
Remember that everyone could tell a member of 14th Army even when naked! Their skin was dyed bright yellow by anti-malaria mepacrine tablets (which 154 Para even used to dye lanyards a rich golden yellow) and it was often said that the skin tone was even more yellow than the Japanese!
The counter to that is Michael Clarke (1994) who said European skins turned pasty white after a period in the jungle.
I normally use 70.815 Basic Skin Tone for Europeans but it isn’t yellow any any sense. So I tried both 70.860 Medium flesh tone or (020) 70.845 Sunny skintone. Both have more colour but 70.845 Sunny skintone is distinctly yellow in tinge.
70.984 Flat Brown is my standard for African troops. Also works for South Indian. I’ve gone for a shade in between for North Indian: (129) 70.929 Light brown. For Gurkha troops I’ve gone for a darker shade the that for European: 70.804 Red beige.
But, I confess, I’m still thinking about this aspect.
Armour
Just have a look at British & Indian Armoured Units Of the Burma Campaign: A Painting Guide V1.8 by Mark Davies. It is brilliant. Mark’s Jemima Fawr articles are also a wealth of information – Mark tells me his Jemima Fawr website is more up to date.
I have a more modest offering with my WW2 Painting Guide: Anglo-Indian Tanks in Burma.
How to use that
.
There are options in there so you might be wondering when to use the options.
When to use Khaki Drill (KD)?
Use KD primarily in 1942. Some units were still in KD in 1943 but all got replaced by Jungle Green (JG) of one kind or another. Personally I don’t plan to have any troops in Khaki Drill as I can reuse my Kiwis in Italy. The exception are Sikh turbans (‘Puggarees’), I’d have them in KD for two reasons: the Sikh held onto KD for their turbans longer and I think it would look better in contrast the JG uniform.
Which Jungle Green to use?
Faded or Subdued or Vibrant Jungle (JG)? It is up to you.
I now thing faded is too faded. I was too slavishly following the graphics in the Osprey books. And as Mark Davies pointed out to me (private conversation) these are water colours and inherently washed out.
Vibrant JG is for troops that have brand new uniforms or who have faded but wet uniforms.
Subdued is kind of in between. Personally I favour subdue JG but do think vibrant JG looks cool. I intend to do most of my kit in subdue JG.
Sand or dyed Green Webbing?
Everybody would have had sand webbing in 1942. Webbing started getting dyed when Jungle Green (JG) uniforms began to appear in 1943. But sand webbing did appear with JG uniforms. Troops would have used whatever they could get. Personally I think I’ll have the rifle companies primarily with green webbing but the odd figures with sand webbing. I’ll have more sand webbing in the support elements (machine gun platoon, engineers) but again perhaps 50% of those will have green webbing.
Slouch Hats or Helmets?
Well the head gear depends on the figure, of course. Helmets were most common in combat even if the men had another hat for other occasions. Some units only wore soft hats e.g. 2nd Border Regiment only wore the slouch hat and Sikhs would only wear their turban. For myself I’m getting 50/50 slouch hats and helmets but all men within a rifle company will have the same headgear; half the rifle companies with slouch hat and half with helmet.
Skin colour?
Fair, medium or dark skin tone? Well it depends on the unit. Personally I’ve got a Welsh unit and a Gurkha unit and I’m likely to paint both with a fair skin tone. I do like the idea of having an Indian machine gun company, with turbans and darker complexion, attached to the Welsh unit. But I don’t have the figures.
References
Allen, E. (n.d.). A Guide To Painting British Uniforms. Flames of War.
Australian Sikh Heritage – The “Puggaree”
Brayley, M. J. (2002). The British Army 1939-45 (3): The Far East [Men-at-Arms 375]
Brayley, M. J., and Ingram, R. (2000). Khaki Drill & Jungle Green: British Tropical Uniforms 1939-45 in colour photos. The Crowood Press.
Brown, J. (n.d.). Colour Guide for Painting Desert British Infantry. Flames of War.
Clarke, M. (1994). Kaladan Mortars: A walk on a knife edge. Woodfield Publishing.
Davies, R. M. (n.d.). British & Indian Armoured Units Of the Burma Campaign: A Painting Guide V1.8. www.Fireandfury.com.
Davies, R. M. (as Jemima Fawr)
- The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 1)
- The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 2)
- The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 3)
- The Forgotten Wargames Army: XIVth Army in Burma (Part 4)
Farnsworth, M. (2010a, May). Hints and Tips – Colour Guide – British Infantry.
Farnsworth, M. (2010b, May). Hints and Tips – Step by Step – The Pacific War – Japanese Imperial Army.
Imperial War Museum. (n.d.). Slouch Hat: British Army (Chindits).
Mollo, A. (1981). The Armed Forces of World War II: Uniforms, insignia and organization. Greenwich Editions.
Moreman, T. (2009). Chindit 1942-45 [Warrior 136]. Osprey.
The Miniatures Page
- British Uniform Question
- Colour guide needed for Chindits
- Painting Japanese and Far East Brits with Vallejo
- Vallejo Colors For Brits in Burma
- 1980s Soviet Uniform Paint Colors
Scrivens-Smith, Paul (AKA scrivs)