How to Paint 28mm Germanic Warriors for Ancients Armies
By Victrix Limited 28mm miniatures | Published: 2026-11-04
Category: How-to Guides
Paint 28mm Germanic Warriors with a practical, step-by-step scheme for fur, cloth and skin. Includes a simple ancient Germanic warrior paint scheme and basing tips.
Quick answer
Paint your 28mm Germanic Warriors with a simple three-layer method: dark basecoats, mid-tone layers, and selective highlights. Focus on fur texture and cloth folds, then finish with a muted earth-tone base.
Why this scheme suits Germanic Warriors
Germanic warriors are often depicted with a mix of fur, wool and linen, plus bare skin and simple metal weapons. That mix rewards a scheme built on earthy browns, greys and off-whites rather than bright uniforms. Keeping the palette limited also speeds up batch painting, which matters when you are painting a full warband.
The approach below uses layering rather than heavy drybrushing, because fur and cloth on 28mm figures benefit from controlled brushwork. You can still use drybrushing for fur if you prefer, but keep it light to avoid a chalky finish.
Prepare the figures before painting
Clean mould lines and flash with a sharp knife, then wash the figures in warm soapy water to remove release agent. Let them dry fully. Prime with a grey or brown primer; grey gives neutral colours, while brown helps warm earth tones. A light zenithal spray of white or pale grey can help you see detail, but it is optional.
Step-by-step painting process
- Basecoat the skin: Apply a mid-tone flesh basecoat over all exposed skin. Use two thin coats rather than one thick coat to preserve facial detail. Check that the basecoat is fully opaque before moving on; thin patches will show through later layers.
- Basecoat fur and hair: Paint fur areas with a dark brown or dark grey basecoat. For hair, use a slightly different dark tone to separate it from fur. Keep fur and hair basecoats distinct so the textures do not blend together at arm's length.
- Basecoat cloth and trousers: Use muted earth tones such as olive, dull red, or off-white for tunics and trousers. Apply two thin coats for even coverage. Avoid bright saturated colours; they will look out of place next to fur and skin.
- Paint leather and metal: Basecoat belts, scabbards and straps with dark brown. Paint weapon heads and helmet fittings with a dark silver, then add a lighter silver highlight on edges. Keep metal areas small; a little goes a long way on 28mm figures.
- Layer and highlight skin: Apply a lighter flesh tone on raised areas of the face, hands and arms. Use a fine brush and thin paint to build up subtle highlights. Do not highlight every muscle; focus on nose, cheekbones, knuckles and forearms.
- Add fur texture: Use a small drybrush or fine brush to apply a lighter brown or grey to the raised fur strands. Work in the direction of the fur. Stop before the fur looks chalky; if it does, glaze over with a thin mid-tone to soften it.
- Highlight cloth folds: Mix a lighter version of each cloth colour and paint the raised folds of tunics and trousers. Keep the lines thin and follow the fold direction. Less is more; a single highlight layer is usually enough at this scale.
Product facts
- Germanic Warriors: This set contains 60 hard plastic 28mm Germanic Warriors with numerous additional parts for over a hundred build combinations. The large parts count lets you vary poses and equipment, so you can paint a whole warband without repeating identical figures.
Germanic Warriors
