Painting 12mm Soviet Infantry and Heavy Weapons Guide

Quick answer

Start with a zenithal prime, block in uniforms and weapons with thinned paints, then apply a wash and drybrush to bring out the impressive detail on these 12mm figures.

Step-by-step painting process

1. 1. Prepare and prime: Clean mold lines with a fine file or scalpel. Spray a light gray zenithal primer over a dark base coat to pre-shade the miniatures. Skipping mold line removal is the most common mistake — at this scale, any flash becomes very obvious.
2. 2. Block in base colors: Use thinned paints: Soviet uniform green for tunics and helmets, khaki for trousers, leather brown for boots and belts, and gunmetal for weapons. Apply two thin coats for even coverage. Keep a wet palette to stop paint drying too fast; thick paint will fill the fine detail.
3. 3. Paint skin and equipment: Use a flesh tone thinned with water for faces and hands. Paint webbing straps and pouches in a light brown or olive drab. For heavy weapons, add metallic drybrushing to machine gun barrels. Don't worry about perfect skin lines — a wash later will define the features.
4. 4. Apply a wash: Use a dark brown or black wash (thinned 1:3 with water or medium) over the entire miniature. Let it flow into recesses to create shadow and depth. Wipe excess wash from raised areas with a clean brush to avoid pooling on flat surfaces.
5. 5. Drybrush highlights: After the wash dries, lightly drybrush the original base colors mixed with a little white or cream onto raised areas like helmet tops, shoulder straps, and weapon edges. Use a stiff, flat brush and remove almost all paint on a paper towel before touching the miniature.
6. 6. Base and finish: Glue figures to bases and texture with fine sand or static grass. Paint the base rim a neutral brown or black. Apply matte varnish to protect the paint job. Match basing across the whole force for a cohesive army look on the tabletop.

The miniature set we used

• Soviet Infantry and Heavy Weapons: This 12mm /1:144th scale WW2 infantry set contains 174 superbly detailed miniatures with tooling that surpasses many 15mm and 20mm figures. You can paint a full platoon from one box, and the high detail means careful brushwork will reward you with a realistic finish despite the small scale.