Painting Waterloo British Infantry Centre Companies Step by Step
By Victrix Limited 28mm miniatures | Published: 2026-10-24
Category: How-to Guides
A practical guide to painting your Victrix 28mm Waterloo British Infantry Centre Companies, covering assembly, priming, and painting redcoats with clear steps.
Quick answer
Start by cleaning and assembling the 52 figures in the Victrix set, then prime in white, block in the red coats, and finish details like shakos and facings in sequence.
Why this set needs assembly first
The Victrix Waterloo British Infantry Centre Companies come as hard plastic figures that require clipping from sprues, cleaning mold lines, and gluing before painting. Skipping this prep leads to missed seams and poor paint adhesion.
Choosing a painting sequence for speed
Paint in batches: do all red coats first, then white crossbelts, then shako plates and facings. This lets you use the same paint mix for multiple figures without constant cleanup. It also reduces handling of partly painted models.
Step-by-step painting process
- Clean and assemble figures: Remove each figure from the sprue using side cutters. Scrape away mold lines with a hobby knife. Glue arms, heads, and shakos using plastic cement. Let cure 30 minutes. A common mistake is gluing without removing mold lines, which shows after painting.
- Prime the models: Spray or brush on a white or light gray primer. White primer makes red coats brighter and reduces coats needed. Cover all surfaces evenly, especially recessed areas. Skipping primer causes paint to chip off hard plastic during handling.
- Paint the red coats: Apply two thin coats of red (e.g., Vallejo Red or Citadel Mephiston Red) to all jacket areas. Let each coat dry fully before the next. Use a size 1 brush for even coverage. Thick paint obscures detail; thin coats preserve the sculpted buttons and folds.
- Paint white crossbelts and trousers: Use off-white or bone color for the crossbelts and trousers. Keep a steady hand to avoid overlapping red. Paint trousers in a slightly different white (e.g., deck tan) for contrast. Using pure white for both belts and trousers makes the figure look flat; vary the shade.
- Detail the shako and facings: Paint the Belgic shako black or dark blue. Add brass plate details with gold or bronze. Paint collar and cuff facings in the appropriate regimental color (e.g., yellow for the 3rd Foot). Check your regiment reference before painting facings; wrong colors break historical accuracy.
- Apply wash and base: Mix a thin brown or black wash (1:10 paint to water) and apply to the whole figure to bring out shadows. After drying, paint the base with earth tones and add static grass or sand. Too much wash pools in flat areas; wick excess away with a dry brush.
Product used in this guide
- Waterloo British Infantry Centre Companies: 52 figure infantry set with Belgic shako's, includes command figures for officers, standard bearers, NCO's, drummers. You get a full battalion core in one box, but each figure needs assembly and painting, so plan your workstation and time accordingly.
Waterloo British Infantry Centre Companies
