We've already covered the basics of Painting British Infantry for Bolt Action so now its time to go through painting up the vehicles.

Since you generally only have a couple of armoured cars or tanks in a Bolt Action force its a good opportunity to take some extra time to get them looking really good. So lets go through how I prepared the Cromwell Cruiser tank and Reece Carrier for my Welsh Guards themed force.

Apologies in advance I wasn't able to take step by step photos due to time constraints getting these ready for tournaments.

Paints Used:

• Army Painter Black Spray Primer
• Vallejo Model Air Olive Grey
• Vallejo Model Air Gunmetal
• Vallejo Model Air White
• Vallejo Model Colour Russian Uniform Green
• Vallejo Model Colour Black
• AK Interactive Streaking Grime
• AK Interactive Track Wash
• AK Interactive Earth Effects
• Artist's Oil Paints

Step 1: Assembly & Priming

Both of these vehicles are full plastic kits and assembly was very straightforward. I did run into a couple of issues with the turret hatch on the cromwell, which didn't want to stay open when I was gluing, but other than that they were very little effort.

As usual I primed with Army Painter Matt Black spray.

Step 2: Painting the Elusive SCC 15 Olive Drab

For most of my World War 2 period projects I usually use paint sets from AK Interactive, which provide great historically accurate colors for a number of different nationalities' paint schemes. However the SCC 15 Olive Drab used by the British Army after April 1944 opens a bit of a can of worms.

The exact shade has been the subject of much debate within scale modelling circles for many years, as this particular Olive Drab faded and weathered very differently to the US Olive Drab, making finding an exact match almost impossible.

After a little bit of research I decided upon the most commonly suggested Vallejo mix, 50:50 Olive Grey/ Russian Uniform Green. As I was applying this with an airbrush I first made a 60:40 mix of Model Colour Russian Uniform Green and acrylic thinner, then added the Model Air Olive Grey.

This was applied in several thin coats evenly across the entire tank. Then I added a small amount of White to lighten the mix and applied this to some of the raised panels and upper surfaces to give a modulated base coat.

Step 3:Applying the Pin Wash

To define the panel lines and recessed details I thinned down some AK Interactive Streaking Grime with odourless turpentine and applied this as a pin-wash.

Step 4: Oil Paint Effects (Optional)

Highlighting and shading with oil paint effects is becoming one of my favourite methods recently and it's covered brilliantly in the AK Interactive Weathering FAQ.

I started by applying highlights using tiny dots of white oil paint to the hinges on the rear of the hull and then fading the highlight out with some white spirit. This was also applied to the top edges of the turret and some of the other hatches.

Then on the surrounding flat panels I repeated the process using a light yellow to make a thin filter which was applied in the centre. Such coloured filters give a chromatic richness to the main paint colour. The yellow oil effect was also applied in other areas of the hull and rack guards which would catch the light.

On the sides of the turret I started by applying a line of white oil dots horizontally along the upper surface, then a line of yellow oil dots beneath and finally a line of brown oil dots towards the bottom.

Each line of dots was then thinned out with white spirit to give a thinned horizontal band of oil colour. Then finally I took a flat brush damp with white spirit and brushed down the sides vertically to blend the transitions together. After each downstroke I cleaned the brush so as not to bring the darker brown layer back to the top on the next stroke.

I then used some greens, blues and blacks to apply shading and shadows on certain panels and areas of the hull.

While this sounds quite complicated its actually really easy to get the hang of and the best part is that you can easily tidy up your work with some white spirit if anything goes wrong. Just allow plenty of time for each layer or effect to dry before moving onto the next step (several hours).

Step 5: Streaking Effects

Once all the oil effects had fully dried it was time to add some streaking weathering. As usual I applied thin vertical lines of AK Streaking Grime and then stumped them with white spirit so they faded out naturally.

These were applied fairly sparingly as I was looking for a more lightly weathered look with on this Cromwell.

Step 6: Tracks

The first step for the tracks is to paint the outsides of the road wheels black, which is one of my least favourite steps on any vehicle.

Then the tracks themselves were base coated with Gunmetal and after than had dried I applied some AK Track Wash.

Step 7: Decals

Decals can be a little tricky to apply sometimes but there is a simple method which always gives a good finish without any silvering and which is durable enough for gaming miniatures.

First apply a Gloss Varnish to the area where the decal is being applied, make it slightly bigger than the decal itself and let it dry thoroughly.

Then cut your decal from the sheet and give it a short soak in water until it is just sliding off the paper. Gentle slide it into place using a brush and apply a small drop of Micro Set before soaking up any excess with a cotton bud.

Let this dry completely and then apply a second coat of gloss varnish over top. This will protect the decal and flatten the border between the decal and the surrounding paint job.

Step 8: Final Weathering

At this point the vehicle is almost complete but its good to add in some final weathering steps to finish everything off.

Firstly I added some streaking effects on and around the decals so that they matched the rest of the vehicle, otherwise they would look brand new which would be out of place.

Then I applied a light layer of Earth Effect using an airbrush to the lower areas of the hull using an airbrush.

Lastly I sealed everything in with a coat of Anti-Shine Varnish.

Click on the thumbnails below to see full sized versions of the completed vehicles.