LEATHER AND BUCKLES

The straps hold the figure together

Belts, pouches, bags, slings, holsters and horse harness take up more of the surface of a uniformed figure than you would expect, and yet they get the least time during painting. This group of six is put together for them in particular, and it finishes with the fittings that join the straps.

From shadow to highlight

The base is Leather Brown, the medium tone of tanned leather. Under it goes the dark Tenebrous Grey shadow, which is laid into folds, under buckles and into the places where a strap lies on the skirt of a coat. The highlights come from Leather Highlights, whose pinkish cast imitates a worn edge well, and the added Medium Orange lets you shift the whole item into a warmer, newer tone of the kind found on officers' holsters or freshly dressed leather.

Buckles, clasps and rivets

The remaining two colors are metallics. Gilt Metal matches the golden brass typical of dress fittings, while Natural Steel aims at the cooler steel sheen of ordinary field buckles. Combining the two lets you tell dress equipment from working equipment.

Scale and technique

The shades are spaced widely enough to work on small figures as well, where the transition has to read from a distance. In the larger scales it pays to mix intermediate steps, because leather has a soft transition with no sharp edges. Apply with a brush in thin coats, otherwise the relief of the stitching and the grooving is lost. Leave the metallics until the very end. If they get under the brown, they lose their sheen and the buckle merges with the strap, which can no longer be put right on a finished figure.