Painting guide

Painting Canadian markings: formation signs, colours and battledress

A few details make a Commonwealth force read as Canadian: the divisional colour patch, the vehicle formation sign, and a greener battledress. This guide covers what to paint and where the reference comes from.

Battledress colour

Canadian battledress was made in Canada from wool that was darker and greener than the brownish British cloth (RCA Museum). On miniatures, take your usual British khaki and shift it toward a muted olive, or glaze a green-brown over your normal khaki base. Webbing stays the pale khaki-green of blancoed 37-pattern equipment.

Divisional colours

Each Canadian division had a colour, worn as a patch on the upper sleeve and painted as the background of its vehicle formation sign (CanadianSoldiers.com):

Higher formations used stripes: red-black-red for First Canadian Army, and red-white-red with a diamond for the corps (red for I Canadian Corps, royal blue for II Canadian Corps). Army tank brigades used black signs with coloured bars (CanadianSoldiers.com).

Where the sign goes on a vehicle

The full-size sign was about 9 inches wide by 6½ inches high, painted on the left front and right rear of the vehicle (CanadianSoldiers.com). In 28mm that's a rectangle about 3-4 mm wide. Paint a neat block of colour first, then add the leaf or device with a fine brush or a decal. A slightly crisp rectangle reads better from table distance than a perfect leaf.

1. Base the vehicle in your Commonwealth green, then shade and weather it before markings, so the markings stay cleaner than the hull. Real markings were often repainted.
2. Mark out the rectangle with the divisional colour, two thin coats.
3. Add the device: the gold maple leaf for 1st Division, for example. Small decals are easier than freehand.
4. Add the unit serial square and bridge classification disc if you want more detail. Check photos of your chosen unit first.
5. Pin-wash and lightly chip around the markings so they sit in the finish instead of on top of it.

Decals in Warlord kits

Some Warlord plastic tanks include Canadian markings. The M4A3E8 Sherman Easy Eight comes with decals for US and Canadian vehicles (Warlord Games), and those suit a Lord Strathcona's Horse tank in Korea. For WWII-period Canadian vehicles, check the kit's decal sheet before you plan on it.

M4A3E8 Sherman Easy EightShips with US and Canadian decals.View at Warlord Minis →Universal CarrierTakes divisional signs well on the front plate.View at Warlord Minis →

Get the details right

• Choose one unit and one date, then find photographs of it. Markings changed over the war. The CanadianSoldiers.com page notes some devices that were phased out or unofficial.
• Regimental museums (South Alberta Light Horse, Loyal Edmonton Regiment, King's Own Calgary Regiment) are excellent photo sources.