A green horde forgives almost everything. A regiment of ordinary soldiers does not. Fatigues have straight creases, webbing sits in a specific place, and every model has a face, which means every model has the one detail a viewer's eye finds first whether you want it to or not. This is still a batch job, thirty models is still thirty models, but the standard per model is higher than a horde's, and that changes the method.

The good news is that infantry is also the most forgiving thing you will ever paint faces on. A trooper's face is small, half-hidden by a helmet rim or collar, and seen from tabletop distance. It is the perfect, low-stakes place to learn basic flesh painting properly, a skill this guide covers in full because nothing else in the range needs it.

Three things separate a regiment from a horde, and all three raise the bar slightly without raising it so far that batching stops working.

Fabric has structure. A crease in cloth is not random the way rust is. It follows the fold of the material, usually running from a joint outward. A highlight that ignores this looks wrong even at a glance, in a way a horde's rough muscle highlight never does.

The face is unavoidable. Every trooper has one, it is usually the most detailed part of the model, and it is where eyes go first. A rushed, muddy face undermines an otherwise well-painted model more than any other single mistake in this guide.

Uniformity is the point, not a flaw. A horde looks better for individual variation. A regiment looks better when thirty models plainly belong to the same unit. Chase neatness and consistency here rather than character.

1. 1 Undercoat the whole unit black, one sitting. Black doubles as boots and weapon casings later, so you are not just priming, you are basecoating two zones at once before you have picked up a second colour.
2. 2 Base the fatigues across every model. One coat, olive or whichever field colour you are using, over the whole unit before moving on. Do not worry about keeping it off webbing or boots, both get covered or shaded out shortly.
3. 3 Shade into the folds, not across the cloth. This is the detail that separates infantry from a horde. Draw the ink specifically into the creases where fabric actually folds, elbows, knees, the small of the back, rather than flooding the whole uniform evenly. A shade that follows the structure of the cloth looks tailored. A shade dumped everywhere looks dirty.
4. 4 Highlight the raised folds, following their direction. A highlight on cloth wants to run along the ridge of a fold, not just dab at a random high point. It does not need to be perfect across thirty models, but it should at least follow the actual crease each time. This is the one step worth slowing down for slightly compared to a horde.
5. 5 Paint the face last, and give it real attention. Base, a warm ink into the shadow side, a highlight on the brow, nose and knuckles. Full technique below. This is worth the extra minute per model that everything else in this guide is trying to save you.
6. 6 Kit and metal, whole unit, one sitting. Webbing, boots and pouches in leather brown, rifle and buckles in silver, one accent colour for insignia or a power light. Batch this the same way as everything before it.

1. 1 Base the whole face and hands in a mid flesh tone. One coat, over the black undercoat is fine here, a slightly patchy base gets covered by the next two steps.
2. 2 Shade with a warm ink, not a grey or brown wash. A true ink with a red-brown undertone gives skin a warmth that a cool grey shade never does. Focus it under the brow, around the nose, and in the hollow of the cheek, the places a real face actually sits in shadow.
3. 3 Highlight the brow, nose, cheekbones and knuckles. A lighter flesh tone, dotted onto exactly these points and nowhere else. These are the points closest to a light source on a real face and real hands, and hitting only these is what makes a simple three-tone face read correctly.
4. 4 Stop. A fourth tone, a second highlight, extra blending, none of it reads at this scale. The three steps above are the whole technique. More effort here has no payoff on a model this size.

• One step, every model, before the next. The same rule as any horde. Never finish one trooper before starting the next.
• Faces are the exception. Batch the base coat and the ink shade across the unit, but consider doing the highlight and the accent colour per model, since these are the two steps worth a little individual attention.
• Group identical poses. If ten models hold the same rifle, base and highlight it across all ten before moving to the next detail.
• Decant your colours before starting a step. A working puddle of fatigue colour, ink, and flesh tone saves far more time than it costs to prepare.
• Give each step a time limit, not a perfection target. A regiment does not need its best model repeated thirty times. It needs thirty models finished to a consistent, respectable standard.

• Shading fabric like a horde's skin. Flooding ink evenly across cloth loses the structure that makes fatigues look tailored rather than dirty.
• Overworking the face. Three tones and one shade is the whole technique at this scale. More detail is invisible on the table and costs real time across a whole unit.
• Highlighting folds in the wrong direction. A highlight that ignores the fabric's actual crease reads as wrong even to someone who could not say why.
• Painting each trooper individually different. Unlike a horde, a regiment looks better uniform. Save variation for a squad leader or standard bearer, not the rank and file.
• Skipping the face to save time. It is the one step in this guide actually worth the extra minute. Cut a highlight on the webbing before you cut attention on the face.