Hello fellow Legioners

Got a couple squads of snowtroopers. Looking for some advice in how to paint them up.

Mostly the guides I have seen have the snowtroopers in an off-white color scheme, which gives them a dirty appearance.

I'm looking for something with a cleaner look and a cooler tone. Like they've just been dropped into combat with no weathering or wear on the uniforms at all.

Any suggestions on colors or techniques? Thanks for any advice.

I used an ash grey on the cloth with a dark wash. I think it distinguishes it without making it look dirty.

Some tips I'd recommend are thinning down any wash you do to prevent the dirty look. That and using gloss and matte clear coats to help the appearance of the cloth stick out from the gloss of the armor.

I did the armor white, and did an off white for the cloth sections.

For various reasons I think they should be much whiter than most people paint them, you can see mine on my imperial painting thread.

I primed mine off-white with ivory satin spray paint from AC Moore. Forget which brand I can find out if you care.

Drybrushed all armor plates and backpack white. I use Vallejo.

Washed the cloth parts with a yellow brown shade, made from a mix of Liquitex inks & matte medium, tap water, and dish soap.

Drybrushed the whole model white.

Painted guns, macrobinoculars, and commanders haversack grey (just to make the commander stand out more).

Washed guns and macrobinoculars black. Used tiny brush to put a dot of black into the eyes.

Gave commander's haversack a very light drybrushed highlight with white.

They turn out very white looking, but it's just enough off-white and such in use that that it makes the cloth look like it's a different material than the armor plates. I also paint one shoulderpad on each commander a contrasting color to differentiate each squad. Then every guy gets a blob of that color underneath his base in case the units get confusing and need sorting out during a game.

You could always look into Galactic Marines for inspiration as seen in Episode 3. You could always think outside the box using this pattern and use a color scheme that can compliment your table/environment.

TBH I don't think colour selection has anything to do with the model looking dirty or not, you can paint a very clean looking mini using any colour, it depends on which techniques you use. If you layer your paints and blend them well you can get a very clean looking mini in off-white, on the other hand you can get a very dirty looking mini by drybrushing white. For a clean look I'd recommend to NOT drybrush, use minimal or no washes, instead layer your paint from your shade up to your highlights and make sure you properly thin your paints. If needed several coats of diluted paint give a cleaner look then 1 coat of thick paint. For a really clean look, look into an airbrush

I agree - I think the dirty look comes from the (in my opinion) popular overuse of washes.

I am painting my Snowtroopers as Galactic Marines. They are done in a Navy Blue and Dark Grey paint scheme. The helmet and cloak are Navy Blue with the front of the helmet in white with a mild Seraphim Sepia wash (applied lightly and then quickly wiped away). The pants are Dark Grey with the boots and gloves in a Light Grey (I feel it gives them an almost dirty white appearance without using washes). The armor on the shoulders and forearms is Dark Grey. The back pack is the Light Grey with Gunmetal detailing. On my Commander his chest plate is Dark Grey with Red and Blue accents. All pouches, holsters and packs are painted Brown.

Even though they are not the standard White and Cream colors, i think they look as if they could still be used on an ice planet like Hoth or Starkiller Base.

Nuln oil is actually a dark dark brown, so when spread thin, can give a dirty look. So thin it out as others have said, and use it very carefully. Use a fine detailed brush. We associate brown with dirt, so don't go ivory with anything. Stick to pale gray and white. You could also look at blueish pale grays as those won't give the dirty look and offer some contrast to just white. It will also give a clean - unaged look.

Lots of good ideas. Thanks everybody.