Overview

This figure represents a Guardia Civil in the regulation grey-green service uniform of the corps as it stood in 1936: black tricorne, grey-green tunic with red collar and cuffs, yellow-varnished leather crossbelt, and the long dark cape the corps was known for. It is a portrait of the corps itself rather than of one battle — the instantly recognisable image of the force whose men ended up on both sides of the war.

Historical Context

The Guardia Civil was founded in 1844 as a national rural police force, and its three-cornered hat dates from the very first uniforms, approved that same year. By 1936 it numbered some 34,000 men, spread through posts across the whole of Spain. When the army rose in July 1936, the corps split: roughly half stayed with the Republic and half joined the rebellion, depending largely on where each unit happened to be and what its commanders chose. The same tricorne and the same grey tunic therefore appeared on both sides of the front, and Guardias Civiles ended up fighting one another.

In the Republican zone the surviving Guardia Civil was reorganised by decree of 29 August 1936 as the Guardia Nacional Republicana, and its uniform changed — the tricorne gave way to a barracks cap — so the classic look on this figure belongs above all to the corps as it was before that reform, and to units that kept the traditional dress. On the rebel side, Guardias Civiles formed the core of two of the war's best-known sieges: the Alcázar, the old fortress of Toledo, where roughly 800 of them held out alongside cadets and civilians, and the sanctuary of Santa María de la Cabeza in Jaén, besieged from September 1936 until May 1937. Those loyal to the Republic served in the Guardia Nacional Republicana. After the war, in 1940, the Guardia Civil was merged with the Carabineros, and the grey-green uniform familiar today was introduced.

Sourced from Asociación de Amigos de la Academia de Caballería: Uniformidad de la Guardia Civil, el uniforme gris (1912–1940), Wikipedia: National Republican Guard (Spain), Wikipedia: Civil Guard (Spain), and Wikipedia: Siege of Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza.

Clothing & Equipment

Tricornio (tricorne): the corps' signature three-cornered hat, black, in use since the first uniforms of 1844. Under the Republic its cockade became tricolour (1931–32 reforms). In rain it was covered with an oilcloth funda.

Guerrera (tunic) and pantalón (trousers): the grey service uniform, introduced in 1909 and made the standard pantalón in 1912, also used as the summer uniform. The 1932 pattern has five buttons and a closed, turned-down collar. The colour is described differently by different sources: one study of the regulations says plain grey, while the 1932 order, as quoted elsewhere, calls the cloth grey-green, and period illustrators drew it greenish. Paint it a muted grey-green.

Cuello y bocamangas (collar and cuffs): red (grana, a deep cochineal red) — collar patches carry the corps emblem on a red ground, and the cuffs are edged and closed with red flaps.

Correaje (leather equipment): the crossbelt and waist belt are leather in a hazel tone, varnished yellow — the classic buff-yellow Guardia Civil look — worn with a small black cartridge pouch at the belt.

Capa (cape): the long dark wool cloak worn over the tunic. By the regulations it was intended for the cold months, October to April, though it could be worn all year in rain or snow, and period photographs show Guardias Civiles in the field wearing dark capes in the hills.

Rifle: a bolt-action rifle of the Spanish Mauser family, slung or carried in the crook of the arm.

Botas (footwear): black leather shoes or boots.

Built from Linden Models' own reference photography and approved sculpt; some details may be refined once final box art is confirmed.

Colours Overview

Colour names are generic mixing targets, not brand-specific codes. Swap in your preferred paint range (Vallejo, AK Interactive, Scale75, etc.).

Glossary

Guardia Civil: Spain's national rural police corps, founded 1844. In 1936 it split between the Republic and the rebellion; the Republican part was renamed Guardia Nacional Republicana in August 1936.

Tricornio: the three-cornered hat of the Guardia Civil, worn since the corps was founded.

Grana: the deep red (a cochineal red) used on the collar and cuffs of the Guardia Civil tunic.

Correaje: the leather equipment of a soldier or guard — belts, crossbelts and pouches.

This glossary is shared across the Linden Models Spanish Civil War series. Terms already defined on other guide pages are not repeated here.

Historical References

This figure is a composite portrait of the Guardia Civil in its 1936 regulation dress, rather than a depiction of one named individual or one engagement. The corps fought on both sides of the war and the uniform it wore in 1936 is the one shown here.

Sourced from Asociación de Amigos de la Academia de Caballería, Wikipedia: National Republican Guard (Spain), and Guardia Civil: regulation of the use of the capote (1845).

Recommended Reading

• The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 — Antony Beevor
• The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge — Paul Preston

Links carry the lindenmodels-20 Amazon Associates tag. We haven't yet verified a title devoted specifically to the Guardia Civil in 1936 — Beevor and Preston both cover how the corps split in July 1936.

Downloads

A print-ready PDF of this guide — handy to keep next to your paints while you work.

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