Hi! This is my first post here in Armorama. It’s really a great site, and I’m learning allot here...

I recently returned to this hobby (mainly thanks to this site), and I decided to try something new (and cheap...) in order to regain some lost skills. I purchased the “Pak 38 with servants” kit by Italeri because I wanted to try an anti-tank piece (a first for me) and also German camouflaged uniform (also a first). It’s not a brilliant kit, but it is cheap, easy and fun.

Now I need some advice on painting the figures. I knew nothing about German camo so I did an Internet search and I got pics on most of the patterns used by the SS. As I need to practice, I would really like to do most of the schemes, like pea dot, oak leaf and so on. To my limited knowledge, the soldiers are wearing an M38 or M42 reversible smock. What I would like to know is:
- using a bit of artistic license and trying to go for variety, but without sacrificing realism too much, which camouflage patterns could I use on this gun crew?
- should I paint the trousers in the typical German grey (feldgrau?), or could I also paint them in some kind of camo?

BTW, this will also by my first time using Vallejo paints so, if you could share your tips on the best colours for each scheme, it would be great...

Thanks in advance!

Hello JNSA, welcome to Armorama.
I can suggest you this topics for German SS camo.
https://hfmodeling.kitmaker.net/forums/76974&page=1#643334

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/65175#546408

https://hfmodeling.kitmaker.net/forums/56062&page=1#471358

The other guys in Snake Eyes' links may have answered most of your queries, but here goes anyway! The smocks can be painted in spring or autumn (mainly greens or browns respectively - see the links for exact colours), patterns can be "plane tree" (early war), or "oak". If the figures are wearing gaiters (as opposed to marching boots), you can get away with doing the trousers in "pea pattern", as a contrast to the smock. The smocks were never (!) produced in "pea pattern", this was reserved for the M44 suit. If they have the longer marching boots, probably better to stick with field grey. You can date the smocks by whether they have the foliage loops moulded on, later smocks have them, early ones don't. Try this link - http://wilk.wpk.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/galer_mund_index.htm

Thanks. You were very helpful in finding me those links, but as I said, I did a search so I had already found most of them... But thanks anyway...




Three of them have gaiters and one of them has marching boots. So I think I will follow your suggestion and try the pea pattern on those three.




I think I managed to identify them as M38 smocks. They seem to be of the shorter model, with vertical openings on the chest and no pockets...

Would it be possible to find soldiers in the same unit wearing both the plane tree and the oak leaf patterns?

Thanks again.

If you can get this Osprey Book:
Modelling Waffen-SS Figures by Calvin Tan ISBN:1-84176-837-5
He covers painting in Vallejos the Plane Tree, Oak Leaf, Pea and Italian camos.
Another good sourse of info on SS camo which details the origins of SS camo is:
Camouflage Uniforms of the Waffen-SS by Michael D. Beaver and J.F. Borsarello, Schiffer Book, ISBN: 0-88740-803-6
I use these two books when it comes to painting my SS patterns.
The possibilty of soldiers wearing the two different camo patterns of the same unit would be yes. The plane tree pattern continued to be printed up to 1944. The SS was in the process by this time in producing one camo pattern uniform(Pea Dot) and doing away with the smocks. Of course, the smock was seen worn up to the end of the war.
Henry