Sundance | 18 Jan 2014 9:12 a.m. PST |
I know I'm probably the 50th person to ask this, but I'm having trouble finding info. Some books show early war Germans with grey pants and a brighter though darker green tunic than field grey. Some show them with straight field grey pants and tunic. Which would it be for early war (Poland and France in particular)? |
combatpainter | 18 Jan 2014 9:18 a.m. PST |
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combatpainter | 18 Jan 2014 9:20 a.m. PST |
And in case you start losing sleep
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Sundance | 18 Jan 2014 9:37 a.m. PST |
I know about the variations in uniform color – that's not what I'm asking about. (BTW, your illustration is comparing apples and oranges, showing both pre/early war and late war uniforms.) What I really need to know is whether the pants were grey or field grey. Lots of illustrations show them as grey, like the book page you copied. But others show them as field grey. Which was it? |
Elenderil | 18 Jan 2014 11:01 a.m. PST |
Had the same problem myself. Early war is Reed Green tunic and stone grey trousers. This was the summer issue but the early war campaigns are summer! The illustration posted above is spot on. |
Sundance | 18 Jan 2014 11:21 a.m. PST |
Thanks, Elenderil. I thought so, but was having trouble confirming it. Couldn't remember whether Davis said reed green tunic was early war or later. |
combatpainter | 18 Jan 2014 3:34 p.m. PST |
Basically, the only time you will have a reed green uniform is the day the soldier gets it. After that it is faded. This is a good link. They discuss the same exact thing. TMP link |
MGKmilsims | 18 Jan 2014 8:41 p.m. PST |
Very good discussion at the TMP link from combat painter. The key thing if you are painting early war Germans is to make sure that there is contrast between the tunic and the trousers because they are different colours. Field Grey with a green tinge (I use Humbrol Matt 86 Light Olive if you want a colour straight from the pot) and Iron Grey trousers (I use Tamiya XF24 Dark Grey) Results here: link |
ScottS | 19 Jan 2014 8:29 p.m. PST |
Pedantry ahoy! The "Reed Green" feldbluse in summer-weight HBT wasn't even authorized until February 1940, and it is VERY doubtful that any were issued in time for the invasion of France. They were also not universal issue and rare prior to Barbarossa; they were most common in southern Russia and Italy. So no, they wouldn't work for, say, Poland. "Stone Gray"/steingrau trousers were the only wool trousers available until mid-1940, and were very common up until (roughly) Stalingrad. I doubt that any "feldgrau" trousers were issued in time for the invasion of France. So if you're doing Poland or France, I would recommend using feldgrau wool feldblusen (tunics) and steingrau hosen (trousers). |
Sundance | 20 Jan 2014 7:38 a.m. PST |
Even better news! Thanks, ScottS! I appreciate your input and knowledge. I was too lazy to dig out Davis and wade through every variation and combination, and try to extrapolate dates. This also demonstrates why I am suspicious of going strictly by illustrations. As I noted, I've seen so many illustrations that conflict, to say this one's better than that one without some sort of back-up documentation is hazardous if you're aiming at any sort of accuracy. |