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A Colorful History: WWII German Army Painting Guide

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Written by Zach Ward

Monday, 29 October 2007

PROBERT, also known as Zach Ward has collected a vast selection of painting guides covering several genres and periods, and is kindly allowing us to host them.

This first, and most thorough guide delves into all forms of German uniforms during World War II.

Disclaimer: Zach/Probert does not lay claim to having invented all of these lists. He has been compiling, editing, and modifying most of them for years. If you are aware of an original author of one of these lists, feel free to drop Don a line and we will get proper accreditation included in the list in question. All of us merely want to offer guides to as broad an audience as possible.

The German military in World War II varied in uniform color and vehicle paint, not only by theater of combat but also by multiple military branches within the Reich. With the possible exception of the Japanese, the German army had the largest range of uniforms and paint schemes in the course of the war.
The lists below are relatively complete, but remember that for variety you can mix and match uniforms, utilizing bits from any previous time or alternate theater. The longer the war went on, the more true this was, with commanders taking whatever replacements they could find to stem the tide of the Allied advance on both fronts. The same is true for armor, with some divisions even fielding old French tanks that were being used for training.
While it wasn't so common for Luftwaffe or Kriegspiel to serve with Waffen SS or Heer units, it did indeed happen, particularly in Africa and on the Eastern Front.
So have some fun, be creative, remember that they didn't go rip the early jackboots off all the soldiers when the legging-based boots were issued, and most vehicle camouflage was applied in the field by the troops, giving a wide variation in armor paint jobs.
Note that many of the colors given in these lists do not exactly match those in other lists (the omission of Middlestone as a Panzer color, for example). This merely gives you options when painting your army�choose that which best suits your needs.

Unless otherwise noted, each of these paints is a Vallejo color name and color code.

Discuss this article on the forums here.

Tanks

Style	Year	Color	Code
Russia	40-42	Black Gray	862
	42+	Green Ochre	914
Camo		Reflective Green	890
		Chocolate Brown	872
Three Color		Orange Brown	981
		Black	950
Desert		Tan Yellow	912

Basic Uniform and Kit

Item	Color	Code
Uniforms	German Field Gray	830
Collar	Deep Green	896
Jack boots	Black	950
Low boots	German Brown Black	822
Waders	Field Gray	830
Webbing	Black	950
Or	German Brown Black	822
Ammo pouches	Black	950
Or	German Brown Black	822
Or	Deck Tan	986
Haversack	Deck Tan	986
Canteen	German Black Brown	822
Or	Mahogany Brown	846
Mess Tin	Olive Green	967
Gasmask Can	Neutral Gray	922
Helmet	German Gray	995
Reed Green Uniform	German Uniform	920

Basic Uniform 1939+

Item	Color	Code
Tunic	German uniform	920
Trousers	Neutral grey	992
Webbing	Black	950
Ordinance	Green Yellow Olive	892
Field cap	German Field Gray WWII	830
Helmet	Olive Green	967
Tunic Collar	Black green	980

Basic Uniform 1941+

Item	Color	Code
Tunic	German Field Gray WWII	830
Trousers	German Field Gray WWII	830
Webbing	Black	950
Ordinance	Green Yellow Olive	892
Field cap	German Field Gray WWII	830
Helmet	Olive Green	967
	German Gray	995
Tunic Collar	German Field Gray WWII	830

Basic Uniform 1944+

Item	Color	Code
Tunic	Russian Uniform	924
Trousers	Russian Uniform	924
Webbing	Black	950
Ordinance	Green Yellow Olive	892
Field cap	German Field Gray WWII	830
Helmet	Olive Green	967
	German Gray	995
Tunic Collar	Russian Uniform	924
Ammo Pouches	Dark Gray	994

Uniform Variations 1944+

Item	Color	Code
Tunic	English uniform	921
Trousers	English uniform	921
Webbing	Yellow ochre	913
Or	Dark Gray	994
Ordinance	Green Yellow ochre	913
Field cap	Russian Uniform	924
Helmet	Yellow ochre	913
Anklets	Military Green	975

Tropical Uniform/Desert

Item	Color	Code
Uniform	Yellow ochre	913
Or	Khaki	988
Or	Desert Yellow	977
Webbing	Mahogany brown	846
Or	Sand Yellow	916
Ordinance	Yellow Dark sand	847
Field cap	Yellow ochre	913
Helmet	Tan Yellow	912
Boots	Red Leather	818

Luftwaffe Field Division, 42+

Item	Color	Code
Steel Helmet	German Gray	995
Or	Luftwaffe Blue	816
Smock
Base	Camo Green	823
Splinter	Mahogany Brown	846
	Pastel Green	885
Webbing/Boots	Dark Gray	994
Or	Black	950
Bayonet Frog	Gray	994
Field Flask	Black Brown	822
M38 Gas Mask Case	German Gray	995
Or	Luftwaffe Blue	816
Gas Sheet Case	Luftwaffe Blue	816
Collar patches	Flat Green	968

Panzer Crew 1939-1945

Item	Color	Code
Field Cap	Neutral Gray	992
Beret	Black	950
Officer Cap	German Uniform	920
Cap/Tunic/Trousers	Black	950
Or	Dark Gray	994
Waffenfarbe	Sunset Red	802
Belt/Boots	Black	950
Or	Dark Gray	994
Shirt/Gloves	Neutral Gray	992

Splinter Camo

Item	Color	Code
Base Color (pale)	Pastel Green	885
Base Color (dark)	Russian Uniform	924
Base Color (marsh)	Buff	976
Brown Color	Beige Brown	875
Green Color	Luftwaffe Cam Green	823
Raindrop Color	Black Green	980

Fallshrimjager

Item	Color	Code
Bread Bag	German Gray	995
Webbing/Pouches	Chocolate Brown	872
Water Bottles	Chocolate Brown	872
Holsters	Chocolate Brown	872
Ammo Pouch & Bag	Desert Yellow	977

1939-1940 Air Force Blue

Item	Color	Code
Helmet	Luftwaffe Uniform	816
Smock	Sky Gray	989
Pants/Pouches	Field Blue	964

1939-1940 Plain Green

Item	Color	Code
Helmet	German Gray	995
Smock/Helmet Cover	Green Gray	886
Trousers/Pouches	Field Gray	830

Crete-1945 Splinter

Item	Color	Code
Smock/Cover	German Camo Beige- base	821
Splinter	Luftwaffe Camo Green-camo	823
	Flat Brown-camo	984
Trousers/Pouches	Fieldgrey	830
Helmets	Tan Yellow	912

N. Africa and Italy Camo

Item	Color	Code
Smock/cover Base	German Camo Beige	821
Splinter	Luftwaffe Camo Green	823
Splinter	Flat Brown	984
Trousers/Pouches	Desert Yellow	977
Italian Camo Base	Olive Gray	888
Camo	Germ Camo Med Brown	826
Camo	Sand Yellow	916

Zeitbahn

base	German WWII Beige Camo	821
geometric pattern	German Camo Med. Brown	826
	Reflective Green	890
SS Collars	Black	950
	Extra Dark Green	896
Haversack	Green Gray	886
Or	Deck Tan	986
Or	Iraqi Sand	819
Or	Desert Yellow	977
Mess Tin/ Gasmask	German Gray	995
Helmet	German Gray	995
Ammo Cans	Dark Yellow	978
Ammo Pouches	Green Ochre	914
Map Cases	Green Ochre	914
Map/Binoc Cases	Dark Flesh	GW
Geibersjager Anorak	66% Brown Violet	887
	33% Neutral Gray	992
M39 Grenade	Military Green	975
Field Flask	Beige Brown	875
Or	German Camo Black Brown	822
Cookpot	Silver	790
M38 Gasmask case	Dark Green	896
Gas Cape	Military Green	975
Or	Green Gray	886
Spade Holder	Dark Gray	994
Or	Black	950
Scabbard	Black	950

Camo Patterns

Splinter

Item	Color	Code
Base Color	Germ Camo Beige	821
geometric splotch	Germ Camo Med Brown	826
	Luftwaffe Camo Green	823
rain dashes	German Camo Extra Dark Green	896
Or
Base Color	Pastel Green - lighter camo	885
	Russian Uniform - darker camo	924
	Buff for marsh pattern	976

Add the following in the classic splinter pattern

	Beige Brown	875
	Luft Camo Green	823
rain dashes	German Camo Extra Dark Green	896

Oak Leaf Camouflage

Item	Color	Code
Base	German Pale Camo Brown	825
splotch & dots	Desert Yellow	977
inside splotch/dot	German Camo Bright Green	833
Base	German Camo Pale Brown	825
splotch and dot	Black Gray	862
inside splotch /dot	Medium Olive	850

Plane Tree Camouflage

Item	Color	Code
Base	German Camo Bright Green	833
splotches	Germ Camo Med Brown	826
inside splotch/dot	German Camo Extra Dark Green	896
Or
Base	German Camo Pale Brown	825
dark spots	German Camo Black Brown	822
light spots	Golden Olive	857
dark green fields	Germ Camo Bright Green	833

Pea Dot Camouflage

Item	Color	Code
Base	Salmon Rose	835
Patches of	Khaki	988
	Germ Camo Pale Brown	825
	German Camo Black Brown	822
	German Camo Bright Green	833
Or
Base	Tan Yellow	912
patches of	German Pale Camo Brown	825
	Salmon Rose	835
dots	German Camo Black Brown	822
	German Camo Bright Green	833
	Salmon Rose	835

Palm Camouflage

Item	Color	Code
Base	Light Brown	929
+	German Orange	805
Patches of	German Black Brown	822
	German Bright Green	833

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