|
|
Forums - Modelling / Figures |
The figures forum is for the discussion of construction and painting of figures and the tools and materials used. |
|
|
| Subject: | Re: British equipment and gear |  |
| Date: | May 6, 2007 |
| From: | Chris Oldfield | |
Patrizio,
British WW2 web equipment (1938 Pattern) came in a buff-coloured shade when new, & was blancoed (blanco is a powder which comes in different shades, i.e. black, green, khaki etc., & when mixed with water forms a paste which can be brushed onto the webbing to colour it for smartness) in different colours according to the preference of the unit - for instance, Royal Tank Regiment units blancoed their webbing black, Corps of Military Police white & so on.
The most common colour for units in WW2 was a buff/khaki shade, roughly approximating to Humbrol 72 Khaki Drill with a little 27 Khaki or Dark Earth mixed in to darken it very slightly. Verlinden suggests Khaki Drill with a spot of 33 Black mixed in, but I think this gives it too much of a grey shade.
Most units I believe scrubbed their webbing clean of all blanco before deployment, because thick coats of blanco shine & aren't very tactical. All fittings & buckles were originally brass, highly polished in barracks but left to tarnish naturally in the field to eliminate the shine. Some "economy pattern" 38 webbing issued from late 1944 had buckles in steel to cut down on use of brass.
So to summarise, I'd say that if you paint all your webbing the buff/khaki shade as described above, you wouldn't be far wrong. As for sleeping bags, groundsheets etc., these came in various shades or olive green or khaki drab for which there are appropriate Humbrol shades, blankets were dark grey (Humbrol 67 is good).
Incidentally, some US troops stationed in the UK for the invasion of Europe were also issued web equipment from British sources. This was of the normal US pattern, but made from British web material with brass or steel fittings as described above. US equipment was never blancoed, & so in the field would have retained its natural buff/khaki shade.
HTH you out,
Chris. |
| |
|
|
|
