Painting German 1943 Sumpfmuster Pattern Camouflage Uniforms
1:72 Scale Painting Techniques
The German Sumpfmuster tan aqueous camouflage pattern is a versatile late war Fallschirmjäger pattern for wargame formations, because it was worn in Tunisia, Italy, and Normandy. The ESCI figures shown here were undercoated Humbrol 93 »Desert Yellow« with 50 % »White« added for aerial perspective. Camouflage splotches of diluted »Earth Brown« and »Olive Green« were washed into the base colour of the Fallschirmjäger jump smock. When viewed at the proper scale distance, the “Knochensack” jump smock appears to be sandcoloured, although the camo splotches are discernable upon closer inspection. The miniatures received a final wash of heavily diluted »Burnt Umber« artist‘ acrylics to accentuate the facial details and blend the pattern even further. Ammunition pouches and other equipment items were painted olive green and drybrushed carefully to highlight the flaps and other raised detail.
The German Sumpfmuster pattern uses the same Humbrol Acrylic 93 »Desert Yellow« base colour as the British Smock, Denison, Airborne Troops, but the pattern appears much lighter, because 50 % white has been added to the base colour. In addition, the Sumpfmuster has smaller camo splotches which are spaced further apart so that more of the sandcoloured base coat remains visible. By comparison, the schwere Panzerbüchse 41 heavy anti-tank rifle pictured above has been painted Humbrol Acrylic 5093 »Desert Yellow« with only 30 % »White« added for aerial perspective. The two colours are noticeably different.
German Gebirgsjäger mountain troops wore reversible smocks with 1943 and 1944 Sumpfmuster patterns on one side and a snow camouflage on the other. After the war, West German Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS) Border Guards and GSG 9 Special Forces wore camouflage smocks with a relatively similar Sumpfmuster pattern.