start of my 1918 project- test painting trench raiders

[olyreed]

My first two German trench raiders for a 1918 project.

[armchairgeneral]

Very nice paint job  

Sorry to be a "I think you'll find..." (nasal voice) rivet counter but....the current perceived wisdom is that the Germans didn't paint their helmets with a disruptive pattern apart from possibly a few artillery units.

Bit of a shame though as it looks really cool  

[Metternich]

Also, the body armor would have been painted field gray - surviving examples certainly are and the few contemporary pictures of them seem to show that also. 

[Metternich]

   Here's a sample of surviving trench armor.  Would have had some wear at edges, maybe some rubs showing a few streaks of metal underneath, but it would have been painted green or field grey. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=world+war+1+german+body+armor&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=XZK8U6_PBYnf8gGavYCAAw&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=979#facrc=_&imgdii=2ZomvQ2m9qgFKM%3A%3B64Zl8Tsa27Jv3M%3B2ZomvQ2m9qgFKM%3A&imgrc=2ZomvQ2m9qgFKM%253A%3BrwXZ8JRk1CY3tM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252Fe%252Fe0%252FGerman_body_armor_and_shield_from_World_War_I.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcommons.wikimedia.org%252Fwiki%252FFile

[tin shed gamer]

I can see what your aiming for,you want your trench raiders to stand out from the rest of your army.
You just need to tone down your metallic colours with a dark earth brown wash 50% brown/50% black mix.
As it stands it would be a life limiting look,as for the helmet stick with the pattern,just for your trench raiders,
As for the armour it wouldn't be worn more than once on a raid,as its very heavy and gets in the way,and is very loud!.Its more likely to be used on guard duty in the trenches.
If you'ld like some help with paint scheme's PM. Mark

[Metternich]

Take a look at how Prof. Witchheimer handled the trench armor and helmet.

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=5206.0

[olyreed]

Looking at the photos again I do think the armour is a bit shiney . will repaint soon, to many other projects to do first though...

[tin shed gamer]

  Don't repaint later keep them on your work bench.You tone them down as you come accross similar shades of paint in other projects,Or you'll end up like all pro painters(the good and the bad)with a group of figures you can't for the life of you remember how you painted them,every collection has them hidden in some corner or other.
If I'm honest I don't have any (only because I give them away so I don't have a reminder of how much of a twit I am for not writing a colour card for each new scheme)

[armchairgeneral]

Regarding the helmets, although WW1 was extensively photographed, no one has found a picture of German helmets with a disruptive pattern scheme.

Also infantry units wouldn't have had access to the paint required. Only possibly artillery units who had paint for their guns.

[Driscoles]

nice

[tin shed gamer]

 Then they can't have been looking that hard,page 85 of Images of War The German Army on the Western Front 1917-18.
It shows two men painting helmets on the table there are five or six different pots of paint open each with a brush in it,not something you'ld do if you were painting only one colour,you would have one pot each,
Oh ,and the helmet on the table is very clear and in a camo pattern.Nothing is casting a shadow on it as the sun is directly above and all the shadows are short and very close to the base of each item theres no over lapping of shadows with the items on the table.
It even shows the stages of painting,the men are painting helmets black theres a pile of black helmets under the table,the fastest way to do large numbers of miniatures in camo helmets is to paint them black and apply coloured shapes over the top.This would apply to full size helmets to.its reasonable to asume the camo helmet in the middle of the table is being used as a template/example.
You can't honestly belive that in four years of war and all the shortages that went with it,that no QMS ever got hold paint that was ment to be used by some one else.
 (if an't nailed down )
Mark

[armchairgeneral]

Sounds interesting. Any chance you could post the picture?

[tin shed gamer]

I don't have a scanner,so a picture of my phone camera is the best I can manage.I'm not sure if you'll be able to see (as l can't check the image until after its posted)but there is a dark line around each colour,its not shadowing on the helmet.

[Garder]

That the Germans didn´t paint camuflage on their helmets is one of those internet myths that just will not go away  

They did. General Ludendorff even gave orders in July 1918 specifying how to apply the paint.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stahlhelm  

Nice models by the way.

[armchairgeneral]

Cheers for the picture. Happy to be persuaded. It would great if anyone has a picture of these helmet being worn?