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Miniatures Adventure => The Conflicts that came in from the Cold => Topic started by: gimzod on 01 August 2015, 04:15:07 PM

Title: US army uniform paint guide.
Post by: gimzod on 01 August 2015, 04:15:07 PM: Hey, guys.

Was looking to touch up my modern US army troopers and I was wondering if anyone has a guide for the camo for the current US army uniform or the one they're moving to.

Thanks for the help.
Title: Re: US army uniform paint guide.
Post by: Cherno on 01 August 2015, 05:09:32 PM: Hello,
here is my color guide, referencing the Vallejo Model Color line of paonts. I think there are conversion charts on the web if you use other paints.

ACU (ATC pattern)
Base          Light Khaki
Pixels       Light Grey Green
Pixels       Dark Drab Green

Desert MARPAT:

Webbing       Iraqi Sand #819
Boots         Desert Yellow #977
Goggles         Desert Yellow #977
Vest (Coyote Brown)   Desert Yellow #977 (Sand Brown #876)

Base         Dark Sand #847
Color 1      Khaki #988
Color 2      German Camo Pale Brown #825
Color 3      German Camo Medium Brown #826
Drybrush      Iraqi Sand #819

I recommend this article concerning painting German Flecktarn camo at 28mm, the colors are different of course but the ACU/ATC pattern follows the same principles (you won't be able to see if the pixels are round or square at this scale ;)

http://www.dhc-wargames.de/index.php?id=81&L=1

The camo pattern that is currently being phased in and which is the norm for Army soldiers in combat zones is based on Crye's Multicam pattern which in turn is used by modern British forces. I have no painting guide for that, unfortunately.
Title: Re: US army uniform paint guide.
Post by: gimzod on 01 August 2015, 07:52:53 PM: Can't find Light Khaki,Light Grey Green and Dark Drab Green in the Vallejo Model Color line. Are they mixed paints?
Title: Re: US army uniform paint guide.
Post by: Cherno on 02 August 2015, 08:38:38 AM: Now that you mention it, they might be general color names rather than VMC names. I never painted UCP (as the pattern is apparently actually called) myself. There are lots of guides on the net, though:

Painting US Army UCP (ACU) camouflage – the easy way (http://ambushalleygames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9677)

Woodlands MARPAT and ACU painting guide (https://dhcwargamesblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/woodlands-marpat-and-acu-painting-guide/)

(http://www.alpineminiatures.com/images/figpix/35069/guide.jpg)
Title: Re: US army uniform paint guide.
Post by: carlos marighela on 02 August 2015, 09:21:49 AM: Isn't the US Army currently transitioning to a new combat pattern based on Multicam? If you want something current, you'll really need to master OCP.

http://gizmodo.com/the-strange-sad-story-of-the-armys-new-billion-dollar-1616285708/1709176006

There is a good Multicam tutorial here on LAF if you do a search.
Title: Re: US army uniform paint guide.
Post by: Cherno on 02 August 2015, 10:37:39 AM: Quote from: carlos marighela on 02 August 2015, 09:21:49 AM
Isn't the US Army currently transitioning to a new combat pattern based on Multicam? If you want something current, you'll really need to master OCP.

http://gizmodo.com/the-strange-sad-story-of-the-armys-new-billion-dollar-1616285708/1709176006

There is a good Multicam tutorial here on LAF if you do a search.

Yes, I wrote that in my first post; the troops in the middle east generally have the new camo, but I think UCP will still be around for the next several years.

Besides, it really depends on what battles the miniatures will take part in; If it's Operation Iraqi Freedom or ISAF/Opperation Enduring Freedom, UCP is the way to go in my opinion.
Title: Re: US army uniform paint guide.
Post by: commissarmoody on 02 August 2015, 07:31:11 PM: Yes the us army is currently issuing the new pattern and will completely faze out the old by 2018.