28mm late war British & Germans

[Harry Faversham]

Interesting; thanks for info.
I was using the Osprey book 'The Paras: British Airborne Forces 1940-1984' as a guide, and the pics of NCOs show chevrons on both sleeves so I just went ok and copied the illustrations.

Great illustrations, but some of 'em (typical of Osprey) miss by a mile, don't paint Airlanding Brigade blokes with them big yellow flashes either, they're post war. The bloke in the piccys is a member of the Glider Pilot Regiment, they often wore rank chevrons on both sleeves of the Denison smock, just to muddy the waters a bit more. Paratroopers and Air Landing blokes right arm only on the Denison. It's a small point, but with the standard you paint to...
get it right yew 'orrible little man yew!!!

[commissarmoody]

well Mr Hicks will know far better than I ! But I heard some more guys in battledress and jerkin (without windproof) and with Mark II helmet.
EC

Not bad, got to give those guys some love. But still hope to see more in windproofs and mark 3's to help finish up this part of the line. Need those crew served, support, engines and arty. Especially the shot moutain guns. 
See we are never satisfied!

[Ash]

Great illustrations, but some of 'em (typical of Osprey) miss by a mile, don't paint Airlanding Brigade blokes with them big yellow flashes either, they're post war. The bloke in the piccys is a member of the Glider Pilot Regiment, they often wore rank chevrons on both sleeves of the Denison smock, just to muddy the waters a bit more. Paratroopers and Air Landing blokes right arm only on the Denison. It's a small point, but with the standard you paint to...
get it right yew 'orrible little man yew!!!

Cheers Harry, I spotted his pilot wings, I just liked that picture.
There are a couple of other plates in the book with chevrons on both sleeves, but having looked at a lot of pics of period Deisons there do seem to be more with chevrons on the one sleeve than both inc GPR blokes. Also even more with no badges (wings) at all.

What do you make of this one;

[Shahbahraz]

'Make sure it's sitting well off to the side, or you won't be telling any tales to your grandkids'

[Harry Faversham]

What do you make of this one;

I love all the illustrations in that Osprey. Two particular favourites are the Suez Para with Sten mag in top pocket, and the Bandit Country Jimpy gunner with the long hair.
There's a couple of piccys of early war Paratroops training at Ringway wearing wings across their rank chevrons, if memory serves they're in the 'For King and Country' book about Airborne uniforms?

[Harry Faversham]

Cheers Harry, I spotted his pilot wings, I just liked that picture.
There are a couple of other plates in the book with chevrons on both sleeves, but having looked at a lot of pics of period Deisons there do seem to be more with chevrons on the one sleeve than both inc GPR blokes. Also even more with no badges (wings) at all.

It's a great subject from which to get egg on yer face from spouting off about, as I'm wont to do. F'rinstance most of the Recce lads were jump wing wearing Paratroopers who joined up with their glider borne jeeps on the L/Zs. Then there's the Airborne Landing Brigade Troops, looking almost identical to the Paras, till you gorm there's no jump wings at all. Each time I finish the ultimate 'Airborne Uniform Tablet of Stone', something new crops up, and I cast it down and start chiseling away again!

[Cubs]

There's a couple of piccys of early war Paratroops training at Ringway wearing wings across their rank chevrons, if memory serves they're in the 'For King and Country' book about Airborne uniforms?

That's a superb reference book. It's not cheap, but is an enormously rich source for painting and understanding the British (plus Commonwealth and Polish) airborne kit of WW2. Paul Hicks' guys are early war, with the Mk1 Denison smock (with ribbed cuffs), but there's absolutely no reason why guys later in the war would not be wearing older style stuff they've retained, or been issued with from a quartermaster with early issue gear.

Soldiers sewed on their wings, patches and stripes themselves, so atypical combinations of placing might be expected. Someone who has newly acquired jump wings and transferred from Glider Airborne to Para may not have the time (or inclination) to remove a set of stripes too, plus NCO's (and officers) didn't always display their rank badges in battle to avoid being sniper bait, so it's always going to be a muddle.

[Ash]

 'For King and Country', sounds like a good target for a new book hunt!

@ Harry: One thing about these Paras I found hard to pin down was the colour of the berets. I saw a lot of illustrations/ pictures of painted minis with them wearing very red (like modern MPs) berets, I went for more of a modern purple'ish shade of maroon, as I thought the WW2 SAS red was a different shade from the Paras. Any idea which is more acurate?

Also just found this picture by Mike Chappell of a Suez Para (note very scarlet red beret)



This looks interesting:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/2352502055/?coliid=I3STSVBN60NHQQ&colid=1B3B64XV3XWEC&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Harry Faversham]

Plus NCO's (and officers) didn't always display their rank badges in battle to avoid being sniper bait, so it's always going to be a muddle.

"Men At Arnhem' sums this up perfectly, Major Tom Angus ordering his Occifers and NCOs to remove rank badges as he became concerned at the way he thought Jerry snipers were singling them out.

[Danger Close Miniatures]

That's the thing about maroon berets, they're not as red as people think. I think this is a good example of variation, between the new ones of the crows and the faded ones of the instructors.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

On the subject of beret colours, someone on this forum was using the unfortunately named Citadel Screamer Pink very successfully for Airborne berets.

[tin shed gamer]

Maroon always has been always will be.

It's a peculiar fabric colour to paint in scale as it changes with the play of light .
As demonstrated in the photograph the colour reflected from the plain of the CO's and WO2's berets is also caught in the creases of the troopers beret.Whilst further down the file this shade isn't visible.Not because they're new or older berets simply because of the light(we always naturally and automatically assume its a clear sky and photo's are taken in the open with out the influenced of shade.)
Thats not to say older berets don't fade. It's my personal experience that the colour lightens not to a red hue but a pink and yellow hue. On the plain and ridges.(God help you if your trying to wearing one that knackered .)
Personally I'd avoid using any reference material that uses painted illustrations.Over full colour photographs of origional kit.
Europa Militeria publications tend to be more affordable and use modern full colour photographs of people in period kit .

This is one of those misnomers that pop up all the time.
Mainly Because one phrase is niggling the back of your bonce.
"The Red Devils"
This as many know is a phrase coined by the Germans.But it doesn't originate as the discription of the beret colour(your average joe isnt familiar with a colour wheel so maroon is a reddish colour to most people.)
It's a combination of the beret colour ,units fighting style,and a sporting metaphor.
In the mid thirties the French coined the phrase to descibe the aggressive and relentless style of British football (Manchester United in particular.)
Just like Tommies it's a nickname but one that describes a subcategory by using  a common reference .As Paratroopers were a new concept for both sides and not instantly recognized as a term for aggressive and tenacious opponents.
So it's not a great leap to link the nickname of well known aggressive british team to aggressive british troops in reddish berets.
To instantly convey what type of opponents they are to others who haven't faced them .
It always sounds tenuous once you've the advantage of history and hindsight.Rather than It being in the moment.
Who doesn't remember having to look up where on earth the Falklands where(all of us in the school library trying to figure out where are parents where being sent)? Today it's pretty much a given to know where they are.

(Sorry about that it's one of those things you can say in seconds but takes hours to read.)

In short I stick with a maroon based coat dark blue to shade and pale pink and yellow to highlight .
Coz it matches me own

[Harry Faversham]

Some say the nickname was first coined in Tunisia. The dust in the hills covered everything in a reddish hue. When the Paras came at the Germans with the tail of their smocks swinging loose (that pattern Denison not having press studs to hook them at the back) covered in red dust the Jerry's called them 'Red Devils'.

[tin shed gamer]

Ah the Pathe News PR version.
It wasn't a term of endearment and was used before Tunisia.Tunisia just became a plausible way to qualify and take heroic ownership of the term. It played out in a similar way to the myth of carrots and night vision.( better to have a nickname that invokes visions of heroism in the public eye than the fact that it refers to your loved ones as dirty hard core nasty pasties)
The big problem with that version (once you take a closer look)is every man and his dog was covered in it regardless of unit or nationality.
So singling out one unit as been noticeably covered in it when you blow your nose and thats all that comes out.Seem a little odd.

[Harry Faversham]

But, but. I thought it was because only devils have tails?