Welll, actually they can be a darker shade because not all field uniform equipment was issued at the same time, and you can have a soldier in a worn/faded uniform with a new helmet (hence fresher,darker paint), etc.
In fact in reality, if you study enough WWII photographs, you willl find it was SELDOM like they tend to show in the nice color illustrations where everything is like it "should" be, where you have the typically shown contradiction of seasoned crack troops that suddenly are fielded with nice all-new uniforms and equipment in the middle of an on-going majopr engagement, with not even a spot of mud or dirt on them.
There is a modeler who posted placed human maintenance figures for his naval aircraft on this website, who are shown man-handling the aircraft on a carrier deck with perfectly bright clean fingers!
Even when I do pilot figures, I generally seek to use different shades for the jacket vs. the pants, etc., especially for 1/32 or larger.
Tom T
Tom T
“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”-Henry Ford
"Except in the fundamentals, think and let think"- J. Wesley
"I am impatient with stupidity, my people have learned to live without it"-Klaatu: "The Day the Earth Stood Still"
"All my men believe in God, they are ordered to"-Adolph Hitler