Hello!

Thanks for the info, Stik! That will help me look for references!

And I also got one of the photos the Capn wanted to show us:

Looks a little like I need to make my pattern a little lighter and a little more dustier!

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Well the label, in it’s great GI jargon says: Coat Combat, Battle Dress Uniform, Day Desert Pattern, or something pretty close to that. And then of course each service has their own name for the item.

Hello Cap'n!

Sorry to tell you - the photo still doesn't show :-(

Maybe you'd like to PM or mail it to me - then I'd put it on my server and repost it, I'm very curious about what you have to show.

And I shot a daytime shot to hopefully reproduce the colours better. Here's what it looks like:

Unfortunately I didn't manage anything more, but my daughter urges me to move on with the jacket/blouse/parka (what's the correct term here?). She's a little more than 3 years old and her motivation is she get's to paint the white early on!

Thanks for lookin' and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

I'm afraid the photo you wanted to show didn't make it through.. Could you repost it?

Will try again (Kalmbach is ugly towards google photos)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XN42SLk9zKy294sv9

Hello!

Eaglecash867 - thanks a lot for your kind words!

Capn - as always I can count on you with the interesting info! Thanks a lot! That's true, the cap looks a lot like a train driver's cap. The points aren't very distinct.

I'm afraid the photo you wanted to show didn't make it through.. Could you repost it?

And I tried my hand at the 6-Colour desert camouflage aka "cookie dough" or "chocolate chip" camo. Befor I read about it I didn't even suspect there are so many colours there - but that's because there are two tans (one of them is actually green) and two browns there. I wasn't sure how to show the colours right - here's what I have come up with.

First I had to repair the part that broke befor I even took it out of the box - the red arrow points to the place:

Then I primed the part with Tamiya grey spray primer and painted it all white:

Then I put on a brown wash - I got a nice pinkich tan that automatically shaded itself:

To keep the contrast low I painted the green swaths with a green wash:

I have put some brown stripes on that:

And some darker browns:

Now I put on some dark grey spots (the shadows of the "pebbles" - I didn't want to use pure black):

And now I have painted the pebbles themselves with off white - didn't want to use pure white neither:

And this is what I have so far - I'll work some more on the faults that are just visible in the photos and maybe I'd shade the colurs some more. I'll also get better photos, I'll take them in the daylight. What do you think? Thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

I'm shaving the molded EGA off, too.

Good choice.

François' sculptors did you no favors with the shaps of the cover.  It's meant to have eight very distinct points, with a gusset or pleat from the sweatband up to those points.

Marines were (are) picky about their covers.  There is a pair of items, one is a round fixture, the other is a metal or plastic "stretcher" to hold the exact shape of the cover rigid so that it can be thoroughly be starched.  Very common stuff.  Also handy for when you pack your gear in a seabag.

https://www.grunt.com/products/blk1

Marine issue has a unique NSN (National Stock Number) for covers with a permanent (black) ink EGA.

These are floppity--and old--(USN officers are meant to wear a stack in lieu of rank).  The background colors on the "chips" are sore faded, too.

What...no rip-stop pattern on the cover?  Hehehe.  Just kidding, Pawel.  That looks great so far!  Even looks like he's been deployed in the desert for a little while.

Gamera - thanks a lot, I always wanted my threads not only to be fun, but also educational!

TB - glad it works for you, but it was in an other thread! I think the visor is all right - if I thinned it down it would become very brittle and damage-prone.

Happy new year!

Paweł

Hi Pawel;

     I think the only comment I have is that I might've thinned the visor a little. Other than that, Well Done. Oh, the Stockholm is coming along better than the Doria. Thanks for the advice !

Pawel: Sharp work on the hat, good luck on his pants! 

And interesting thread, I'm getting a whole new education here. 

Hello!

Thanks a lot for your comments. I said - WTF, I'm shaving the molded EGA off, too.

Eaglecash867 - nice idea, but the molding was too fine, all my scribers and needles looked like wrecking balls next to it, I just leveled it, just took some measurements before that.

I started painting the cap. I've found one on e-bay - good reference with many photos that unfortunately can't be easily copied - and try to copy it's pattern almost 1:1. IMO that's the best way to get a realistic pattern. I took some Games Workshop acrylics so that I don't have to wait almost at all until the paint dries. First I have painted the whole cap a tan-yellow, trying to keep it shaded (the recesses to be darker):

Then added green patches:

Then some olive drab:

Then the black squiggles:

Then I painted on something EGA-like and tried to additionally shade it all, making the top surfaces lighter at the same time to suggest some fading:

So here's how the Captain looks like at the moment:

I think I will now try my hand on the "chocolate chip" on the trousers, let's se how this turns out. Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Actually,Stik:

     You are about 95% correct. So Pawel would be correct going with the Iron On look too. Either way would look okay. I had both so it is really a moot point. Our Major preferred we present with the Metal one. As far as the field it was our call.

    I really preffered anything But Metal. Metal can make noise! Noise is your enemy!

Pawel, I’d suggest that you do an image search. It’s likely gonna be pretty rare to find a metal EGA on the cover in that era. 

Well;Stik, See there.

Things do change. My brothers(101stAirborne and 82nd Airborne called theirs Covers!)

Sorry Pawel;

 When I was in you had a choice and most opted for the Metal Device. Many used the Iron -On Device only to have it start peeling off.The early ones weren't that sticky!

Maybe you could lightly scribe around the edges of the EGA before shaving it off, and that would also help keep sharp edges for your simulated iron-on?

Yeah, I've read about that too! It's tempting to leave it as is for ease of painting.. The question now - how unlikely would it be for a Marine officer to have something like that? If you tell me it's a no go, I'd probably shave the metal EGA off and try to paint on something, or look for a decal.

Thanks a lot and have a nice day

Paweł

One other thing. The EGA worn on the utility cover is usually an iron on transfer, not  a metal device.

Hello everybody!

Thanks a lot for your comments!

While researching the "Utility cover" - I was mainly looking for good woodland pattern for the cap - I've found a "Verlindenitis" symptom to get rid of:

"Unlike the Army, Marines do not wear rank insignia on the cover, instead there is an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor in the middle of the cap" - but the good ole Francois managed to squeeze captain bars under the EGA (Eagle-Globe-Anchor). I have to remove them before I go on with painting.

Have a nice day

Paweł

Cool, like how this is coming Pawel! 

Tanker-Builder

Hi Stik;

 Just a little gem here. In all the services a hat is referred to as a cover.

 

Not in the US Army. Headgear is referred to by the name of the item: Helmet, soft cap/patrol cap, beret, garrison cap, etc.

Hi Stik;

 Just a little gem here. In all the services a hat is referred to as a cover.

ODA 525 was a team from 5th Group inserted into the Euphrates Valley on a road watch mission on the eve of the ground war in Feb.1991. Their hide site was compromised, and they had to hold off numerically  superior Iraqi Forces for hours, eventually with the help of danger close close air support until they could be extracted.

once again another nice long detailed reply eliminated by FSMs soup sandwich forum iOS interface.

Aha!

 Don't forget Pawel, The Globe and Anchor would be Black, or on the miniature, shades therof. I have one little figure of a German farmer. In 1/35, Don't remember where I got him , but he turned out looking like an early picture of Josef Stalin.

Hello!

Thanks a lot for your great comments.

Stik - thank you for the photo references. Can you tell me more on the ODA 525? It's the first time I hear the name of this unit mentioned.

Gamera - I can use moral support, too! Welcome!

TB - a good boss is a treasure, in the military probably even more than in a civilian job where you don't need to put your life on the line.

I'm having a few days off between the holidays - so there's no better opportunity to clock some modelling time! Here's what I did with the face of my fig. First I put on some Tamiya grey spray primer, I let it dry and then I put on a layer of Humbrol 63:

This needs to dry well - 24 hours or more. Once this is dry I put on some dark brown wash made out of Humbrol brown paint diluted with airbrush thinner:

Now this wash doesn't need to be dry before I mix white paint with (very little of) the same brown used before, getting a pale pink shade, that I dry-brush on the face to create highlights. Here's the effect:

I've also tried to bend the colours a little by applying some acrylics. Those were the Games Workshop "Kislev Flesh" and "Cadian Fleshtone" (those names!) - they turned out to be almost perfect match to what already had been there:

Finally I took some more Games Workshop dark grey and painted the eyes and the moustache:

The lower lip was also painted brown - it's hard to spot in the photo but it really makes a difference.

Now I need to work on the cover - I'd be glad for some references. I'm especially interested in how the underside of the visor looked - or the correct name of the cap, so I can google for more references.

Thanks for looking and have a ncie day

Paweł

Ah, Pawel!

 This is an Officer that endgendered, Duty, Honor, and Country to his men. I don't know how he did it , But I imagine there was OCS or something like that for him as well. But I will say this.The Crew would,ve Gone to Hell and Back for that man and our ship. Now I cannot speak for the other officers. I know that NO One trusted or liked the X.O. He came across as a Sleazeball.

     Oh, he( The X.O.) also came from a Heavy Cruiser that De-Commissioned. I don't think he liked FRAM destroyers anyway. Or any Destroyer at that, Especially one that was as older than he was. I had worn out Sergeant level M.O.S.s after my transfer to the Marine Corps, and Was offered a Warrant after school. I turned it down.

 Althoutgh I do respect the Uniform, If I cannot respect the Man I cannot do it. To many Line Officers look down on OCS and other step-ups as lesser than they and don't mind showing it. The Academy grads are the worst!

Don't know enough to give any advice but I can supply moral support- this looks really cool Pawel and good luck with him!

Found a photo of a Delta team wearing chocolate chips DCUs during Scud hunting ops in Deserts Storm

Gen Schwarzkopf was an interesting soldier. It is reputed that he loved his enlisted troops but was hell on his staff officers. I can look and see what I can find for SOF troops in chocolate chips.

As far as ODA 525 goes, their hide site for road overwatch was in a farm area of the Euphrates Valley, and was green with vegetation at that time. The BDUs make more sense than DCUs for that locale. 

My understanding was that many recently arrived units from Europe, such as VIIth Corps did not get DCUs until after the cease fire. But then again, aside from XVIIIth Airborne Corps out west, all US heavy forces were in MOPP gear in case of chemical attack. The MOPP suits came in either solid olive green or woodland camo. I havent seen Three Kings in years, but I think that they had woodland MOPP suits on in the movie over their DCUs.

TB - musta been really somethin', serving under such an officer!

Capn - sure counted on your help on this one! The Verlinden model looks like an older, respectable Marine, maybe the good old Francois wanted to show a "mustang" with his miniature.

I generally planned to do a lighter colour uniform on my figure, than the one seen on the boxtop photo.

stik - good to see you on my thread! I think I'll go with classic jungle boots here. I read the good ole' Norm employed a lieutenant or a captain to keep his bathroom clean - I wouldn't want to model someone like that...

That's a very nice photo you posted - wouln't you have any showing a "chocolate chip" camo?

I also wanted to ask you about this one thing I first noted looking at the "Three Kings" movie - that woodland camo vest, in the movie it looks a bit like they wear woodland at night and "chocolate chip" underneath that and during the daytime. Can you tell me more on the woodland/chocolate chip mixture?

Thanks a lot for your great comments and have a nice day

Paweł