Luftwaffe Feldtruppen - Completed

Well several days ago I completed the painting of my gruppe (squad) of Luftwaffe feldtruppen.  But first, let's take a look at their progress from the first report.

Please click on the photographs for a larger image.

The first three photographs show my initial try at the German splinter pattern camouflage.  Now I didn't try to duplicate the exact pattern, just went for an impression.

But the brown seemed to dominate so I added some more layering to the green as shown in the next two photographs.

I still wasn't pleased but I didn't want to get a brighter green as that would tend to counteract the muted approach camouflage takes, in my opinion having worn the Army's woodland pattern battledress uniform in the 1980s and early 1990s.  So I decided that this was 'good enough for government work' and completed the rest of the painting.

And here we have the finished product, a 10-man gruppe of Luftwaffe feldtruppen led by a grizzled veteran of the Russian Front.

My gruppe feldwebel is on the camera left while his companion is watching out for Amis panzers with his panzerfaust.

Hope you like these.  Now on to another German gruppe, this time a gruppe scrounged from ersatz (replacement) depots.

Luftwaffe Feldtruppen - First Report

As I began my reinforcement painting for my WW2 'skirmish' forces, I decided to start with a gruppe (squad) of Luftwaffe ground combat troops.  I had picked up a box of the metal Warlord Luftwaffe troops at a local convention a couple of years ago and now was the time to get them kitted out.

As many of you know, the Luftwaffe contributed some 21 division of non-flying ground personnel to the German war effort.  Originally assigned to the Russian front, they eventually fought in all theaters against the advancing Allied armies.

This gruppe will be assigned to Kampfgruppe Pitzfeld, a conglomeration of whatever troops were available to stem the incoming tide of the Allied forces in northwest Europe.

Please click on the photographs for a larger image.

 These are the first four figures that I've completed.  They wear the standard Luftwaffe blue field uniform and were the easiest to paint.  They are (from left) armed with a Gewehr43 and a panzerfaust, a standard Kar98K, an older MG15, and a submachinegun.

The other six figures are going to be more difficult to paint as they are all wearing either the Luftwaffe or the Heere (Army) splinter camouflage jacket or shelter.  This will be my first try at something as complicated as a camouflage outfit.  I'll post more pictures as the painting progresses.

This is the Luftwaffe pattern jacket.

And this is the Heere pattern.

So we'll see how close I can come.  Wish me luck and a steady hand.