are there any suggestions you guys can give to the steps taken to paint waffen ss oakleaf summer patterns? i have a few figures with zeltbans that i am preparing to paint but dont know exactly how to go about painting them. i also have a figure that needs to be painted in the splinter pattern, any help is appreciated

Check out Jaume Ortiz's new figure on his v-bench. Excellent job of painting fall oak leaf. Personally, I would start with a brown color as the base, then add in the camo. I find it helps to look at photos of the real thing as to get an understanding of the pattern, and have pics handy while painting. I happen to have a reproduction M42 camo field cap that I use as a guide while painting.
Here are some links:
http://www.1944militaria.com/waffen_ss_camouflage.htm
www.atthefront.com
http://pacificcoast.net/~gmax/uniforms/sscamoflage.htm
http://www.timelinesforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131

Here are the vallejos I use for the fall pattern:
Base- 825 German camo pale brown
large orange spots- 824 German camo orange ochre
brown spots-826 German camo medium brown
dark brown spots- 822 SS black brown
These are the basic colors, and should look ok by themselves. I have experimented with mixing some of the following to them:
872 Chocolate brown
981 Orange brown
821 German cam beige
Sometimes I also add some pink or basic skin tone, experiment and see what you like.

Spring pattern:
Base- 825 camo pale brown
light green- 827 lime green
dark green-850 medium olive
other green- 833 German camo bright green
brown- 826 camo medium brown
Once again, experiment with mixing different colors to these to get something you like.

thanks for the help evan. all of your resources are widely appreciated. i now have about 6 pictures of some real clear repos of oakleaf smocks on my workbench and should have a little bit of an easier time painting it now. one more question though, how come some of the oakleaf patterns have some black in them wile others dont?