Hey guys, so Im doing a what if, and im trying to make my own camo pattern, but everything I try seems... off.

I did it in a two color pattern



then a 3 color pattern.



After adding the 3rd color tone and not liking it I decided to try something else, I added a white dot camo type of thing.



Im not sure if it works or not, what do you think

I take it this is a 1/35 figure so camo a challenge to begin with for such a small size.
as its a `what if` scenario then you are pretty much free to do what you want. I think it looks to close to the real pea dot pattern for a `what if`.

Why not go for large squares in different colour schemes, that would be different as most camo except Urban are non straight edged, if you Google

`Berlin Brigade Camo` you will get an idea of what i mean.

Heres an example

Steve

Ah, the Berlin Brigade Camo.......................still gives me headaches over 20years later lol

Barrie

Thanks for the quick comments. I had gotten that kind of suggestion from others but its not a modern build, its a WWII what if. I wanted to save you guys my late night ponderings but this is the 'basic' back story to what im working on.

(this is cut pasted, so if there is any 'WTF' is he saying, just ask and ill clarify)
Idea is that the US didnt win the indian wars and was forced to stay in it's 13 colony (basically format) all of the Planes tribes eventually grouped together inorder to keep their lands safe from the Americans in the east, Mexicans in the west (lower texas through california), Russians from the north west of canada and Alaska, and British from north eastern canada. Eventually, through the help of the french because of good relations through Louisiana they instituted a food for ... program, getting training, weapons, and everything like that throughout the 1800s. After the Russian Revolution in Europe the idea of communism, which is quite similar to how native tribes lived originally, spread and was adopted. In 41 when Germany declared war on Russia all of her allies, including the Plains nations, joined her side. Even though the United States could not muster the numbers that were needed the cities did manufacture weapons and arms for the allied troops. After failed attempts at invading England, but successfully holding africa, europe and the rest of her holdings launched an invasion of north America. This Little dio is going to show a small scene between a Lakota special forces operative and a german Machine gun nest somewhere near the Ohio River.



Taking ALL THAT into account, for the figure I used a mix of custom made details and Russian accessories. As far as the camo I was just thinking forest and planes in general, figgured with the bare planes a light brown might suit it well. Latley I added the white dots both taking from the german dot camo and also from the white dots that baby deer have on their coats (again going back to the native american aspect for ideas)

I'd suggest you have a quick read through this 1944 U.S. Army field manual on personal camouflage to get a taste of the way they viewed this in those days:

http://www.efour4ever.com/cammo.htm

You might find Figures 16, 17 and 18 of particular interest to you.


You might also want to take a look at the U.S.Army HBT camouflage suits from the 1940s for ideas to start you off. Good photos can be seen here:

http://www.oakleafmilitaria.com/0712us-u1.html

so I take it from your suggestion the white dots dont look good either. I checked them out, thanks alot theres alot of interesting stuff there,
Im thinking of going over the white dots with different colors more like the german pea dot schemes

The light coloured (if maybe not pure white) dots actually make a bit of sense, especially for a camouflage intended for forests. The Soviets had the same idea when they designed their KLMK "sun bunnies" camouflage suits in the 1960s.

I think you're now having the same problems that real life camouflage designers have always had. One camouflage scheme is great for one environment but not so good in another.

In any case I think desert (or "plains") camouflage patterns are a relatively modern thing, in the 1940s some variant of plain khaki was generally worn (the painted sniper suits in the document I linked you to are quite interesting, though).

What about khaki trousers with a camouflage jacket? Out on the plains, the jacket would be caked with dust quite quickly blending in even more (one explanation often given for the "red devils" nickname the Gerrmans gave British paratroopers was that their camouflage smocks were caked in red dust in the deserts of Tunisia). That sort of mixed outfit was certainly worn by the soldiers of several armies in the 1940s.

I think the white dots, even for a what-if, have too much contrast relative to the other colors. I'd tone them down a bit and go for a more restrained look.

That gives me alot to think about guys.

I thought about just doing a solid color, but its not meant to be a GI type of soldier but a special forces kind of deal.

I do think you are white, the white dots have to much contrast, I may just go over them each with different colors.

Ok, so I tried covering up the dots with the other colors from the base... it didn't turn out well.




I really need some help here.

I think your latest efforts are much better than your earlier ones.

The goal of this type of camoflague (whether real or "what if") is to create a disruptive pattern that breaks up the shape of the soldier against a natural background. Therefore you should avoid using straight lines, regular shapes and patterns and unnatural colours.

You may like to add a few thin black "lightning bolt" lines on this cam, similar to the US Woodland cam pattern, to break up some of the larger areas of colour and provide contrast to the lighter colour dot patterns.

Good luck with this. It's an interesting creative exercise.

Try doing a google image search for KLMK, for Multicam and for Alpenflage. These are modern designs, but they all include light patches and might give you a hint as to how to fix your own pattern.

You seem to be trying to "invent" your camouflage pattern by painting it directly onto your figure. If that's what you're doing then I'd advise against it. Paint your experimental patterns onto bits of plastic card, or something like that, first (or on your PC if you have graphics software). It'll be much easier to chop and change them that way and, once you've got something you like, you can copy it cleanly onto the figure.