Painting Waffen SS Erbsenmuster Camouflage

Related imageBy Kreighton Long

No World War Two military incorporated camouflage as extensively as Germany. Most rivet-counters/armchair historians can eyeball camouflaged German infantry and reliably tell you what branch of the German armed forces the camo-clad trooper served.

This is especially true for the Waffen SS. From their first actions in Poland in 1939 through the fall of Berlin in 1945, the SS was equipped with camouflage uniforms that visually set them apart from the Heer and Luftwaffe ground troops.

Unfortunately for tabletop wargamers, painting the different camouflage patterns of the Waffen SS can be an intimidating challenge. Personally, I held off painting my first SS infantry for years after entering the hobby due to a lack of self-confidence.

Since working up the courage to attempt painting SS camouflage, I completed numerous iterations, each time learning how to suck less next time.

By this point, I’ve grown comfortable enough with my work that I’m ready to share my technique. In this tutorial, I intend to lay out the steps I take to replicate erbsenmuster (pea dot) camouflage on my 28mm miniatures. We will be using the following Vallejo paints in this tutorial:  English Uniform (921), German Cam. Black Brown (822), Green Ochre (914), and German Cam. Bright Green (833). 

 

Step One: Begin by base coating the camouflage with a 1:1 mix of Vallejo’s English Uniform (921) and German Cam. Black Brown (822).

 

Step Two: Highlight with English Uniform. When highlighting you can use either a dry brush or straight line method.

Step Three: Apply patches of German Cam. Black Brown (822). Patches should be asymmetrical and spaced out. I aim to cover approximately 1/3rd of the surface area.

 

Step Four: Apply patches of Green Ochre (914). Patches should be asymmetrical and spaced out. Feel free to overlap the Green Ochre patches with the German Cam. Black Brown patches.

 

Step Five: Apply dots of German Cam. Black Brown. Dots should go over the Green Ochre patches and English Uniform foundation.

 

Step Six: Apply dots of Green Ochre. Dots should go over the German Cam. Black Brown patches and English Uniform foundation.

 

Step Seven: Apply dots of German Cam. Bright Green (833). Dots should go over everything.

 

Step Eight: Apply dots of English Uniform (921). Dots should go over the larger patches of Green Ochre and German Cam. Black Brown but can go over anything.

 

Finish painting the rest of your miniature and get it on the table!

I hope this tutorial can be helpful.  Good luck and happy painting!

A video version of this tutorial is available .