Painting World War Two Italian Camouflage

By Kreighton Long

A sample of M1929 telo mimetico provided by fellow geek and co-conspirator of the author, Mr. Jeffrey Whitlock.

The Italian Army, or Regio Esercito, was the first military in the world to mass-produce camouflage equipment for their soldiers. The M1929 telo mimetico was utilized by Italian soldiers and paratroopers as well as by Italy’s German ally during the course of World War Two.

For my Italian paratrooper army project I knew I needed to commit hard to the camouflage pattern and after a few trial runs incorporating feedback I reached a scheme that was close to accurate while still being doable.

To accomplish my version of Italian camouflage I used the following Vallejo colors: Russian Uniform WWII [924], German Camo Medium Brown [826], Yellow Green [881], and Buff [976].

Paint the foundation of the uniform. I started with a 1:1 mix of Black and Russian Green, added a layer of Russian Green, then highlighted with a 2:1 mix of Russian Green and Buff.

Add blobs and bars of brown. I used German Camo Medium Brown and then highlighted over the brown with a 2:1 mix of German Camo Medium Brown and Buff. Refer to the reference photos you are basing your work on.

Add small patches of Yellow Green highlighted with a 1:1 mix of Yellow Green and Buff.

Finish painting the remainder of the paratrooper, base it, and get it on the gaming table!

Happy painting!