In terms of Australians in Afghanistan, there are three main camo schemes that come to mind for me.
We have the DPCU (Australian Disruptive Pattern Combat Uniform)
And the DPDU (Australian Disruptive Desert Uniform)
Then there is the later version, the Crye uniform
According to Camopedia, the story goes that....
In late 2010 it was announced that Australian personnel deploying to Afghanistan would all receive US-produced Multicam pattern camouflage uniforms, as it was determined this design had a higher performance rating than the DPCU. A variation of the pattern, developed specifically for Australian military personnel by Crye Industries and incorporating many of the "bunny" and "jellybean" features found in the standard DPCU (although reduced in size), will begin replacing commercial Multicam for troops deploying to Afghanistan in late 2012. The pattern also has a miniature Australian Military Forces (AMF) logo embedded into the design. The Australian Army website is referring to this design as Australian Multicam Pattern (AMP).
So what am I going to paint? Well a long while ago (a year) I got some of the Eureka SEAL miniatures, and painted them up as Australians SAS. On them, I used a mix of DPCU and DPDU. And to be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. The miniatures are ok (not my favourites) but the camo pattern didn't inspire me - I couldn't make it look good!
The Australians from Empress are all wearing the latest Crye uniforms so it seems a shame to not have a crack at the camo!
To get started on trying the camo scheme, I will use a set of spare Empress Miniatures Delta miniatures to make these guys...
Which will give me a chance to square away how I am going to paint the Crye. My plan is to have a go at it over the weekend, and with any luck I should be able to show the process next week!
Pooch
Sounds like a good plan Pooch :) I love that multicam look, and at least the eureka models have nice poses, even if their sculpt detailing isn't quite the same as empress.
ReplyDeletelook forward to seeing the results... the first Aussie camo pic I have always liked it.. very Australian and would look great on a squad.
Multicam should look pretty darn cool I think. Agreed on Eureka v Empress- I can never quite make my mind up over which I prefer. It just seems to be miniature by miniature almost which I prefer.
DeleteThe DPCU is very cool, but the Crye will be more challenging I think!
Very interesting, Pooch. I am thinking about to buy some of the new Empress´miniatures, so I´m really interested in your work!
ReplyDeleteI am certainly waiting with baited breath for them to arrive- they can't come soon enough!
DeleteCan't wait to see these Mr Pooch. Where did these guys deploy and operate?
ReplyDeleteT
The Urzgan province mostly, plus the Australian SAS being involved in the first couple of years in the SF campaign. Have a look at Operation Slipper on wiki, it isn't a terrible reference.
DeleteI should probably go into more detail in a post, right?
Crye is also called ‘multicam’.
ReplyDelete