Uniform FAQ

Warm welcome to you Lustmolch. Thanks for your post. Hope you find this place as interesting as the 3RF!

Interesting what you say about the leaning towards the slate grey, I thought they went browner from 1943 onwards...(unless of course I have totally misunderstood what slate grey is!!)

"M43"
(source: Landser)

"M44"
(source: Landser)

[ 09. December 2003, 08:35 AM: Message edited by: BratwurstDimSum ]

 

Lustmolch, I think you missed my point, that the problem with NVA stuff is that it contains materials that the German army did not use because they didn't have them at the time.

I see what you are getting at with the slate grey thing, I think part of the problem is that whilst early on in the war uniforms tended to be green/grey later they shifted greatly towards the greys and browns.

I agree 100% with the uniformity thing, you have to keep in the back of your mind that a German soldier was issued an item of kit and was expected to use it until it fell apart, thus you could wind up with veteran soldiers wearing the newest uniforms because their old ones were worn out for example. This was true throughout the war, I was watching some footage of german troops in France and picked out at least 4 variations on tunic patterns.

As for the flames, stoke up the fire all you like, thats the whole point of the thread

 

Point taken re the NVAs - though having said that, I think there must be a *certain* amount of wool in the blend - that or the moths in my place have mutated and can eat synthetics.

I have a converted NVA outfit myself, unfortunately I have expanded a bit in recent years, the tunic fits snugly and the trousers! - not a hope in hell's chance of getting them on! Was I really that small once?

As has been noted, it is the turnback cuffs that is a major pain when converting an NVA (we can't all be officers) but I think I may have a solution. My non fitting trousers may end up becoming sleeves.

What I have done so far, is to remove the turnback cuffs altogether, this leaves the sleeves too short but if a greatcoat is worn, this won't show. In the summer, just roll the sleeves up and nobody will be the wiser. The previous owner succeeded in dying the outfit as mine is now a sage-green colour.

I no longer have the time nor the money at my disposal to participate in re enactments as I once did, being restricted to maybe 1 small private battle once a year (if that). The participants are by and large unaffiliated to any other group and we concentrate on doing our stuff out in the woods, with a large beer up in the billet in the evening. Nothing too serious, though everyone who takes part is respectful of the people who did it for real.

 

It is vitally important not to be wearing the tunic at the time!!!!

 

You are correct about the rear seam in the Swedish tunics. What makes it so noticeable is that it has been folded and stitched like the seam you see on the back of a British Battledress. When I did my conversions I found that I could make it less noticeable by cutting the stitching where it was folded, and pressing the edges flat from inside (they should look like an open book). This reduces the seam a lot though you will still have the line there, of course. With the Y straps, and equipment in place, this is largely hidden anyway. If all else fails, a Zeltbahn covers up a multitude of sins, is 100% authentic, good at breaking up your outline and looks good for photos.

 

That is a fantastic idea, I will have to have a go with mine at some point soon. I agree on the Zeltbahn thing, they look great and are dead comfy but all too often ignored by re-enactors.

 

The DADDY of reenactors sites, easily with the best weapons,kit and Wehrmact uniform photos:

http://site27663.dellhost.com/Wehrmacht/HTML%20Pages/Uniforms/hobnails.html

eg.



and



Main reenactor site is here:
http://site27663.dellhost.com/Wehrmacht/HTML%20Pages/thefront.html

they also have pics of artillery, vehicles, its all there!

 

Nice site, loads of good photos and so on.

 

On two seperate occasions I have nearly 1) blown my own eye out and 2) nearly blinded someone else through forgetting the safety margin. In the first instance I had a staring pistol (.22 longs) in my hand and went to scratch my nose - bloody stupid in retrospect. In the second instance someone ran across my line of vision and i automatically pointed my rifle at him. Under normal circumstances I would have aimed in the air. Not that I am trying to justify my actions - they were just plain stupid. There is an awful lot of crap blown out of a rifle barrel, it travels quite a distance and is dangerous - don't make the same mistakes as I did.

 

This is a sticky, its nice to get a debate going on this board for once .

 

Stefan, You know me to never leave a bone alone, I'm referring to your comment above about the extra seams not being present on a real uniform. Today I became the proud owner of about 100 photos from a private estate, check out the mug shot of the former owner, I think I found one of those dreaded seams. The other methinks is hidden under the material. What do you think?



Huge pic is here:
http://members.tripod.co.uk/crookintheguts1/WW2/heersoldier.jpg

Also, Look at the first of the two pictures of "reenactors" uniforms above (the one with the Mp40), the two seems are there too!

[ 15. December 2003, 03:51 PM: Message edited by: BratwurstDimSum ]

 

I never claimed to be an expert, i just said I didn't like it . All the same, the seems are different, look at the way they curve out at the neck, the distances and so on. I still don't like it.

 

An interesting Subject,
I myself am in possetion of what I thought was a reproduction of a dress uniform until we took some of the insignia off to discover original makers labels on the back of the insignia.
As such these have now been put in place and the uniform insured!
As for the colour it is certainly bluer than those field ones shown here.

 

got a picture mate? If you can't host it send it to me and I'll host it for ya. PM me.

 

As to my shooting a hole in my tunic pocket I used a blank and I was wearing the tunic. It was an accident and I don't advise anyone to try it at home. I got lucky and could have seriously injuried myself. On a lighter note, it looks pretty cool like a piece of shrapnel tore through it.

 

Having made such a big issue of farbe uniform colours recently, I've kinda contradicted myself by actually buying a pair of Swiss(?) wartime trousers at the Stoneleigh Militaria show. The great thing though, instead of being $80-90 like one vendor tried to offer them to me for, I got them at a 40s stand specialising in "Glen miller"-style clothes for £15! ($30) . Stefan I've taken a pic of the button on the top pocket flap of the trousers, can you confirm that it is/isn't Swiss?



[ 25. January 2004, 10:19 AM: Message edited by: BratwurstDimSum ]

 

It is Swedish, I used to use a pair until I got some repro trousers, they aren't bad. You need to take the leg pockets off (if they haven't gone already) and the crown buttons, also the braces buttons should be on the inside. There is more that needs changeing but that is the basic stuff.

Nice snag, they usually go for between £8 and £20 so £15 is about right.

 

Bratwurst

re your Swedish trousers - there are a couple of varieties available. If they have two buttoned tabs tucked in the back of the waistband then they are very close to the 1944 type. The only major modification needed is to take off the large cargo pockets on each leg as seen on this example (scroll down to view)

http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/reenactors/index.htm

Incidentally, SoF appear to be offering some of their tunics at reduced prices - take a look.

 

No tabs here but there is a date of 1958 and 100 FVL on the waist liner.