Welcome To My German Equipment Alterations Page Two.

Mess Tin  Shoulder Bag  Bread Bag  M43 Cap  MG Case  'Y' Strap  Map Case  Gebirgsjager Backpack  Gebirgsjager Gaiters  Gebirgsjager Trousers  Repainting DiD Boots  Repainting a briefcase   Belt Buckles  Soldier Story Cap

German Insignia   German Equipment   Dusty Uniforms  Boot Changes  Weathering Weapons

Mess Tin

The mess can's above are for comparison purposes, on the left is a Dragon one as it comes from the box, the centre one is the DiD type from my figure, and the one on the right is the Toys City version again straight from the box. Note: Out of all of these I much prefer to use the metal DiD mess tin with my figure's. Because with a little work with some sandpaper, I can make the scuffs, wear marks and damage look a lot more realistic, than I can ever do with paint.

The picture above centre has been touched up with the pastel chalk making sure that it gets into the gap above and below the raised lip, I also took the strap off and covered it in the chalk, which was wiped off to leave it on the edges, I then put the strap back on and then gave it a final wipe over. The DiD metal mess tin as shown in the last two pictures above right, show a new DiD mess tin next to an altered one. For this it was just rubbed over gently on the edges with some sandpaper, to get some wear detail on it.

Shoulder Bag

The picture on the right shows the alteration's that I have done to the DiD shoulder bag, with a new bag on the left and the changed one on the right. The first thing I did was repaint the bag and strap with some Daler-Rowney Burnt Sienna 221 artists acrylic paint, the purpose of this is that the paint is almost the same colour of the original bag.

So I now had the strap edges the same colour as the bag, once this was dry I then went over everything heavily with a Dark Brown pastel chalk. I then got a damp tissue and rubbed the chalk into the bag, making sure I got it into the edges and the stitching, as well as the strap edges. I then used a dry tissue to wipe off what was left, and when the bag finally dried off, the colour had changed to the one on the right.

Bread Bag

The DiD cloth breadbag shown right, had some Light Sand Tamiya Weathering Powder rubbed into the edges to lighten them, also to make the whole bag look a bit more worn.

I also repainted the 'pleather' parts on the bag with some of the Model Color 540 Matt Medium to remove the glossy look to them. Again a new bag is alongside as a comparison.

M43 Cap

Another item that I forgot about was the cap that I have shown on the right, as this was an experiment I did where again I have used the green cloth backing under the Heer M43 cap insignia. I done this because I read somewhere about how some Gebirgsjager troops did this to the badge, to show off the Edelweiss insignia better.

This was done the same way as the backing for the Narvik shield on my Heer Officer page. The hardest part of doing this with the M43 cap, was the cutting around the Edelweiss badge with my model knife to remove as much of the double sided tape as possible. Note: I found that if any tape is sticking out on the edges afterwards, I just gently pressed it under the insignia edges with the point of my model knife.

Note from Pzrwest - With the Gebirgsjager badge as shown on the right, the Austrians had the green badge backing and the Germans no backing from what I read.

Page Update

I have been recently been buying some of the items as shown here that have been made by Toys City instead, and even though they are made of a softer and thinner 'Pleather' (vinyl type of material). I have been getting the same kind of results as I have done with the DiD items. But I have found that to lose the glossy look of the material, they work better after a coat of the Black artists acrylic paint rather than the Matt Medium. Since it gives me a better base for the pastel chalks to stick to, as it is now a rougher surface.

 MG Case

These pictures are of how I have altered the DiD MG accessory case, this item like the holster and ammunition pouches are made of a 'Pleather' (vinyl type of material). And I do prefer to use items like this with my figure's, rather than the harder plastic one's.

1. 2. 3.

In Picture 1. above this is the original new case as it came from the boxed figure, Picture 2. is after I have repainted it with some Black artists acrylic paint. When that was dry I then gave it a wash over with the Model Color 540 Matt Medium, to dull it down further. To add some highlights to the case and to bring out the stitching, in Picture 3. I then gave it a light drybrush of a Black/White pastel chalk mix.

'Y' Strap

This is a DiD 'Y' strap and it has had the same weathering treatment done to it to make it look older, that I have done to my other 'pleather' parts. I altered it to remove the new look to it by mixing some Black acrylic paint and some Matt Medium together to get the dull colour to it, I also painted over the cloth material parts as well.

Once it was dry I scraped the paint off of the connecting rings and I then gave it a light drybrush over the top and the edges with some Tamiya Light Sand weathering powders. Which has helped to both age the strap as well as highlighting the edges and the threads.

Map Case

These pictures are of how I have changed the DiD Map case on the left below, the method for the Black case is the same as the way I worked on the MG case above. I also did the same to the other case.

With the Brown case below I found that I had to use the same method that I used for the DiD shoulder bag, but the paint I used for this map case was some Daler-Rowney Burnt Umber 223 artists acrylic paint. But with this map case I had a slight accident with the paint, as I did not clean my brush properly after using the Black paint.

So it has come out a bit patchy on the strap, plus also a slightly darker Brown than I wanted. So I had to repaint some of the case with the Brown paint again, to remove the blotchy look it has. To add some highlights to the case and to bring out the stitching and the edges, I then gave it a light drybrush of a Brown/White pastel chalk mix.

Gebirgsjager Backpack

This section is about how I have altered the Toys City Gebirgsjager backpack, the first thing I did was to use the Model Color 540 Matt Medium acrylic paint to lose the shine on all of the straps.

I then wanted a slightly different colour to the backpack, when compared as in the picture on the right with a new one. Note: The new pack is on the left.

To do this I rubbed some Brown and White pastels onto my sanding pad, mixed it together and put my finger into it a lightly rubbed it into the material to get the slightly different colour as shown. I then gave the whole bag a light brush over with a large dry fan brush, to get rid of any loose pastel chalk.

I then got a cotton bud and the Tamiya Light Sand weathering powder, and then lightly rubbed over each of the seams and edges of the pack to lighten them slightly. This can be seen in the pictures above, so it gives the impression of the whole bag being dirty, but the seams and folds around the pouches are lighter because the dirt has not got into them.

The bag then was given a light brush over again with the large fan brush, to blend all of the colours in together. The stick grenades in the side of the backpack were made by Dragon and to darken them, I gave the wooden parts a rub over with some Dark Tan shoe polish. This was then left to dry, and I just gave them all a light rub over with a clean tissue.

Gebirgsjager Gaiters

With the DiD gaiters that I wanted to use with one of my kitbashes, I found that I could not get them as tight on the leg as I wanted, and I found that the problem is that they only had one thread for the lacing at the top as shown above left. So I replaced the thread as shown in the next picture, but for the lace here I used a longer piece of thread. Note: I have found to get the thread though the eyelets easier, I put some superglue on the each of the thread ends, I then wiped it on a cloth and left it to dry.

Then I put one end of the thread through the eyelet at the bottom of the gaiter, and pulled it up loosely inside the gaiter. And I then used the other end to lace up the outside as shown, and after putting this through the eyelet at the top I now have two thread ends inside the gaiter to tie off. So now I can put the gaiters on the figure, and I can also pull the threads on the outside tighter to make the gaiter look more realistic.

Gebirgsjager Trousers

I recently bought some Gebirgsjager trousers loose, and they are from the Dragon Edvard Borsheim figure. And upon checking them on my latest figure I found them to be well made, and I have found that the buckle on the bottom of the trouser legs really does work, plus it will help me to tighten up the trousers very nicely under the Toys City puttees.

Important Note: But, be very careful in tightening up the buckles, because as shown above the vinyl strips are very fragile, and as in the picture above right, I have tightened the trouser bottoms as I wanted, but the straps broke on me. Note: I doubt very much it is fault with the product itself, the fault most likely lies with the person (me) pulling too tight on the strap which caused it to break. Apart from that I will be definitely be buying some more of these trousers, as it saves me from either sewing the trouser bottoms together, or using the dental rings to get the leg bottoms tight.

Repainting DiD Boots

I bought the Brown DiD boots shown on the right for an experiment that I had in mind for changing the colour of them. Because when I looked around the online shops and eBay for a pair of Black gebirgsjager boots, not only did I discover that they can be hard to find, the postage charges on some of the Black boots cost a lot more than the boots themselves.

So I obtained a pair of the Brown one's, and with some Daler Rowney Cryla Acrylic No 036 Mars Black paint I then went ahead and gave the boots a repaint.

With this type of paint I find that the thicker consistency spreads better when mixed with water, plus it soaks in better on the edges of the vinyl material that the boots are made from.

Note: The only problem I have found with this paint is the cost.

I have also found once the boots are dry, that the paint gives them a nice flat dull look which can help the pastel chalks to stick better to them. Also the paint does not crack or peel off when I press down on the top of the boots.

In the picture on the right, these are the boots after I have finished the repaint, but before I have added a drybrush of some pastel chalks to them.

I have also replaced the laces with a slightly thinner thread, as to me this looks more in scale.

I have also given the metal cleats on the sole a repaint of some Gunmetal acrylic paint. And I have used some fine sandpaper to gently remove the paint from the lace eyelets. The next step that I would do with these boots, is paint them over with some Model Color Matt Medium paint to dull them down a bit more, and then I would add some weathering to them, to make them look older rather then the new look here.

The boots as shown above are from the left a pair of new DiD boots from the box, the centre pair are after being repainted Black and the last pair of boots on the right, have been repainted with Daler Rowney Cryla Acrylic No 223 Burnt Umber paint.

Repainting a Briefcase

The briefcase above is made by DiD and it has had the same weathering treatment done to it to make it look older, that I have done to my other 'pleather' parts. From the left the case is brand new, I then rubbed over it with some fine sandpaper, and on the top flap rounded edges and straps I rubbed the material from behind to thin it slightly, this allowed me to curl the flap up to make it look worn.

Note: Do not rub too hard with the sandpaper just in case the material starts to tear.

I then painted it with Model Color Matt Medium 540 acrylic paint, in the next picture I have given it a drybrush with some Tamiya Light Sand weathering powder, making sure that I highlight the edges.

Belt Buckles

The belt and buckle for this example was made by Toys City, and I have found that have the best detail to allow me to do this. I have tried it with both the Dragon and DiD belts as well, but it depends on how well detailed the buckle is in the first place.

To bring out the detail I gave the buckle a wash of some Black acrylic paint, and when it was dry I wiped over the top of it gently with a soft tissue. It took a couple of attempts to do this, and the end result is that the paint is left in the buckle detail as shown. I then drybrushed over the belt strap with some Light Sand Tamiya Weathering Powder, to bring out the vinyl detail.

Soldier Story Cap

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

This cap had to have some changes made to it for my Gebirgsjager medical soldier kitbash, because for the time period the white chevron on the front was not worn, plus the colour of it is wrong as well as it needs to be Blue for medical staff. 1. Shows the new cap as it came from the boxed figure. 2. Shows an experiment I did with some double sided tape to try to re-colour the chevron, all I did was paint the sticky side with the paint, and then I cut it into strips as shown above. If I was going to use this I would then peel off the backing and then place it over the top of the White chevron.

3. This shows what I did for the cap with my figure as I wanted to remove the chevron completely. I used my fine pointed tweezers to pick and pull at the chevron, making sure that the cap was held flat with my finger inside it. Luckily, I managed to get most of it off, and also the centre badge in one piece. Note: The badge I left aside to make sure that I did not ruin it. 4. I then got a piece of tissue which I twisted to a point, and dipped it into some acetone. I then gently rubbed over the remains of the chevron to remove the glue marks. I had to do this more than once, because the acetone evaporates quite quickly. Note: Keep the acetone away from the top swastika badge, just in case it gets damaged.

5. This again shows the new cap, alongside 6. which is the other finished cap which has had the centre badge re-applied back onto it.

Which was firstly put onto some double sided tape, cut to shape, I removed the backing and then placed it back onto the cap again. I then gave the whole cap a drybrush, of some Light Sand Tamiya Weathering Powder to get a flat overall colour.

Information about the caps and the chevrons

Note From RogueJK - You'll also want to repaint the chevron on the cap to something other than Infantry white. Jager green would be the most likely, but if you're wanting to represent a member of the 5. Gebirgs-Division's organic mountain artillery regiment (red), mountain anti-tank battalion (pink), mountain recon or signals battalion (yellow), mountain engineer battalion (black), or medical or supply battalion (blue), then paint it the corresponding waffenfarbe color to match their shoulderboards.

Note From Heeresbergführer - If you are doing a Gebirgs-Sani from the 5th Gebirgsdivision in Italy (1943 or later) wearing a tropical cap, then you need to take off the Waffenfarbe chevron on the cap. The chevron was deleted from tropical caps in 1942.

Note From pzrwest - Although the order to remove the soutache in 1942 they still continued to wear them and even the manufacturers continued to apply them till stocks ran out of the soutache braid (also known as Russia Braid). So if you can't remove the braid you can leave it and still be correct. That being said if you can remove the braid, but it does look cool on the cap an could signify an "old salt" as veterans were called.

This section is continued on Page 3