This short article is intended to give you some basic reference points for the colours to use when painting your British troops for the tabletop. We've generalised a great deal to keep things simple, but following even these basic guidelines should help you turn out a respectable force for the desert war.

British Infantry

The uniforms worn by British troops serving in the Middle East and the Med. varied depending upon location, season and weather, in addition to the alterations made to the British uniform throughout the war. The khaki 'Battledress, Serge' co-existed alongside the tropical and khaki drill clothing specifically designed for warmer theatres of war, and it would not be uncommon to find troops kitted out in a combination of both. When painting your troops for the desert, you can afford to add some variation in the colours of the uniforms worn by your figures simply due to battlefield conditions, but aim for a pale khaki look for most of them.

Figure One

The first figure is kitted out with long khaki drill trousers and a khaki woollen pullover above his khaki drill shirt. The web equipment is a canvas colour (a pale brown/green colour works well), and this would bleach in the sun, as would the rest of the uniform, to a very pale, sometimes just off-white colour. The Mark II helmet has a sandy desert finish and a web chin strap. Caps and tam o'shanters were khaki.

Figure Two

The second figure wears the khaki drill tropical shirt and shorts with a covered helmet. Khaki socks and putees are worn, a common variation being web anklets. Web equipment is the same colour as the first figure. Both wear the standard British infantry footwear, the black 'ammunition boot'.

Commandos, S.A.S. & L.R.D.G.

Commando uniforms varied along with that of the standard infantryman, with a mixture of khaki drill and khaki battledress being common. The woollen commando cap was khaki, and Commando webbing was often whitened to improve friendly identification in night operations.

S.A.S. troops wore a variety of headgear, including the practical Arab shemagh, worn to protect from dust and the sun. The S.A.S. beret was a beige colour. The S.A.S. figures shown above wears the shemagh, khaki battledress trousers with canvas anklets, a khaki drill shirt and an issue leather jerkin.