what do y’all use for camo netting on armor subjects? I am starting a 1/48 scale Sdkfz 250/3, and I want some camo netting for the front portion of the aerial, wrapped 'round the front as it would have been used for shade.
Any helpful hints?
Cheescloth is what use… You can get it at about any arts & crafts store… Some folks use medical gauze too, it’s way more expensive, per square, than cheesecloth…
Hey Hans!
What do you use for the canvas strips that are on the netting?
Richard S.
You don’t use camo netting for shade, specially in the desert. The leaves would stick out like a sore thumb. And without the leaves, you wouldn’t get any shade at all. Even with the leaves, you don’t get much. The purpose of camo netting isn’t th provide shade. It’s to break up the shape of whatever’s underneath, and help it blend in with the surroundings.
In real life, you use canvas or some other fabric for shade awnings, painted/ dyed to match the surroundings (so in the desert, that would be tan, sand, or brown, or the same colour as the vehicle). To make shade awnings, tissue paper, soaked in white gue or spray craft glue, is good.
Cheers,
Chris.
We were under the nets plenty in the desert, Chris… For shade… Ever been inside an M-109 in 115-degree heat? That turret becomes an oven, and it’s even worse in the FAASV… The ammo gets tarped rather than the gun…
The only time we weren’t under nets in firing positions was when we did a few hip-shoots and a couple of FA Raids… The nets are also radar-scattering ya know… 'Course, that part doesn’t apply to WW2 nets…
I have a brownish green wool thread that looks pretty good… It’s the type of thread used to darn socks, not regular sewing thread… More often than not, my nets are rolled, so there isn’t a lot of tedium involved doing that…
Back in my day it all was three color NATO camoflage too. No desert color.
After a few weeks the three color stuff became sand colored anyway!
Ours had a desert side and a woodland side… LWSS was the nomenclature IIRC…
unless you get it for free from work 
dabbed in diluted Elmers glue, works well. I have also been collecting the plastic “netting” that comes with some fruit boxes (after washing of course lol). Seems ok, but Im a rank private when it comes to SB, so what do I know 
If you’re trying to replicate the netting of Commonwealth forces, with the cheesecloth or bandage, use lead foil cut in in small strips about 2mm wide and around 10 to 12mm long. Masking tape will work too but it’s a pain to work with. Soaking the stuff in tea for a few hours gets it a nice hue
Probably repeating something noted a 100 times here but for leaves on the camo use Parsley flakes or even grind up a dried leaf and sprinkle it on.
Frank
Thanks for that, Hans, and point well made. Never served outside Europe myself, and we used canvas awnings when we wanted shade - or more often, protection from the rain. In fact, these awnings were built into the side of our radio waggons and comms. vans, to make deployemnt and stowage easier.
Moreover, my grandfather, who was Regimental Quartemaster Sergeant Maor of 1RTR in North Africa, and served at El Alamein, often spoke of how the lads would always be erecting canvas awnings to provide protection from the sun. Never mentioned camo nets being used for the purpose.
Cheers,
Chris.