American desert night camouflage, modern

A photo of an American-issue Parka, Night Camouflage, Desert from the author's collection, purchased in 1996.

Contrary to popular belief, this pattern is not black on white or black on green. It has a medium green base colour, with an overprint of dark green lines and blotches. The lines are 3 mm wide and the same distance apart, making the uniform look as if it is dark green with medium-green squares on it. The blotches are irregular and scattered all over the pattern.

Painting this camouflage on any model will be very difficult—in 1:35th scale, the lines should be about 0.1 mm wide and 0.1 mm apart, for example. Probably the best way to do it would be to paint the entire uniform a single shade of medium-dark green, since in almost any scale the lines will blend together, and then add slightly darker spots to indicate the positions of the blotches.