In the early 1980s the Australian Army started developing their own camouflage uniform and the resulting disruptive pattern camouflage uniform in what would be come known as Auscam, was extensively trialed to see how the pattern and designs of uniform stood up to service use. The uniform was part of a wider move to update the armed forces equipment and weaponry that would continue throughout the decade and culminate with the adoption of the F89 Austeyr Rifle and the 1988 Pattern webbing set. At the time period of today’s impression however, it was just the uniform that was on trial and the webbing set and weapon are both the older patterns as used since the Vietnam War.
The soldier here wears the second trials pattern of Auscam uniform consisting of shirt, trousers and jungle hat worn with black hi-leg combat boots, a scrim scarf is worn around the neck. The webbing is the Australian manufactured version of US M56 webbing that had been introduced into Australian service during the Vietnam War and had then been developed and manufactured locally in the years afterwards. It consists of a belt and yoke to which are attached a pair of ammunition pouches, a pair of canteen carriers and a ‘bum’ pack. The length of tope worn attached to one of the pouches is typical of Australian soldiers across many eras. The rifle is the Australian produced version of the FAL rifle, the SLR. This example is from Lithgow.
The trials uniform would be highly successful and there was a slow adoption of a version, with minor changes, by the whole of the Australian Army over the 1980s and the pattern would remain in service for the next thirty years.
- Jungle hat
- Scrim Scarf
- Trials DPCU jacket
- Hi-Leg boots
- Trials DPCU trousers
- SLR Rifle
- M56 webbing set
Tales from the Supply Depot 
Great job! You could add a 56 pattern compass pouch to the front of the H-harness near the shoulder, and tape with black insulation tape, an individual field dressing on the front of the H-Harness on the opposite shoulder to really complete it. SLR bayonet and frog on the belt rig would look the part.
Ah the memories! ….. Nice depiction!
Your boots aren’t laced correctly, the lace should be knotted at one end and threaded from the bottom outside eyelet and then across, so the laces go straight across (like the rungs of a ladder). This is done all the way up the boot and finished off by winding the lace around the top of the boot and secured and tightened under the lace itself. Basically one end of the lace is at the bottom first eyelet while the other end is fastened at the top of the boot. This is quite difficult to put into words, but I hope you can follow. See if you can find some pictures.
I joined the regular army (artillery) in 1988 and only received my Auscam uniform after I posted to my Regiment (not the type you modeled, but a later type), I remember being jealous of those members that had the type you have, they were so much more practicable.
For the four years I joined for I never once fired an F88 Austeyr and only held one once when an infantryman had visited the unit with one. Your webbing is as I remember it, however your belt and bum-pack look to be more modern that I ever had. As Brian noted you need to add the compass pouch to the harness, plus we all had our shell dressing taped (using black electrical tape) to the water bottle cover. Finally, you need to secure those loose straps away, no loose ends allow to flap about!