Does the USMC and US Army use different vests for tank crews as in the two different MiniArt sets and 3D printed figures or are these different time frames showing older and newer vests? Are those 3D printed figures good for both USMC and US Army or only one or the other?
US Army and USMC use different vests. US Army uses IOTV (Improved Outer Tactical Vest) and USMC uses the lighter weight IMPC (Improved Modular Plate Carrier) vest.
The 3D figures look good to me for USMC and US Army respectively.
Thanks for the reply. Do you know the specific time frame these vests can be used for? I am guessing the 3D printed US Army crew can be used with the ACU camo and later? What about the USMC?
US Army IOTVs are still current and started to be worn about 2007. I am not sure on the timeline of USMC vests, but they have divested of all armor and gave up their last Abrams in '21, so before then.
Thanks! Yes, I know the USMC divested their Abrams. The USMC wore the Interceptor multi-threat body armor system up until 2003 and switched over to the MARPAT right as they reached Baghdad if I remember correctly. Were the USMC still wearing the Interceptor multi-threat body armor with the MARPAT uniforms? Did the USMC use the IMPC (Improved Modular Plate Carrier) vest in Baghdad 2003 or were they introduced later?
I believe the IMPC was later as I know they were wearing IBAs in Baghdad and later.
Edit: According to Wiki, IMPCs were fielded in 2013.
There were others in between and after too.
The lineage of USMC tactical and protective vests:
2007: The Modular Tactical Vest (MTV) was introduced, providing better comfort than previous Outer Tactical Vests (OTV), a.k.a IBAS.
2013: The IMTV was officially fielded to better disperse weight and fit smaller body types without needing a female-specific vest.
2019/2020: The USMC began widely issuing the lighter Plate Carrier Generation III (PC Gen 3) , aiming to significantly reduce weight and bulk while maintaining ballistic protection.
Just found this photo from Flickr and it says USMC Abrams Crew, Iraq, May 18, 2007. So this is the MTV and not the IMTV vest according to the time line you posted.
Also found this photo from the same Flickr account. It says from USMC, Iraq, June 24, 2008 and this would be the MTV as well. They look close enough to the IMTV so the figures should be good for 2007 and after.
Thanks! I am building an Abrams from that same unit in Iraq I found on Flickr from the 2007-2008 time frame so those 3D printed figures should be good enough. Once they are in the hatches you might not see the vests as prominently as if they were standing outside the tank. I am also building one from Afghanistan from around 2011-2012 so again, those same 3D printed figures should work as well.
They are 3D printed and found them on Aliexpress. This is the USMC set in the link below. They offer full body, half body or you can get both sets together. I ordered the full body.
