The Tropic verdant scheme is one of the lesser known variants of the MERDC four-color pattern, but I believe it was used by USMC units stationed on Okinawa during the late 1970s/early 1980s?
Tamiya offered representations of this option in their LVTP7 A1 kit and their M151A2 kit, with small B&W photos on the instruction sheet of the latter that seemed to illustrate the variant. That would probably be logical as the Marine units on Okinawa would have been their nearest reference source, but I’m really looking some more concrete confirmation that the Marines actually used it!
I’ve portayed most of the MERDC options on kits over the years, but not the tropical scheme. It’s time I scratched that itch.
U.S. Marines, aboard tracked landing vehicle (LVTP-7), land during Valiant Blitz, the amphibious assault landing phase of exercise Team Spirit '82. Tok Sok Ri Beach, South Korea.
We still had 5-tons in MERDC in the early 90s. This was at Camp Fuji, 1993. We were at one of the ranges with our AAVs. All the AAVs were in the NATO 3-color scheme except, they all had desert tan EAAK armor.
Hi HP - that one looks overall green to me. It’s tough to work out if the color variation is paint or just water creating the pattern on the rear of the vehicle.
One of my editions of Tank magazine has vivid color photos from that very exercise. I’m pretty sure I’ve posted them here since the “new” Armorama incarnation, but if I stumble on it I’ll post them again.
Looking at it again, the contrast between the two ‘major’ greens on the Amtrac is almost non-existent (but visible if you squint) in the photo and I can’t see the third (‘minor’) green. The black crowfeet are the only elements that really stand out from am an overall background hue.
That leads me to a further conundrum - in USAREUR, the sand (minor) color seems to have been dropped later in the MERDC era, leaving just two major colors plus the black crowsfoot patches.
Did this happen with Marine vehicles too I wonder? I’ve seen the three-color variation on Amtracs with a partial arctic scheme, but had always assumed the sand had been temporarily blocked out with the white - maybe my assumption was wrong?
Looong-term members of Armorama may remember this Amtrac conversion I did way back in the mists of time (on the Tamiya kit, just before the Hobbyboss kits were released…).
I’ve got an M561 Gama Goat on the bench at the moment and my preferred options are either an early US Army Olive Drab wagon, or a Tropical Verdant Marine option - hence my MERDC questions.
