GHQ Models Forums

For those interested in camouflage of the '70s, you can google merdccamo on find patterns and paint color info for the USAREUR pattern in use from approximately 1974 to 1977 and the MERDC pattern from late 1976 on. Patterns are available for specific vehicle types.

I'm afraid to look because then I'll have to repaint all my stuff correctly!

Take the Private's approach... It's a general guide. Look at pics on line and see how close everybody got.

It’s rather funny to see one of the old PM comic books from the mid seventies trying to explain to the 17and 18 year old PFCs how to do the MERDC patterns on the then-gloss OD Simonized green vehicles in the motor pool . You also had to remove the white lettering plastic sticker stenciling (bumper codes, US ARMY and serials, ) and white side and top stars before applying MERDC .
Some of the Guard units still had the old scheme as late as the early eighties . I remember a USAR unit out of Florida coming to Stewart for AT in the summer of 85 who had just been issued CUCVs in NATO-flage and had Simonized OD green with white markings deuce and a half’s ( some still ran on MOGAS ) .
I really wish the Aviation community would have adopted Army wide , the Ft Hood experiment from the mid seventies ,of painting the Hueys, Cobras and Kiowas in the MERDC pattern . That looked so cool !

In Germany, our stuff was in the MASSTER USAREUR pattern, ugly as sin. We were very glad to go to MERDC.

The Army had MERDC Cobras? I was thinking about getting rid of the pair of Cobras tat I have no use for, but maybe I will do a little experimental painting!

Hey PG, I had to Google MASSTER USAREUR camo and it looks like a desert pattern to me. Did all of the units in Germany paint their stuff that way?

It preceded MERDC. Started about 1974. Sand, brown, green, black. Ugly. Sometimes green or black wasn't available, so it was just sand and brown, but it wasn't desert camo. It had more to do with fooling photo recon.