US MERDC Camouflage Set

The real subject

MERDC was a camouflage scheme of the US Army introduced in the 1970s. A vehicle was painted in four colors, two of which covered the greater part of the surface while the remaining two took only small areas that broke the pattern up. The combination of shades changed with the season and the surroundings, so the same type of vehicle looked one way in summer Europe, another in winter and another again in a parched landscape. In the mid-1980s it was replaced by the three-color NATO scheme.

What the set offers

Water-based acrylic paints from the ATOM range, put together around the shades of this scheme. They thin with water or with acrylic thinner, mix with one another and go on with a brush as well as with an airbrush.

Painting tips

Sketch the layout of the patches out in advance, so that the pattern does not end up as a random map; with this scheme the edges of the patches tend to be sharp rather than sprayed soft. Cover the transitions with masking material or spray from a short distance at low pressure. Apply several thin coats, because a single heavy one fills in cast detail and the edges of hatches. Stir the paint before work and thin it gradually, since thick acrylic dries on the nozzle. Leave the secondary shades until the end, because they are small areas and it is easy to overload the pattern with them.

Who the set is for

For the builder of American postwar equipment, from armored personnel carriers through tanks to trucks, who wants the shades of one scheme in one place. The package contains the paints only; the model, thinner, brushes and masking material are not part of it, unless stated otherwise.