So I'm doing an M88 for my bro-in-law to be who's off in the Kuwaiti (possibly Iraqi by now) desert. He said he wants his 88 to be camo'd instead of the much easier desert tan....naturally . The AFV Club instructions show a US Army camo, but not a USMC camo pattern. Do these two wear the same pattern or is the Marine pattern different (wouldn't be surprised) and does anyone have reference showing the Marine pattern and be willing to help me out here? I want this model to be a nice gift when he comes back from the war so I want to make sure it wears the correct camo.

well, depends onthe era he wants...

If he wants "today", I would imagine the newest Marine M88A1's are in the standard NATO 3 tone scheme like the US Army.

There is the "forest Green" all green cammo I have actually seen, though only once. Not sure if it was Marine or US Army

There is Desert sand, which you already know of.

and there is the old Marine MERDC (whatever the spelling is), but they used a pale puke green as the base color...I saw one still painted like this when we recieved it at our Guard unit in 1996.

I don't know about the USMC, but I have seen Army M88s painted in OD.

I've only seen US Army M88A1s in 4 different patterns:
1. The newer old MERDC pattern (where the sand color was removed) with the vehicle being forest green, red brown and some black "seagulls"
2. Standard NATO 3-color forest green, dark brown and black
3. Overall desert sand
4. Overall forest green

I've got a brand new one straight from Anniston Army Depot, Alabama where they rebuild them. It is overall forest green. The USMC gets theirs the same place I got mine, but I bet they take the time (and have the manpower) to put a proper camouflage scheme on it. They probably use something similar to the NATO standard 3 color, but the Marines are more apt to throw sand paint in place of one of the 3 NATO colors (most likely in place of the dark brown). Have never seen one in OD green (except in Vietnam photos).

Sorry, meant Forest Green *slaps self*

I'ld say it's a safe bet to go with an all over armor sand color.....hey sabot glad to hear they didn't shut Anniston Depot down. Spent several years in that neck of the woods. Is McClellan shut down?

It closed and was turned over to the Alabama National Guard while I was stationed at Redstone Arsenal. The MP and Chemical school moved to Ft. LeonardWood. Anniston rebuilds the M88A1s and houses the US Army's historical weapons collection.

The 88 he uses at Camp Lejeune is in 3color camo. I have a photo taken from a distance which I'll try to find again.....boy I wish I knew I'd be doing this when I took that photo I would have taken some better ones. Maybe you guys can recognize the pattern.

If it is 3 color it is most likely the NATO 3 tone that the ARMY also uses, and should be the same as in the instructions. All the other non-sense we are telling you about does not really apply. However, a posted picture will confirm for sure...

Ok I found the photo I was talking about........what do you think?



Thanks for the help!

yup, three tone NATO paint scheme...just like US ARMY pattern.

Just painted by M88A1 in the NATO three-color scheme. Does the roof and the top of the engine deck also get the camo treatment? I held off painting camo on top until I was sure of this. Thanks!

PS: What color should the hubs be?

Yes, everything but the running gear gets the 3-color scheme. In the old MERDC scheme they painted the road wheels alternating solid colors (as opposed to a WW2 German-like camouflaged pattern on each wheel) and ran the scheme below the fenders. But now a days they stop the pattern at fender level and wrap it around the rest of the vehicle.

Another question when we are on the subject. Are the AFV and revell kits still proper for modern M88s. Have there been many updates apart from the IFF panels? Anybody got pics from the recent war of these vehicles?
I have both and want to do a dio with 1 with the "A" frame up and the other standing side by side. A "gulf war 2" dio sounds interesting. Would 2 of these vehicles be sent out together? Would there be any other vehicles sent with them? Could one be sand coloured and one with the Nato scheme. Any ideas on marking etc?
Could I ask any more questions? Not this time!! Thanks in advance!

ok.

So far as I know, there should still be plenty of M88A1's in regular service. Not sure if there were any with 3rd ID. The Newest M88 is the A2 HERCULES. There are quite a few external differences, so just IFF Panels will not do. AEF Designs, and I think MR Models, make a conversion for the A2 version.

I have seen M88's in both desert and Nato cammo in DSII. When I ran around in 88's they sent us out alone, but we were not recovering M1's, so we did not need two 88A1's. But then again, I was never in a combat zone either.

One thing that could be fun is using more than one 88 to recover a vehcile stuck in mud by having one withteh A-frame used to lift the vehicle up while another 88 uses the winch to pull the vehicle out.

AFV Club's M88A1 is still the most common medium tracked recovery vehicle in use by the US Army. The Revell of Germany boxing should be fine too, although I do not know if they deleted any components when adding FRG-specific parts. If they just tossed in an extra sprue, it should be a fine kit for a US variant, if they changed out something like the lights or tracks, then it may not be. AFV Club also makes a Vietnam era M88, this variant is no longer in use.

As noted above, there have been quite a few modifications from the M88A1 to M88A2. IFF panels would be common on front line units. Vehicles back in garrison may or may not have them mounted, and it would not be uncommon to see vehicles with and without them in the same setting.

As far as both an A1 and A2 seen in the same setting? A single unit, like a maneuver battalion, would have all of the same type. A brigade would as well. A division may have a mixture if certain units were getting them faster than others. A non-divisional direct support maintenance unit would most likely have only one M88A1, and if they were assisting a divisional unit equipped with M88A2s by providing back-up DS maintenance, then you may see both types in use at the same place.

I know that an M88A1 is not supposed to tow an M1A1 by itself (one M88A1 towing one M1A1 is a no-no, it needs a second vehicle as a braking vehicle). I've never seen the use of 2 M88A1s to tow one M1A1, unless the vehicle is stuck and requires two M88s to pull it out of a hole.

Thanks very much guys for taking the time to answer and help. Much appreciated. A quick inspection of the kits show they are basically the same ........ havent checked 100%. The AFV kit has the workable tracks and Revell has rubber tracks. I believe AFV sell this track set as a seperate set so i will probably look into getting this.
I will probably use them both as M88A1s and not update. Im just checking out the possiblities as I think both together would look cool. Thats a good idea ...... one lifting and one pulling!
Taking into account the two kits i have ...... what would be the most suitable M1A1 to get so all could be shown together. Any suggestions as to when and where would be helpful!
Thanks a million!

I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that if you have the AFV Club M88 with workable tracks, then you have the Vietnam era M88 and not the modern M88A1 (being replaced by the M88A2 now). I think it is also identified by the inclusion of photo etched headlight guards as well. This vehicle would most likely only be seen in OD green with white stars and would be seen with M88A1s way back in the 1970s when that version used the OD/white as well.

The biggest visual difference is the lack of the APU "little Joe" at the right rear of the crew compartment on the M88 (which was gasoline powered and not diesel powered like the M88A1).