hi everyone i mostly model WW2 stuff so this is a bit different for me and im wondering if someone can help me? im planning a Dio with M1A1, M1151 HMMWV, and a Duece parked along a road in the rural USA.....im trying to make it look like a WW3/SHTF theme here where a militia group has got ahold of these vehicles to repel invaders or restore order to the country not sure which one yet....i am going to have figures in each vehicle and the crew of the M1151 exiting the vehicle to look around...the figures will be in woodland camo and im guessing that the vehicles would be the NATO tri-color...but what is getting me stuck is what markings/slogans would be on the vehicles to identify them as militia and not army....and what would have to be done to really make the story stand out?

any help would be nice

thank you

depends really on how far into "ww3" your speaking. if it is fairly new, they probably wouldnt waste any time marking a vehicle. regardless of where they got them from, they wouldnt be differentiated by civilian vs military. at any point, they are all military. someone just happened to commandeer them.
but, understanding of what your looking for, i would use something that obviously helps the viewer know what is going on. i would definately use the US flag. pretty liberally on the vehicles. when the US gets attacked, patriotism runs rampant just as on 9/11. flag sales were at an all time high. i would use that as something for sure.
another thing you can do is think of icons that are unique such as the statue of liberty, american holidays, famous american general, athletes, actors, etc. maybe even songs. one that comes to mind that would probably fit well is kid rock's american badass. ]

ill continue thinking of more and ill post what i come up with
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I reckon the "final battle" will be with the big corporations so why not paint the M1 like a great big coke can, now that would look awesome !

If you are looking at militia vehicles, you could maintain regular unit markings on the tanks with an overpaint of field applied local camo. You could have whatever symbol they are using, maybe a state flag, and anything else catchy. Mix and match of uniforms and even figures. The PMC set from Trumpeter with guys in jeans and body armor might work. A good example of what you are looking for could be found in the images that have come out of Egypt and Libya.

im looking at making it pretty far into WW3/Collapse that way it gives it time for someone to build up a decent sized army and start heavy resistance....thanks for the ideas everyone they are helping me brainstorm alot so keep them coming

At that point, new patriot songs and slogans would have evolved. "Ironsides" may be a good one. Perhaps, "Defender" or "The Patriot"? Or, "The Republic" "Constitution" "Liberty's Hammer"? Really delving into the future leaves a lot up for grabs.
I wholeheartedly agree with agree with Russ's input on using state flags. These could be used as divisional symbols on their own.
With the exception of the state flags, I would suggest hand painting the names. This will make it look as though they were painted in the field. I pulled this off applying a decal to a KV-1, then removing it. This gave me a sketchy style, which I then traced with paint.
The possibilities on something like this are endless. Don't get too bogged down in these details as they are only a small part of the dio's overall look.

Here's what I did for the "What If?" group build.

This is the Hobby Boss LAV 150 marked as a vehicle of UANA, the Utah Arizona Nevada Alliance. The ID panel is a composite of the three state flags.

The cammo replicates the old MERDC "gray desert" scheme, with some different colors, to blend in better in the southern Nevada desert.













Just a fun build with some scratch building thrown in. I plan on a diorama with a gate some figures and a surprise.

The figgies will be in a mish mash of MARPAT, Army ACU's and civvies.

G

thanks for the ideas everyone gears are starting to turn up there now haha

very nice lookin LAV

would anyone be willing to make me some custom decals i dont have a printer or the program to do it.....if interested could you please pm me

Hey Jeff, For ideas on civilian vehicals and equipment, check out the series ,Falling Skies. I belive it's on Wednsday night at ten p.m. About earth attacked by aliens and defended by the Mass. Nat Guard and civilians with a comandered pick up with a 50 cal mounted on it. Pretty cool story, might give you some ideas. Also check out Pauls bods here on armorama. In the homepage it list ( lower right side) a section of flags, state and national, U.S. and other countries,that can be copied for free (with their blessing of course) that you can print out and just fold in half. Classic or textured style.