In my quest for infomation on modern..specifically OIF related stuff, I've got more questions again. I'm just about done with my M1s Abrams and I need to make seven VS-17 panels..


From what I was told it's 2' x 6', so at 1/35 these panels are 17.4mm x 52.25mm.

Are their other types or sizes used in OIF?

They look like shiny canvas..so what's a good material / method used to make
these quickly? Also what paint color? (humbrol or model master please)
Does the orange color wear off, what's the color beneath? Can this material get stain, if so by what?

Are both sides the same color?

Aren't there 4 rings or something in the 4 corners for securing? Are these points attached or punched in the corners?


Also, as I am ...slowly.... working on my OIF AM stuff....What type of material would be excellent to purchase & cut up to make these in the hundredths?

Thank you

Howdy Nick. Great to see ou up on the net. The VS-17 is made of a pretty durable nylon material and usually dirty and/or oil stained from being stowed in the bottom of the sponson box. It is orange on one side and pink on the other. Orange is the color that is usually displayed. At the four corners and mid way down the length of each long side there are two one foot nylon cords for tying it down. There was also a brown 6'x6' thermal ID panel issued to some vehicles in a platoon prior to crossing LD in March 2003. This thermal ID panel is sometimes mistaken for a small tarp. So did you get your fuel and water cans squared away? Out here.

Hey Mike, been lurking around here, but honestly there aren't enough hours in a day to organise info, read new or related topics, collect pics, draw schematics..for my AM stuff and finish up my models..

Thanks for the info.

Anyhow any links to straight out pictures of the VS-17s? All I can get are partial pics of em mounted on vehicles. In the concord book vol 27 pg 41..the pic of the Abrams seem to have an orang colored material with a partial black X..What would that be?

Don't know about the brown 6'x6' thermal ID panel, where's it usually stored when not in use?

You referring to my knowledge of the "fuel and water cans"..if so I must have the info saved with the rest of my collectioning I'm working on.

Her's the more interesting side, as it shows the OD portion which is used to stow the rest of the panel:



This shows both colors:



As for that partial black X, one explanation is glint tape.
Our unit put large X's of glint tape on our Humvees and Tacomas with gaffer's tape. (glint tape itself has no adhesive) Gaffer's tape is much more preferable to the standard "hundred mile an hour" tape because it's designed specifically for use in the theater. It's black and is quite nonreflective.
At any rate, the pilots told us anything more than a one inch square of glint tape created "blooms" in their optics, and interfered with their vision, and I suppose their aim as well. I've still seen the stuff being overused since then though.

Howdy Nick. The brown thermal ID panel is stowed wherever you can find room when not in use. A tank crewman would probably fold it up and stuff in a sponson box. With regeards to the fuel/water jugs I was wondering if the images/dimensional info I sent you in the spring had paid off or not. Nice pics 18B. They are as they say worth a thousand words. I did not know how to explain the OD pouch on the end without getting bloody fingertips. It sure is a nice and "purty" clean panel. I have seen people use black electrical tape on the VS-17 to to denote different elements within a unit. I and some of my plastic junk are shoving off to the IPMS Region X Con in Loveland tomorrow. See you there??? Out here.

Well, I'll be at Carson this weekend. but won't be able to get away to the contest. We've got Jumpmaster refresher and 201 checks.
Hopefully another time though.
By the way, ran into Gunny in La. last month . Crazy as ever.


PS.
That VS -17 is part of my DZ kit. My groadier field panel keeps a permanent home in my top flap.

we used all kinds of stuff on our vs-17 panels to denote different elements, its just a local sop thing dictating what to have on there, engineer tape, 100mph, spray paint, glint tape, theres all kinds of things you can use and be accurate,