(Cross-posted here due to lack of response on modern Russian armor board.)

I was wondering if anyone could tell me which Testors/Model Masters colors would be good for painting Opfor vehicles (vismods or captured Russian equipment) in the two-tone desert scheme as used at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin? I was thinking MM sand and maybe a very dark tan or light brown would work. Any suggestions? Would certainly be a break from my overall sand vehicles (all my armor kits save for an M4A3 Sherman have that scheme).

MM Sand, FS#33531 and a leather brown. When freshly painted, the brown is very dark, it weathers to a lighter shade quickly though.

Most of the VISMOD vegicles are overall sand

Other than the vehicle numbers on the sides of the hull and/or turret, are there any other visible markings on these vehicles I should know about?

None that I can remember

I have some VISMOD photos. What vehicle type are we talking about?

Not really any specific type, mostly tanks, APC's, and scout vehicles like the T72 & T80, BMP-series, and BRDM's, respectively.

Most Vismods these days are camo, as described by Gino, but some are overall sand.

The BRDMs have the numbers ont the rear doors, but they still have the tire pressure (TP) stenciling on the fenders above the wheels. They also might have soldier's names stenciled on the windshields just like regular US Army units, but I will have to check my photos again.

Most tank Vismods have vehicle names stenciled to the gun tubes starting w/ the company letter.

I think some BMPs today have large stenciling of "Gods of War" on their front lower hull.

I'll have to check my photos on my work computer tomorrow. PM me if you have a specific vehicle type you plan on building and I can share a few. I can't post them here since they are 5MB each in file size.

Many times there are unit crests stenciled on the turrets as well, and on the rear sides of the Humvees/BRDMs as well.

Here are two photos taken three years ago when the Sheridan Vismods were at the end of their operational lives at the NTC. NOw there are only M113 based Vismods acting as tanks.

Aside from BRDM's, are there any other captured Russian vehicles used at the NTC? Might be interesting to see some real BMP's or Soviet-made tanks running around out there. Suprised the Russians aren't trying to sell the NTC some of thier gear to try to scrounge up a few bucks. I'm planning on building some real Soviet vehicles in NTC Opfor colors, maybe a 'what if' setup.

There used to be some MTLBs, BMPs, and a couple T-72s out here. They have all been retired due to high maintenance cost and lack of repair parts, etc. Now, we have all VisMods, mostly M113s, for the OPFOR. Most of the M551s have also been retired for the same reasons as above.

Wish we could get our hands on some newer-model T80's, or even a couple T90's. Bet that'd make for some interesting battles out there. Personally though, I can't see how the heck an M113 could ever pass for a Soviet tank, even with a fake turret on it. Thing's too tall and boxy. Why not use the old M60's?

Again, it is due to maintenance cost and parts availability. M113s are cheap to maintain and are still in wide use, so parts are plentifull. It doesn't have to look exactly like a Soviet tank, just different than a US vehicle.

Do you have any pics of these new vismods? I've seen some pics of the M113-based BMP vismods, but how about the M113 tank vismods?

Don't have any myself. Get in touch w/ Bob Burik above. He was out here a couple months ago and took all sorts of pics. He has full walk-arounds of the different M113 VisMods.