Hi guys !

Now i´m ready to start my big iraq Diorama. I´ll use 3 or 4 M1A1 Abrams by the U.S. Marines. They´ll be on a road to baghdad and beside the road there´ll be a SA-2 Transporter with a rocket in the firing position. But the SA Crew wasn´t quick enough to get it off. That´s the general idea. Maybe a palm tree, i´ll sill a verlinden one. the street will be a little higher than the rest and on the street U.S. troops roll straight to baghdad. they stopped for a moment, thinking about what could have happened if the iraqi would have started the rocket.

That´s a scene which really happened in iraq, i´ve seen it on an report about the war in iraq. it is called " the raod to baghdad ".

Now my questions :

1. I´ll use Abrams´ of the marines so they should have a 3 ton camo ?

2. In which versions can i built my abramses ? Did the Marines just use the M1A1 and the M1A1HA or can i also use the M1A2 Abrams. Please keep in mind that i want to paint all in the same camo, so all in 3-ton.

3. Which unit is correct ??? it should be a marine unit.

4. What are the correct signs for this unit ???

5. The soldiers : did they wear the wodden camouflage suits or did marines also wear desert camos ?


Every picture would be a great help for me, i googled it, but there are not so good sources for google. So i really hope here are some who can help me !!!

Thanks to you all !!!

Some help....

The Marines used the M1A1 HC in Iraq initially - no M1A2s. As far as camo on the tanks it would be either 3 tone Nato, plain Marine Green ( I'll have to check and see on this...) or in Special Tan.

A far as the units that were intially involved in the push to Baghdad. I think it was the 1st Marine and 4th Marine tank. The markings would be chevrons, barrel rings (to indicate company/platoon) and all Marine tanks have registration codes on the hull sides near the rear.

Your dio idea sounds interesting..... It must be huge!!!! I have trhis picture in my mind of a four lane dusty, dirty, highway with debris, Iraqi road signs and ditches; maybe evewn a culvert???

As far as soldier's uniforms they didn't break out the new"digital" pattern until AFTER they arrived in Baghdad. So either Woodland or Desert, or a mix - which is most common, especially with helmet covers and Molle body armor.


I hope this helps a little - I am sure others will add.

CHris

Howdy Martin, sounds like you have quite a project lined up. The unit in the TV show you mention is Delta Company , 1st Tank Battalion. Some answers:
1. The tanks in Delta company during OIF were a mix of three color "NATOflage", Sand and two plain Forrest green painted tanks.
2. The tanks were M1A1 Commons and all were equpped with heavy armor.
3 & 4. The unit is Delta company, 1st Tank Bn, RCT-7 (Regimental Combat Team). When viewing a Delta tank from the side the "V" tactical marking on the front skirt will point to 9 o'clock or the left "

Martin, here is part two. The big "A" will not enter my complete reply.
4. cont- So the left side "

Well, I think this is a massive project that will definitely require a lot of time, but it can be done. I'd recommend just using the Tamiya kit as it goes together really quickly.

Addressing the Marine camo issue, all troops (Army, Marines, and Airmen and Sailors travelling on the ground) were required to wear their MOPP suits (called JSLIST) as a WMD attack was a very real possibility at the time. Different units across the spectrum stopped wearing them at different times, but generally these weren't removed until in or outside of Baghdad. Virtually all of these were 3-tone BDU patterned. Many of the Marines, had their DCUs - some did have the new digital pattern on - underneath (if they had anything on at all!). Since the MOPP suit covers the entire body, for modelling purposes you'll just paint the figure in the BDU pattern. The boots will be tan, and the helmet covers will be DCU pattern (tan). I'll see if I can find a picture.

Jeff

This might be off topic, but do any of the Marine units have M1A2s or are they just used by the Army.

-Questions for Martin,
Do you plan to use any HUMVEEs, because a command version of a Humvee might be a good tuch to the whole dio.

Pictures:

Notice the hood on the back of the MOPP Jacket


Various 2003-vintage image
http://www.thewednesdayreport.com/twr/gulfwar/GulfWarII-images.htm

http://www.derrickjensen.com/derrick/war-stories.asp

Jeff

USMC does not use M1A2s, they are only used by the US Army.

[quote]This might be off topic, but do any of the Marine units have M1A2s or are they just used by the Army.[quote]

Nope. The USMC only operates M1A1s but are different from Army M1A1s. The biggest difference are that the USMC has a Missile Countermeasure Device on the upper left side of the turret. It looks like like a box with a gold-looking front "screen." The other major difference is the smoke dischargers are individual tubes rather than a single "box." There are also exhaust difference and most USMC Abrams have a telephone box on the right rear for the troops to communicate with the crew.

Well Gino beat me to it. BTW, this question come out fairly regularly. Gino here did an article on the Abrams differences. In the third picture, you can see a Marine Abrams, with the MCD covered up (say's "No Step") and the smoke dischargers, plus the exhaust that is part of a water fording kit
.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/613

Jeff

hi again !

mike, you said that this was the 1st tank battalion. I found this pic on their homepage :
http://www.29palms.usmc.mil/fmf/1sttnks/images/dep.2003/full/0006.jpg

so is this a good sample for my dio ???

I´m think i´ll use the tamiya kit. I also just want to have the abramses in 3-ton-camo, this makes it more interesting, with this color contrast to the sand.

Are there any good pics aviable which clearly show the markings and the positions on the side skirts ???


thanks guys !!!

and thanks to all the other ones who answered up to now !!!

cheers !

Edgar, a JLIST is a type of CPOG that is worn to increase MOPP. And combat boots could be either brown or black leather. In 1st Tanks CVC helmets were covered with a cloth three color desert camo or painted a color similar to forest green. Kevlar helmet cloth covers were three color or digital desert camo. Flak jackets worn over the CPOG were of the Interceptor type and "Coyote" brown in color. Most of the Marines in OIF 2003 did not possess or deploy with the desert digital uniform either. It had not beacome a mandatory uniform item yet. Martin, the picture that you posted is Alpha Company , 1st Tank Bn. Go see Echelon Fine scale products. They have some D Co. markings in their two USMC OIF sheets. There are also enough stencils and serial numbers to complete quite a few tanks. Out here.