introduction

Driving military vehicles around on civilian roads is dangerous, especially to civilians in democracies who can revoke their permission for your presence there. So the United States developed MVDs (Military Vehicle Delinerators): red & yellow motor vehicle recognition stripes to cut down on accidents with civilian vehicles in Germany. Perfect Scale Modellbau has rendered these in decals for 1/35th models.

Even more dangerous is transporting flammable liquids around on those roads when the populace doesn't speak your language. So the US forces have used bilingual signs warning about gasoline they could slap onto tankers since the 70s.

what you get

A single sheet of decals in each set.

the review

Occasionally we receive review samples that are so specific, so specialized, there's almost nothing to say about them other than "if you need these, here they are." These two sets qualify in that group.

I can't even find very much about these markings, other than that they have been around since the (late?) 1980s (thanks to Armorama member Max Citizinsane and Gino Quintiliani for their assistance).

The MVD sheet includes:

four small pair (5mm) of red tetrahedrons with L-shaped yellow offsets
three large sets (1 cm) of the same
four sets of stripes (white, yellow, red & orange) 6cm in length
four red triangles 1.5cm x .5cm
two white signs (approx. 1cm x ) with black lettering saying (in English & German) "we're driving for your security"

The tanker markings sheet includes:

2 pair each of small (3mm x 4cm) signs saying in German "no smoking within 16 meters" in white, black and tan
1 pair of large signs (.8cm x 3.5cm) in black lettering saying in English "no smoking within 50 feet"
2 pair each of large signs (.8cm x 3.5cm) in white or tan lettering "Nicht rauchen umkreis 15M"
four sets in 3mm black, tan and two in white lettering saying Feuergäfahrlich ("flammable")
three pair each in .5cm white, black & tan lettering saying Feuergäfahrlich ("flammable")

Convincing a farmer whose tractor gets run over by an M1A1 Abrams that you're driving for his security is a challenge "occupying" forces face in any society. Not burning up the citizens and their property (even when it's their fault for smoking too close to a tank truck full of gas) is another challenge.

conclusion

What more can I say? If you're doing a German-based vehicle, these are for you. The MVDs will be perfect for all vehicles, while the tanker warnings will work on either the Italeri re-issued M977/M978 HEMTT Cargo/Tanker combo, or AFV Club's M49A2C Tanker.

Thanks to Perfect Scale Modellbau for the review sample. When ordering, please say you saw the review here on Armorama.