"National markings on modern AFVs" Topic

I've been prepping some 6mm modern and Cold War vehicles lately (which means they'll get painted sometime in 2025), and while googling around at images of modern tanks, it strikes me that almost no one puts national markings on their tanks any more. Or at least, not big prominent ones.

Is this impression correct? I see the Germans still seem to have crosses on their turrets, and the Chinese sometimes have their red+yellow stars on turret fronts (though these mainly seem to be on tanks on parade), but otherwise, nothing noticeable. It will save me some decaling when I do get around to painting my microarmor up.

Does anyone know when this trend began? Can my 1983 project also go mostly decal-less?

You are right for the most part. The US does not use national markings, but there are usually unit markings stenciled on that help units reorganize themselves quickly since all M1s look the same when you are traveling in formation… I suppose the theory is that since we can target things (at least in my tank) at 4000m out in thermals, national markings are indistinguishable, so we go by vehicle ID instead. I can't help with pre-2000 markings.

Billy Yank

The Greeks certainly do. Theirs is a light blue square, superimposed with a white cross. It looks rather like a Royal French regimental flag.

The Canadians were using the maple leaf in black (outlined in white on Leopards) until relatively recently. I don't know if they still are.

The Romanians use their red/yellow/blue roundel.

Thanks – I have GHQ's Canadian (and German) modern decal sheet, and some Leos for them to go on, so I'm ok there. I wasn't planning on Greeks or Romanians, so I'm safe there too!

I probably should have specified, my Cold War plan is for USSR, Poles, Czechs, E. Ger., W. Ger., Canada, US, UK. For moderns, US, Canada, Russia, China, N. Korea, S. Korea, maybe Taiwan, UK, Germany (sometimes I buy packs without a plan!).

If you're looking at the Cold War circa 1983, then the Warpac nations generally seem to have applied national markings as standard (which were more often than not the same as their Air Force markings), with the exception of the USSR (which only tended to apply red stars for parades, if at all) and possibly the Hungarians.

Poland:

Czechoslovakia:

East Germany:

Romania:

The UK's only national marking was a small Union Flag decal applied front and rear officially on the front-left and rear-left mudguard or equivalent position, but it did tend to get applied in other places or not at all. British vehicles also frequently carried squadron/company markings and callsigns on turret sides and rear (or hull if no turret) in white, yellow or 'opposing' camouflage colours.

The West Germans universally applied their Iron Cross marking to AFVs, but generally not to softskins. In 1983 they were still painting everyhing in plain gelboliv, with large crosses. They switched soon afterwards to the three-color camo scheme with smaller crosses.

If you haven't seen it already, go have a rummage through the magnificent Armoured Acorn site: armouredacorn.com Although ostensibly for Canadian and Commonwealth subjects, there is an awful lot more in there, including Warpac and other nations (especially users of Leopards and Centurions).

The last gasp of the US Star was with the truly revolting MASSTER camouflage scheme in the late 1970s, where black stars were semi-incorporated into the camouflage pattern:

link

The star generally disappeared with the transition to the experimental Dual-Tex and then to the standard MERDC camouflage schemes, though it did sometimes appear (in black) as a tiny bumper-marking.

Cool, thanks! This has helped. Some of those markings are so small that at 6mm I can either skip them or just paint on the emblom. I have 1/600 aircraft decals, so they'll help in some cases too.