MERDC colours (En construction)
The table below lists the various MERDC colour names and their corresponding Federal Standard 595a numbers (if two numbers are shown, it is because some sources give different numbers for the same colour names). The numbers can be used to match model paint numbers to them, as the table also shows; these have been taken from the excellent Swedish IPMS colour reference charts, although it should be noted that the person who compiled those charts apparently uses Humbrol paints more than anything else, as the mixes for those are the most detailed. However, as with all military modelling, keep in mind that hardly any military vehicle actually is exactly the colour it is supposed to be. Within reason, you can vary quite a bit from the base colours quoted.
All the colours are flat, as indicated by the first digit of the FS595a-code (1 = gloss, 2 = satin, 3 = flat).
37038 Black XF-1
37875 White XF-2
34102 (or 34082) Dark Green -- 2 parts XF-61 + 1 part XF-65
34079 Forest Green -- XF-61
34151 Light Green
34087 (or 34088) Olive Drab -- XF-62:4 + XF-1:1 ??
30279 Desert Sand
30099 Earth Brown
30117 Earth Red
30257 (or 33245)Earth Yellow -- XF-59
30118 (or 33105) Field Drab -- XF-52 ??
30277 (or 33303) Sand -- XF-49:1 + XF-1:1
Notes
It should be noted that the colours of these samples are approximations. Match paint to the FS595a and/or model paint colour numbers quoted in the table.
--Tamiya XF-52 is much browner than the red/orange hue of FS30118.
--Tamiya XF-62 is a very dark colour, and is best lightened with a sand colour to approach FS34087 more closely.
MERDC colour combinations
The following table has the different colour combinations allowed. Colours 1 and 2 each cover about 45% of the vehicle, colours 3 and 4 cover 5% each. Remember that these are in fixed patterns, so you can't just paint your vehicle in any way you like. However, there are two things that make this a bit easier. The first is that the troops painting the vehicles had a bit of leeway in how rigidly they stuck to the patterns—within 10% was close enough—and the second, that new types of vehicle were often in service before the official pattern had been determined, so they received improvised patterns based on the existing ones; the M1 Abrams is a good example of this, as photos of it in the early 1980s show.
By comparing this table to the one above, it will be obvious that not all twelve colours are actually used. This is because colour no. 3 should be adjusted to match the local bare soil, using any of the other colours as necessary.
Scheme Colours
1-2-3-4
Desert gray: Sand Field Drab Earth Yellow Black
Desert red: Earth Red - Earth Yellow - Sand - Black
Snow temperate climate with open terrain: White - Field Drab - Sand - Black
Snow temperate climate with trees: Forest Green - White - Sand - Black
Summer, US & Europe, verdant: Forest Green - Light Green - Sand - Black
Tropics, verdant: Forest Green - Dark Green - Light Green - Black
Winter, arctic: White White White White
Winter, US & Europe, verdant : Forest Green Field Drab Sand Black
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