Vlad

Thanks @dickrd, so I wasn't imagining it. And wow, that is actually even worse than I thought. Follow-up question. Is the bridge of the J/K/N class more or less the same as a Tribal? You could potentially get an Aoshima or Flyhawk member of one of those classes (they each have several) and kitbash the bridge on for better shape accuracy and detail. As a bonus you can also scavenge all the correct boats from that kit.

I think with the time you've spend cutting masks for it it would be more accurate than my "by eye" freehand approach, and your colours are definitely better. Which reminds me I've been reviewing possible mixes for RN colours, I want to test some new ratios but I don't currently have a subject in mind already done PoW, not many that are known to have 5 colours with this particular set.

You've definitely picked a challenging one here. Unfortunately, for Tribals there aren't any alternatives to these kits in 1/700. I occasionally consider adding one to my collection then am immediately put off. You've made a good start with the bow, looking forward to seeing the rest. As well as the catalogue of issues you've already touched on, I've always felt the bridge on these kits looks too tall. Is that something you would be able to investigate and confirm?

Amazing result, all that camo work really paid off.

@robgizlu thanks for the mention, I did spot the profile but honestly the vast majority of the credit goes to @foeth, all I did was recolour it. Your model looks really fantastic, masking and paint finish absolutely superb. I'm excited to see her finished and will be saving pictures as reference for the colours, for next time I need to mix some. This particular British colour palette is just so visually pleasing.

The New Mexico class were substantially different to the Pennsylvania class. They had a clipper bow and longer guns in new angular turrets. Their 1930s rebuilds made them even more different, with a monolithic tower superstructure not seen on any other US battleships. Idaho herself by 1945 had become quite unique, being the only one of the class fitted with 10 enclosed single 5"/38 mounts. For kits, the best starting point is probably the Orange Hobby 1/700 kit of USS New Mexico in 1944. It's pricey and will require you to buy the aforementioned 5" guns separately and do a fair bit of work to modify the superstructure and fit them, but it might be your best bet. Another option might be to try to find an HP Models kit. They seem to have made one of Idaho in 1945, but it's an older resin kit of potentially worse quality and pretty sure it's long out of production anyway. In any case this will not be an easy project 🫣

There are pictures showing the yellow markings were still in use over the 250-N blue stain. I think these were retained well into 1942, such as Lexington at Coral Sea and Yorktown at Midway. I don't know exactly when the markings changed to light grey, or when the later change to the large dashed style happened. You'd need to look at individual ships for the elevator "X" painting, and what colour this might have been. Essex class initially had quite sparse markings, with a centerline solid line and two barely visible dotted lines outboard. And by 1944 you see big bold dashes and elevator crosses. However, to echo Jamie's point, in use these decks weathered and faded rapidly, so "no visible markings" might indeed be realistic at least some of the time... But then you might want to weather it so the wood is visible through the blue.

@GourmetPigeon you can try to PM Jamie and ask where you can get a copy of the CAFOs. Plate 17 looks like this: As for why repaint... well, if you have time, it makes sense to match the destination for optimum concealment. WA schemes are designed for hazy twilight and overcast North Atlantic nights (when observed from periscope height). They would stand out like a sore thumb on a bright Mediterranean day, especially from the air. 507C isn't great but it's pre-war standard Med scheme, it's expedient, and at least it isn't white!

From CAFO 679/42, the E and F classes used Plate 17 (as shown in the IWM pictures), colours white and blue. Tribals had 3-colours schemes with white, blue and green. However, if the pictures in the Med show the WA camo has been replaced with a single colour, logically they should be overall 507C.

Originally asked on Modelwarships but posting here too for visibility, in case someone knows something. http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=400946&p=1073709#p1073709 https://www.shipcamouflage.com/5_9.htm It seems USS Plunkett DD-431 was painted in an experimental WA-style scheme in early 1942. However the US used 4 colours instead of the more typical 2 or 3. "Inspired partly by British Peter Scott type, used on the destroyer PLUNKETI' in early 1942. Colors: Medium Pink, Mauve (Mountbatten Pink), Blue (possibly Thayer Blue), Green (Possibly Western Approaches Green), 20B Deck Blue, White. Vertical Surfaces - A disruptive pattern of Pink, Mauve, Blue, and Green. Decks and Horizontal surfaces - 20B. Counter shading - undersides of platforms and overhangs to be painted White." Does anyone know what the pattern might have been? Or what "medium pink" might look like? I'm guessing it's another relatively high RF colour.

You have every reason to be happy and proud of this build, a great rendition of a beautiful and tragic ship. If this is only your second I can't wait to see more 🙃

The Trumpeter kit of Renown is a bit of a disappointment, but with the replacement parts and your build quality you really turned it into something spectacular! And also great choice of time period to model. Renown seems most often shown in a later war appearance, but she looks so clean and smart without all the AA clutter, and in this two-tone scheme.

Ended up moving quite a bit faster on Astoria. This is partly due to the easier paint scheme, but also because she's effectively just using the "spare" photo-etch parts that aren't compatible with the 1944 ship. This means I won't go as all-out with detail and might end up finishing her first before focusing on the camouflage painting and additional etch on San Francisco. A shot of the bridge with the final few scratch built details added before painting, and the ship painted and assembled. I need to buy a bunch of 3D printed detail parts for both now!

Nice start Jon, this is an interesting projet, we all need a break with an easy one 😁 I also completely agree regarding clear aircraft. I understand the masking argument but honestly with it being solid it doesn't even look that good, and definitely not worth the pain of working every part in that horrible material 🤮 at least if they made the wings and floats solid and only the necessary fuselage bit clear it might be more bearable. The worst case I've seen is Fujimi make their 1/700 planes with separate clear canopies... then mold the rest of the plane in clear anyway.

I use imgur.com, I've seen a few people posting here using flickr.com.