Question about whether 4" HA AA platform on aft deckhouse on Flyhawk's 1/700 HMS Penelope should be wood planks, steel, or a combination?

[michaele]

All:

Flyhawk's 1/700 HMS Penelope kit has the 4" HA AA gun deck atop the aft deckhouse covered entirely with wooden planks. See here:

But most, if not all RN cruisers from this period had steel decks atop their aft deckhouses, with just the working areas around any AA guns covered by wood planking. See, for instance, this picture of HMAS Sydney on the left: 

 

Norman Ough's plans of HMS Penelope seem to show the deck covered completely by wooden planks (though it is hard to tell here):



But this Norman Ough model held by the IWM shows the aft deckhouse covered by a steel AA deck, painted in dark gray:



So would anyone have any photos or reliable plans of HMS Penelope that could clarify this matter? If not, would anyone have photos of the model of HMS Penelope in the Malta Maritime Museum which I understand was based on official "as built" plans, and which therefore might shed some light on this matter?

Any assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated, as I hoped that the Flyhawk HMS Penelope would be a quick build, but it looks like it will take longer than expected... sigh, LOL!

Thanks!

Mike E.

Edited June 15, 2020 by michaele

[Chewbacca]

Only photo that I can find of PENELOPE showing her decks is this one that's undated:

 

 

They're either steel or painted wood.

 

To confuse matter more, there's this model in the Blackpool Museum purporting to show her in 1943 that appears to show wooden aft gun decks

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by Chewbacca

[grahamwalker]

THE PHOTO IS JUST AFTER REFIT IN THE usa DECKS PAINTED DARK GREY