They say in the Russian navy If you see anything that moves then solute to it, if you see anything that doesn't then paint it. I hardly belive that German requirement to accuracy was lower. Actually, ships in the begining of their mission should be freshly painted, while being rusty on return due to sea invironment. Thus, some fresh rust near holes while other parts freshly painted should be the most realistic variant.

Rust
 

Did you see the state of the Ark Royal on the way to the Falklands/Malvinas?:arrgh!:

A little bit rust never went amiss :hmm:

The Task Force that recaptured the Falklands is a very good example. They left port (for the most part) in imaculate peacetime paint and returned looking very rusty and battered. The rough winter seas of the the south atlantic really took their toll on the ships.

It is not that simple...rusty or not rusty.

Sea weathering on metal surface is :
-salt and iodium color damage
-biological (alge) crusts
-rust

...and it is not that simple to re-paint in port, it takes hard work to "cure" the base surface before repainting (last thing that somebody will do in bombed hangars)

Weathered subs died silently in a far away corners of ocean without photographers and any possibility of remaining documents...

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/8026/wh1nm9.jpg

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6766/whgk4.jpg

I always use my old Type VII repaint which I posted on here years ago, with some rust, it's kind of more battered than rusted:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...dbury/U-89.jpg

:D Chock

Further to this; was watching a docu on Discovery Channel earlier which showed HMS Swiftsure the modern SSN. She looked in a pretty rough condition, missing acustic tiles, patches of rust and what looked like green algae growing on her bows. Plus the usual encrustations of salt etc. So even in peacetime subs can look pretty scruffy. I was surprised how poor her condition was, I presume she was due for a refit not long after the program was made.

Launched in 1971, decommissioned in 1992 :yep:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Swiftsure_%28S126%29

SH3 commander sabotage and malfunctions option ON !!:rotfl:

When a U-boat returned from patrol it was scraped and repainted while the crew was on leave and the u-boat was in dock, simple as that:D

Read the book "Black May". In it there are excerpts from captured U-boat men who were imprisoned with members of the other branches of the German armed services. This was done to extract information that was not possible from interrogations. For instance a planesman would be put in a cell with a captured luft pilot. They would share stories and information and all the while the room was tapped with hidden mics to pick up the information.

The pictures you see of rusty U-boats are of those that have been at sea for several weeks and endured the elements. 10 weeks at sea will do that to any ship. Uboats did not leave port looking like rusted out hulks.:arrgh!:

same here...

Chock, I always liked that skin as well, mainly because it has the sunken metal between the frames. I can't show a picture from my old DD right now, but her fantail had the same sinking effect. That's why we always called the Brinkley Bass "Wrinkley @$$".

I wish some of the camo mods had that as well.

Light to medium rust - as we don´t have a dinamic "rust" over the uboats in game for the same patrol or even through the years. Light rust for the first years, medium for the last years of war.

Fresh painted ones are only good for departure purposes to get the attention of that nurses and burocratic officers on the pier, for sure after few days at sea the uboats had a more light to medium rust appearence.:up:

That's right Rubini,

99% of photo reference is made in occasions of happy times: port, propaganda or simply calm patrol conditions...

In a later war time:
- No journalist would join "last action hero" long-range patrols
- Nobody would make a "photo session" in Atlantic under Allieed arial coverage
- No reporters would join semi-suicidal patrol in 1943... and last thing that Captain would embark in bombed hangar is photographer

Last-action dramatic patrols, simply do not have visual documents... especially not clear-profile photos of subs, in a desperate attempt to inflict some heroic strike against Allied tide... in a far away corner of ocean.

New paint for me, please. ;)
CapZap