WANTED: IJN WWII Colour schemes

[UnderseaLcpl]

http://www.combinedfleet.com/kaigun.htm

This is a site I like to visit from time to time. It has a lot of information and some colour pics, but most of the colour pics are from model boxes.
I'm not sure if that helps, but it's a nice site.

Originally Posted by Torplexed

That Ise should be fun. Especially with those hair-raising pagoda towers the Japanese were so fond of.

Indeed.

Interestingly enough, though, the first modern Japanese men-o-war from the period, the Kongo class, were actually designed by Vickers. At least, that's my understanding. It would be interesting to know the exact details of the contract. Did the Japanese specify "Pagoda" superstructures or did Vickers design them on their own? Were they following the example of earlier Japanese designs? I don't know of any WW1 or pre-war designs that used that style.

Anyone care to shed some light?

[I-25]

the Lead boat of the Kongo class Battle cruiser( the kongo herself) was actually built at vickers in England. she was the last major warship of the Imperial japanese navy to be built outside of japan. the rest of the class were built in japan. the kongo was TOP class in its time. so much that there was controversy going around while the kongo was being built on how could the royal navy build something better than what they had in the slip for a foreign country. the pagoda towers were added in a early 1930's refit of the class at japan(at this time all japanese BB's where added the pagoda) This is the kongo as she looked orginaly so there you have it the pagoda towers were a purely Japanese thing. Dump the tripod and get a pagoda they make those ships look MEAN but i love em!

[joegrundman]

the ships in the Kongo class (Kongo, Haruna, Hiei) were also refitted with oil-turbines, and stripped some secondary armaments to function as battlecruisers.

I painted some of these boats with paints for the correct yards (the different yards used slightly different colours - Tamiya have for the Sasebo and Kure yards)


But Japanese grey is quite a bit darker than allied maritime grey.

On top of that, you will likely give it a dark wash to bring out the detail

Finally it will likely be seen inside your house in the UK instead of in the bright sunlight of the pacific - the net result is that the finished product can easily end up looking much too dark compared to photos (unfortunatley all black and white) etc.

So, while Tamiya Sasebo grey for example, is undoubtedly historically accurate in itself, i think that the result may be overly dark unless you find means to brighten it. Either additional highlights, or lighten the base coat in the first place.

[Jimbuna]

@Jason...Rgr that, she's not arrived yet but I'm really looking forward to giving it a go. The only doubt I have is whether my eyesight will permit me to ad some PE.

@James...Cheers, that site seems to be most peoples favourite.....some excellent reference material there.

It's suprising how many pre-war ships were of UK design. The Japs usually used to tweak them slightly by sacrificing armour for heavier weaponry to keep them within the displacement constraints of the London Treaty 1930.

Sadly, this made many vessels unstable and wasn't fully realised until the torpedo boat Tomodzuru capsized in 1935 (IIRC).

@Joe...Your spot on regarding the Tamiya paint options...I'm going to use that range exclusively for consistency purposes if nothing else.

As long as the finished product is pleasing to the eye I'll be quite content, I've never considered myself anything other than a hobbyist/enthusiast

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by I-25

the Lead boat of the Kongo class Battle cruiser( the kongo herself) was actually built at vickers in England. she was the last major warship of the Imperial japanese navy to be built outside of japan. the rest of the class were built in japan. the kongo was TOP class in its time. so much that there was controversy going around while the kongo was being built on how could the royal navy build something better than what they had in the slip for a foreign country. the pagoda towers were added in a early 1930's refit of the class at japan(at this time all japanese BB's where added the pagoda) This is the kongo as she looked orginaly so there you have it the pagoda towers were a purely Japanese thing. Dump the tripod and get a pagoda they make those ships look MEAN but i love em!

Aha! So the towers were a later modification, then. It's nice to finally know that

I think the original version looks a lot more functional, but I also love the Pagoda towers. You gotta hand the award for intimidating-looking battleships to the Japanese

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

Aha! You gotta hand the award for intimidating-looking battleships to the Japanese

Well they certainly didn't intimidate your lot for long

[nikimcbee]

Status report

I'll take some pichures of my IJN 1/700 stuff and post them.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

Status report

I'll take some pichures of my IJN 1/700 stuff and post them.

I'm still awaiting an order for modelling tools and paint brushes to be fulfilled. Apparently, the only item the shop is waiting delivery of is the model of the BB Ise.

I'll give them one more week then instruct them to delete the model (I already have the Chuyo and Ashigara I can be getting on with).

I have resigned myself to the fact that my eyesight aint good enough to start meddling with PE though.

Looking forward to the pics

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

Status report

I'll take some pichures of my IJN 1/700 stuff and post them.

Here's my old ones, when I first started. I need to take some new ones.

[Jimbuna]

Very nice

I've got the Chuyo primed ready for painting (the planes are terrifying me LOL) and the following in boxes awaiting assembly:

Ashigara, Aoba, Kinugasa (Heavy Cruisers)
Akagi (1935 3 deck version Aircraft Carrier)
Mizuho (Seaplane Tender)

Plus 2 boxes each of early and late war carrier aircraft.

[Oberon]

Oooh, Akagi! My favourite Jap carrier



Look forward to seeing how it progresses

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Oooh, Akagi! My favourite Jap carrier
Look forward to seeing how it progresses

Your picture is of the modernised vessel, how she looked when she was part of the carrier group that attacked Pearl Harbour.

My model is of the 1935 version when she had three flight decks and carried biplanes.

[Oberon]

She still looks awesome.

[nikimcbee]

status report bump

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Oooh, Akagi! My favourite Jap carrier



Look forward to seeing how it progresses

I thought it ended w/explosions and fire, ultimately.