GHQ Models Forums

Hello everyone. Can anyone point me to a site or perhaps reccomend a book that would have good reference material on what colors Japanese warships were painted in WWII? Getting ready to paint some minis and assemble some models, and it occured to me i have no idea what color the ships were! My models have instructions in Japanese, so unfortunately theyre no help. Kagero class destroyers are first up. PS i dont expect anyone to type out what color every ship was painted, etc, if you want to, go ahead, but i would really like to get some reference material i can have close at hand (ie a book) thanks!!

WWW.combinedfleet.com

If you can't find it there, I'm sure their forums can point you to it.
In any case- great site on all things Imperial Navy...

For Kagero class specifically, I would recommend 'Warship Profile 22 - IJN Yukikaze' by Masataka Chihaya and Yasuo Abe, 1972. There were a 'Warship Profile 12 - IJN Kongo' and a 'Warship Profile 30 - IJN Yamato and Musashi.' Unfortunately, this series is long out-of-print and difficult to obtain.

More recent, and currently available, are the Osprey New Vanguard 109, 'Japanese Heavy Cruisers,' Squadron In Action numbers 4025, 'Japanese LIght Cruisers' and 4026, 'Japanese Heavy Cruisers.'

D. Scheef

Sasebo gray, Kure gray, Maizuru gray, or Yokosuka gray early. Ship decks with wood decking would be tan and those with linoleum would be a reddish brown. Steel decks would be the same color as the ship.

The ship would be the color of whichever yard had last refurbished it. You can find paint chips here http://www.shipcamouflage.com/ijn.htm for the different grays.

I'm pretty sure Tamiya makes those specific colours. I think there was another paint manufacturer as well - White Ensign?

regards

Steve

CA-68,

Check out Testors Model Master paints -- in 1/2 ounce bottles:

4250 Model Master - Sasebo Naval Arsenal
4251 Model Master - Kure Naval Arsenal
4252 Model Master - Maizuru Naval Arsenal
4253 Model Master - Yokosuka Naval Arsenal

These acrylics should cost about $3 each at a well-stocked hobby shop, and are in the Model Master Marine Acrylics line. As I brush paint only (after all these years, I still don't own a compressor or paint booth -- I have an airbrush, but never really picked up "the knack" for using it), I've found that the Testors line doesn't need thinning and I can clean my brushes with soap and water -- cheap, plentiful, and no odors to upset the other members of the household!

Oh, BTW... there are a lot of other colors in the line, such as many of the American camouflage colors.

Hope this helps!

Regards,
Tom Stockton

Hi, my qustion is little OT, but not so much. I need the paint scheme of the italian navy, to be more accurate the ones of the Littorio and the Zara ships. I didn't found anything yet on the internet. thank you!!! L.

THANK YOU all for the links! The paint chip reference (ordering the chip set this weekend) as well as the Model Master numbers are exactly what i needed, at least to get started. I have both the Squadron IJN cruiser books, unfortunately, like most things WWII, the book dosent explain much about colors, though they will come in handy for my Tone and Mogami projects (both in 1/2400 and 1/700). The combinedfleet site is definately the best IJN site ive seen, i have had it bookmarked for several months, once again, it dosent explain much on colors, but it has a TON of great links, many of which i havent had the time to explore yet. I am always impressed with the knowledge and fast anwers that i receive on our "little" forum. Thanks a million!

CA-68

I see you ordered the paint chips. Good idea. They are supposed to be based on actual paints from WWII. I've been using White Eagle Colour coat paints, which (I am told) are based on the same sources as the paint chips. Although I use them almost exclusively, my experience with them varies. Regarding the WEM CC Yokosuka Grey, I could swear that all of the tins I have used must have been mixed with oil. It's taken me up to four coats to get decent coverage. The other WEM CC IJN greys have been much better, as has the Linoleum color put out by WEM. However, even with the problems I sometimes run into with WEM CCs (Mountbatten Grey is another wild one), I like that they are supposed to be accurate recreations of historical paints.

Part of the fun for you will be finding out which of the four greys goes with which ships. I had a partial list around here somewhere, but can't find it right now. It may have been thrown out with the trash when I was hurriedly cleaning up for the holidays.

Take Care; mikee