"...the flight deck of the Shinano was a very un-military shade of pink! (The box art from the old Tamiya 1/700 scale model actually depicts this.) According to Lynn Lucious Moore's “Shinano: The Jinx Carrier” (US Naval Institute Proceedings, February, 1953) the steel flight deck was covered with, “...a thin, shock-absorbent latex-sawdust...” composition. The origin of the wood is unclear, but Japanese red cedar (sugi) or Japanese red pine (akamatsu), both common in Japan, would account for the pinkish color noted by observers. The deck would have undoubtedly have been camouflaged before she entered service, but it had not yet been done when Shinano was sunk on her way to final fitting out. The improbable color is well attested by several eyewitnesses, both former crewmen and civilian workers."
Pink, as I have been told by a former merchant seaman of many years, is also probably the most effective paint camouflage you can use at sea (true/false? please discuss). Whether it is as effective when painted all over your flight deck I know not. Note: My "pink" was Games Workshop Tanned Flesh, again chosen just to use it up. At least the Japanese seemed to have moved away from advertising their carriers with large "Rising Sun" roundels perfect for adjusting the US dive-bombers bomb run as per Midway. A plane in the hanger gets a little bit of painting attention (see below):
The plane is painted white, with a black engine cowling, grey windscreen/glass and then the tricky Japanese roundel (well it certainly is in 1/1200) applied in red and then its jagged curves are touched up and smoothed out by careful application of white.
Then the many pieces of the "layered back bit of her hull" are assembled and her flight deck is put on and the little carrier group (see below) is painted as per their comrade down in the hanger. The IJNS Yamato now appears for a bit of mutual moral support, after all it is 1944 and US planes are everywhere!
Looking quite cool but there is still quite a bit of painting still to be done.
The IJNS Yamato begs for some more paint (see above). Her turn has come ;)
2 comments:
Some very interesting facts. These models are coming along very nicely indeed.
The IJN naval build up will have to be "countered" by the RN and US ;)
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