Hi all,

I'm finishing up the Revell Battle of Midway Enterprise - A basic kit that offered a nice challenge for detailing.
This is the first aircraft carrier I've ever built, I've adhered to historical accuracy as best I can, but have taken a few liberties. It's also a first ship build to sharpen my modeling skills to later work on a Forrestal and an Akagi.

I like the 1944 camo scheme so the Big E will be finished circa 1944.

A few photos I've seen show a black deck. (see link)
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/k01000/k01590.jpg" TARGET="_blank"> http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/k01000/k01590.jpg

My question is on the technique of painting the deck.

I've painted the deck a flat black.

What's the best way to weather the deck to show weathering from landings?

What other weathering pointers can be offered?

Thanks all!

Peter

Hey Peter,

Believe it or not, in 1944 the Enterprise's deck was stained Deck Blue. But, over time exposed to the blistering sun and salt air along with the daily air operations in a combat area would have produced something that looks more like this:



Also, to show you how bad the stain would fade, look at this photo:

Kennys right. All carriers and capital ships during the era were stained deck blue which is a pretty dark blue color refer to Trumpeter WW2 ships like the Hornet, Enterprise or the BB's NC or ALAbama to get a close approximation.

At the risk of being pedantic, "era" would be the wrong term to use.
Prior to 1941 (and for about half of that year) the decks were stained Mahagony.
Prior to 1943 the decks were in 251N Flight Deck Stain
http://www.shipcamouflage.com/specialtopics/BlueFlightDecks.html
During 1943 #21 Flight Deck Stain replaced 251N and was used until a revised version came out in 1944, and this was the color of choice for the remainder of the war. The revised #21 was designed to have the same appearance as 20-B Deck Blue, but it was of course formulated to penetrate wood as opposed to sitting atop of it the way deck blue paint did.
http://www.shipcamouflage.com/5_4.htm

Carrier decks took an awful beating, what with oil being dripped on them, tires skidding, and the odd crash and fire here and there. I'd start with 20B Deck blue and weather accordingly; add some thinned wood tones with a faint mist, for example.

Tracy

You being pedantic.....not you.


LOL

Thanks to all for the replies and info.

I now am considering repainting the deck a light tan, and then spray over that a dark blue (instead of trying to 'fix' a black painted deck).

I use Tamiya paints so was thinking of light tan base for the deck.

Are there any types or brands of paints that would work better than others for the 20B Deck Blue?

white ensign models has the most accurate colors. They are a bit difficult to find here in the states, I think Pacific Front Hobbies carries them. I generally mix up some modelmaster enamel colors to get what i want.

At the risk of being equally pedantic....

Only carriers used stain, and only on the flight decks. All other ships with wood decks used 20-B Deck Blue PAINT, not stain.

And, the stain used in 1942 was Norfolk 250-N Flight Deck Stain, not 251-N. 251-N was a lighter blue-gray used for flight deck markings.