Hello all:
Ok I built a little of this and that but never got around to building a ship it until now. I have so many questions from a first timer. The first kit I plan to tackle will be the Mini Hobby USS Arizona 1/350 scale. I’m Aware they are not known for model greatness but want to start somewhere and the wife picked it and the Jersey and Prince of Whales for nothing at a yard sale so really nothing to lose. I was looking to model it like it look on Dec 6, 1941. My first question is battleship gray. I fear that this answer could be as compounding as what field grey? I have seen pictures of the USSTexas, a ship roughly the same era with a very dark gray color. I also remember seeing the Jersey when I was a kid and seeing a lighter grey. I tried the book research method but most photos are black and white and that does not help much. The next is the deck. At this scale should I look to make it a uniform color? I would assume that the decks back then different degrees of coloration from the natural wood? Any advise to recreate this? The kit did not have Mantel covers on the guns. I figured I would make it with milliput. I’m sure they had something there I have seen pictures with the cover in place. Where the black white or gray? Any places I shoul be looking would be a great help.

Hi Victor! Welcome to Model Shipwrights!

Without getting into the history of the debate, there are two schools of thought. The first is that the Arizona was painted in Measure 1, which is:

Vertical Surfaces:
All approximately vertical surfaces above the top of the stacks shall be painted Light Gray 5-L.

Horizontal Surfaces:
All horizontal surfaces except wood decks shall be painted Dark Gray 5-D. The systems differ only in the painting of the vertical surfaces. In case of doubt, as on sloping surfaces, use Dark Gray 5-D.

Now, the other school of thought comes from documentation found last year. This evidence states that the Arizona was painted in 5-S blue with red turret tops. I know that there is another detail about the turrets tops that I'm forgetting.

Personally, if i were building the Arizona, I would go with the 5-S blue scheme, but that's my preference.

Kenny

Some clarifications and corrections. Kenny missed part of the Measure 1 description; below the top of the stack the vertical surfaces were 5-D Dark gray as well. If you want to read more agout USN WWII camouflage I'd suggest ShipCamouflage.Com which includes a ship camouflage database and descriptions of each camouflage measure.

The Sea Blue Arizona (official designation 5-S) was unveiled in December of 2006 and is based on a lot of research but no smoking gun. I was part of the group that did the research and have posted most of the documents that I found on my own camouflage page. The conclusion was drawn partially on documentation and partially through an interview of a naval aviator attached to Arizona that was also in charge of the ship's aviation paint locker.

There is no hard proof she was sea blue, but there is also documentation that definitely calls into question the "fact" that she was Dark Gray. It may be years before we know for sure, if we ever do, so if you want something that's at least correct for much of 1941 5-D is safest.

Oh yes, red turret tops: 1, 2, and 4. #3 was left 5-D/5-S due to the airplane catapult on top of it.

The paints use predate the Federal Standard and there are no exact FS matches.. you can mix equivalents if you want based on the Snyder & Short paint chips (available on ShipCamouflage.Com) or buy per-mixed paints in the White Ensign line, available from White Ensign in Europe but preferably via ShipCamouflage.Com in the US.

In the interest of disclosure, I'm the webmaster for ShipCamo, but on a volunteer basis; the information presented there is important and I want to help keep Randy on line. Any money you can spend with him will help in that regard.

Thank you both for the info!!!!!

Another follow up question about the red turret. is it the same red that is used on the bottom.

Hey Victor,

I would say to use insignia red for the turret tops, not hull red.

Kenny

Kenny's correct, it's a different red.