I am looking at a diorama with a Flower Class Corvette under heavy seas crossing the North Atlantic during the Battle of the Atlantic, and would like suggestions on the base color of the sea.

I was blown away by Chris Flodberg's USS North Carolina diorama and would like to do something like it.

For me, this was the image that conveyed the harshness of the conditions for a warship on the open seas.



In particular, I love his work on the HMS King George V. It really has that North Atlantic look to me:



For the north Atlantic, to me, it seems to be a dark blue-green in color to a dark navy blue, not at all like the bright blue of the Pacific.



A grey over cast sky makes the water more slate colored:



Actually I think the Northen Atlantic and Northen Pacific are very similar looking because of the presence of phytoplankton in the colder, northern waters.

What scale are you doing the Corevette in?

1/72nd. A little ship in a BIG scale.

Oooh, did you spring for the newly released kit with all the new photoetch and brass additions?

I have an earlier release of one, without the extras, that I'm hacking up into a short forecastle version.

I have the older version like you do, but will likely go for the Great Little Ship upgrades.

Here is an actual shot of ESSEX CVS-9 in the north Atlantic, winter of 1961/62 when I was aboard.





EJ

Thanks for mentioning that! I just took a look over there and they plan on doing a short forecastle conversion set!

Eugene, how fun is the North Atlantic as a rollercoaster in a carrier?

That's a monster wave for a big ship like the Essex!

This is sorta what I'm thinking about:



or this:

Even though I made several trips into the north Atlantic, I was unable to view the water since we didn't have windows. However, we did surface a few times, and was able to look out from the sail. The water color can change a great deal depending on the the color of the sky at the time. Bright days seemed to make the water just a tad bluer and green, while overcast seemed to make it more gray/blue. Winds will also whip the waves more, bringing up more tan/white caps. At least, that is what it looked like to me....

David

Thanks, David! I'm leaning to a blue-gray.