Hey guys....now that I've got a good idea about the hull color, can anyone give me an idea on the deck markings for IJN carriers, particulary the stripes.

Thanks
Kenny

Hi Kenny!
I don't have this one in my library but I have seen it before, and there are sections on IJN carrier deck markings inside...I'll try to find a copy and get some scans for you-

Osprey IJN Carrier

~Gunny

I presume you mean for Shinano?

She probably would have carried the red and white stern stripes, and maybe even a camo pattern on her deck. Flight deck markings would have been a single, solid line down the center line (it may or may not have ended in an arrowhead at the bow), and a pair of dashed lines, one on either side of the centerline. Whether those dashed lines would have run the distance of the flight is anyone's guess.

I have camo patterns for most of the IJN carriers in 44-45, so based on some of the larger ships (Taiho, Katsuragi, Amagi), maybe you can apply one of theirs to Shinano.

Are you intending to depict her in 1945 as operational?

Jeff

Hey Jeff and Gunny,

Yeah, I want to do here as operational with a full compliment of aircraft.




That would be great Jeff. I can trace the flight deck and use the deck camo as a template to make a set of masks. Ironic that the USN believed that blues and grays were the best colors and the IJN used greens and tans.

Kenny

Unfortunately, in the case of IJN stuff, just about everything was destroyed as the war ended.

It's a shame really, because there's written reports of hundreds and thousands of ship photos and naval documents being burned in large bonfires at the end of war.

It's sad really, that only 1 photo is known to exist of Shinano, only 3 exist of Taiho, and only a handful of Yamato and Musashi. Compared to the likes of the Iowas (at least during their wartime careers), or even Bismarck, the IJN stuff is rare.

At least to me, it's perhaps the most fascinating navy of all the combatants of WW2. They certainly had some pretty ships.

I'll get those deck patterns scanned tonight for you.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff.

Kenny

What was it, the Zuiho? The one pic that shows the camo to make her look like a battleship. Now that would be oh so cool to do, especially on a large 350 scale level.

Here's the images... I'm leaving them large so you can actually use them as reference...

The foldout was too big to scan, so I had to shoot it on the table. Sorry about the lighting, but it will give you a good idea. The top carrier is Unryu, the bottom is Chitose. On the lower right are some additional patterns from Taiyo, Ryujo, Hiyo, and a couple others.

Hey Jeff, these are too cool. Decisions, decisions. Any of these will look awesome on the Shinano. I'm going to start on the kit tonight!

Kenny

Stop the presses...

I was rummaging through my Shinano/Taiho stuff and found what appears to be two design sketches for Shinano's proposed flight deck and hull camo pattern.

I can't read Japanese, but maybe someone here can and is willing to translate. I'll get this scanned today and posted up.

Jeff