Here is one more Japanese carrier I just finished. I thought the green camouflage scheme was interesting, plus I hadn’t seen anyone else do it, so I thought I’d see how it looked. Turned out well, though I decided to add the Rising Sun for recognition purposes. I think it actually makes the ship look better, but that’s just me.
Again, this one was modeled on a version of Zuikaku. I did take the liberty of modifying the island superstructure to better resemble most Japanese carriers, including Zuikaku. The gap on the side where the rest of the bridge was could not be helped, but it is passable. I did order some of the new Akagi-class sculpts from the new A&A 1941, which I hope to receive soon. That way I don’t have to use all Shinano-class; I never understood why that class was chosen as the one ship in it never saw active service, nor was a particularly effective fleet carrier.
Two more pictures of the same.
I apologize for the glaring of the light on the surface. I will see what I can do to take care of that.
Next I have Bismarck. This is pretty standard, though I added the yellow tops to the turrets. That is a pretty famous feature of Bismarck’s, so I have been rather surprised that no one has painted their Bismarck’s as such. I understand there is some scholarly debate as to when, if ever, Bismarck had yellow on the turrets. Most pictures tend to show it, and I liked the idea as an identifying feature so I put them on. Originally I intended to do Tirpitz with green or red turrets (both of which I have seen), but for some reason ended up going with the yellow for Bismarck first.
Not sure if I like the color and glossiness of the paint I used for the wood of the deck though; that might change. Nazi swastika emblems turned out alright for having to be hand-painted. There really is very little room on this sculpt to put anything like a national marker.
Two more.
Next I have one picture of an early war US carrier. I modeled it on early/pre-war Yorktown, though the paint scheme would suit Enterprise, Lexington or Saratoga. This is more of a throwaway as I am not completely done and haven’t added any markings. It is unlikely that I will finish it, only because I kind of want to try something different or at least revise this one. I painted the hull and island in a metallic steel, which on second thought is better left for a B-17. The deck is nice, looks kinda worn, which I like. The lines, however, were rather hastily done and could use some straightening, though that may be hard to tell from this picture. The picture I referenced did have bow and stern markings on the flight deck of four letters in the carrier’s name, which I tried to spell out: “Y-K-T-N”. But this proved very difficult considering how close the lines are together, so I painted over it. Not sure what to do with this one… but it definitely cannot be called “done”.
Here is a lone Sherman. Yes, it would look a little more impressive in battalion strength, but I have not had time for that yet. It is standard dark green with some dry-brushed sand for a dirtier look. I think I went a little overboard with the sand, so I will tone that down in the next batch. The treads turned out pretty well, though it is hard to see here.
One more.
Apologies for the blurriness. I will try to borrow my fiance’s camera which takes nicer pictures.
Last one for the evening is a Ju-88 German bomber. Again, not sure why this type was chosen over the He-111, but I also ordered some of the new A&A 1941 He-111 sculpts too.
With aircraft especially, there are just so many different styles of camouflage that it would be impossible to try all of them. The hardest part will probably be settling on 2 or 3 styles and then making the entire air force that way. I’d like to do one of everything, but that might look kind of stupid or random when playing. I think most people would like their armies, navies and air forces to look somewhat uniform. Anyway, just thought this was an interesting pattern and had not seen anyone else do it. I know the Luftwaffe crosses and swastikas are a bit hard to see, but it is easier in person. Base color is dark green and the underside is “aircraft grey”.
Two more for reference.
Very nice Hoffman.
Very nice done! You got yourself a project there i see :wink: it is fun to paint one of each unit… but to paint 12 of the same or 20 is not as much fun :D but i hope you keep up the good work and the detailing!
(as to if bismarck did have yellow turret tops or not can only the crew tell i guess, but according to this website which i had as ref. she did not have yellow tops. http://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/paint_schemes/paintbism1941.html. you can also find good pictures of other german ships there)
(as to if bismarck did have yellow turret tops or not can only the crew tell i guess, but according to this website which i had as ref. she did not have yellow tops. http://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/paint_schemes/paintbism1941.html. you can also find good pictures of other german ships there)
Yes, this was the website I came upon also. The author made a convincing case that Bismarck didn’t have colored turrets, which is why I trew in the disclaimer. I would think it unlikely that any crew of Bismarck live today, but this is a question I’d ask if I met one. Fortunately, ich spreche ein bisschen deutsch.
@wittmann:
Very nice Hoffman.
Danke mein Herr.
Sehr sehr shon Herr Hoffman.
Sie muss mehr machen.
Sehr sehr shon Herr Hoffman.
Sie muss mehr machen.
Thanks. They are in the works. Stay tuned.
Hoffman, extremely nice work! Love all the detail. Look forward to seeing more stuff in the near future.
Hoffman, extremely nice work! Love all the detail. Look forward to seeing more stuff in the near future.
Yes, my apologies to everyone for the delays. Haven’t had much time to work on them lately.
I do have 3 which are finished and I will put them up this evening.
Again, apologies for the wait, but here are a few new ones.
B-17 and F6F. (I realize it is difficult to tell the color, but the B-17 is olive green)
With reference F6F. I rather liked this paint scheme for the Hellcat.
F6F and carrier for reference. Again, this is very likely not my final US carrier design.
