| Dan Cyr | 17 Aug 2007 6:48 a.m. PST |
I've got excellent early war top down drawings of the Soryu, Akagi and Hiryu (all at Midway) showing deck color, flight line markings and stern colors (red and white). All from Praeger's "Midway 1942" volume. Does anyone have anything simpilar for the other Japanese carriers for the early war period (December 1941 until after Midway)? I can fake the flight line markings and such (I'm doing 1/6000 scale), but the stern markings are individual to a particular ship and I'd like to have those right. Thanks in advance for any information or links. Dan |
| Cke1st | 17 Aug 2007 7:13 a.m. PST |
"Shattered Sword," by Parshall and Tully, has line drawings of all four Japanese carriers at Midway, including the stern markings. That will help you with the Kaga. (This book should be on any WWII student's must-read list anyway.) |
 McKinstry   | 17 Aug 2007 9:10 a.m. PST |
picture picture It's just google-fu but the Combined Fleet site is usually pretty good. |
 Editor in Chief Bill  | 17 Aug 2007 2:49 p.m. PST |
First link won't go through (their server blocks direct links to photos, I think). |
| McKinstry | 17 Aug 2007 8:26 p.m. PST |
combinedfleet.com This is just a link to the home page of the combined fleet site. Enter and folow the links to the sunken Midway carrier. It is Kaga and contains a pretty good drawing of her deck including that unique symbol on the right side of the flight deck at the stern. |
| mandt2 | 18 Aug 2007 5:15 a.m. PST |
I Google for sources. Often the best are Tamiya and Hasegawa box cover art. Or hobby builders sites. Months ago a member here posted pics of his 1/6000 CVs. He had created deck art in Photoshop. So I got inspired to do the same. Here's a pic of the Enterprise, Shokaku, and Zuikaku in 1/6000. picture I create the deck art in Photoshop, scale it down and print it out on "Clear Window Decal" sheets that can be found at Staples. So far, these are the only CVs I've done. I'm working on Zuiho and Ryuho now, and hope eventually to cover all the major classes. |
| Ooh Rah | 18 Aug 2007 9:04 a.m. PST |
Wow, fantastic flight decks! I read that post a while back about using Photoshop, too, but never tried the technique. This definitely looks like the way to do carrier decks instead of hand-painting in 1:6000. I didn't know where to get the decal paper. Thanks for the tip on Staples! |
| McKinstry | 18 Aug 2007 12:43 p.m. PST |
That's really impressive. How about a Workbench article for TMP so we Photoshop-challenged types could learn? |
| mandt2 | 19 Aug 2007 6:19 a.m. PST |
I'd be glad to do a Workbench article. It'll take me a while though. In the meantime there are some important points to know. Your inkjet doesn't print white, so white areas, when printed on the decal are actually clear. So you will have to undercoat the flightdecks white before applying the decal. Technically, you could actually use paper, but I haven't found one with a smooth enough finish to carry the ink sharply enough. Spray the decals with matte spray. Lay down a couple of coats. Let them dry, and repeat three of four times. I use a simple glue stick to apply the decal to the deck. Since I mount the CVs on the provided bases, handling won't be a problem. Good Luck, and I'll see if I can put together a full tutorial. |
| gregoryk | 20 Aug 2007 11:37 a.m. PST |
If that workbench article ever is posted, I would love to have it. Also, are those Photoshop decals available for sale? |
