I finally got off my duff and started a project I've been putting off far too long- a fully painted 1/6000 set of Russian and Japanese War fleets.
I've wanted to do this for a long time. Yes, 1/6000 are very small, but I like this scale for naval gaming because it allows for maneuver, something that so many games at larger scales don't. They also paint up pretty quickly, and I'm not too old yet that I can't focus on the ships to do a good job (that's not a dig on anyone- I'm getting older and it is a concern).
The thing that gets me, however, is that the sources for painting these ships vary so widely. I'm trying to be a realistic as I can be, but gamers seem to vary in expectations as well. Many gamers paint up their ships in the beautiful pre-war paint jobs. I get this- who doesn't want these colorful and beautifully contrasted ships on their tables? However, both the Japanese and Russian fleets repainted their ships just before the war in war trim.
The sources for colors for these ships vary, and sometimes contradict. Photos can be deceptive as well, since they are in black and white and don't always convey the actual shades. It's a tough nut to crack. I've been using War Times Journal since it is a great reference, but comparing his sources, even they contradict.
The Port Arthur ships are the worse, since they vary from Russet (a brownish tint) to Drab (a greenish tint) and I've found Russian sources that show these ships in an almost tank green shade.
It's a bit maddening, so I'm making my own calls on the ships and painting them to what I believe are correct according to the sources. I look up each ship, compare it to picture sources and written sources and make a call on what it was painted at the period I want to capture during the war.
The painting is going well, so I will have pictures to share in a week or so, but wanted to just voice my frustrations at the varying nature of the source info. Anyone else faced this period and found similar issues?