Boatmans 1/200 scale USS HORNET CV8 BUILD AN LIGHTS for the Doolittle raid on japan

[BOATMAN]

Well Chris, I really do not think anyone can provide you with a correct answer. It is your model; only you can determine what tone, dark or light you want your ship to be! For example if you want a ship that looks like she was just launched; you will want those bright, vibrant colors. But if you want her to look like she just sailed across the Pacific Ocean you may want her to look considerably muted.

The first photo is of the kit documentation, ie. no weathering. The next two reflect how a goood modeler has handled it; and the fourth is the actual ship, 6 mo.s post doolittle. By Oct 1942 there is considerabably more weathering than on Doolitles launch!

My opinion, she looks good; you just need to keep all the others consistent! She is shaping up nicely; I hope to start modeling again in a couple of days.

OK GUYS from all your posts im gettin the vibe of maybe im bein to critical of my paint work an jen was not happy as last night we planned to whatch a tv programe togeather that she likes but i nipped upstairs to my man cave to just try an make the camo paint a little darker but when i just added a little light grey on a test bit of plasticard an compared them i lost the blueish tint so yes guys i will leave how it is an push onto the other side of the hull an Rob -Kevin - an Sailor many thanks for your opinions VERY MUCH APPRECIATED to you all for your help an its settled my mind now an i feel a lot more happyier with the camo
CHEERS ALL
chrisb

 

[BOATMAN]

Chris, do, you plan to add some weathering later? Washes? This would darken a bit the colors.
In my opinion, you did a very nice job and looking amazing.

AN HI GCB thanks for your input also that it looks ok an wheathering not really as im crap at doin that as one of my boaty mates treid to do it on his big r/c ship an made a right mess of it so he has to respray the whole 6 ft ship an i dont want to go down that rd an you sir think it looks ok so without further ado i'll leave well alone an carry on the other side an leave enough paint to do the top S/S
CHEERS SIR
chrisb

 

[BOATMAN]

AN I think i really need an airbrush to do wheathering properly an i got a mini ladyies airbrush thats made to spray ladies finger nails as someone said it worked quite well on small jobs but on my hornet i dont think it will be up to the job as its a big model an me tryin to learn something new its not worth it
chrisb

 

[GCB]

Yep, for the size of the ship, a proper airbrush would help!!

 

[BOATMAN]

Yep, for the size of the ship, a proper airbrush would help!!

YES You are right but im gettin on in yrs so it no good spendin all that money on a full size A/B as i may not get much use out of it an i wish i had bought one yrs ago but cant wind back time can we
chrisb

 

[BOATMAN]

HI AGAIN guys WELL i was still in two minds over this camo paint as yes i know you guys said it looks ok but when i just sat an looked at it it gnawed at me that it was not right so ithought give it a second coat of the same paint an not lose the blueish tint an yes it now seems ok an im now happy with it so its gonna be two coats on the other side as well phew MAYBE IM TOO CRITICAL of my work but i know when im not happy with something an my hornet book came today at last so while that paint is dryin i can have a study of the book

chrisb

 

[Edbert]

Yep, for the size of the ship, a proper airbrush would help!!

For things as large as BOATMAN builds, perhaps not an airbrush but one of these is better.



(just kidding Chris, keep up the good work!)

 

[BarleyBop]

i know when im not happy with something

Right you are.
Sometimes it can't be helped, but giving it a bit of time to settle usually leads to a good idea, and sometimes, no change required at all.

 

[BOATMAN]

For things as large as BOATMAN builds, perhaps not an airbrush but one of these is better.

View attachment 153676

(just kidding Chris, keep up the good work!)

HI Edbert yes i could have done with one of them when sprayin my big near 9ft long USS NIMITZ CVN68 as god i used several big rattle cans on it as it had 10 coats of grey primer an another 5 coats of red oxide anti foul an another 5 coates of humbroll no 64 matt light grey an several coats of matt black for waterline an another 5 coats of clear matt varnish an some clear lauqer thats used on cars finish an it took me about a whole week to spray it so yes that would have been handy but all that paint build up was worth it as the model is still sailin down at portsmouth today an i built that 20 odd yrs ago an what a build that was chrisb

 

[BOATMAN]

Right you are.
Sometimes it can't be helped, but giving it a bit of time to settle usually leads to a good idea, and sometimes, no change required at all.

AN B/B yes you are right sir but for me to look at that camo paint i just dint sit right with me an the more i looked at the more i thought sometings got to be done an it was so now for the other side tomorrow an im a bit dissapointed with my hornet book as its not as big as i was hopein for an the pics are all in B/W but never mind i'll try an make the best of it
chrisb

 

[blakeh1]

You did a great job with the pattern

as far as the color, my two cents...

Hard to tell the color on your model with the lighting as it could be fading it more than it actually looks like in person

I'd say go with your gut.

While the paint may have been darker overall in port, I am sure it faded quickly in the sun and salt air so you really could make a case for a more faded look

In the end though, if it is something you are questioning, then now is time time to address it instead of always looking at it and regretting it later


as for some color pics, these are the best I can seem to find.
Color balance of course is a bit off and I am sure it looks much darker and more saturated here than in person



I feel like this picture is pretty close to what it probably looked like in person on an overcast day


and also for reference

 

[BOATMAN]

HI Blakeh1 many thanks for your kind comments on my paint pattern work on my hornet cheers sir as it made me sweat tryin to copy the paint style from the intruckion sheet but done it in the end as i like to try an get it like the real ship as possible an yes im goin with my gut instinks an im pleased to say what ive now painted on her is about right as i aggree with what you are sayin about yes in harbour after her paint was appliaded it would stand out fully darker but once at sea yes you right the paint would go faded so i think im about right cheers sir for your input an takin the time to find some colour pics for me

as that has made me a lot happyier to go by your colour pics very kind of you sir so ive been lookin at your pics an havin a study of them pics an to me my painting is not far off so im happy with the standard ive got as thats what bein on a forum to me is all about helpin each other so cheers all you guys an now to paint the other side an i'll be really glad when i get this done as its a long hull but it will get done so i can get on with the main build an thank for lookin in on my hornet thread cheers sir ATB
Chrisb an jen

 

[BOATMAN]

HI All well ive actually finished my camo on the other side of hornet an now i can start on eletrics an the build an some pics of both sides camo an if its a good as blakeh i will be pleased
chrisb

 

[blakeh1]

also of note, is that colorized pics can be inaccurate

of those pics I posted, I can't be 100% sure which if any may have been colorized. I think at least the one is definitely a true color pic, not sure about the other one

for example, I know these pics here of the deck have 100% for sure been colorized after the fact from black and white photos, and incorrectly so. The deck from my research was definitely that blue deck stain, but in these colorized black and white pics the deck looks brown/tan despite most research mentioning it was definitely "blue"

of course the blue can easily fade over time though, but still it would not have been this faded during the doolittle raid time frame




The deck really should look more like this and I think these are true color phots, not colorized

USS Enterprise



or the USS Yorktown at it's commissioning

 

[BOATMAN]

 

[BOATMAN]

AN MY hornet book but its all in B/W BUT MANY THANKS to Blakehy for posting these coloure pics even if the are inccoret but they will be of great help to me many thanks sir brilliant
chrisb

 

[Sailor]

AN MY hornet book but its all in B/W BUT MANY THANKS to Blakehy for posting these coloure pics even if the are inccoret but they will be of great help to me many thanks sir brilliant
chrisbView attachment 153774

David's book is an excellent resource!

 

[BOATMAN]

David's book is an excellent resource!

HI Sailor yes ive been lookin through the book but there is a hell of a lot of infomation to take before i start the build properly so will look at pics an build a bit at a time hope you are as well as can be sir
ATB chrisb

 

[BOATMAN]

HI Guys well ive done a bit more on the model an thats partly the eletrics as ive now wired in the main 12v wires that will iluminate the hanger deck an also off the same feed the 12v wires feed into a 12v reducer to cut the power down from 12v to 3v for the flightdeck landing light an im fittin a tiny switch so i can have the bridge lights on but i then can switch off the flight deck landing light in hostile waters so gettin there close up of the tiny on -off switch with the voltage reducer

 

[BOATMAN]

an here showin main 12v wires that will light up the hanger deck