As mentioned a while back in an earlier post, my old Tamiya 1/700 Scharnhorst (built to represent the Feb 1942 Channel Dash/Operation Cerberus) has given up the ghost and I'm interested in replacing it with the new Flyhawk kit (using elements of both the 1940 and 1943 kits).
In the earlier post I had asked if anyone had any ideas as to the specific shade of blue used for the turret tops during the Channel Dash. Mr Church noted that since Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had both previously used other vibrant aerial recognition colours, a vibrant blue wouldn't necessarily have been out of the question. That made perfect sense to me. So, I'm thinking of using a slightly muted/dulled Tamiya C-14 for my "turmdecken."
This leads me to the next obvious set of colour questions: do we have any idea what her base hull and superstructure colours would/should have been by February 1942 and do we know the extent of "flecking" (the mottled-looking dark “splotches”) on her superstructure?
1.
Hull Colour- I assume she maintained a base colour of Dunkelgrau 51 (with a dark grey "stripe" down each side and numerous vertical streaks (I'm assuming these were due to weathering)?
2.
Superstructure Colour- I know both she and her sister had once used Hellgrau 50, but in some photos during/after the Channel Dash the vertical surfaces seem a tad dark to me. I'm not referring to the actual "flecks" but the base colour beneath/behind them. I realise it could be the film and exposure of course.
3.
Flecks- These seem to have been dark grey (like the "stripe" on the hull), but there seems to be some confusion as to the extent of the "fleck" usage aboard Scharnhorst. Some colour drawings (such as the one from Squadron's old "Kriegsmarine" publication by Stern) show flecks only in certain places (i.e.,
http://www.kbismarck.com/scharn.gif or
http://www.steelnavy.com/images/OS%20Scharnhorst/Scharn3434SchCol42.JPG , whereas others show the entire superstructure as being covered (i.e.,
https://rcwarshipcombat.com/media/camo4.3801/full?d=1477948694). Perhaps the latter ones are more based on observations of Gneisenau though, because from what I've seen in the Cerberus movie films and stills, it seems that Scharnhorst was “less flecked”...something more along the lines of the Squadron drawing or the first two examples above. Of course, maybe I've not seen everything or am using poor quality materials and am completely off-base...thus this post.
I realise I'm probably not making much sense and that pictures speak louder than words (sometimes), so here are some photos:
Attachment:
cerberus-CT2.jpg [ 81.17 KiB | Viewed 5873 times ]
Above- We can see the forward bridge and conning tower...no flecks. The grey (red question mark) seems a bit too dark (to me) to be Hellgrau 50. If its not Hellgrau 50, then what is it? Am I barking up the wrong tree here?
Attachment:
cerberus-CT3.jpg [ 70.08 KiB | Viewed 5873 times ]
Above- A VERY poor screen cap showing the same area...in this view we see that there are no "flecks" on the front of the bridge. Same question as above (but paraphrased): Is this (red question mark) hellgrau 50 (but in shadow or dark due to film/camera settings) or some other grey?
Attachment:
cerberus-CT4.jpg [ 101.28 KiB | Viewed 5849 times ]
This is another view of the supposed Cerberus film. In this view we can see that the lower bridge and bridge base are monotone grey whereas the outer bulwarks and bridge tower itself are flecked.
Attachment:
cerberus-CT.jpg [ 81.33 KiB | Viewed 5873 times ]
Above- I think this may also be from Cerberus. In this view we can see some flecks on "Bruno" and the bridge side, but the conning tower is plain. I do see something odd going on (red question marks) at the rear of the conning tower though. Its as though someone painted a darker grey over a lighter grey (or vice versa). The lighter colour (which is what I'd expect for Hellgrau 50) is also similar to that shown outboard. Does anyone have any clue as to what's going on here?
Attachment:
Cerberus-after1.jpg [ 173.33 KiB | Viewed 5873 times ]
Above- This is supposedly just after the completion of the mission. Its a frame from a film that pans up and right showing some of the crew. We can see a dark (presumably flecked) AAA gun, a light grey side to one of the secondary guns (not sure if its a grey or blue bit though, and then we see flecks on the side/rear bulwarks of the bridge (bruckendeck?) and director. The bridge base (oberes mastdeck?) and actual side bulkheads of the lower bridge (both red question marks) seem monotone...but again, they seem rather dark for Hellgrau (at least to me). Is this simply shadow, poor exposure or is it a darker grey (perhaps instead of flecks, they used a solid colour)?
Attachment:
cerberus-RS.jpg [ 84.22 KiB | Viewed 5873 times ]
Above- ThIs is supposedly during the mission. Its obvious that the vormars, funnel and lower mainmast are flecked. I see flecks on the side of one of the secondary turrets as well. I also see something going on (red question mark) around the lower rear superstructure...if that's not paint then perhaps some sort of netting (though it seems that might be a safety hazard). Thoughts anyone?
Many thanks in advance. I'm definitely out of my comfort zone with this one but I'm hoping someone has something they can share (even if the correct answer truly is "we dont really know." Goodness knows, its that way for certain aspects of Hood, so I can believe it being that way with Scharnhorst as well. Speaking of Hood, if any of you have camo questions related to the old girl, please pop over to the Hood thread and fire away!