Naval Fw-190, ideas?

[PanzerWulff]

I was thinking of doing a WWII Kreigsmarine Fw-190 and was wondering about how to Camouflage it it will be carrier based if that prompts any ideas Thanks
"Panzer"

[luft46models]

Best source for this is John Baxter's book on the Germans' having aircraft carriers - I'm at work so I've got no access to this tho someone else should - some nice profiles - I think his colours were based on French aviation ones for their a/c carriers

William in Oz

[Taiidantomcat]

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,22574.0.html

[sequoiaranger]

I've done about six whiffed German carrier aircraft, all in various camos. I think that "early" carrier aircraft would be camo-ed as land planes out of habit, but then the clever Germans SHOULD have come up with some more appropriate "at-sea" camo. That is, most top camouflage of aircraft is designed to hide the aircraft ON THE GROUND primarily, and to blend in with the countryside being overflown secondarily. At sea, the "countryside" being overflown is paramount. I mean, if you find the SHIP you have found the aircraft, so camouflaging the aircraft to match the carrier would be a little silly (especially when you can hide the aircraft belowdecks). Land-based camouflage with "lines", like the predominant style of the Luftwaffe (even their overwater patrol bombers), could be excused because the ground below usually has straight boundaries, etc., but "sea" camouflage should have soft edges and no straight lines at all.

The only "carrier" aircraft actually put to use by the Germans were the Bf-109T's that were used off land bases in Norway and Helgoland, so their camo is terrestrial-based and not particularly suitable for carrier planes. Likewise, the few floatplanes on board German surface ships (Arado 196, etc.) were painted with straight lines as land planes. GET A CLUE, guys!

If we look at the three "carrier" powers, the camouflages used by the US and Japan were generally one-tone on top (US--blue-gray; Japan, blue-green), and the British used large alternating green and gray wiggles. What would Germany do?

I think they could use a mottle-overall, even ramping the mottle size up to "blotch". They may use the "squiggle"-type camo that had light blue-gray "spaghetti" they called "wave-mirror", or perhaps, as in my He-211, some combo of green-gray and blue-green gray with "flecks" of light color to imitate whitecaps.

I was fortunate enough to live on an island for some 12 years, with a wonderful view from my house of the "sea", and carefully observed the colors and watched the colors change with conditions. I've seen a fairly bright light green, and an almost purple-black, but generally something in between. You can't go wrong with muted blue and green tones, and gray. My "favorite" sea camo is represented on the He-211---representing a partly-cloudy day (shadows and light alternating on the sea) with flecks of whitecaps.

I still have a few German whif carrier planes to do before I die, and will be thinking of how to camouflage them differently than those I have already done.  The Germans never flew a plane off a carrier, so they really didn't have a CLUE about at-sea naval aviation.  Just trust to your imagination.

[cthulhu77]

Pink. Always pink.

[Spey_Phantom]

i would paint them in 3-tone blue, but use the patern of the 3-tone green luftwaffe scheme 
i have a FW-190 in the stash, maybe after the moving i would start building one in BundesMarine colors 

[Tojo633]

Hi

I did a navalised Fw190 some time ago using the Revell 190, colours were almost the same as the standard Fw190s but what I did was to substitute the lighter shade from the upper camouflage scheme and paint it on the underside instead of RLM 76. Then use the remaining upper colour on the upper surfaces and add a darker blue/grey to compliment it.  Not wanting to get into the debates of the correct colours to use etc that I am sure this sort of comment usually spawns, the end result was a Fw190 with a darked camouflage than normal alternatively one could attempt the Sea camouflage colours that are referred to for Do217's or other coastal aircraft types.
I should have the pictures or model somewhere so may add it when I can.

Cheers
Sandy

[lancer]

Pink. Always pink.

You've spent too much time listening to Radish old chap..

[Radish]

A multi-pink camouflage scheme of splinter patterns, something like a Viggen but shades of pink.

[lancer]

A multi-pink camouflage scheme of splinter patterns, something like a Viggen but shades of pink.

What IS the fascination with pink in this place these days?

[Radish]

Cause it's a great colour!!!

[sideshowbob9]

A multi-pink camouflage scheme of splinter patterns, something like a Viggen but shades of pink.

^ Crap! Now I need another Viggen!

On a more serious note, I've been planning on doing a couple of the planes out of Baxter's Tragerflotten book. For my Fw-190T Sea Wulf, I'm planning either a single shade of medium blue over light grey or a medium blue/medium sea grey pattern over light grey (both high demarcation lines). What medium blue is, is open to debate but probably either Intermediate Blue or Blue Grey (Humbrol).

For the Italian carrier Aquila, I'm planning a Reggiane Re-2001 in Mottled Med. Sea Grey/Dark Sea Grey over Duck Egg & a post-war Macchi C.205 in Med. Sea Grey over Sky.

Sorry if this counts as threadjacking - just floating some ideas 

[Radish]

Sounds stunningly excellent!!

[GTX]

A multi-pink camouflage scheme of splinter patterns, something like a Viggen but shades of pink.

There's something close here (towards the bottom).

Regards,

Greg

[Radish]

Excellent.
The USN evaluated a captured Fw-109A and it was eventually repainted with white undersurfaces, intermediate blue and sea blue.
there's photos and profiles in a recently published book, " Captured Butcher Birds", or something like that.