DKM Wiesbaden: Kriegsmarine escort carrier

[Rheged]

................and they usually succeed admirably!

[Spey_Phantom]

ive been doing some research, and ive been looking into the stash to find an airwing.
for the deck i have found these aircraft.

confirmed:

*Fw.190 T1 (navalised FW190A), fighters & torpedobomber (2 or 3 on deck)
*Fw.190 T3 (Navalised Fw109D), fighters (1 on deck)
*Ju.87 C-5 Stuka, Torpedobomber, anti-shipping (with 40mm cannons) & recconaisance (later replaced by FW.190T1)

under concideration:

*Bf.109 T-4 (based on Bf.109F) fighters (being phased out by 1944)
*Henschel Hs.126 Tr-1, recconaisance plane or deck trainer (phased out of Kriegsmarine service in mid-1943)

ive also looked into a Bf110 as a fighter bomber (using an old one from the scrapyard), but it proved to be too big for the already cramped and narrow deck. the Me262 is not exactly carrier friendly, especially since it needs a long runway to operate.
since the DKM Wiesbaden was originaly a training- and experimental carrier (will be oted in the backstory later), it wont be able to operate a large number of planes (10 to 15 max).

[Scotaidh]

What about a couple of Henschel Hs 129s in the anti-shipping role?

[Spey_Phantom]

Update:

No physical work on the project was done today, as i spent all day clearing and reorganising the workspace.
during my cleaning, i found something i thought i threw awy a long time ago, namely 2 german torpedo's, previously fitted on a long gone 1/144 Minicraft Heinkel He111. im gonna sand them down, strip the paint and repaint them for the carrier project.

last night, i had another insight, as i remembered, Revell's 1/144 US Army WW2 vehicle set also came with the liferafts of the LSM kit (vehicles were originally released on revell's Landing Ship Medium). i remembered i had a set of these in the stash so i opened the box and i sourced them, and the .50cal machine guns, from there.

looking through the spares box, i sourced some numbers from a Zvezda 1/144 Bf109F (kit comes with a set of numbers from 0 to 9). i also found my small bag of N-scale figures again and sourced some deck crew, these will be repainted with German uniform colors.

i also set my eyes on the airwing, wich will comprise of:

-3 Fw190T-1's (navalised FW190A's, 2 fighters (wings folded) and 1 torpedobomber)
-1 Fw190D-3Tr (Naval long nosed FW190D, high performance fighter)
-1 Ju-87C-2 (Torpedo bomber, wings folded)

im still thinging with the idea to add a Me262T on the deck, but im not sure yet.
tomorrow's gonna be a resting day, might get back to it over the weekend.

some teaser pictures:

[zenrat]

I'd love to see an Me 262 carrying a torpedo.

[Spey_Phantom]

Update:

i have started on the airwing and the crews.
basic painting on the deck crew is nearly done, next paint session im gonna start detailing the uniforms.

as for the airwing, work has begun on 3 Fw190T-1's, 1 Ju-87C-5 and 1 Me262T. another FW190 will be started once these are mostly completed, that will be the FW190D-3Tr.
i decided not to fold the wings on the Ju-87, im even concidering dropping the aircraft from the project and making one of the Fw190T's a torpedobomber, otherwise the small deck might get too crowded.

pictures:

[NARSES2]

Impressive work on the crew 

[Spey_Phantom]

Update:

crew painting is done and a first layer of paint has been applied to the aircraft.
still looking into the colors for the camo, but the bottom basecoats are on.

[NARSES2]

I have to keep reminding myself how small these are 

[Spey_Phantom]

Update:

little progress on the airwing. these are the 3 Fw.190T-1's that will go on the deck, they still need decals and weaponry.
2 will be used as torpedobombers and other as a standard ground attack aircraft.

i have decided to drop both the Ju87 and Me262T's from the build, the latter doesnt come out right imho and the Stuke just seems out of place on a 1944/45 carrier deck. these will be replaced with a single Fw.190D-3Tr, a carrier based version of the Dora variant.

[NARSES2]

Very neat work 

[Spey_Phantom]

Update:

the first 2 life rafts have been added to the ship, wich will be revealed on completion.
all 3 Fock-Wulf FW.190 T-1's have now been completed, 2 as torpedo bombers and another as a fighterbomber.

a 4th FW.190, a navalised Dora version, is currently being assembled. it wont be long now before this build is finished 

[NARSES2]

Impressive Nils 

[Spey_Phantom]

Update:

The end is nearing for this build, the last Fw.190, version D-3Tr (a navalised D-8 ) is in the painting stage.
would be ready in a few days. meanwhile, all the figurines have been added to the ship.

this means the build is now about 99% finished, i will post pictures of the completed ship once the last plane is done.
but in the mean time, here's a little preview 

[Spey_Phantom]

Update:

the last aircraft has just been finished, all it needs is a coat of varnish to seal in the decals. next update will be the completed build.

a back history has also been written, and will be placed with the next update. 
i think ireally outdone myself this time, the addition of the figurines really make this build come alive