Post by djbar on Dec 19, 2016 21:01:26 GMT -5
When I paint miniatures, I try to do some research and then paint the ship to represent how it looked in its most famous engagement. I started painting the HMAS Perth to use in the Battle of the Java Sea. Many of the photos of the Perth I found show it in the scheme below:
This was sometimes referred to as the “Harbour Bridge” camouflage. I started to paint this scheme, then, after further research I learned that the Perth was not wearing this scheme at the time of the Java Sea battle. A quick soak in the cleaner Simple Green removed my first paint application and I was ready to try again.
The first aspect of the Perth’s camo I wanted to model was the funnel flaps. In 1939, angular flaps were added to the ship’s funnels to break up the outline of the funnels and confuse rangefinders. The photo below shows the ship with the funnel flaps added although their configuration was changed slightly on the aft funnel before the Java Sea battle. You can see the funnel flaps in the photo below.
The second aspect of the Perth’s camouflage I found interesting was that it appears the ship had totally different schemes on the port and starboard sides at the time of her sinking. The starboard side of the Perth was painted with a disruptive pattern of light gray and dark gray, while the port side was painted blue.
In the Osprey New Vanguard book Commonwealth Cruisers 1939-45 by Angus Konstam, a photo of the starboard side of the Perth has the following caption in part: “…HMAS Perth, pictured here in 1942, in the unofficial scheme she carried from November 1941 until her loss in the Sunda Strait in February 1942. Her port side bore a different experimental colour scheme, and was painted in overall blue-grey…”
There is an excellent website on the Perth compiled by the son of a Perth sailor and currently run by the grandson of the sailor. The site is www.perthone.com. The site has some great information on the Perth and its paint schemes. On the site, a survivor (the crew member in charge of the paint locker) is quoted as saying, “…the MED (Mediterranean) camouflage on the port side was painted over in the blue-grey color maybe prior to applying the new camouflage which we were unable to do due to the almost constant movement in and out of port.”
With those two sources and the photos I found online, I thought I had enough information to begin construction and painting again. I didn’t think about doing a write-up on the process until after I finished, so unfortunately I don’t have any “how-to” photos taken during the process.
Here’s the finished product:
Port side – blue.
Starboard side camo. I added funnel flaps to my model by cutting very small pieces of sheet polystyrene and gluing them to the funnels.
Overhead view. The deck was painted blue, but had light patches at the bow and stern designed to confuse enemy planes as to the ship’s heading. I used a 1 x 3 inch acrylic base ordered from Litko. The name plate is printed on sticker paper, cut to size and stuck to the base.
This was sometimes referred to as the “Harbour Bridge” camouflage. I started to paint this scheme, then, after further research I learned that the Perth was not wearing this scheme at the time of the Java Sea battle. A quick soak in the cleaner Simple Green removed my first paint application and I was ready to try again.
The first aspect of the Perth’s camo I wanted to model was the funnel flaps. In 1939, angular flaps were added to the ship’s funnels to break up the outline of the funnels and confuse rangefinders. The photo below shows the ship with the funnel flaps added although their configuration was changed slightly on the aft funnel before the Java Sea battle. You can see the funnel flaps in the photo below.
The second aspect of the Perth’s camouflage I found interesting was that it appears the ship had totally different schemes on the port and starboard sides at the time of her sinking. The starboard side of the Perth was painted with a disruptive pattern of light gray and dark gray, while the port side was painted blue.
In the Osprey New Vanguard book Commonwealth Cruisers 1939-45 by Angus Konstam, a photo of the starboard side of the Perth has the following caption in part: “…HMAS Perth, pictured here in 1942, in the unofficial scheme she carried from November 1941 until her loss in the Sunda Strait in February 1942. Her port side bore a different experimental colour scheme, and was painted in overall blue-grey…”
There is an excellent website on the Perth compiled by the son of a Perth sailor and currently run by the grandson of the sailor. The site is www.perthone.com. The site has some great information on the Perth and its paint schemes. On the site, a survivor (the crew member in charge of the paint locker) is quoted as saying, “…the MED (Mediterranean) camouflage on the port side was painted over in the blue-grey color maybe prior to applying the new camouflage which we were unable to do due to the almost constant movement in and out of port.”
With those two sources and the photos I found online, I thought I had enough information to begin construction and painting again. I didn’t think about doing a write-up on the process until after I finished, so unfortunately I don’t have any “how-to” photos taken during the process.
Here’s the finished product:
Port side – blue.
Starboard side camo. I added funnel flaps to my model by cutting very small pieces of sheet polystyrene and gluing them to the funnels.
Overhead view. The deck was painted blue, but had light patches at the bow and stern designed to confuse enemy planes as to the ship’s heading. I used a 1 x 3 inch acrylic base ordered from Litko. The name plate is printed on sticker paper, cut to size and stuck to the base.
