Cleveland Class Light Cruiser Paint ?

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

I am building a 1/700 scale light cruiser, specifically the CL-63, USS Mobile for my grandfather. It is the Midship recast of the Pitroad kit. It calls for deck blue(tes4243), ocean grey(tes4239) and sea blue(tes4240), and gives Model Master codes for the paint, but these don’t seem to match up with Model Master’s current selection.

Is there any resource that will show the current codes for the paint? Or does anyone have suggestions for these three colors? I’m trying to keep the build has historically accurate as possible, but am stumped on these colors. Are these colors historically correct?

Thanks in advance.

Tim

2

The shipcamouflage.com database shows that the Mobile was in Ms 22 in early 43 and again in 1945. She was in Ms 21 in late 43 and 1944.

http://shipcamouflage.com/usn_cl.htm

Ms 21 is overall Navy Blue (5-N).

Ms 22 is Navy Blue on the hull to the lowest level of the sheer and Haze Gray (5-H) above that.

Decks in both instances would be Deck Blue (20B).

The color callouts in the kit are suspect.

The easiest camouflage to do would be the Ms21 - Overall Navy Blue.

There is only one choice for out of the bottle (tin) enamel. That is the Colourcoat line of paints by White Ensign Models. These paint colors are based on the 1929 Munsell Color standard used by the Navy. ModelMaster Acrylics used to have a marine line of paint which was based on Colourcoats as standard. They are now out of production. The other acrylic line of paints which is close is Pollyscale’s naval colors. They are close, but not totally accurate

http://www.testors.com/category/137832/PostwarWWII_US_Naval_Vessel

3

You can order those colors from Snyder and Short in Sacramento. They have a link to their website inside shipcamouflage.com

4

I’m just finishing up a minor conversion of the Miami to the U.S.S. Dayton and normally use the Pollyscale paints, but I did run afoul of a bad batch of their 5-H haze gray that has a greenish tint to it. If you are using the PS paint, check it for this. A new jar looks only slightly darker than a good one but when dry the green pigment surfaces.

5

The Midship kit is the same as the Pit-Road kit. It was produced from the same molds and marketed by Midship with new boxes and instructions.

6

Roger that what Tim said.

PitRoad and Midship have a production & marketing agreement with those Light Cruisers. The Midship destroyer kits are their own work.

PitRoad & Trumpeter also have a production & marketing agreement on certain 1:700 scale ship kits.

7

thanks for the replys, especially the links to the navy schemes and paints. i got the paint sorted for about 15 bucks shipped, thanks to the links above!

the two models are indeed the same, complete remold. howver the instructions on the orginal pitroad model are priceless… there are instructions for the ‘clane’ assembly. i’ll post them up soon.

tis the ship my grandfather was on, and i think he’ll love it

edit:

here’s a poor pic… not able to suss it out this evening, but i’ll get a few better up. in the foreground is the mobile, the midship model. in the background is the cleveland, the pit road model. both are the exact same molds, very well done for such a small scale.