Help needed for Eduard US Navy Carrier Deck

I am making a Tamiya Corsair and have the verlinden carrier deck to stand it on. This item is nice but very brightly coloured and being card, I am reluctant to put too much into it to weather it down. Whilst in Hannants warehouse in Lowestoft the other day I saw the above mentioned item. It seemed well priced so i bought it not really knowiing what to expect. What I have is a square of black plastic that is moulded to look like a carrier lift.

The painting thatcomes with it shows it with a grey finish with all of the moulded depressions in a darker grey. Now that is a painting and not a photo so my question is this.

Has anyone used one of these items? If so, just how am I supposed to paint it?

Any suggestions would be gratefully received. otherwise its £5.99 down the toilet:-)

David

I bought one of these a while ago but didn't really like it so bought a resin one from "Just Plane Stuff." It's bigger tham the Eduard one and it depicts a regular section of flight deck.

You probably already know this but the decks (and elevators) on WW-II era carriers were made of steel with (I believe it was) Teak wood overlaid and natural steel tie-down strips regularly interspersed.

As far as color goes; pre- (and, perhaps very early) WW-II, decks were in a natural wood color with dark weathered steel tie-down strips. Due to the visibility of the natural wood decks at sea, they were painted in a non-specular (flat) dark blue. It's hard to tell for sure in the b/w photos I have but the "shade" appears to be similar to that used on the aircraft (perhaps one of the Navy experts here on RMS can confirm the exact shade for you). In many of the pictures I've seen, there are areas where paint has worn off and some of the natural wood and metal show through.

As I said earlier, I used the Just Plane Stuff deck section because I liked it better but I don't think your £ is down the loo. With careful painting and weathering, you can make a respectable deck section from the Eduard item.

Good luck with your project.....Bill

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