I know the question of IJN colors has been beaten to death on many forums, but I'm trying to settle on a colour for my next kit, the Hasegawa N1K2 1/32.
I downloaded several pictures of the last three surviving specimen in museums (although I'm quite sure there are four of them) and couldn't help but notice how each museum painted them differently. I've ruled out that is all a matter of lights because I've downloaded pictures from multiple sources and, while the cameras and the artificial light introduce some variations, the basic tints are definitively different.
Let's start with the a N1K2 located in Japan, a wreck raised from the sea, partially restored and now displayed in a war memorial:
File:Shiden-kai-side2.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
This looks to me the classic blueish green usually associated with land based IJN fighters. Having been restored in Japan, one would argue that these guys certainly knew their trade when they picked this shade of paint.
Possibly the best preserved/restored specimens currently sits in the Smithsonian museum.
Kawanishi N1K2-Ja at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Aviation Hangar
This one is pained in what seems to be more like a dark olive drab with brow rather bluish hues.
The last one is in the Naval Aviation museum
Item - National Naval Aviation Museum
Red spinner apart, this green seems a shade between the two above.
Note that since all three are marked as belonging to the same unit, the famous 343, it follows they all should have the same paint scheme, right? To be honest, I'm not very fond of the classic IJN bush green colour, preferring somewhat the one employed in the specimen at the Smithsonian but I'm not sure it's a good colour and in what theatre / combat unit that type of pain was employed.
Can anyone help?
I downloaded several pictures of the last three surviving specimen in museums (although I'm quite sure there are four of them) and couldn't help but notice how each museum painted them differently. I've ruled out that is all a matter of lights because I've downloaded pictures from multiple sources and, while the cameras and the artificial light introduce some variations, the basic tints are definitively different.
Let's start with the a N1K2 located in Japan, a wreck raised from the sea, partially restored and now displayed in a war memorial:
File:Shiden-kai-side2.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
This looks to me the classic blueish green usually associated with land based IJN fighters. Having been restored in Japan, one would argue that these guys certainly knew their trade when they picked this shade of paint.
Possibly the best preserved/restored specimens currently sits in the Smithsonian museum.
Kawanishi N1K2-Ja at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Aviation Hangar
This one is pained in what seems to be more like a dark olive drab with brow rather bluish hues.
The last one is in the Naval Aviation museum
Item - National Naval Aviation Museum
Red spinner apart, this green seems a shade between the two above.
Note that since all three are marked as belonging to the same unit, the famous 343, it follows they all should have the same paint scheme, right? To be honest, I'm not very fond of the classic IJN bush green colour, preferring somewhat the one employed in the specimen at the Smithsonian but I'm not sure it's a good colour and in what theatre / combat unit that type of pain was employed.
Can anyone help?
