Imperial Japanese Navy Greys

For those who enjoy building warships in scale, you are no-doubt familiar with the work of John Snyder of Snyder & Short, who produce authentic color chip sets for naval subjects from around the world.

John is at it again, this time publishing a compilation of ships in the Imperial Japanese Navy and which shades of grey they were painted during their short careers. In the case of the IJN, there were four principal greys used by the shipyards to keep their vessels under corrosion control: Sasebo Grey, Kure Grey, Maizuru Grey, and Yokosuka Grey. In this title, each ship in the IJN is covered by type (carriers, battleships, etc.) and subject (Kaga, Akagi, etc.). The title indicates the color grey applied to each ship, and in the case of re-painting, the period of time that ship wore a particular grey.

The title is published in color on single-sided pages that are easy to read. According to the online specifications, this title covers 23 carriers, 11 battleships, 32 cruisers, 155+ destroyers & 12 torpedo boats. John has also included information on the relevant colors available in the White Ensign Models' Colourcoats series which will aid you properly finish your next IJN subject.

This reference is highly recommended! I hope we'll see a similar compilation for the USN in WW2 as well!

My sincere thanks to White Ensign Models for this review sample!