I do NOT know what I am doing on the Baltimore

Thanks for the tip regarding the guns.  I'll plan on avoid the pink sand storm colors too. I think I'll try and stick to the basics on this one.  Is the canvas around the bas of the main guns black or deck blue.  I read a Navy order that requires all exposed canvas to be stained to deck blue and I'd like to know if that is correct.  Hard to tell in the B&W photos.

It looks like you are off to a great start so far. Another weathering technique is to show wear patterns on the decks in high trafficked areas and on the hull where such things as anchors and gangplanks etc might scrape but remember, especially in 1/700 that the more subtle, the better. Crews were typically alert at finding and repainting worn areas so weathering is never too extensive unless you get into battle damage or a battle weary ship. Weird things do happen. In 1960, my father's ship the Douglas H. Fox, DD779 was in the suez canal and was caught in a sand storm which sandblasted the majority of the ship down to its primer. The ship was varying shades of pink. They were on their way to Beirut for an admiral's inspection and had to have several hundred gallons of gray paint air dropped. Several of the drums had the words, "Get thee dressed" scrawled on them and the ship looked pristine when she made port. Weathering is definitely different on ships than on aircraft.

One tip, don't put black on the guns to simulate powder stains, the ship did not use napoleonic black powder.

Keep up the good work.

I agree.  I usually handle scale effect by adding a drop of white to my flat clear coat and that gives me an opportunity to uniformly lighten all of the colors by the same degree.  In aircraft I'd actually do some lightening around the field and darken a bit around the edges but in 1/700 I think I'll just go for an overall "hazing" of the entire model.

A thought that may be a little late at this point would be scale effect. The idea that the farther away an object the lighter the colors appear. At 1/700 scale effect would be more pronounced than on a 1/48th aircraft.

again, look at applying rust streaks in a strategic fashion, as it will add enormously, if done carefully, and in moderation....

That's what I'm thinking regarding weathering but it essentially means no weathering.  Since the 1/2 or so of crud that might build up along the edges of a flat surface would never be visible at 1/700.  I'll just keep plugging along and see how she turn out.  Good modeling skills will hopefully prevail even in ship modeling.

Well, you CAN get color photos and diagrams (but the books that have them are very expensive!).  One thing to note on weathering issues, is the issue of scale.  While weathering a tank or airplane has lots of room to maneuver, the scale of a ship makes these things a lot less visible (especially at 1/700 scale!).

That's where I've found the pics I'm using so far as reference.  I'm surprised there are so little color photos.

Most pictures of WW2 ships that I have found while researching are only in black and white. However, if you have the camoflage scheme number listing the colors used then you can usually do an accurate build. If you haven't already done so, view the available pics on navsource.org. They will give you a good idea about the ship's weathering.

Thanks for the tip.  This is my first ship model and it's really messing with my head.  I have 250 reference books on aircraft and not a single one on ships.  I'm used to using color photos and I've yet to find anything useful in color on the Baltimore ca 1943-1944 (before the refit?)  (I have been trying to do some research on this project.)

I agree... Rust and soot are the two biggest 'weathering agents' for a ship.  Rust streaks from the hawse pipes, rust streaks form any outflow pipes, rust streaks from the scuppers, and eventually, almost anywhere two steel plates join.  That said, most ships' crews spent a LOT of time painting, and paint schemes were changed so often that you often don't get as much weathering on a warship as you might say, on a Liberty ship.  There are, of course exceptions!!

The dazzle schemes were not designed to hide a ship as much as confuse an enemy as to its type and direction of travel. At a distance the colors tended to blend changing the ship's form to an observer. If you are representing the ship after a very recent yard period, then I suggest just lightly weathering with a random white wash on the bow to simulate some salt spay accumulation on the hull. If much later after an overhaul, then a heavier coat plus rust streaks at points that water wuold normally run off at such as the anchors and guard rail stantions.