Two common questions to come up on the corvette mailing list are: "What colour are the decks of corvettes?" - its close relation "What portion of the decks are wood?"- and what colour is the lower hull.

In answer to the latter question first, I have seen it described as both red and black, and as the profiles throughout this site will show, I leant towads the red side when I did them. However I have since come across some colour footage of an RCN Flower at sea, and the bottom of the hull is undoubtedlt BLACK on that one. Someday I will find out how to get stills from video and I will then add the shot here.

As for decks, due to the Matchbox/Revell kit showing them to be wood planked there seems to be a misconception that the Flowers had wood planked decks. Unfortunately this is false, the Flowers had steel decks with some wood portions. The first RN Flowers had wood on the bow forward of the 4" platform, in the focsle break and aft around the depthcharge throwers as seen in this drawing of HMS Begonia

Other wood could be seen on the bridge and boat decks. The basic colour of the steel areas would most likely be MS2 (Available in the WEM Coourcoats range).

The first RCN Flowers had all steel decks, with wood on the bridge and boatdeck only, they later had it added to the bow in a similar pattern to that seen above.

When their focsles were extended the wood below the break would be removed (if it was in place) and Semtex walkways could be found in their place. These walkways could be in various patterns and weren't necessarily uniform in placement between ships. Buttercup can be seen in one such pattern here with the Semtex (extending from the wood on the forward port side to the focsle break and from the wheelhouse aft on the starboard side. It also can be seen on the main deck from the break to the depth charge throwers

Drawings adapted from those in Ensign No.3: Flower Class Corvettes