Re: painted lozenge and ribs question

Charles Hart (hartc@spot.colorado.edu)
Fri, 12 Jan 1996 10:52:28 -0700

DAVE has written:

>I 'm currently working (well, enjoying myself actually) on Eduard's 1:48
>Hannover Cl III and still wondering how I will tackle the fuselage lozenge
>painting (they were actually painted, not fabric as somebody explained to me
>before).
>My questions are:
>1. Does the painted lozenge looks really different from the fabric, i.e
>should I try to paint the scheme on clear decal film before or directly on
>the fuselage?
>
The Windsock Datafile is the most accessible source of information on
this aricraft with some very good photos of these machines. Fuselage
finishes seemed to vary. The one constant feature is a PAINTED lozenge
finish on the plywood surfaces of the horizontal stabilizers and vertical
fin area. This finish emulates the dimensions of the lozenges found on the
5-color lozenge fabric found on the moveable surfaces of the tail unit.
Forward of the leading edge of the lower stabilizer, this painted lozenge
pattern could either continue or change, depending on the aircraft.
Several machines are seen to have a spray painted lozenge-like pattern,
though it appears to only have 3 colors. Ray Rimell shows these as being
mauve, dark green and a dark blue. Other aircraft had a fuselage finish
that didn't have any appearance of lozenges forward of the tail. A few
good photos of such a machine are found in Fliegertruppe 1914-1918 vol.1.

>2. Are there any ribs on top of wings and under? Eduard doesn't show any.
>Besides the demarcation between pieces of fabric is diagonal (more or less
>45 degrees),not parrallel to the ribs (if they should be).
>Generally speaking, what are exactly these ribs, and are they common feature
>to all lozenge fabric? If any ribs on the Hannover, which colour should
>these be?
>light blue? and following the demarcation between pieces of fabric or not ?

How prominent the wing ribs would be on a 1/48 model has been
discussed earlier on this list. I won't step into that (it might stick to
my shoes).

Whether lozenge fabric on the Hannover wings was applied chordwise
(bands of fabric running straight fore to aft) or diagonally requires study
of photos, I have no particular recollection on this point either way.
Seams between adjacent bands of lozenge, in many cases, appear to fall
between ribs. Whether this was deliberate or not, I don't know.
Rib tapes were used to cover the stitching which secured the wing
fabric to the ribs of the wing's framework. They were secured to the wing
using dope, they were not sewn on. They were covering up earlier sewing.
Any aircraft of this era had rib tapes for just this purpose. Its just
that since the Germans used fabric as part of their aircraft's camouflage,
they become much more noticeable to modelers.
Three types of rib tapes have been identified on German lozenge
covered a/c, blue tapes, rose colored tapes (both documented in the
Smithsonian Albatros D-Va book) and strips of lozenge fabric. From looking
at many photographs, my gut feeling is that the lozenge fabric tapes were
probably the most common. Does anyone on the list have a better handle on
this ?
As to what rib tapes were used on the Hannover ? Check photos. If
the tapes are not readily noticeable, the probably were lozenge.
One important feature to keep in mind about the Hannover, the upper
wing center section was plywood covered. Photographs show that it was
finished in a Painted lozenge scheme which emulated the 5-color fabric used
on the remainder of the outer wing panels. The lozenges appeared to be a
little bigger and the pattern was a little different that what is found on
the fabric.

I don't own the Eduard Hannover kit, but from what I have seen they
appear to have included decals of 4-color lozenge, which are inappropriate
for this aircraft, the photos show 5-color fabric. The decals also don't
appear to be made for the painted lozenges that appear in the places I have
mentioned above.

DISCLAIMER
The above statements are made from personal recollection the result of
my own research from various sources. Errors are my own. If I goofed, I
don't mind being told about it.

Charles

hartc@spot.colorado.edu