On 26 Jul 95 at 14:49, Brian Bushe wrote:
> there was no debate. mick from oz said it was a rib short and we
> (including myself) went home, checked and agreed. my plans were from a
> Scale Models International so should be by Ray Rimmel. i can't
> remember what scale mine were in but i will recheck with interest. it
> was spot on in other respects so i remember being surprised at an
> obvious omission.
and Matt Bitner answered:
>If this is the article I'm thinking of (Jul 1983), this is indeed a
>little dated. Sure, some of the old stuff is spot on, but there are
>others that - due to new evidence - are grossly wrong. An example:
>the Siemens Schuckert D.III/D.IV. Until <can't remember person's
>name> here in the U.S. really started researching, all drawings upto
>that point were wrong. This would be my guess for the E.III.
>However, as if to refute myself, there are some new drawings that are
>also suspect. So, if you go against the Scale Models' plans, the
>wing is off. If you go with the Datafile (which, it appears, Eduard
>did), the wings are spot on. So, brain, et.al is right, but so is
>Randy... Makes you think, doesn't it?
Have just spent a few minutes with calculator and dividers and (as Matt
correctly surmised) the July 1983 issue of Scale Models.
The drawing in SM is by Ian Stair, as apparently is the Datafile drawing.
It clearly indicates that the Eduard kit is short in span and has 1 rib too
few. The cutaway drawing from Cross and Cockade Vol 5 No 1 also shows the
extra rib.
BUT ......
The wingspan is quoted in the specifications as 30 ft 4 in which translates
to the same span as Eduard have used and suggests that the earlier Ian Stair
drawing might well be incorrect.
I was absolutely sure I had a photo somewhere which was clear enough to
count the ribs - but my index turned up a stack of lovely clear Pfalz E
series monoplanes and no useable Fokkers. Does anyone out there have a
photo reference that would allow that simple test? Is our London
representative able to tell us how many ribs the Science Museum E.III has ?
It is interesting to note that the Eduard INSTRUCTIONS show the extra rib in
every drawing (construction and colour scheme). Those of us relying on the
instructions to paint, decal and rig the beast obviously have a problem :-(
Shane Weier