Unless your trying to do the old Blue Max replicas. These are from a modeler on another site. The 1/72 scale Eduard Fokker Dr.I. . .My eyes!!! My eyes!!! To do or not to do that is the question.

I wonder what this builder would do with a Fokker EIII.

Cheers, Nico

I wonder how that would look in 1/32?

Yes, it certainly is shocking!

However, at least they look like they were applied well, more than I can say for the Roden D. VII that I'm wrestling with at the moment! Lozenge is hard!!!!!!!

-Derek

Hi Stephen

Shades firmly on but playing devil's advocate slightly...

WW1 newbies will look at that build and think "Wow! I wish I could build something that good!" And "What's the problem with the lozenges? They look great! "...

So I guess the obvious question is - short of turning to aftermarket replacements... - Can an inexperienced WW1 aircraft modeller tone down kit-supplied decals like these to something more representative? Or are they just hopeless?

You know me - always aim to encourage rather than deter...

All the best

Rowan

I am prepared for you, you played into my hands Rowan old chap! The decals in question are from Tech-Mod. While they are psychedelic. ( A term from the 1960's applied to the florescent colours used on concert posters to immitate an LSD drug trip.) They can be toned down. Though it takes a bit of an overspray. First airbrush mist on a light grey colour then after that dries a misting of a translucent coffee brown should do the trick.

Without alterations you should use them on a 1/16 figure of Austin Powers and they'll be shaggadelic baby!

Aha! I still confound you with my Lavalamptastic method of modelling!



Just wait until I make lozenges out of these!....

All the best

Rowan

Eggzactly!!!

Hmmmmmm. Now I'm worried.... I actually understood all of that. Now where is that therapists number?

I beet yo to it. I used the Lava Lamp as my inspiration for my latest build. It is a, dare I say it, a tank. There, the damage is done and my reputation is damaged. But if you are interested, look at the Heart of Gold Campaign forum over on Armorama.

while I am in agreement that to an experienced WWI modeler, this Dr.1 is hideous. I will say that context might come into play here. If the builder was going for historical accuracy, he failed miserably. However, if he was going for what makes him happy as a builder, then he might have succeeded. Maybe this was his version of "When I Flew With", and he was depicting his mount in some Jasta. Just a thought.

Ive thought about this for a few days and feel I have to comment.
As has been stated,historically this scheme is wrong, but what I see is a nice clean finished build. It could well be a "what if" build, but whatever the rights and wrongs of the scheme, its essentially a well built model and someone somewhere is probably very proud of it.
Just my thoughts.
Nige

I agree. I would not take kindly to sombody calling one of my builds hideous. I know quite a few of them are hideous, but there are better ways to convey that idea...

1. I didn't know flourescent colors were around in WWI.
2. My kids gave me a tie just like that.
3. Those were short run decals, weren't they.
4. I give up, how do you plug that thing in?
5. If that thing landed on the strip in Vegas, nobody would notice.
6. Wow! I wish I could build something that good!
7. I wonder what this builder would do with a Fokker EIII.
8. Without alterations you should use them on a 1/16 figure of Austin Powers and they'll be shaggadelic baby!
9. Can an inexperienced WW1 aircraft modeller tone down kit-supplied decals like these to something more representative?
10. I'm at a total loss for words.

Just a note to clarify my post....

I said


Let the record show that I am not an experienced WWI modeler

Hence the real reason for this post. I simply titled it "What not to do with lozenge." I did not get specific. You could imply I meant the whole thing or the layout or the colours used in the decals or. . . well you may get the idea. It was his model and he can do anything he wants with it.

But when you post images in a free forum (where I found this) one must be prepared to take critics points of view. If we take ourselves too seriously we might tend to forget the reason we started modeling lo! those many years ago. Also don't take everything that is said to heart. The owner offers a lighthearted look a building. As has been suggested a what if or here is my machine when I flew with. . .

While this example is not my style I have built several hypotheticals in my life and I will build a few more before they nail my lid down. Nigel has the right point of view in my opinion, thoughtful. Rowan was supportive. Carl offered diplomatic comments. I think all of us took the high road here and held off on large recriminations. We never want anyone to feel foolish or empty in the light of a finished build.

Actually, I am waiting for some decals so I can do the same thing in 1/32.

String baggers,
Since the availability of accurate lozenge is scarce, we late comers to Early Aviation have had to make do with what is at hand. Stephen had suggested to me that "tinting" the current crop of decals with washes was one way to correct their inaccuracy. The old masters of the art world like Da Vinci and Vermeer used a technique called glazing. They would use a heavy concentration of pure pigments in linseed oil as a base and then apply pigment in much lesser concentration over the base to tint the underlying color. This was a long process because the linseed oil based paint takes a long time to dry. This accounts for their rather low output but also the luminosity of their work. I have taken a page from their methodology and applied it to the dreaded Techmod color scheme. Using Future Floor Finish as my "glazing" medium, I poured some in a container and then added drops of acrylic based paint into it. Be aware that not all acrylic paint uses the same chemistry so some paint will mix easier with the Future than others. After thoroughly mixing the Acrylic "tinting" color into the future I apply it using a brush, finishing with cord wise strokes to represent "streaking". This also has the benefit of giving the lozenge a pseudo fabric texture. Several coats will be needed in succession to change the overall colors of the lozenge but the quick drying time of the Future helps speed the process. Waiting 20 minutes between coats is a good starting point. Room temperature in your work area will effect drying time as well, the warmer the faster. I used 2 colors for the illustrations, a medium blue and a dark brown applied blue/brown/blue. The tapes were applied after the first coat of blue.


Experimenting with different colors and combinations of colors can give you the results you are looking for.
Model on, Dwayne

Hi Guys,

How's this look for 1/72? Toned down OK?