|
Hello Glenn,
That model of yours sure is nice, well done, it is hard to tell from the real thing. I fully understand your use of the solid olive colour on the wing, it is a pity that the images I have presented here have not been more available in the past. It seems that many people use the services of researchers but never receive the supporting information, this is not a criticism of the researchers but possibly those wanting research to be undertaken should become more involved in the process as well? Possibly they are and I have the wrong impression.
I agree with you that the more you move away from the wing the harder it is to see the streaky effect and possibly this is due to the transparent nature of the wood stain but also you have to remember that the plywood itself (in between the streaks) is adding colour to the effect, it would be nice to hear about this from those people whose primary interest is the study of camouflage & markings.
My interpretation of the streaking is that it has less of an angle than Dan-San's observed two rib bays at the centre section (although I am keen to be proven wrong), I think it is about half this as the slope appears to me to be at about 10° off of vertical with the slope to the right hand side at the top. I feel this shows that the paint was applied by a right handed painter, the natural tendency being to paint on this slope when using long strokes.
The undercarriage wing still has me stumped, on the Caproni D.VIII the undercarriage wing has fabric doped over the plywood skin and this was also the case prior to its restoration but I do not know if it left the factory this way.
Given that the undercarriage wing is constantly covered with castor oil, as it is thrown from the engine during flight and constantly leaked over whilst on the ground, I feel it is likely that they were covered with linen and sealed with dope and varnish to keep the oil from damaging the wood; if this is correct then it is unlikely that it had streaky camouflage applied in the same fashion as the wing, could it have been printed fabric? Possibly it was painted a solid colour.
DrI undercarriage wings are often painted with undersurface blue as well as an upper surface colour but I have not noticed this on E.V or D.VIII aircraft.
Koloman has promised to supply me with details concerning the wood stain once he returns from holidays after Xmas.
Langdon
|