Voss Triplane

[Terry_Crisp]

Bob,
I have a copy of Dan-Sans Voss profile hanging over my desk. I highly reccomend it as a reference for your project.
I also reccomend that you check out Peter Leonards lovely website L'Escadrille for a great description of how to paint Fokker streak camo. There is a very complete list of websites attached in which you will find Rosemont Hobbies.
They have excellent 1/72and 1/48 Resin conversion kits to make a Dr I into an F I Triplane. They contain the F I version of the engine cowling, the rounded tailplane and early ailerons. If I recall correctly they also include F I serial # decals.
I bought both sizes and they are beautiful. I am looking forward to building them both. Work keeps getting in the way of my hobby.
On another note I just read INTO THE BLUE in which McMillen claims to have tried to pull Voss off of his 47th victim (without success). He describes a BUFF COLORED Triplane. This is more consistent with the factory camo described earlier here. My pesonal quess is that McCuddens discription of a silvery blue triplane must have come from seeing the underside of that ship. I expect that in that fight they say that tripe from all angles.
I hope this info will be of some use to you and good luck with your model.
Best wishes,
Terry

[Terry_Crisp]

Bob,
I have a copy of Dan-Sans Voss profile hanging over my desk. I highly reccomend it as a reference for your project.
I also reccomend that you check out Peter Leonards lovely website L'Escadrille for a great description of how to paint Fokker streak camo. There is a very complete list of websites attached in which you will find Rosemont Hobbies.
They have excellent 1/72and 1/48 Resin conversion kits to make a Dr I into an F I Triplane. They contain the F I version of the engine cowling, the rounded tailplane and early ailerons. If I recall correctly they also include F I serial # decals.
I bought both sizes and they are beautiful. I am looking forward to building them both. Work keeps getting in the way of my hobby.
On another note I just read INTO THE BLUE in which McMillen claims to have tried to pull Voss off of his 47th victim (without success). He describes a BUFF COLORED Triplane. This is more consistent with the factory camo described earlier here. My pesonal quess is that McCuddens discription of a silvery blue triplane must have come from seeing the underside of that ship. I expect that in that fight they say that tripe from all angles.
I hope this info will be of some use to you and good luck with your model.
Best wishes,
Terry

[PeterL]

Dan-San...."MvR's F.I 102/17 had the exact same shade of grey in the photos, so on that basis MvR's also had a yellow nose? Both cowlings were exactly the same, dark olive brown..."

Incisive as always Dan-San gets to the heart of it. I have never taken to the yellow cowl proposal, my argument being that all the 56 squadron combatants included in their description of the Voss DrI, and of the Albatros briefly involved in the scrap, markings and colour details. None of them mentions yellow and surely at least one of them would have. My argument is now superfluous, Dan-San has nailed it for me.

Terry....."I also reccomend that you check out Peter Leonards lovely website L'Escadrille for a great description of how to paint Fokker streak camo..."

Shucks Terry....cut that out :-[

[Terry_Crisp]

Peter,
No flattery intended.I just call 'em like I see 'em.
Keep up the good work.
Best regards,
Terry

[BobE]

Thank you gentlemen all.

At the moment my model is progressing backwards at a rapid rate. As I mentioned, I am updating and correcting what was a previously built model. As I am working I keep breaking additional parts off. At the moment it lacks an upper wing,wheels,several struts and machine guns but I am undeterred. I,ve reached the point where I am confident of ending up with a far superior representation of this plane.
Of course I have no doubt that when I am finished some one will have found new information that will make it obsolete.

Thanks again guys.

Peter, I found a hotbed of discontent over at the old Forum.
Noticed you had a post referring to yourself as an "Old Fart".
I put up a post there myself and joined you in that category
in an effort to bring these people on board.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Bob *8)

[Brad]

Hello BobE,
* * * *I'm sure I'll catch a lot of flack from this but here goes:
Wheel diskcovers were LT. blue (sky) or tourquise, undersides
were the same Lt.blue as well as the struts. The engine cowling was actually a chrome yellow but others insist it was dark olive. Streaking on the wings are as follows: Top wing had streaks running cordwise (up and down). The ailerons, however, were done at a 45 degree angle with the right aileron streaks going towards the center of the top wing and
the left going to the right (see below)
* * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
* * * * * * * * //////// * * * * * * * * * * * * *\\

The middle wing had streaks again at 45 degrees meeting on the center cowling gun section (see below)

* * * * * * * * * * //////////////////\\\\

The lower wing was done in the same way. Fuselage sides were done with up and down strokes while the top decking
had the streaking applied 45 degrees from the top longeron
to the right. (see middle wing streaks-left side)
This same direction also applied to the stabilizer. Hope this helps some.

Dave

Dave,

Are you positive about this? I'm looking at NUMEROUS pictures of Dr I's in a book I have in front of me. In all the photos I see, the wings all appear to be painted with streaks that run straight front to rear, not at an angle. Ditto for the ailerons. The fuselage info is spot on though, as are the horizontal stab. As for the nose of Voss's aircraft- the pics I see (and the accompanying text) indicate that while the nose was reported to be yellow, it doesn't appear to be so- it appears to be the same color as the rest of the aircraft. (except for the face details...) Also, the painting method was described as the aircraft leaving the factory as painted overall light blue, and then a streaked olive painting brushed on over the blue on the upper and side surfaces. I'm looking at "Fokker Dr I in Action" by Squadron Signal Publications. Not a great deal of text, but a LOT of photos, good for a modeler. (Some decent photos of Voss's aircraft in there...)

[dpcmodels]

Hi Brad,
I'm about 95 % sure. However, there are many pictures
that show the streaking as being just cordwise thru-out and some shown as I stated. I don't think there was a uniform
method to apply the dope and really is open to debate.
Dan-San would be the man to talk to on this. He has also
stated that the cowl was an "Earth-Gray" color on Voss's tripe. I had said in another thread that I wouldn't push this
topic. I'd suggest doing further research from Profile Publications, or The Fokker Triplane by Alex Imire or the fokker
triplane datafiles. You can never have enough information.

Dave

[chip55]

I'm gonna go out on a real weak limb here.. years ago I went to the USAF museum reference library. And I read a book about color schemes and it mentioned a lot of the WWI and WWII schemes were painted on with brushes, rags or whatever was available to apply it *over the factory finish. The paint many times was just common (house) paint oil based. And the fuel would eat into it. (benzine? oil..gas) Also the actual slipstream and mud added to the climate conditions would create some of the streaked weathered effect. Pilot preferences were added by mechanics and pilots sometimes in the most adverse conditions and the paint wouldn't adhere too well.


As for the printed pictures and colors on boxes or books, I know colors can fade, Offset printing variations due to ink pigment fading (reds and blues usually go first.)..different paper stocks have different shades of white due to manufacture or age, this effects color. *A factor called dot gain, the small dots of color in offset printing of certain densities and sizes, (look at the print through a powerful glass, actual black isn't as prominent as you might think) Print register (color on top of color to make yet another color). The actual press setup called `make ready' the sheets used before the quality of the actual proof is matched. Many are actually saved due to the project budget or other factors. Enough of the boring stuff........
In other words a lot of things including the person's own eyes can change colors

hows that for a can of worms Dave (DPC)? *;D

be well
chip55

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Chip 55:
That is all well and fine, however it does not change the FACTS. I would suggest you go to the University of Texas and check out the photographs of the Fok. DR.I in the A.E.Ferko collection, there are hundreds of them! Forget the 40 year Profiles, 60 billion gallons of water have gone under the bridge since then, The photos in Imrie's book, yes, the Fokker DR.I Data Files and Special, Yes. Study the photos. Then let us discuss it. : Look at the work of Hastings and Parker, Alex Imrie and Greg Van Wyngarden, and I did not even mention mine. See what conclusion they all came to, and agree on.
Blue Skies,
Dan-San

[chip55]

Dan San
I am not disputing any FACTS or your knowledge (which is vast)..I was merely commenting on what I was told about application methods, durability of applied finishes, and what I have learned in my years in the printing industry about the factors of color variation.

Be Well

chip55