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Wingnut Wings Lozenge decals


Radub

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Yesterday I received the Wingnut Wings lozenge (upper and under) and rib tape decals. They look good.

There seems to be this kind of hush-hush, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, "know what I mean?" inuendo that there is "somethikng wrong" with the Wingnut Wings lozenge decals.

Despite my searches on the internet, I could not find any thread or discussion about the "problems" with the lozenge decals.

What is wrong with these decals? Is it the colours? Is it the pattern?

Any hint or pointers will be most appreciated.

Radu

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Radu,

 

I can't comment on the standard day lozenge that Wingnuts is producing since I haven't seen it in person. Despite everyone here seeing build jets and WWII stuff, I was a long time WWI guy.

 

The naval hex colors are off in color in my opinion though. They are far too pink and end up being a combination between the common blue/grey hex and the semi speculative red brown hex that hasn't been totally proven. I asked WNW how they came about the colors they chose and their answer was that it's meant to be the red brown hex (surprising because there's not much documentation of it and less proof it was used on production a/c) and that typical reference material depicts it as too dark. I'm not sure if this was their answer to cover an error in the coloring, or if that's what their research concluded. WNW kits look to be well researched, but it would not be the first error they've made.

 

That said, WNW is a good company to deal with, bringing 1/32 subjects no one ever thought we'd see in mainstream kit, and are all well packaged, beautiful kits. It's no slight on them at all ( I know a lot of people out there are touchy if you criticize WNW in any way, which is the main reason I don't hang out much on a certain other WWI forum, so this is my disclaimer).

 

Like you, I couldn't find anything about the coloring of the lozenge on the internet, but when I asked a WWI friend verbally, he said he didn't agree wtih their color choices at all either on the naval hex.

 

Chris

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I want to avoid discussing the naval lozenge decals. If that needs to be discussed, let us open a different thread. ;) There seems to be a fair degree of cross-contamination going on on the internet already...

 

I want to discuss the five-colour upperside and underside decals. There seems to be a very insidious inuendo on the internet that "there is something wrong" with them. No one seems to be able to point that "problem" out. I would like to know what that is.

 

Also, let us forget for one moment that "another company is releasing a correct decal sheet" - I know that and I will definitely buy one of those too. :D

 

So, what are the specific problems with the Wingnut Wings 5-colour lozenge decals? Let us have a frank, specific and factual discussion about it.

 

Radu

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I know a lot of people out there are touchy if you criticize WNW in any way, which is the main reason I don't hang out much on a certain other WWI forum, so this is my disclaimer

 

Chris

 

I know this has noting to do with lozenge, but since the subject was brought up, I will never go back to said sight after my last question there about a WNW product. It felt good to get that off of my chest! :)

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Yesterday I received the Wingnut Wings lozenge (upper and under) and rib tape decals. They look good.

There seems to be this kind of hush-hush, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, "know what I mean?" inuendo that there is "somethikng wrong" with the Wingnut Wings lozenge decals.

Despite my searches on the internet, I could not find any thread or discussion about the "problems" with the lozenge decals.

What is wrong with these decals? Is it the colours? Is it the pattern?

Any hint or pointers will be most appreciated.

Radu

 

At the risk of going way out on a limb, I think the colors just look funky, specifically the bottom lozenge. I think the polygonal shapes are OK. Below is an interpretation from Mark Miller.

 

 

Mark Miller

 

Next is the Arizona Models interpretation.

 

 

Arizona Models

 

Next is the Allen Toelles' interpretation.

 

 

Allen Toelle

 

Last but not least is a link to WNW.

 

 

WNW lozenge

 

You be the judge.

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At a glance, it is easy to see that photo-synthesisation, tints, dyes, dopes, and apparently varnishes all can affect the range of colors dramatically. I know that some on the 'drome have been rather pendantic regarding these things, and I don't think there is going to ever be a consensus. Battle-axe lozenge is horrid. The Avis stuff seemingly much better, but still has what some call color issues. I used some for the interior of my DVIII, and toned it down with CDL, to represent the "interior" of the fabric. I don't have any of rowans stuff, and am waiting on WNW; more thoughts later.

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Other than noting that the lozenge colors on the WNW website are "brighter" than the actual decals, I will not join the fray on what the "right" colors are. The WNW colors fall within the acceptable range for my modeling purposes as do the 1/32 Pheon products I have purchased. I believe that the majority of the researchers have done excellent work in producing their PERSONAL interpretations of some bio-degradable material nearly 100 years old whose extant actual samples had been subjected to sun, wind, oil, gasoline, mud, dirt, engine exhaust, cordite and bird droppings. It is almost certain that every bolt of lozenge fabric was slightly different from the others and that storage conditions and doping material further added to the variety. Much discussion has gone on regarding the effects of scale on the representation of colors on a model and that is an additional factor (i.e., the lozenge colors for a 1/32 model should be different from the colors for a 1/48 or 1/72 model.) My advice - read the research discussions but not the contentious "I'm right! No, I'm right!" portions, decide what satisfies your eyes and proceed without fear of being "wrong." Hmmmm...I guess I was not true to my "not join the fray" statement but I can live with that.

 

I will continue to use both WNW and Pheon decals on my 1/32 models specifically to introduce a bit of "real world" variety. Try it, you'll like it.

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I think I agree with Ron, in that the color samples now are so old it is hard to gage what they originally looked like. And no doubt they varied out of the factories anyway. Look at late war Luft colors and the debates over those colors. Or for that matter, look at the variations in the supposed standard US olive drab - or interior green. I doubt there is any single correct color(s) and it will just be a matter of modeller's taste as to what he uses. Let someone who disagrees show how he can prove without a doubt the colors are wrong.

I have ordered both the Wingnuts lozenge as well as the Pheon models, so I will do a side by side comparison. It is tough to compare from separate photos on the net as cameras and/or scanners used, software used to adjust the photos, then how the colors are shown on a monitor can all skew how they look.

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