Eduard 1:48 5-colour lozenge decal (upper and lower)

[James H]

1:48 5-colour lozenge decal (upper and lower)

Eduard
Catalogue # see article for code and price
Available from Eduard

 

 

 

Whilst producing decals isn’t exactly a new thing for Eduard, releasing standalone sets of lozenge decal is a pretty new area. We have seen lozenge supplied with the both the Albatros D.Va and Siemens-Schuckert D.III releases, of course. For those modellers who wish to use the earlier 5-colour lozenge, then Eduard’s new sets may be just what you’re in need of.

 

Remember that the 5-colour lozenge was eventually phased out and replaced with the simpler-to-manufacture 4-colour lozenge, later in the war. You will need to ensure that your particular aircraft was in fact using the earlier 5-colour and not the 4-colour. Sometimes this is easy to gauge, but the tricky bit comes around the time these were changed (early 1918 I seem to think). At least up until the end of 1917, you can be sure that this style of lozenge was used. Ok, onto the sets…

 

• D48022, Lozenge 5-colour upper, €11,25
• D48023, Lozenge 5-colour lower, €11,25

 

Both of these sets are packaged into a medium-sized zip-lock wallet, with a colour printed product insert, and a piece of card to stiffen the package. A single sheet of decal is provided with both sets, with 4 strips of lozenge decal on each, measuring 123mm x 35mm, and in a direction which appears to run from front to back, and not lengthways. If this is the case, and I’m no expert, then no seam joints are included which would indicate the full width of the fabric bolt. As this is generic decal, there are also no rib tapes, and you will need to add these to suit your own particular model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t vouch for colour authenticity, but the colour reproduction on these does look very good compared with those from other manufacturers, and like Wingnut Wings’ own decal sheets, these are printed in solid colour, as opposed to the fabric texture seen on Aviattic and Old Propeller decal sheets.

 

Printing is very good, having been done in-house by Eduard themselves. I am a big fan of Eduard’s own decals as they behave superbly with setting solutions, and are nice and thin. Ironically, they are also in perfect register. The reason I say this is because the actual lozenge suffered from overlap of the various colours, albeit minimally, and I think you could also see glimpses of unprinted fabric between some panels. I can’t really criticise the reproduction here though, especially in 1:48, as the sheets themselves actually look very good.

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion
If you model WW1 in 1:48, these will be very useful sets to have in your stash, and they are also very attractive in that the colours aren’t too vivid in their interpretation. A simple product, but invaluable for the Great War Modeller. Very reasonably priced too.

 

Highly recommended

 

My sincere thanks to Eduard for these review samples. To purchase directly, click the links in the article.

 

James H