Chief Cohiba

The Etrich Taube, or Etrich II, had it's successful maiden flight at 06.04.1910 in Wr. Neustadt, about 50km south of Vienna, pilot was Karl Illner. The Etrich Taube had no elevator or ailerons, but was controlled via "warping" of the entire plane over all three axis, therefore a lot of power was necessary for steering and it was rather difficult to turn and land. However, apart from the exhausting control, it's flight characteristics where extremly good. A story has it that a mechanic once pushed the power lever to full throttle while grounded, dropped out of the plane, and the Taube took off, flew until it ran out of gas and landet safely then on a meadow. The Taube was never meant as a military aircraft, although it left a few marks in the history of military aviation; in 1911 the first bombing was executed out of an Italien Taube, where the pilot dropped a 2 kg bomb on aturkish camp. Due to its common use as a training plane a lot of german aces learned to fly on a Taube. It was also quite capable as a surveillance plane, a mayor role of aviation in the very beginning of flight. The covering was almost transparent, so extremly hard to spot when flying in some hundred meters. The first air victory of the RFC, when on 25th April 1914 a Taube was forced to land. Also, it was the first plane of the Austro-Hungarian Military Administration, who acquired a Taube, build at Lohnerwerke in Wien 1210, at 2.April 1911. These first Lohner Tauben were powered by a Daimler Dm engine with 65 HP, while later models also had Austro-Daimler engines with up to 120 hp installed. In May 2011 the first pilot training course started in Wiener Neustadt by Flugmaschinen-Instruktionsabteilung with 27 officers. The Etrich Taube was build in various versions by different manufacturers, with alterations on almost any aspect on its construction, with engines from 60 to 200 hp in rebuilds, various kind of landing gears, to alterations to fuselage construction like Jeannine's Stahltaube, which used a steel tube construction instead of a wooden(bamboo) one, or variants with active rudders for steering rather than warping, and even biplanes based on its design (Albatros Doppeltaube) or with closed canopies. Also a German Taube was active in China in the German colony of Tsingtao, when Gunther Plüschow spotted and even bombed Japanese troups at the siege of Tsingtao from August to November 1914. No exact numbers are available how many Etrich-type monoplanes have been build, but more than 40 companies build variations all over the world, most in Germany and Austro-Hungary, but Japan as well. Rumpler alone build some 200, Jeannin build 37 Stahltauben and the Lohnerwerke 36, among those these for the K.u.K. Luftfahrttruppen.

To make a start and also as a replay to Marklos build, a few things I gathered around the Etrich Taube. But let me be frank - I'm no expert by any means, and of course all of this is available round the web somewhere, but thought it could be help to bring those various pieces here together. So forgive me if I don't tell anything new. Also, some things might not be correct, so any remarks and corrections are welcome. Like many Austrian pioneers from these days, Igo Etrich wasn't born in what's know as Austria today, but in a town of todays Czech republic, Horní Staré Město. He started building gliders, then, in 1907 his first motor plane, the Etrich I, a rather ulgy plane, which he evolved into the much more elegant Etrich II, which, after it's much more elegant shape, was called the Taube, or dove. He received a patent for the Taube in Austria, and, due to it's qualities he made a contract with another Austrian automotive and aviation engineer, Edmund Rumpler, who founded the Rumpler LuftfahrzeugbaugmbH 1909 in Berlin. This contract was about building the Taube under licence, but Rumpler refused to pay licence fees after the german patent office refused the patent on the german market, as Etrich's design is based on the shape of the Zanonia seed, which has been described as an ideal shape for flying devices, so no genuine design, it's common knowledge, anyone could use it. Being on the dawn of WWI, he shyed away from a large lawsuit and the costs involved and declared the design as what we would today call creative commons. Rumpler frm that on marketed the Etrich design as the Rumpler Taube, which was the most widely variant of the Taube, Etrich founded the Etrich Werke in todays Poland and build the first passenger plane with closed cabin, the Luft-Limousine (air-saloon). Head of engineering was one Ernst Heinkel. Together with Heinkel he founded Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke in 1914, close Berlin.

Well, seems' I've talked myself into something... 😖 Anyway, you've asked for it, you'll get it. At least a bit. 😉 But not to hijack this anyway, I think I'll start something in the more general section here: I'll gather some pieces now and then here, and also post pictures here, when I visit some Museum. I'll dop I note here when I add something relevant - what do you think?

My interest with Austrian Aviation (we're talking mostly WWI, to be clear - mounting parts of HE162 in some caves in the south of Vienna is not what I consider "Aviation") started, when I found that an old factory building, I regularily went by as a kid, nearby my home was initially the home of Phoenix Flugzeugwerke - then unknown to me. The original building was torn down I think in 2010 for some modern condominiums, before that I think a trucking company had their fleet there. So I started a bit of investigation on this. Another company I was rather familiar with was Bombardier, who build Tramways, and whose plant in Vienna I visited somtimes for business reasons. Also not far from my childhood home, I was familar with since my very youth from passing by. I've learned that this was initially the Lohner Werke, building some small scooters in postwar Vienna, but before 1919 they build Aeroplanes as well. So, when I found out I litterally grew up what once was Austrias home of aviation, I started to read what I could find, and information is quite rare. But in the last say ten years some pieces fell together and here's a bit. And true, of course, many stories are onyl available in german. While lurking around here a bit, I now and then found some builds of K.&K. stuff, most recently @Marklo's mad and great WIP on scratchbuilding the Etrich Taube in 1/48, I thought I could add some glimpses I've read. But not to hijack his thread (Go There! Read it! Like it! It's great!) I thought I start something more general here.

That's what I've guessed, as I've joined this build so late. 😞 But anyway, I'm pretty sure I can provide some on the details on the rigging after I visited the TMW, which I planned next week. I am not 100% confident concerning the cockpit, as it might hang a bit to high. But I'll see. There is one at the Aviatikum in Wiener Neustadt, but I think it's airworthy and therefore pretty much not original. If you google for "Etrich Taube" and "Aviatikum" you'll find some pictures (I wont post here, so not to run into any copyright issues). And I promise NOT to start declaiming about the history of Austrian aviation, not to bore anyone to death... 😉

Uhm, how could I overlook this for so long? I mean the build as well as the enlightening discussion about the prerequisite of being mad to lurk around here... Might be a bit late, but in my neighborhood a few houses away there are some blokes having one hanging from the ceiling in scale 1:1, build by Igo Etrich himself - I could just drop by and take a few pics as reference on some details? (Means I life close to the Technische Museum in Wien, and look for a reason to justify to go there and spend a few hours taking pictures of old wood, and smell the scent of well-oiled iron.) But I must admit you do pretty well without, this already looks very Taube-ish. Do you plan to build a specific variant, or rather a generic Taube "per se"?

Well, from my perspective colour matching isn't hard science, to me it's more like getting close and creatign a good overall impression. Even if you have information to match the colour when new, there is a deviation based on the colour model of the various paint manufacturers use. And then there's wear - a lot of sun will turn the colour lighter and less bright, desert sun will grind it, oil and other fluids will stain it, a Marine bird will have a slight reddish tone, due to micro-rust particles. I like to build my planes more on the worn side, so I use just what I have at home (or buy from a paint manufacturer I'm familiar with) rather than trying to get a probably even more exact match from different vendors. The blend-in is done by weathering.

Just to keep you informed, here's some still life from the workbench and her current stage. It's just sanding, the long and curved lines in addition with the fine structures make this a rather detailled work with slow progress, but I'm going on...

Many thanks, for the link, which looks reasonable. Still I'm afraid that shipping would be expensive and would take ages to come from Texas to little old Europe. Also, as it's for the Glencoe kit, I expect some more work than I'm right now planning to invest in this - I'm in a lazy phase currently. So, I decided to leave it closed and make my life a bit easier. 😉 Many thanks as well, of course I would be grateful if you have a chance to post it, but with the links posted by Mike ( @72modeler many thanks again) I feel quite safe. Seems as if I haven't forgotten something so far on the fuselage.

Dennis, I thought about that too, and did find a few options, but not for the Merit kit and only on US ebay. First fact will cause fit issues, second leads to a price tag of 40,- $ plus and one to two months waiting until they're here. Not this time, I'd rather have this a clean and easy build this time... Meanwhile im sanding seam of the body halves. Not that much, but will require some rescribing, I'm afraid.

Quick update; it's nailed together.

Working on the canopy I think I can wave goodbye to my plans to open the canopy by simply cutting it open with a fine saw. Here's why: I've noticed that the cross-section of the canopy part looks roughly like this: If I cut it open and try to slide it together, there would be a rather large overlay, like this: Of course with some grinding and sanding it can be done, but chances are to destroy this part and itself then the kit are there. Also, I planned to do this as a nice in-between build, and that would go beyond that. Also, I do have my next build in mind already, so...

And some more small steps to the next achievement, closing the body. I Installed the windows (curved side aft - curved side aft - curved side aft - only needed to turn once) and started to rigging by glueing the body attached wires in the pre-drilled holes: Here's a pic from outside: Merit/Trumpeter didn't include any information about rigging, so I'll check again if these two points are the only ones, before closing the body. I plan to do this according to "Rigging for Beginners", so will mount as many wires as possible from inside parts, which I think should be possible on this layout.

Didn't ever try, I use the regular putty, thinned with poly cement. I'm sure isn't that hard, but my guess it's easier to apply. But sounds like a useful practise, what kind of CA do you use? I made a little progress on mounting a minor, yet difficult part, I think it's the oil cooler intake: It looks good with the PE slats, but now can only be mounted in with CA, so it's a one shot. So, if it doesn't fit, which only could be checked after the CA has hardened, it would take rather invasive measures to give it another try. Lucky me, i did fit at once. Next preparing the windows with the Montex masks i bought: Is it only me thinking of something that usually happens in a darkened chamber, when looking at the black rubber? Not that I ever did take part in such actions, of course.

Guys, as you might have noticed, this is not the fastest evolving build ever, so I'd take this rather as slow cooking rather than fast food. 😉 What happened recently; I went on a bit on the tedious topic of sanding the interior to make the body halves meet. It's been not the most pleasent work, as I am afraid I've been a bit slumpy on mounting the PE parts, so these protrude the plastic. And sanding these had aof course minor effect, was quite unprecise and, most of all, made the parts dissolve again. But I've reached some point here... Not only the cockpit assembly I worked on in such diruptive manner, also the location pins around the cockpit had to fall, as they did not leave enough space for the dashboard... Finally I came to this point, dryfitting with some clamps on show this gap: I think thats something I can work on. In general I think the fit of the kit itself is very good, yet tight, so the added thicknes of some PE parts seemed to cause some of these fit issues. Thsi of course, in combination with the shoddy work of a lazy modeller...

Well, the PE was fixed in a minute, a drop of gap-filling CA and it was done. And I've banned the carpet from my workspace, funny enough there are still some parts which find their way into another dimension. I'm preparing myself mentally on closing the body halves, fow which I expect some mayor sanding and grinding on the cockpit assembly. It's not only the fear of dust, but the certidude that some of the real tiny parts will disappear into nirvana while doing so. Btw, that's the gap right now. As there really is some structure here, I would like to use as less putty as possible. So, in the meantime: ooooooohhmmmmm.....

Guys, I'm afraid I'm a bit of a bore as I can't post anything more exiting tha a few mounted gear struts. Nothing really special on this, and i even made it already a few days ago. Well, I added a small brake(?) wire, but it can hardly be seen. Should I post here that one of the internal PE parts went off while handling? Not even this small accident is of any real entertaining value, as I' m sure this will be fixed in a second. Isn't it annoying when a it just comes together well? 😉

We're all married, so of course we only have eyes for planes, haven't we? 😇 CC, please grab a seat and enjoy, your highly welcome, of course! 🙂

Many thanks, Mike, that's a lot of really helpful information, much appreciated. I'm not sure of how much of this Information I will use, as I plan not to superdetail this, but it's always helpful, of course. But hell, I already started to think how I can create the laminated look of the flowat tip... 😄

Many thanks, this comes together rather easy. No big issue so far, but I'm trying to be a bit modest on this one. ;-) Here's the engine, right out of the box, except for the two intake grills: Back, the exhausts are quite nice... And in the cowling...

Next, I painted the body halves in FS 35189 Non Specular Blue Grey and FS36440 Light Gull Grey, both LifeColor, which I regularily use. Preshading with some mixture of brown and dark grey. Did I mention my compressor is dying? But I'm jusst to greedy right now to get me another one, so I squeeze this like an old lemon... 😄

And here's some dryfitting: This still needs some sanding on some edge areas, so that the body halves close nicely.

Ok, on with the duck after almost two weeks off. Sorry, guys... 😉 Not that much I did, but I managed to finalise the interior layout. In combination with the Eduard pieces it's rather crowdy. This time I did not add more additional wires, and it turned out ok, but definitely not perfect. But as I learned in my recent He115 build, you rarely see that much from it later. So, here's some pictures so far from the cockpit pieces: And, as promised, toilet seat in the upright position, so the rear pilot acts as a gunner: And, as mentioned before, I used the original plastic cabin seat, not the Eduard PE one, is it somewhat didn't look quite right - just a few thin sheets of metal. I preferred the 3D-plastic part, although it might not be 100% accurate. Who cares... 😉

Sorry, been away a bit on this, due to work reasons. But i get distracted; summer is almost gone, and the idea of having a fancy, ice cool cocktail, something with Pisang Ambon and pineapple juice, while building this seems a bit inapprobriate, when I look out of the window. Anyway, I managed to get a bit of brass attached to the plastic parts and the interior is somewhere there. I did not do all of the brass, as e.g. the lower cabin seat looks much to flat in brass, so I kept the plastic part, and probably did overdo it a bit with the internal weathering. Here's a pic of the starbord side. As you see I've build the rear seat in an upright position, as I think of probably add a gun and build it open, but still shying away of opening the canopy. What's your thought on such acts of cruelty? Here's another view on the interior, this time dry-fitted in the port side. While fit is rather good, I think I've produced some fit issues with all the brass mounted, so will probably have to sand away a bit round the upper left part of the dashboard region. Not really sanding it away but using a dremel with a drill bit I got from my dentist at one of my last visits and which is perfect. So, to add a bit of pleasure to a rather unsavory event. But funny enough, dryfitting revealed it is almost impossible to close the halves when the cockpit is mounted to the (I think) port half, and rather good when it's on the starbord side. Hmmm... Also, here's a picture of the engine in the making. I initially was tempted to get a resin engine, but then - no. This time it's the plastic one from the kit. With a few of Eduards brass pieces it should be enough. What is a bit of a pain, is the lack of rigging information. Of course one can imagine roughly from box art and pictures from the net, but the precise position of some rigging points is still unclear to me. This is one thing I need to do prior to closing the halves, as I want to drill the holes before and mount the wire from the inside. Do you guys have any hints for me?

I don't know of any book specifically in English on that matter, but there's information available in german, for obvious reasons. I'm more into aircrafts, but could probably help on some specific questions. What are your plans to build?