ORIGINAL: papermache
Great job, foodstick!
I've always felt that on a WWI plane, you do your research, and then go with the colors that look right to you. There's nobody who can PROVE you wrong out there and that goes for all the "experts".
I agree with you that the lozenge probably had much brighter colors originally than most of the available lozenge fabrics today show. After all, the German pilots were the ones who habitually used bright colors to decorate their planes and thought that parachutes were for sissies. I don't think they'd have willingly gone with a dull finish.
Great job! have fun with it!
papermache
Except the pilots did not paint the losenge. It was a pre-printed fabric from the factory. There is a "true" color out there but it is difficult to nail down because it may not have been very consistent. With that said though, it is good to just have fun with it and make it look good to you. Regardless, Foodstick's version looks great. Again here is a real patch of fabric from the bottom of a DVII.