Painted Flight Jackets - Planes, Names, and Dames

442RCT · Apr 1, 2010

This is the first time I've seen "The Spirit of '57"

As a painter, I'm very impressed with your work. :eusa_clap

Silver Dollar · Apr 1, 2010

Thanks 442. The Spirit of 1957 is a motorcycle jacket I bought in the 90's. It represents something I saw when I was a kid in the 50's. When I could still fit into it, this jacket was the one I wore to scare little old ladies. Put on a motorcycle jacket and you're automatically a big bad biker. The only bike I ever rode had 3 wheels, a little bell and black pedals. Where I used to live in NYC as a kid, a bicycle was a waste of time.

442RCT · Apr 1, 2010

lol Kind'a difficult for me to believe THAT jacket would scare anyone, no skull or any death dealing symbols...no intimidating name, i.e Son's of Anarchy, Hell's Angels, Mongols, Peckerwoods, etc..

My kind of motorcycle gang

Speedbird · Apr 1, 2010

lol lol lol totally

fftopic: I know but you crack me up .... lol lol lol lol

I really want to get a job at the Go for Broke National Education Centre http://www.goforbroke.org so I can hang out with you guys!

442RCT · Apr 2, 2010

Speedbird said:
lol fftopic: totally I know but you crack me up .... lol

I really want to get a job at the Go for Broke National Education Centre http://www.goforbroke.org so I can hang out with you guys!

I appreciate the sentiment Speedy, when the missus (my wife loves to travel to different countries) and I make it to London, we'll be sure to get together with you and yours.

Even though I'm a dues paying member, I've never visited the Go For Broke Center. [huh] I appreciate their mission to keep alive the memory and deeds of the men who served with the 442nd RCT.

Among my early misguided eBay purchases was an Avirex jacket. I thought the greenish hue in the pictures was the result of bad color balance in the camera or fluorescent lighting. When the jacket arrived, I found out the jacket had indeed been dyed green. The knits were a forest green, the leather a splotchy green, but curiously, the inside lining was untouched. I didn't think I could sell it, so I decided to make it a 442nd RCT pin-up jacket.
Here's the start of the jacket:

Stearmen · Apr 2, 2010

What a bunch of prudes!

I can't believe it, Photobucket removed my photo of the Vargas style painting on an A2 I did years ago, on the page before this one, they say it violates their terms of use! Can you believe that? What a bunch of prudes!

Speedbird · Apr 2, 2010

Stearmen said:
I can't believe it, Photobucket removed my photo of the Vargas style painting on an A2 I did years ago, on the page before this one, they say it violates their terms of use! Can you believe that? What a bunch of prudes!

Ha ... so that's what happened to it! I can't see it anymore, but 442 said he still can so maybe it's regional.

Speedbird · Apr 2, 2010

442RCT said:
I appreciate the sentiment Speedy, when the missus (my wife loves to travel to different countries) and I make it to London, we'll be sure to get together with you and yours.

Even though I'm a dues paying member, I've never visited the Go For Broke Center. [huh] I appreciate their mission to keep alive the memory and deeds of the men who served with the 442nd RCT.

You are more than welcome! I have to tell you California is a helluva lot warmer and sunnier though!

You really should go to the Centre. Their education programme looks really good. I was looking through their lesson plans and teaching materials (I am a College Teacher/Manager by profession) and they have a lot of interesting stuff going on. Like I say, it would be good to work for an organisation like that. Better climate too

BigHairyFinn · Apr 2, 2010

442RCT said:
so I decided to make it a 442nd RCT pin-up jacket.
Here's the start of the jacket:

Looks promising. Somehow reminds me of that sci-fi movie "Tank Girl"...

OK, well, mines a bit rough, and it ain't got a plane, no name, nor a dame...

Speedbird · Apr 2, 2010

442RCT said:
Among my early misguided eBay purchases was an Avirex jacket. I thought the greenish hue in the pictures was the result of bad color balance in the camera or fluorescent lighting. When the jacket arrived, I found out the jacket had indeed been dyed green. The knits were a forest green, the leather a splotchy green, but curiously, the inside lining was untouched. I didn't think I could sell it, so I decided to make it a 442nd RCT pin-up jacket.
Here's the start of the jacket:

That is really bizarre .... throw some sand coloured paint on it and it will almost be camo lol

The paint plan looks promising though!

Silver Dollar · Apr 3, 2010

Hey 442RCT. I like the way the outlines look. Why that jacket was painted green, we'll never know. I guess someone needed it to go with something else. I forgot to mention that I spent 5 years on Oahu and I'm very familiar with the 442. I used to see a Go for Broke sign in front of a building at Ft. Derussey or however it's spelled. They were really proud of that and rightly so.

442RCT · Apr 4, 2010

BigHairyFinn said:
Looks promising. Somehow reminds me of that sci-fi movie "Tank Girl"...

OK, well, mines a bit rough, and it ain't got a plane, no name, nor a dame...

Thanks for posting pics of your jacket. It totally belongs here.

I had to google pics of, "Tank Girl". :eusa_doh: The artist whose pin-ups I was copying specializes in military pin-up girls. http://www.bawidamann.com/gallery/military.html

Tank Girl for those who don't know is the girl in the upper left. The rest are Bawidamann pin-ups.
I wonder what he'd charge to paint an A-2 ?

Speedbird · Apr 4, 2010

is this a "live" work in progress 442? have you actually picked up the brushes again or is it an older one and you are showing us the stages through to completion?

I like the Bawidamann pin ups; another modern artist is Soroyama - he does stuff that would look good on a range of nose art interpretations/inspired projects, be it jackets, cars, bikes, boats, planes.

442RCT · Apr 5, 2010

It's Live

I've picked up the brushes and paint pots again. I didn't want to challenge myself, so I picked the cartoon pin-ups to start in. What's funny is my wife has been watching the process and told me that was going to be HER jacket when I got done.

Speedbird · Apr 5, 2010

This thread sure is inspirational.... I haven't patched or painted anything in more than 15 years ..... and I was never an artist or close to being as good as you guys .... but these last few days I have got out my old tracings and transparencies, and have been digging in the attic for my acrylic and enamel paints..... now if only people would stop outbidding me on basic, cheap orphan A-2's....... lol

Maj.Nick Danger · Apr 5, 2010

Here's one for you Speedbird,..

.....per your request. From several years ago, the second jacket I painted.

[/IMG]

Smithy · Apr 5, 2010

442RCT said:
I had to google pics of, "Tank Girl".

Just as an aside here. A member here at FL, "Rufus", is a professional comic book artist and one of the characters he draws for his living is Tank Girl.

Sadly Rufus doesn't hang around here as much as he used to. Nice bloke and very gifted artist.

Silver Dollar · Apr 5, 2010

Maj. Nick, that's some really great work. All you guys are inspiring me to get the paints out. Now I just need to find a jacket somewhere that fits me.

Maj.Nick Danger · Apr 5, 2010

Thanks.
Here's another bit of inspiration for you then. A U.S. Authentic horse hide I owned. The design is mine, girl courtesy of Varga.

[/IMG]

442RCT · Apr 5, 2010

Maj.Nick Danger said:
.....per your request. From several years ago, the second jacket I painted.

Thanks for posting pics of your jacket, great looking paint job. Matter of fact I recently purchased a Real McCoys, "Memphis Belle" painted tribute jacket very much like yours and when it gets here, I'll post pics of it. Did you start out with artistic talents or were you like me, learning to paint, just to be able to paint patches and flight jackets ? (Now that I can afford to buy painted jackets, I don't paint much anymore)

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