Mr. Scratch
New in Town
- Messages
- 38
- Location
- Eugene, Oregon
I posted this on VLJ forum, but though some folks here might like it as well. I wanted to have a jacket similar to what my grandfather would have worn when he piloted B-25s in the Mediterranean during WWII. He was with the 446th Bomb Squadron, and during my research to build the jacket, I discovered that all the 446th mission logs were online, as well as photographs, including a couple of my grandfather! Off to a good start.
I started with a mid-80s near-new condition Flight Apparel Industries A-2 I got on eBay. I would have liked to have done this with a Aero or Goodwear, but I just couldn't spare the money. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality/price ratio of the FAI jacket; it is much better made than I expected, and seems close in quality (though not accuracy) to some of the better brands. However, the finish was way too glossy, and the dark brown too solid.
I rubbed it down with an alcohol-soaked rag, paying special attention to the seams and such which would naturally receive more wear on a broken-in coat. The effect was a nice mottling. Then I patched it with a repro 446th squadron patch I'd bought several months ago, and replaced the zipper with a Talon.
My grandfather's ship had no nose art, and the squadron itself wasn't blessed to have as good an artist on staff as her sister squadron in the same Bomb Group, the 447th BS, so I borrowed the art from one of their planes (with a few modifications).
Then sent it off to Jerri at http://www.victory-girl.com for painting. She did a fine job.
My heroic flyboy pose here came out a bit too Manfred von Richthofen on account of the collar being up, but you get the general idea.
Next I need to add my grandfather's missions along the bottom back and give the art a faux patina to tone it down and give it an aged appearance. More on that when I get to it.
I started with a mid-80s near-new condition Flight Apparel Industries A-2 I got on eBay. I would have liked to have done this with a Aero or Goodwear, but I just couldn't spare the money. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality/price ratio of the FAI jacket; it is much better made than I expected, and seems close in quality (though not accuracy) to some of the better brands. However, the finish was way too glossy, and the dark brown too solid.
I rubbed it down with an alcohol-soaked rag, paying special attention to the seams and such which would naturally receive more wear on a broken-in coat. The effect was a nice mottling. Then I patched it with a repro 446th squadron patch I'd bought several months ago, and replaced the zipper with a Talon.
My grandfather's ship had no nose art, and the squadron itself wasn't blessed to have as good an artist on staff as her sister squadron in the same Bomb Group, the 447th BS, so I borrowed the art from one of their planes (with a few modifications).
Then sent it off to Jerri at http://www.victory-girl.com for painting. She did a fine job.
My heroic flyboy pose here came out a bit too Manfred von Richthofen on account of the collar being up, but you get the general idea.
Next I need to add my grandfather's missions along the bottom back and give the art a faux patina to tone it down and give it an aged appearance. More on that when I get to it.
