Aero Leather Real Deal A-2 wiht 91st Bomb Group Art

[CBI]

Hello All - Here is my second attempt at painting a flight jacket.

Aero Leather Real Deal A-2 in Seal Brown Jerky Horsehide.

91st Bomb Group (324th Bomb Squadron), 8th Air Force, “Rhapsody in Red”. The nose art was originally painted by Tony Starcer who painted many of the group’s a/c during the war. Starcer used a 1944 Varga Girl painting as his inspiration but reversed the image and had the subject’s face in profile as well as some other changes. I decided to go more with the Varga image with the subject looking at the viewer. I also went with a significantly more weathered, worn-through aged look than my first jacket painting attempt (Goodwear A-2 with 4th Fighter Group Art). I am still in the experimental phase and just really enjoying it ………… when I have the time!!! There was one minor sealer mishap over the Varga Girl’s upper left shoulder but it sort of adds to the aged look. For some reason, I can’t get the camera to capture the weathering on the girl. The colors are way off, she’s not nearly as yellow – sorry. The stylized “A” is the 91st BG tail marking. I went with the earlier “stubby wing” 8th shoulder insignia.

 

[CBI]

A few close ups with flash:

 

[aswatland]

Wow! You have made a very good job of the artwork. It could easily be mistaken for wartime nose art. Congrats.

 

[Mike1973]

Excellent artwork! The weathered look really compliments the worn in look of the jacket!

 

[Spitfire]

BRAVO!!!!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Edward]

Looks fantastic. Very impressed by the 'aging' effect - as Andrew has said, it could very easily be mistaken for "the real thing."

 

[Eyemo]

Very authentic..in Style and breakdown..:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[CBI]

Thanks guys. It was a fun project. The jacket has been sitting on the back of my office chair since I finished it and everyone who visits the home office just assumes that it’s a 60 year old jacket. Pretty fun. This jacket arrived new from Aero Leather about a month ago. I have never worn it more than a few try-ons. Way too hot here presently. I have been playing with different weathering techniques on leather swatches for some time now. Here’s the lowdown:

Acetone: It works but way too toxic and it takes too long to dry before you can see and monitor/control the look you want.

Bleach: Works well but again, drying time/control AND, if it touches the stitching/knits it bleaches them out as well.

Leather Balm: Works well but not only darkens the jacket but leaves an oily coating.

Vaseline and Sand: Spread Vaseline over an area and then pour lots of sand on it. Work the sand into the leather. The abrasive quality of the sand wears off the finish. Way too much trouble with the same drawbacks as leather balm. This is a Hollywood technique to give leathers the worn “middle ages” look.

Turpentine or Mineral Spirits: If you choose this, go with the mineral spirits, less toxic. Both work but can damage the leather a bit.

The absolute winner is: quick drying, mostly non-toxic, cheap, easy to control, least damage to your leather, instant results………91% rubbing alcohol. Applied with white rag or old T-shirt.

The jacket was also soaked in water and then put in the dryer both right side out and inside out – zipped up of course to prevent unwanted scratches from the tipper pull.

The paints: flat enamel (Testors’ model paints). The paints used in the day were mostly enamel paints for aircraft. A few coats of water based flat coat were also used as a protective coat.

 

[SKIDS]

Top looking Jacket, did it take long to do?

 

[CBI]

thanks! I don'r recall exactly who long. I think I spent 2 weekends if you include the weathering. Lots of fun. I have been waiting for free time to start the next one but work keeps getting in the way!

 

[srivats]

The aging looks very real ... so does the artwork. Thanks for sharing these pics!

 

[CBI]

Somewhere in this forum is a posting with photos of my Goodwear A-2 with 4th Fighter Group artwork. It was done about a month before this one.

 

[shortbow]

As old Grizz said to Jeremiah, "You nailed 'er clean, Pilgrim.":eusa_clap

 

[CBI]

Thanks! My Goodwear A-2 with 4th Fighter Group artwork (my first paint job) is on the Goodwear thread *NEWS EXTRA* Goodwear, etc. The post is from 07-20-08.