Grandfathers Flight Jacket. Repro questions **Pictures**

[Ross817]

All,

When my grandfather passed away several years ago I was given his flight jacket from his time in the Pacific during WW2. I have kept the jacket for many years in a closet as that is how its been stored since 1944 probably. I have had several Shadow boxes built for it to include his decorations and other memorabilia. But I really only display it to family and fellow WW2 enthusiasts.

All that being said, What i would like to do is have a repro made of the original (provided someone offers the cut) and have the images reproduced. While I know there are crafts people that offer hand painted unit insignias, what do i do about the actual nose art painted on the jacket itself? Would the "patch painting people" undertake this work on a $1000-1500 plus jacket?

Any thoughts or previous experience would be a big help.

-Ross

These images are a year or so old, my apologies for the poor lighting. Ill have to get some that show the makers tag and further detail if anyone wants to see more.

 

[andyfalzon]

Bill Kelso Mfg could do it. I was trying to send you private message but there is no way, probably because you are a new member.
Please look at our latest patched and painted jackets here to get an idea about the capabilities

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.581101445253484.1073741859.540638042633158&type=1
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.579606325402996.1073741858.540638042633158&type=1

If you like them, please contact us.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Join and post your photos on this forum..http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org/. There are great patch makers..painters..etc...plus A2 experts.
HD

 

[Stand By]

what do i do about the actual nose art painted on the jacket itself? Would the "patch painting people" undertake this work on a $1000-1500 plus jacket?

Hi Ross,
Fantastic A2 ! Wow. It's a beauty alright with that excellent jacket art. I know you must be completely proud to own such a unique piece with such sentimental value. Good for you for thinking of reproducing it to honour your grandfather ...

If I may though, I'm not quite sure what you mean by the line you said about "Would the patch painting people undertake this work on a $1000-$1500+ jacket?"

Are you asking if it's worth the risk to paint on a really expensive jacket and risk ruining it?
IMHO, hell yes.

You need a good artist - ask for references and for photos of completed work - and I would ask to see any template they draft for you to both approve the work and the position on the jacket before they begin. It's a chunk of money you're investing and gambling with, so I would say you have that right.
I would point out that not all artists are created equally - and all have a different "style" - like handwriting. They may do great work, but unless they capture the definite "look" of the original, you won't be happy. If you compare modern nose art against WW2 era nose art, you'll see what i mean. To my eye, modern nose art lacks warmth and charm to me - and is invariably air brushed. It just doesn't look "right" to me. So feel free to nix anyone who produces art that just doesn't appeal to you and your eye, no matter how happy their other customers may be. You are after an exact copy of classic pin-up art from that era after all.
I would also stipulate that this work must be done - at least in part - in oil paint. The flesh tones could be done in acrylics but that blue circle would have to be done in oil as it is very slow drying (up to a week)- acrylics set too quickly and so a few batches would be needed to be mixed and achieving consistency of a single colour like that would be tricky - if not impossible. Oil would be a safer bet.
By way of an example, I posted pictures here of some jacket art (Stand By) I did 20 years ago on my ANJ-3 thread and you'll see the smoke that occupies much of the lower design - that goes from dark to light gradually - that was done in oil (as was the girl) and could only have been done in oil to achieve that subtle but definite blend.
And I would hazard a guess that the original was done in oil anyway, so all the better to keep it close to the original.

 

[bretron]

That is one of thee finest looking jackets I've ever seen (yeah, the pin-up doesn't hurt either ). Wow!

The key is finding the right guy for each element (jacket, patches and nose art). This will not be a one-stop shop kinda job, and will take some investment (time and cash). but after all is said and done, and you do it right you will have an unbelievable reproduction that will have more personal connection/ meaning behind it than any jacket most of us on here could dream of owning. Good luck!

 

[ButteMT61]

Ross: Awesome jacket! Very nice to have something that special in your family.
I had a patch made by Jim @ VLJ "jbmilart". Here's some pics below. The patch is of my father's unit - "23rd Bombardier Squadron". The pics show a leather hand-painted patch in two stages - I wanted an aged one in the end. You can see how good the work is. There are others there too, but this is one I just had made up for a jacket I'm putting together.
Good luck on yours - can't wait to see the finished jacket.

 

[Deleted member 16736]

Jerome Urbaniak is very good and charges about $500 for a girl like that. At least that's what he was going to charge me before I realized my jacket didn't fit. Sean Collins is also excellent, but I believe he charges much more. You'll have to check with them for definite prices, but I think those are the top jacket painters. By the way, your jacket is stunning. the painting is in pristine condition. Hard to believe it's 70 years old.

 

[Stand By]

And you may like to check out www.italianpatchmaker.it to see Roberto Bandecca's patch work - he did the patches for the A2s for the principal actors of Red Tails and he can "age" them too.
He did the patches for my ANJ-3 and is a total pleasure to work with - and each patch is around $40-$50 incl. postage. Again, just see his work and see if it appeals to your eye - and see as many artists' work as you can. As I always say, choosing between with these things is not unlike choosing between Pepsi and Coke; some people like Pepsi and others like Coke. Some don't know or care about the difference. They're both great colas and I know that I really like both. But given a choice, I prefer Pepsi.
And similarly, you should go with whoever appeals to your eye. It's a personal and subjective choice, but you're investing a lot of money so it's yours to make.
Enjoy the hunt !

 

[Mr. Scratch]

Setting aside the family history, your jacket is a real prize. The pin-up back is classic. I think your idea of having it reproduced is an excellent one; in fact, I did the same in reproducing my own grandfather's jacket.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?44188-Incendiary-Blonde-A-2-Jacket

Mine was done by www.victorygirl.com and has held up excellent after 3 years of intermittent wear. I definitely think you should do this, and on a quality jacket as you suggest.

 

[Stand By]

And THAT is beautiful work! It looks just right to me after being "aged". Bravo to the artist. Bulls-eye!

 

[Ross817]

All,
I really appreciate the quick replys. This forum continues to be a invaluable resource on this and my upcoming Aero Cafe Racer purchase. Ill try to get the jacket out this weekend and post some additional pictures with better lighting.

 

[Plumbline]

stunning jacket .....

and I can understand totally why you'd want a repro ....... a great project, best of luck with it Ross.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Jerome Urbaniak is very good and charges about $500 for a girl like that. At least that's what he was going to charge me before I realized my jacket didn't fit. Sean Collins is also excellent, but I believe he charges much more. You'll have to check with them for definite prices, but I think those are the top jacket painters. By the way, your jacket is stunning. the painting is in pristine condition. Hard to believe it's 70 years old.

I just read through this entire thread and will give my thoughts as a patch and nose art painter that turned focus on the multi-piece leather method. Quoting Joel because I just covered this same topic in another forum.

First of all, years ago I pretty much put my paints and brushes away after seeing numerous painters pop up out of the woodwork. I just saw too many craft store paint pen jobs flood the market. Like jbmilart, I used the trusty old paintbrush, shading and highlighting, with a little artistic license. This is why we are partners now, he's the painter, and I'm multi-piece leather, we both have very high standards and are trying to cover numerous other bases that are untouched. Look closely at all of his work, there's plenty of examples in the squadron patch thread as of yesterday and you will see how he stands out. The problem is that these days, everything seems like another coloring book page to me, I'm not knocking limited abilities, it just is what it is. A guy with a paint pen set and some tracing paper can knock out a good clean technically perfect job in no time. And if that's good enough for you, so be it, you have a wide price range and plenty to choose from. If you want an artistically rendered patch, you will pay a little more from a select few.

Jerome, he is an excellent painter with reasonable prices. But I know of one guy that's been waiting for his jacket four years and gets no replies after countless attempts to contact him. There's others as well but I don't know the details so I won't comment anymore about it. I'm not sure he's even taking orders these days. My guess from experience is that with such a low price for such quality work, I myself would be buried to a point where I just couldn't do it all. And eventually all would go on the back burner while I hid my head in the sand.

Painting ladies is very focused work and takes a keen eye, so I won't touch it for under a thousand base price. I use airbrush but I don't have to, I can paint with brushes as well. And I approve and accept custom nose art jobs, I do not compete for them.

A few examples and my policy is 1000.00 base price to be paid in in advance with an 8-12 week turnaround. If that doesn't cut it for a guy, I've got plenty else to do at basically the same rate.

 

[ButteMT61]

Those are damn nice!!!

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Those are damn nice!!!

Thanks,

By the way guys, it is not my intention with the last line and photos to promote or sell my nose art here. I really am just trying to point out how true artists need to be compensated for their efforts and abilities. I just happen to be confident enough to say take it or leave it. Can't say that I've seen anyone charging too much because low cost should be more of a concern.

 

[Ross817]

Those are damn nice!!!

Agreed. Very Impressive.

 

[gtdean48]

Lounger HarpPlayerGene, the guy in the middle, did these 3 jackets. I'm on far right.
He is a professional artist in Florida.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Wow! Top Notch. How does one get in touch with him and does he have a website? I'm always looking for a place to refer someone for this kind of work.