Painted Flight Jackets - Planes, Names, and Dames

[442RCT]

Found it, should be an F-84, not an F-86!

Yikes ! Too late now :eusa_doh:

Actually, I wanted an F-86, when I think of jet fighter vs jet fighter over the skies of Korea, it was the legenday Sabres vs. Migs duels. :fencing:

 

[ButteMT61]

Yikes ! Too late now :eusa_doh:

Actually, I wanted an F-86, when I think of jet fighter vs jet fighter over the skies of Korea, it was the legenday Sabres vs. Migs duels. :fencing:

Check this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160591453633&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[Rupert]

Hey 442,

Did you ever get around to trying that ageing method you mentioned a little while ago.

I tried something called acrylic craquelure by Polyvine and got nowhere.The idea was that you'd paint a basecoat of this on, paint your design, and then paint on a coat of topcoat and it would crack. I got absolutely nothing - maybe it was only for rigid surfaces.

Anyway, I've finally got myself a fairly beat A2 'style' leather jacket which I'm going to paint for my Gallery and also to wear to airshows so people can see that i can do more than 'heavy metal' designs.

Looking forward to doing plenty of research as to what sort of pinup and aeroplane to use. All I know is she'll have to be a redhead [sigh].

Regards

Rupert

 

[schnittigerschnitzelprinz]

This is my artwork..

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.185997818164807.37934.185972811500641&type=3

Regards
Josh

 

[rocketeer]

I visited the Eastman leather Clothing store at a show recently, Apart from all their jacket range they have an extensive range of pre-painted leather patches. Though these look great on a new jacket, personally I think they look too perfect. Maybe they are done by machine as the appearance is almost decal like.
From my years of collecting old jackets and patches you notice not all are painted by highly gifted artists and range from the classical artist who will detail everything in a Vargas copy to those who can just about make out the female form. Me, I can paint still life to an amateurish extent, but figure painting? I can never get the skin tones right or draw hands that look feminine.
As for squadron patches my favourite have bombs or skulls on them rather than cartoons, I have repro'd a couple but have always used hobby enamel. Let the paint dry over a couple of months then folded the patch against the painting, lastly a coat of varnish helps to seal any loose flakes of paint.
Just for a laugh I put a couple of my patches on a militaria stall I was running, they must have been 20 years old by now and had stitch holes where I had them on an old flight bag. Put a price of £45 on each and almost sold them but as it was to a friend I admitted the truth and let him have them for £25 each. As it was the patches changed hands again over the last 5 years and were last seen being sold as original. If you are ever offered painted patches the only true givaway to something that looks old like this is to smell it, if it smells of paint it's a copy or at least a paint repaired original.
Anyway, here's a couple of my jackets to add to this topic. No back painting.

Johnny, Tee

 

[ButteMT61]

This is my artwork..http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.185997818164807.37934.185972811500641&type=3RegardsJosh

Looks really great Josh! As Rocketeer said above, perfection doesn't work well on a jacket meant to look authentic. You've done well with your work!

 

[Dumpster Diver]

this Deserves a well earned BUMP!

 

[nick123]

This is the most intense thread ever.

 

[majormajor]

Nice to see this old thread again. Some brilliant pics!

There's even one of my old painted A2s (post #224). Not up to the quality of the the real artists on here, but I enjoyed doing it

 

[Rick Blaine]

Anyone familiar with this product?




From Japan, a full size nose art iron on, made for leather. He has great feedback on these.
I was going to try one on the back of my G&B Indiana Jones Jacket. Or do you thing I should get an A-2? [huh]

THANKS!

 

[nick123]

Other than it looking exactly like a girl I briefly dated who dumped me to get back with her ex from Brooklyn, I say go for it!

 

[Stearmen]

Other than it looking exactly like a girl I briefly dated who dumped me to get back with her ex from Brooklyn, I say go for it!

funny you should mention that, I dated a women from NYC back in the 80s, we got along great, one problem, she hated the wide open space. She went back home, I can not stand big cities!

 

[4444Design]

From Japan, a full size nose art iron on, made for leather. He has great feedback on these.
I was going to try one on the back of my G&B Indiana Jones Jacket. Or do you thing I should get an A-2? [huh]

THANKS!

did you finally order?

i also considered to buy but not sure wether those decals really work

 

[Rick Blaine]

did you finally order?

i also considered to buy but not sure wether those decals really work

I did. It has not yet arrived. I'll be back to report my success.

 

[RJR]

Anxious to hear how it works.

 

[Stand By]

I think it's a very pleasing design and very well done.
But if it was me, I'd make my own stencil and paint it on myself in oils and acrylics. That way I wouldn't be trusting anything to a decal; especially when it came to my jacket.

 

[Big J]

I think it's a very pleasing design and very well done.
But if it was me, I'd make my own stencil and paint it on myself in oils and acrylics. That way I wouldn't be trusting anything to a decal; especially when it came to my jacket.

Yeah, I agree. After all, real paint will age authentically. How will the decal look after 5 years?

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

A decal would rub off much like the army air force logo decals they used to apply to the sleeves of jackets back in the day I would think. Acrylic paint is the only way to go as it is flexible enough to last a while. With reasonable care could last a lifetime. "They" say not to wear an acrylic painted jacket in temps under about 40 F or so as the paint can get brittle maybe at very cold temperatures. I would think maybe below freezing, if one was going to be outside for any length of time. I have worn jackets I have painted with acrylics in colder temps, but it never was for more than a few minutes, like from front door to the car to warm it up.
Also I've noticed that goat skin seems to be a better surface for nose art than horse. I painted a horse hide jacket that I had when it was new, and as it developed grain, the paint was cracking along the lines of the grain. Goat already has those little lines I think from the goats when they are wearing the skin. They are smaller animals so maybe just by moving around their skin sort of "breaks in" automatically?

 

[Big J]

A decal would rub off much like the army air force logo decals they used to apply to the sleeves of jackets back in the day I would think.

I'm not so sure about that. Decal technology has changed a lot in the last 70 years, I should imagine.