Choosing your subjects....

[BarryW]

In the past I have built mainly 'out of the box' subjects perhaps enhanced by aftermarket decals to depict missing details such as swastikas or walk lines. In a minority of cases I have built subjects that are not in the kit using the aftermarket, most notable are my Tamiya 1/32 Mustang P51 built as a RAF 112 sqn MkIV using decals from 3 seperate sets and my Trumpeter 1/32 Wildcat built as a NAS Martlett using Miracle Masks.


With the volume of aftermarket decals out there we really are free from just building whatever subject you get in the box. Some care over type and sub-type needs to be taken but thats what Google is for. To me half the fun is in doing the research.


Building mainly in 1/32 as well you can really appreciate the great nose art many decal sets depict. Looking around I have ben really struck by some of the brilliant 'naked or near naked lady' nose art, mainly on US aircraft. We have to remember of course that these WW2 pilots were testosterone fuelled teenagers in many cases and few were older than in their 20's, far from home in a very male orientated world. So its not exactly surprising to see this particular type of nose art.


Off-the-shelf models rarely depict these kinds of subjects, the 1/32 Revell P39 Aircobra being an exception.


Kits-World and Pyn-Up produce some brilliant decal sets and I cannot resist some of them.


I am planning to build 5 of the kits in my stash using subjects that are not in the box. One of my Corsairs will be a FAA aircraft but the other 4 will be depicting some of the nose art I have referred to.


Creamers Dream and Passion Wagon P51s are brilliant and I just cannot resist building them, so much I have now two Tamiya P51s in my stash while already having built one.


It was more difficult to find such a subject for a Spitfire, but there are a couple and I have chosen a MkVIII, Pauline, which depicts another great piece of nude art-work.


For a Corsair, I found an interesting option, Ramblin Wreck, which had a panel from Marine's Dream on the cowl, more scantilly clad than nude. This as a very weathered and battered aircraft so I can go to town on weathering.


There are just so many great subjects with this kind of nose art for the future all with 1.32 scale kits available, P61's, P39's, P38's, B25's, B17's etc etc. I am not sure how I will display a 1/32 B17 yet when I move to my new house but I will find a way even if it means buying a shed just to display my models!!


I will not make this a primary factor when I pick a build but there is no doubt that this adds some extra interest and I will look out for such interesting options. Maybe I am becoming a 'dirty old man' as I get older, but hey-ho!!!! At least I am not on porn sites!!


Are there any particular influences over the subjects you pick, I dont mean the models themselves, but the markings that you choose?

[BarryW]

Here are some pics of the artwork so can see what I mean:






Creamers Dream above shows some really quite crude artwork that has a charm in itself.






Passion Wagon above is more refined and I am not yet decided which of the two I will build though the camo version without the tail fillet is my initial thought.






Pauline is on the right. I was tempted by the Mk IX but I have already decided to build a MTO version for my Mk IX.






I could have built Marine's Dream herself, there is a decal set, but I thought Ramblin Wreck a more unusual subject offering lot of weathering potential.

[Guest]

I think it is good that nose art is being kept alive. The sheer amount of it proved, rightly or wrongly, that it had a morale boosting element to it. If not, I am sure it would soon have been stopped. The personalisation of aircraft must have given crews a sense of belonging and ownership that helped them through such traumatic times. It still goes on today in a much scaled down sense.


Also, the guys who actually painted these things were great artists and often remaind unsung talents. Go for it Barry, be great if you could research some of the background to it as well.

[rickoshea52]

Most of my builds have been out of the box but some have been chosen because I have previously worked on them, seen the aircraft or have been inspired by some other factor.


I chose the 230 Sqn Tigermeet scheme from RIAT 1997 because I was on the detachment that took part. http://www.scale-models.co.uk/thread...5/#post-210285


The 1/144 Seakings that I am building are again inspired from my time on D Flt 202 Sqn when we had a standard yellow cab and a grey FI variant on the flight.


For the Mig-21 build later this year I will do an Ethiopian Air Force example because I just returned from there and fancied doing something a little different.


With my model railway I have done renumbering jobs on loco's to recreate a specific machine for the region and era my layout represents. This can be as simple as changing the running number and adding a depot badge.