1:32 Nose Art Series

Nose art in one thirty-second

Personal decoration on the nose of an aircraft began as a private matter for the crews and quickly became the recognition mark of whole squadrons. It was drawn with a brush straight onto a finished camouflage coat, so its edges were never perfectly smooth and the colors varied with whatever was to hand at the squadron. It is exactly this impression of handwork that a decal with its carrier film imitates badly, whereas spraying through a mask is a step closer to the real thing.

Which machines the set covers

According to the manufacturer four types are prepared: the P-51B Mustang, the Spitfire VB, the Razorback P-47D and the Hawk H-75. It is therefore a cross-section of the fighter force of 1940 to 1944, from a British intruder through a French prewar type to two American long-range escorts. The masks are cut to high precision, so even thin strokes of the outline hold their shape and the lettering stays legible. In one thirty-second the drawing moreover has enough room to be finished with a brush where the real subject had an irregularity.

A procedure in which the order matters

Let the camouflage cure properly, not merely dry to the touch. Stick the mask on, press the edges down with the blunt tip of a toothpick and spray in several light coats; a single heavy coat will run under the edge and blur the outline. On a multicolored painting work from the lightest tone to the darkest and let the paint go off between steps. Take the mask off before the film has fully hardened, straight upward and slowly. Matte the finished painting together with the rest of the airframe, so that it does not stand out of the surface like a sticker.