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Nose Art for RoadstersAuthentic Paint For World War II Aircraft-Inspired Rods From the January, 2010 issue of Street Rodder By Tim Bernsau Photography by Frank Wallic
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Imperfection was one of the... Imperfection was one of the things Christy Wallic had to concentrate on to make her replica nose art look authentic. Unlike pinup artists like George Petty who used airbrushes to create perfect images, nose art painters were sometimes amateurs who had to use whatever materials they could get their hands on. The original lettering was painted freehand and was not even or symmetrical. Christy had to overcome the urge to improve it. In the past few years, we've seen the influence of World War II aircraft styles on early roadsters-such as Todd Kindler's Spitfire '32 in this very magazine. Historically, it makes sense since many of the guys who flew bombers and fighters during the war were the same guys who had been building rods just a few years earlier-or who would pick up mechanical skills and a taste for performance during the war and apply that to cars when they got stateside again. Although hot rods of the late-'40s weren't built to resemble war planes, they borrowed a lot of aircraft elements. Surplus parts were plentiful and were modified for use on those cars, and graphic elements (such as flames) quickly made the transition from the air to the street. No bomber-inspired rod would be complete without some cool nose art somewhere. Todd Kindler borrowed his boxing eagle from the Eagle Squadron. For his own in-progress roadster, Frank Wallic has chosen to replicate the famous Memphis Belle nose art on the inside door panels, and commissioned his daughter, Christy Wallic, to do the job. Just like on the Memphis Belle,... Just like on the Memphis Belle, Frank Wallic's roadster will have mirror image paintings of the pinup model. Christy drew the outline in pencil on this bare metal practice panel to figure out how the illustration would look on the small, square area of the door panel. The riveted horizontal panel was added so she could see how that would effect the artwork. "It was mostly just guessing," Christy explained. "I drew her a few times because I wanted to get it right. The original nose art painter probably just drew her on once." Most of the nose art created during the war was influenced by-or directly copied from-cheesecake pinup posters from magazines like Esquire and True, or from other sources like the Ridge Tool Company calendars. Painting these pinup girls on the fuselages of the aircraft-and giving them names-was a way to identify and personalize the planes, and to inspire the crews. The Memphis Belle is probably the most famous example. The original pinup was created by George Petty for the April '41 issue of Esquire, and copied onto the nose of the legendary B-17 bomber by Cpl. Tony Starcer. Cpl. Starcer depicted the famous Petty girl, almost life-size, as a blonde in a blue bathing suit on the left side of the plane, and reversed the image and changed her suit and her hair to red on the right side. The name Memphis Belle was taken from the name of a fictional Mississippi River gambling boat in the '42 movie Lady for a Night. Christy's challenge was to recreate the famous pinup as it appeared on the plane, but closer to the size of the original magazine art. After studying old photos of pinups and original nose art, she painted this first sample panel, which is now proudly displayed in STREET RODDER Editor Brian Brennan's office. "I would have preferred to actually see some of these planes in real life to get a sense of the size-the way it looks up close," she said. "I know the fellows who painted them didn't have a lot of time to put a lot of thought into it. They weren't trying to paint masterpieces, but they did." We asked Christy to describe the process she used to create hot rod sized nose art that looks like the real thing.  Here on the bare metal test...  Here on the bare metal test panel, the pencil outlined foot and shoe has been drawn over with a Sharpie marker to provide a general idea of the lines.  Instead of bare metal, Frank...  Instead of bare metal, Frank and Christy decided to paint the figure over distressed olive drab paint. Frank started with lighter green chrome oxide, covering it with darker two-part epoxy primer from Aircraft Spruce, which carries aircraft supplies. He used 320-grit sandpaper to bring out the different colors, followed with a heavy Scotch-Brite pad, "which helped get the rivets to pop," he said. The best part of the process, he said, is that you can't screw up; you can just take off the paint and do it again.  After creating the outline...  After creating the outline of the figure, Christy painted the entire figure, from head to toe in a skintone basecoat. "Then I painted layers on top of that-the suit color, and shoe, and then the hair-rather than jigsaw puzzle the image in various pieces." She painted the Memphis Belle lettering at same time that she painted the hair, using the same gold color.  Christy experimented with...  Christy experimented with acrylics and oils before choosing enamel One-Shot for this artwork. "Most people use it for painting signs or pinstriping, not for applying it onto a picture," she told us, "so I had to learn how to use it." She also had to learn to accept brush strokes, which were part of the look. Unlike the airbrushed illustrations that inspired it, nose art shows quickly applied strokes, as well as runs from the planes taking off with wet paint.  With the additional colors...  With the additional colors painted, but prior to the final black outline, Christy used white paint and a small brush to add highlights, giving dimension to the figure. She also painted gold and white into the hair. Instead of blending the paint, she keeping a hard edge, copying the style of the nose art. "In the pinup, of course, she was softer, gauzier, and very airbrushed looking."  Painting the black body lines,...  Painting the black body lines, telephone receiver, and outline was the final step of painting. "I used a larger brush when painting the body, and a smaller brush for the details and outline. It's larger than a pinstriping brush length, which would be a little harder to control, but the longer bristles hold more paint." The phone cord is a low-key detail from the original art that adds a little bit of design and creates a story for the picture.  "The shoe is my favorite part,"...  "The shoe is my favorite part," Christy admitted. "I like the way the laces loop up. There is more detail in the shoe than in most of the rest of the image."  The enamel One-Shot had a...  The enamel One-Shot had a shiny finish so, to make it look more authentic, Christy used a Scotch-Brite pad to carefully knock out some of the gloss without erasing any of the image.  Finally, the test panel in...  Finally, the test panel in place in Frank's roadster. The picture on the driver side door, will be a mirror image. The figures on the Memphis Belle were also mirror images. Since the artwork is on the inside instead of outside like on the plane, Christy reversed their position; the art from the right side of the plane is on the left door and vice versa. If you were paying attention, you'll notice that this blonde belle wearing a red suit is not accurate to the plane. On the final panels, Christy will give the blonde a blue suit, and her red-haired twin will wear a red suit, just like on the Memphis Belle.
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