398th BS - WIP

[Yardstick]

Had a few hours free this afternoon, so knocked out a 'fake' silk-screen on canvas version of the 398th Bomb Squadron patch. I say fake because I use a brush rather than a silk-screening press. My technique is to use heavily watered-down paints on damp canvas and then replicate the colour overlap/underlap that is characteristic of the multi-pass silk-screening process. This one will be finished with the buff cotton bias tape edging that is seen on many of these US produced canvas patches. My version - top, original reference image - below.

 

[Nickb123]

Talent. A lot of it.

 

[FlakMagnet]

Fan-freakin-tastic!

 

[warguy]

Really well done!

 

[JonnyCrow]

Very nice

 

[ausreenactor]

Talent. A lot of it.

I am struggling to work out what my skills are.

Can still put five x 9mm slugs into 2" at 10m. Bout it..

 

[Nickb123]

I am struggling to work out what my skills are.

Can still put five x 9mm slugs into 2" at 10m. Bout it..

Useful when called upon!

 

[Yardstick]

Thanks for the nice comments . Here's another ersatz silk-screened on canvas patch. This is one of three designs for the 452nd Bomb Squadron, a 9th AAF B-26 medium bomb squadron. Of the three designs, two were apparently adopted, while the third was the original rejected design - which oddly also seems to have been made into an embroidered patch. This is the 2nd official version - another Disney design.

 

[VeraVoulik]

Very impressed by this technic and your skill with it! Love it!

 

[Yardstick]

Very impressed by this technic and your skill with it!

Thanks Vera.

I stumbled across it by accident. Prior to that, I had painted a number of canvas patches that were sealed with gesso primer and with these the paint just sits on the sealed surface. However, I noticed that there were some patches where the paint seemed to have soaked into the raw canvas i.e. these silk-screened ones. After I attempted to paint on un-sealed canvas, I quickly found I had to water down the paint massively - too thick and the paint goes on like glue and too thin and it starts to soak sideways into the fabric. Get it right and you can replicate the silk screen effect. However, there is v. little room for error as the thinned-down paint is very translucent and I have to sketch out the design faintly to avoid it showing through. Then it's a case of doing a single pass for each colour, replicating the overlaps and gaps typical in the originals and doing it all in one sitting, as once the paint dries the next coat won't soak in.

 

[warguy]

Really so cool. You have mastered that technique!

 

[FlakMagnet]

Do you use gesso on the fabric before painting?

 

[Yardstick]

Do you use gesso on the fabric before painting?

Not on these - they’re painted on raw canvas. But I have used gesso on other canvas patches.

 

[ausreenactor]

No PC printer in the production line?

Long story...

 

[Yardstick]

Another one to share with you all, 558th BS of the 387th BG. It's a really great design and one I have wanted to do for a while now.

 

[Yardstick]

2 more to add to the collection. 555th BS and 314th BS. I need to finish all of these and edge them now.

 

[ausreenactor]

Another one to share with you all, 558th BS of the 387th BG. It's a really great design and one I have wanted to do for a while now.

View attachment 85973

View attachment 85975

Stunning reproduction work!

 

[Yardstick]

I completely forgot about these patches and rediscovered then in a pile of stuff. Since I already had the bias binding, I went ahead and finished them in the style of the original US made patches. I'm pleased with how they came out. I thought I'd have to be very precise with the stitching but it turns out there is quite a lot of room for error, so went ahead and I did it by hand.

I like how they look, so added the 16th PRS and 449th BS to the collection.

 

[Abyss]

Amazing work! Nice job!

 

[Yardstick]

Amazing work! Nice job!

Thanks and to all those who liked the pics of the finished work.