Project started: ELC Star Sportwear with jacket art!

[better duck]

OK guys,
Tonight I gave the green light for a great undertaking, celebrating (albeit a bit early) my 50th birthday coming October 17.
I will order a ELC size 46 Star Sportswear and collect it in July, than have it fitted with a 751st BS, 457th BG Squadron Patch made by Robin Mott, then, on the way home, will deliver the jacket to have in painted by Robin with the "Home James" motto and Elvgren pinup "Kneeding a lift" . This design is after a real jacket, that existed back then and is pictured in "Vintage Nose Art" by Gary Valent as shown here, together wit the original pinup by Elvgren:
I'm very much looking forward to working with Robin to create this work of (jacket) art - and I'll keep you guys posted.
I've copied this thread from old VLJ and will continue it here!

Peter

 

[better duck]

Well, I have been away for some time, and no, the project isn't going anywhere right now, due to financial difficulties thanks to divorce tribulations. But I owe you guys the update going back to the summer holidays. I then a) collected my 751st Bomb Squadron Patch from Robin Mott in front of the ELC stand at Duxford on July 7th, b) collected my ELC Star at ELC's near Ivybridge, and c) visited Glatton airbase, where th 457th BG was based and took photographs of the monument in the village of Conington (closest to the former airbase but sounding too much like Coningsby, hence the naming of the base after another village close by). Here is for your enjoyment:

My little daughter Jiska in front of ELC's; minutes later she was asleep in the afternoon warmth:

Some photo's of the 457th monument in Conington village:

And then some pictures of the finished product (as far as the front is concerned, the back art will wait for better times):

Interesting to note about the fit of the Star (size 46, as is my very tight fitting ELC Werber, or more roomy / baggy ELC Rough Wear): it looks alright, but it feels as if another jacket lover would fit in no problem together with me, so very baggy. The leather is ELC's War Horse, and very thin. The collar is very pointy and quite large.

Well, that's it for now folks, more, I expect, somewhere in the spring of 2008, when I will contact Robin Mott again to start work on the back art.

 

[better duck]

Just to let you guys know what I had to consider before ending at the beginning of my project together with ELC and Robin Mott. Hard work, lots of thinking can go into a hobby like ours...
The text is part of an e-mail to Robin in which I explained how I came to choose the ELC Star as a jacket and "Home James" and the 457th BG and 751st BS for art and squadron patch.

Hope you appreciate this:

"Now about my decision to go for the combination of this art, squadron patch with the 457th / 751st. My reasoning (deductive and inductive reasoning, my dear Watson) is as follows:

# In Vintage Nose Art underneath the photograph it says "457 BS 401 BG"
# But the 401st BG didn't have a squadron with that number, so something in this caption is not right.
# There is however the 457th BG, and, lo and behold, if you visit the website of the 457th, you'll find they had a B17 named "Home James" in the 751st BS. There is a picture of the plane in the nose art section.
# Also interesting to find there is the fact that this plane was probably first alloted to a lieutenant James (surname!) and crew, which explains the Home James pun.
# I have not been able to find any reference to a "Home James" plane in the 401st BG (their website is being renewed now).
# On the B&W photo of the Home James jacket, you can see it is a jacket without a collarstand (as per Star) and it appears quite dark - as per Star.

Then away from some facts and into the realm of emotion:
I feel as if I've known the 457th a long time, as it was in 1977 that I bought a small book by Ken Blakebrough about the 457th BG called "The Fireball Outfit" (the booklet is integrally copied on the website, but I have an original and, as it seems, something of a collectorsitem)

The "Home James" motto has been around in my head for a number of years, don't know why.
I don't know if for you Brits it has any special meaning, but for me, it calls up the image of an rich / aristocratic (the two don't necessarily go together) person who, after a day/evening of pleasure or work, says "Home James" to his trusted valet, butler, chauffeur.
Now two years ago I was in Rotterdam, visiting a friend. In the evening, as I sat on my bike (i.e. motorbike, BMW K1200RS)to make the 220 km return journey again, I suddenly found myself thinking and almost saying out loud "Home James" to the black, 130 hp trusted steed - and rode off north-eastward into the twilight, feeling quite content. Home James, to the girls back home.
This so struck me and stuck with me so intensely, that a couple of months later I had "Home James" put on my bike on both sides of the tank, in elegant blue lettering. I'll send you a picture, but I'll have to resize it first!

Another, more prosaic consideration is, that in my position (townclerk in a rural municipality and thus being one of the dignitaries of the village I live in) I can hardly afford to walk around sporting a more risqué picture or even naked lady on the back of a jacket! "kneeding a lift" is as risqué as I am prepared to account for!

Well so much as to reasoning and my deeper musings that led me to this project!"

 

[better duck]

Just found out something interesting, hidden deep in a sub-site of the 457th BG website, adding to the hunch that the "Home James" jacket art might have belonged to a 457th BG crew member from the "Home James" crew:
Here are two photos, the first one of the officers mess at Glatton, and look at the wall, far right:

The next picture is a close-up of the poster on that part of the wall, and what do we have: Elvgren's "Knee-ding a lift" life size on that wall!

Here also is a picture of where Robin and I stopped in the design process about six months ago, because of my divorce:

I am not satisfied with the lettering of the "Home James" caption: it doesn't look period enough. I'll probably ask Robin to copy the style of lettering that was used on the plane:

That's all for now, folks

 

[bseal]

Better Duck,

I want to see your project completed.

 

[better duck]

Better Duck,
I want to see your project completed.

Aye, I can well imagine: if you already feel that way, imagine what I feel...
But I've just picked up contact with Robin Mott, to see when he can find the time to do the back painting: he mailed me back that it will probably be next year ...
So I'm thinking through my options right now!

 

[bseal]

I know you know of a man with the initials Jerome U.

Why you even delaying? Funds? Fear?

 

[better duck]

I know you know of a man with the initials Jerome U.
Why you even delaying? Funds? Fear?

Bseal, we are on one and the same line of reasoning here. Question is: how easy/difficult and/or expensive is it to have a second hand jacket sent over from the UK (where it presently is) to the USA, have it painted there and then sent onwards to Holland. Maybe there are some forummembers here who have experience with this?

 

[siddhartha]

I love this whole story, how you have decided which art to put on the back of your jacket. If I had some attachment to a certain group, I would have had it done a while ago. (I considered "Murder, Inc." but thought that might not go over too well for someone in my profession!).

Keep us updated!

Chris

 

[bseal]

$150 give or take would be my guess. Don't eat out for two weeks and you should be set. :twisted:

 

[dujardin]

good story, good choice, good explanation, impatient to see the result. she will be a splendid jacket.

en bedankttttttt héééééééééééééééé

byeeeeeeee marcel

 

[Curahee]

Peter, all I can say is "Ga d'r gewoon voor!!" just read the saying underneath "If you want something.......

 

[better duck]

I decided to stick to Robin Mott, the artist I originally contacted, with whom I discussed the design of the jacket art and who made the patch that I asked ELC to sew on the jacket. I met Robin last year at Duxford and enjoyed that. So I thought: what difference do another 12 months make, I already delayed about a year.
So, bseal, like me: you'll have patient. In Holland we have a proverb that goes "What's in the vat doesn't sour". That goes for whisky anyway, and very probably for an A2 with artwork as well!

In the meantime, I'll be the happy recipient of a GW Dubow in goat in a couple of months time to bridge the gap! Yeh folks, life sucks!! :lol:

 

[better duck]

ELC Star Sportwear with jacket art! An update

Last Saturday, at the Flying Legends Airshow at Duxford, I met Robin Mott again, and gave him my ELC Star, as the canvas for his next (!) project. Robin had first mailed me, that I was 3rd of 4th in line and maybe even had to wait as long as Spring '09 for him to get to my "Knee-ding a Lift" project. When we met last Saturday, together with Tim from VLJ, Robin told me, that the other customers in line, for one reason or another had either decided to cancel their project of hadn't been heard of again. Robin had especially waited till we met at the airshow to tell me the good news.
So the jacket is now in his possesion, and we wil start discussing the ins & outs of the artwork again! Very much looking forward to that, and I will keep you guys posted...

 

[T-Bolt]

Great news, Peter!! Good luck with your jacket project!.......keep us up to speed with how it's going.


Ted

 

[Andrew]

Man you have patience Peter. It can't be his main source of income or else he'd starve. I'm interested to see the end result- tell him there's a bunch of hangers on waiting as well

 

[Anonymous]

I love this whole story, how you have decided which art to put on the back of your jacket. If I had some attachment to a certain group, I would have had it done a while ago. (I considered "Murder, Inc." but thought that might not go over too well for someone in my profession!).

Keep us updated!

Chris

Murder Inc has a hell of a good history behind it! I love the gangster thing and the way the germans played it with downed airmen! After that there were many AAF restrictions on jacket/nose art. Cool history lesson!

 

[better duck]

tell him there's a bunch of hangers on waiting as well

He knows, as he is one of us on VLJ! I just posted a question in a new thread about one of the ideas I had in the meantime, one that Robin already put in a 4th draft of the jacket art. Great to work with him - and to have things rolling again. The delay (caused by my divorce) has been exactly one year!

 

[better duck]

An update: I received the 7th draft of the pin-up on the back, and the 3rd draft of a bombtally for the right chest area.
I OK-ed both, so we are nearing the moment that Robin (the artist) will put his brushes to the leather. Tomorrow or the day after I will post pictures of the final drafts

 

[better duck]

So here they are, the finalised drafts of both the back art:

and the bomb tally:

As to the bomb tally: on VLJ 2 or 3 I once argued against having such a thing on a (repro) jacket; reasoning: I have never flown into harms way once, like they did many times, so I'm not entitled to such a "badge of honour".
I've come back from that line of argument, and now think: there is a story to tell, that needs and deserves to be told, and I can tell it anytime someone asks me about that row of bombs and the one parachute symbol on the right chest of my ELC Star jacket.

I'm curious about your opinions on this!