Customer Reviews

Fighting Colors: The Creation of Military Aircraft Nose Art

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

The new paperback edition of this book is an outright abomination, and anyone who buys it (as I did) is a fool. The original hardcover edition had a fair amount of color, as any book on aircraft nose art should have. But here is what is said on the title page of this paperback edition:

"NOTE ON COLOR: This book was originally printed in hardback with color. This version is black and white so references to color may not apply. To see color versions of nose art restoration, visit fighting colors.com."

And if that's not bad enough, the reproduction of the now black-and-white photos in this edition is terrible! And they dare to charge a color-book price for this piece of trash? And what's the shame is that Velasco's editorial content is excellent, but it's wasted here.

I am returning my copy for credit. I urge anyone contemplating buying this paperback edition to turn the other way as quickly as possible, and try and hunt down a good copy of the original hardcover editon instead.

This is a soft cover black & white reprint of the highly regarded hard cover color version that documented so much of the nose-art that was all the fashion on bomber and fighter aircraft during World War II. This book focuses on the art that flourished in the Pacific Theater where the art form was less restricted than in Europe. The author, Gary Velasco, is not only a scholar of the genre, he is an artist and paints restorations and recreations of nose-art for restored aircraft and those interested in having "panels" (the section of the nose with the art - mostly painted on "skin" from old aircraft or recreated to appear like the original aircraft skin). I am delighted this book exists because most of this artwork is gone. Some were lost in battle, others were destroyed by repainting and re-use during the war (even though many worked to retain their artwork despite repainting), and much was lost to scrap after the war. We need a document such as this book and its related website to preserve this heritage.

The author provides you with a history of the practice and how it was done. Frankly, I was a bit taken back by how risqué much of it was. But then again, if you consider that they were young men, far away from home, and fighting for lives you can easily understand why scantily clad and naked women would be on their minds. But many are also cartoon characters, religious symbols, and others are just stylized lettering. You may object to the nudity, but history is what it is and the art was what it was. By today's standards it is mostly tasteful and relatively tame. But you should be prepared for what is here.

Each chapter gives as much detail about the men and the aircraft as the author has. I was touched by one dispute over the exact color scheme for "Sack Time". The author disagrees with the color scheme of the skin on display in a museum in Texas. But he notes that the crew members who were alive at the time the book was originally published did not remember the color scheme. The author makes his case for his doubts by discussing the surviving black and white photos and the ways color were displayed in various shades depending on the type of black and white film used.

The last chapter discusses the author's restorations, the materials used, the research involved, and the difficult conditions under which the originals and the restorations were painted.

Fascinating stuff.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Saline, MI.

The book is historically accurate and extensively researched. There is no R-rated material in the book. The artwork on the planes reflects young men at war, who lived like there was no tomorrow. For a number of them, there was no tomorrow. Buy the book.

This book is junk. First it's not in color (by the title you would think it was) They don't tell you till you open the book.The pictures are not very clear .This book is not like the original.Save your money!!!!!

I read all of the reviews before I purchased this softbound reprint - even the sole negative review. Still, I was inclined to give it the benefit of a doubt, and I ordered it anyway.

I should have listened to my gut.

I should probably preface this with the fact that I am a lifelong military aviation aficionado who spends an inordinate amount of time doing historical research in the midst of my work as an aviation artist - with either the tenacity of a junkyard dog, or just an overdose of OCD, take your pick. If you are a novice on the subject of military aircraft nose art, and you have absolutely nothing else in your library on the subject, this book may not be a bad starting point. But, for anything other than a beginner, it's a complete write-off.

Where to start?

Typos, beginning with the Contents page, where one segment is labeled "510th Fighter Group" (there was no such animal in the Army Air Forces), but properly labeled 510th Fighter Squadron (part of the 405th "Thunder Monsters" Fighter Group) on the actual pages.

The reproductions are generally muddy.

The paper is cheap.

There isn't really a logical layout to the format; there's a plethora of B-24 nose art (with a billboard-sized fuselage, it begs for some sprucing up), and a dearth of fighter noses. Additional information - like units of assignment, or assigned pilots - is haphazard at best. To add insult to injury, the final portions of the book are devoted to the author's own efforts at reproducing nose art on some of today's restored "warbirds" and museum display aircraft. All executed with workmanlike quality, but does it really have a place alongside "the real thing?"

If you are a serious nose art enthusiast, take a "pass" on ordering this book. If, by some chance, it shows up under your Christmas tree from one of your kids, or Aunt Gertrude, smile sweetly, say "Thank You" - and take it to the local used book store for something you really can use.

An excellent surprise :

Wide choice of photographs. Some rarely or never seen before, such as a "sharkmouthed" F-4F Wildcat.

Mostly bombers nose arts (huge variety of B-24 Liberators), but some fighters or transports also.

A few oldies from WW1, and others from Korea and Vietnam.

This is an excellent look at noseart. Some of the noseart is a bit "racy", but nothing out of the ordinary, considering the context of the times. The expressions of healthy, often lonely young men at war, many who did not return from their missions over enemy territory. Hopefully the author will produce another volume.

The artwork should have been rated R for adult. I bought it for a gift and when I received it, it was too racy to give.