Fighter/ Warplane theme... (is it overdone?)

Hey guys,

I was considering doing a warbird themed plane but everywhere i look i seem to see one. does that mean its a good idea, or i should stear clear of it. But then again whatever i make it look like, its going to resemble the style of hundreds of others. lets get some opinions.

 

Yes, this is over-done-to-death.
That said, when it's done right, it's cool.
Therein lies the crux.
r

 

your the one that has to live with it..

if you do it,,, go subtle..or not

 

my idea was super subtle, not like those shown, except maybe troy lads hot rod. Most are just over the top, but i had some really simple images.

 

It can be done. but it's hard to pull off without looking hokey, think Pauly on American Choppers .

 

This car was done locally and has a nice subtleness to it but I am not sure this is what you are looking for.

 

I like HOT ROD themed vehicles.... some military theme vehicles are cool, but IMHO too many are overdone.

 

The four you posted are a prime example of what not to do, unless you enjoy driving a clown car. The pickup is especially putrid. Next a bunch of people will post "It's your car, do whatever you want". Yes, thats true it is your car and you can do whatever you want to it. Just dont be surprised when it shows up on the cover of OSR and is the laughing stock of every show you attend.

 

Well i dont like any of thsoe, except the raodster. i just googled airplane themes hot rod.

My idea is a solid blue, with the navy fighter plane logo on the rear quarter, a number on the door, and some small kill flag images. thats it, real sublte, no fake painted on rivets, or old plane parts, just a regualr traditional hot rod, with blue paint and maybe 2 hand painted airplane id peices on the side.

 

Therein lies the problem, you go super subtle yet out there (like the numbers and kill markings), then it looks as if you had an afterthought and just chucked some **** on there....

mix too many ideas and genras and it just wont come together...wont flow...

Go for flow and the rest will follow...

But yes, I think it's overdone.

I say still go after the fighter blue with other touches that lend itself to aviation but arnt specifically "warplane-esk"

 

it's your car. to answer your question, yes it's pretty overdone in my personal opinion.

how about giving it the theme of a bad*** hot rod?

 

Well my idea is to replicare a corsair, the idential same markings, which is only 3 or so. just hte number, navy symbol, and the kill shots.

 

and yes, i do have a bad *** hotrod in the works, but i am thinking for the next one, ive got lying around here somewhere! got to change it up a little right?

 

but like you, i fear its overdone, though i wonder if over the top is overdone, and sublte would be really really nice. dunno

 

I think the premise was the influence of the war, its equipment, and experiences that influenced hot rodding/racing. It seems that folks over-interpreted this to be hot rods made to mimic equipment used in the war. B*** ackwards in some cases.

P-32 looked good, but did not try to go WAY overboard. I like the nose art on some cars and maybe some random bits (seats/belts, maybe steering wheel, lights, gauges, etc.) is cool. But when you pack the car full, it starts to get overkill.

Then again, perhaps it is just another variety of style. If we all did it the same..

 

i see your point. I was thinking just the paint and seatbelt, im not a big fan of the million switches on the dash, and the fake guns and fake rivets and bullet hole stickers. Less is more if it still gets the point across i think. ill draw what i have in mind and try to get some more opinions.

 

I've seen the '55 Chevy in person, when you go to that level of tribute it is strictly a show car at that point IMO.

 

who cares what everybody thinks man, it is your ride, fly it!

 

MAN, I wish you would have posted this several months ago. I saw an issue of a rodding mag where a guy had done up his ride in a very subtle way. He didn't make it *overt* that it had drawn inspiration from WWII, he did it in the construction...NOT the paint. That's what all these guys are doing in your photos. They take the stereotypical approach.

Some of ya'll might have seen this same mag recently, but the owner used gauges and belt buckles out of a B-17, I think. He had a similar material used for the seats as the padding did in the plane, same style of s***ching. He used the same type of machine screws on his dash, and he had an overhead console running down the middle that had all of the goodies and switches for various accessories, so it looked tastefully like the ****pit of the plane...like the guys who designed that also designed the interior of his car. The color was the dark olive green...little bit of slate mixed in, I believe. For the life of me I can't remember the outside, but it *was* a roadster. Shows you how impressed I was by the inside. If anyone knows what car I'm talking about, please speak up!

Subtlety is the route, harken back to the manner in which the construction was done, not the over the top statement. You want to feel cl***y, not corny.

 

My family is very very close, my hero has always been my grandfather who i was raised by for many of my younger years.

My Grandfather was a major serving on a aircraft carrier in the south pacific, and his younger brother was a fighter pilot stationed on his carrier. My grandfathers younger brother was the first pilot shot down, KIA at the battle of Wake Island. My grandfather was always very proud of him, but didnt speak of it often.

I have the idea to recreate my great uncles plane. for me it would be a cool thing to do. Especially because its my family.

but i appreciate everyones imput it really helps me decide if i want to do this, or if i do what i should shouldnt do.

appreciate the input.

 

Norwell hit the nail on the head....
I was named after my great-uncle and have always had his dog tags in my cars somewhere visible....
There's a million impersonators out there's but only one Elvis....so to speak

 

That gentleman in the picture lives here in Houston in a retirement home.

 

With all the family history you have with it, I wouldn't give a damn what anyone thought if I wanted to honor them. Subtleness is the answer and maybe put in honor of your family. .02

 

This was posted in the Friday Art Show a couple of weeks ago. I think the idea was to combine back part of a fighter plane to a scratch built hood/nose. I kinda like the direction this drawing goes. I wondered about a fabbed rear section using panels similar to airplanes. Lotsa work and you'd need an extensive framework....how much time/skill do you have?
The thing sticking out the front of this reminds me of the Potvin type blower. Nice excuse for a long hood huh? Tall too, nice excuse for an inline engine.

 

I think cars with a "theme" are overdone period. Same goes for bikes, trucks whatever.

 

I would take Mr. Norwell's advice VERY seriously. I like the little Jolly Roger (Rodger?) flag on the nose of the Corsair-that might translate to a car nicely, maybe a pin-up girl/nose art, but the Navy didn't do that very much. Do you want other people to "get it", or is just for you? Less is more, most of the time.

 

IMHO you have already got the theme. Build a car to honor your Great Uncle. That way, no one could dis you for doing it. However, like many of the other guys here I would highly reccomend restraint. Perhaps try this for an idea, if your uncle had survived the war how might he have built a hot rod if he wanted to incorporate warbird influences into his car? Personally I think the Navy blue would be a great color but perhaps just a small Navy logo instead of something larger. Mebbe you could paint it small down low on the cowl. Of course you will want your Great Uncle's name on it somewhere I ***ume. A collection of aircraft gauges, maybe aircraft switches and how about distressed brown leather for upholstery? You are on the right track at least since you have stated you want subtle. For sure, the over the top aircraft hot rods have been overdone.

 

I think the Navy symbol and "kills" are overboard. How bout just getting the navy color right and doing the correct style number on the doors. Do you know the number(s) of your great uncles plane(s)? That would be a nice tribute and could still be interpreted as a race car rather than a theme car. Think of your uncle coming back from the war and racing at the lakes. Maybe he would paint his car this way because he was proud of his service and he had a specific number or plane that got him through. Then certain details on the car would be aircraft themed because that's where the mechanical knowledge base came from. Not a "theme" car, but a theoretical "could've been" car. Just a thought.