| "Jessie" is getting a new dress for
the 2018 season! There's a number of events I go to, such as the Breighton Fly-In's, where an RAF Jeep would perhaps be more appropriate than USAAF. While I need to do some welding work on "Jessie" over the winter, I didn't want to do a complete, and permanent
respray, especially since my other vehicles are all in US 100th
Bombardment Group markings to match. |
| Enter magnetic plastic! I found a 2 metre x 610mm roll of motorway grade plastic on Ebay for about £16.00. This has allowed me to produce a set of RAF markings to hide the current USAAF
scheme. Since they are on magnetic material, they can easily be fitted or removed, depending on the event I'm attending.
However, I needed a small roundel on the front, and I've seen wartime
pictures with one on the grill. The plastic wouldn't work in this
location, so a steel disc was cut and painted which will clamp around
the bars of the grill. |
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| The
first step was paper templates for the plastic parts. I needed plastic
pieces cut to hide the hood star and USA markings, the stars on the side
of the body, and the front rear bumper markings. The large star on the
rear body would be covered by a metal sheet, bolted on. This was due to
the reinforcing piece for the jerry can bracket not providing a smooth
flat surface for the plastic. With templates made, the nine pieces were
cut, and then given a light wet sand to key the surface. |
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| With
the plastic keyed, masking and painting began. Paper stencils were
printed to plot out the lettering which was drawn on in pencil, and then
masked. Olive drab was then sprayed, with the masking tape protecting
the plastic where I wanted white lettering. One rear bumperette was to
have a roundel while the other had the Bomber Command Group. |
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| The
roundel bumperette and side roundels were painted by hand after the
olive drab was sprayed. The cellulose olive drab dried fairly quickly,
allowing the front bumper markings to be revealed, utilizing the
original hood number as the RAF registration. |
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| The
36 inch long RAF registration and Bomber Command Group code piece is
complete and blends well with the original bumper colour. The large hood
roundel is made in two pieces due to the size of the plastic sheet that
was available. Since the hood has a seam down the centre anyway, I
didn't see a problem having a join line through the roundel. |
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| On
the back of the Jeep, the left bumperette has the RAF roundel while the
right has the Group markings. I've left these white to better blend with
the originals which are also white. The rear RAF registration will hide
the large star once made. The olive drab on the side roundel also blends
fairly well when viewed just a short distance away. |
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A
view of the bumper markings with the grill roundel temporarily fitted. I
am yet to make the clamp that will hold the roundel onto the grill.
Attaching the roundel to the hood is quite
tricky as the magnetic pull of the plastic is pretty strong. If it is
placed on slightly out of position, it won't slide to the correct
location, but must be peeled off again and re-applied. |
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| All
done! The rear and front views of the new markings. |
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