The design was supposed to be a tribute to Gentile, as well as an update for the current conflict. I intentionally made the eagle a little more angry looking and a bit less cartoonish. I was limited by the size of the access door, so I couldn't put the big checkerboard ID panel on there...I chose to do a miniature representation of it instead.
I painted it over the course of two or three nights out on the flightline using a stash of paint pens that maintenance used to mark equipment. Unfortunately, as you'll see, the paints weren't that great of quality!
Here it is after I first penciled out the lines freehand...
Later on that morning I laid down the black outlines and started filling in some of the whites. The jet flew that morning, so I had to stop for the time being.
Here's a shot of her the next day after I finished filling in all the colors. Note that the checkerboard pattern isn't on there.
A day or two later I obtained the other colors I needed and finished it up. Here's what it looked like right after I finished it. Note the color of the checkerboard (as in, it's actually red).
Next, the shot of me touching up the colors. Over the course of about a week, the harsh sand and sunlight had all ready taken a toll on the pigment and it began to fade. The reds had turned to pinks, as you can tell. This was taken on 13 April '03, and I originally painted it on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of April.
Here's the final shot of the noseart...August '03 at the Abbotsford airshow. I had left the squadron by this point, but a friend shot this pic and sent it to me. Notice how faded it's all become by this point, only a couple months down the road. I understand that only a week or two after this shot, it was painted over all together.
Finally, a comparison with the original:
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