Help with nose art

[IwoPony]

I am the historian for the 506th Fighter Group Association, and I recently obtained this photo of a 457th Fighter Squadron Mustang on Iwo Jima.


I have seen and scanned hundreds of photos from 506th veterans and families, but this is my first encounter with BuzzBuddy. We don't know to whom this plane was assigned, but we do know that Capt. Chauncey Newcomb was flying it on August 10, 1945, when he scored two aerial victories. After scanning the photo, I forwarded it to Capt. Newcomb's son.

I am hoping that some of the nose art experts on this board can help me identify the pinup girl under the cockpit. I scanned the photo at 1200 dpi, enhanced it with PhotoShop, then cropped it, and this is the best I can do.


My impression is that the young lady is dressed in an insect costume. Her hood appears to have a stinger on top, and she either has wings or some sort of extensions on her shoulders. Has anyone encountered this image before?

By the way, I noted a previous thread discussing the repainting of Dixie Boy, and lamenting the "loss" of one of only two PTO Mustangs in the current stable. I am happy to report that this Spring saw the unveiling of two new PTO repaints, both representing planes from the 506th. Tom Duffy's City of Winnipeg is now Kwitcherbitchin of the 457th, and Planes of Fame's Spam Can is the 462nd Fighter Squadron's Dolly. The 506th FG Association had its reunion at Reading this year, and many of us were alongside the runway when Duffy arrived with his stunning Kwitcherbitchin. It was a great thrill for all of the 506th family to see a green-tailed Mustang for the first time since 1945.


This picture from Iwo Jima shows my Uncle John, the 457th ops officer, on the left, with Kwitcherbitchin's two pilots, Allen Kinvig and William Lawrence, and crew chief George Wagner between Kinvig and Lawrence. Although all of these men are deceased, Capt. Kinvig's daughter, S/Sgt Wagner's son, and myself were at Reading to witness the unveiling, and there were few dry eyes.


I might add that Dan Johnson II did some the earliest color profile drawings of 506th FG Mustangs. Several of his drawings appeared on this board, introducing many in the warbird community to these beautiful and mostly forgotten birds. Now that we have a green-tailed 457th and a yellow-tailed 462nd Mustang in the air, we are hoping for the trifecta. If any Mustang owner is contemplating a new and unique paint scheme, either Dan or I can provide you with some great pictures of blue-tailed 458th Fighter Squadron Mustangs. Just drop me a PM.

Last edited by IwoPony on Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Dan Johnson II]

I was wondering if someone I knew got that photo! Glad it got into the right hands. The pin up doesn't look familiar. Hope you took lots of photos of Kwitcherbitchen and then talked him into a solid green tail!

[CWBuff]

Groovy... I know you could have probably done this, but here's the crop of the pinup, darkened some for a bit more clarity of line.




As for a possible inspiration for this pinup, the closest thing I've come across so far was something by Earl MacPherson... but it's only superficially similar. Will keep looking through the archives...


Fade to Black...

[JDK]

Great first post, and welcome to WIX!

Fascinating stuff, and good luck with the investigation on the artwork. FWIW, I agree with your hypothesis. It'll be neat if you can pin her down properly...

[IwoPony]

I was wondering if someone I knew got that photo! Glad it got into the right hands. The pin up doesn't look familiar. Hope you took lots of photos of Kwitcherbitchen and then talked him into a solid green tail!

I sent Tom Duffy and Gary Velasco four pictures of Kwitcherbitchin on Iwo Jima, two with solid tail and two with stripes. Duffy preferred the stripes. At the time, I had no real preference, but after seeing the plane in person, I have to say that I like the stripes, too.

Here are a few more pictures from Reading. The first shows Tom Duffy with four of the 506th veterans: GB Lambert (458th), Duffy, Ed Linfante (462nd), Abner Aust (457th, and the group's only ace), and Jack Rice (462nd).

[carlisle1926]

This is what I see in this pin up. She is leaning against a crate/box that is barely visible. The top of the box has a highlight painted on it and that is why it is a harsh line. Her hair is dark and she has a white rag tied in a bow around her head that matches her shirt. That is what I see.
Jason

[wls3]

Agree, pretty nice to see over Reading last month.

[Pathfinder]

My first impression of the fuselage art was that it was not very good. But then not all the guys painting nose art were of professional caliber, but drew their inspirations from the published images in any number of magazines.

The pose was familiar and I first thought it was from a pulp cover from the early 30s, like Snappy Stories, Film Fun or Bedtime Stories....those pulp cover girls always struck me as being "of a type" and she seemed to fit that mold...so here was the Bedtime Stories cover from sometime in 1934...by E.K. Bergey....



But there is really too much wrong with her that would need changing to fit the fuselage art....so...when in doubt...go back to the master...Vargas!

Here is Miss April 1945 (calendar) but tipped to match the profile of BuzzBuddy....You see the exact orientation of the legs--the secondary line of her back (left) leg. The contrast and cut of her shorts...the white top. The position of her right hand...and the foggy impression of her left arm running below and parallel in the art. Add some heels, take away the Navy cover and there she is...



Now what about that head?

The wrap and bow as suggested above I believe is correct. Not many artists use the head wrap in their art, but the one who did the most was George Petty. (His daughter BTW was his model) A Petty inspired head would also explain the lips exaggerated to one side of her face--a typical Petty-ism.

Alternately it could be a composite of the Varga body and the pilots girlfriends head/face from a photo.

Either way I think Varga Calendar Girl April 45 is the basis for the art.

[CWBuff]

Here's a larger image showing the Vargas artwork.

...and she has a white rag tied in a bow around her head...

That's what I see as well...


Fade to Black...