Warbird Information Exchange

Not putting codes on the aircraft is one way producers can maximize their budget especially when using real aircraft. It gives them flexibility in the editing, aircraft availability due to maintenance issues decrease because you can use any of the aircraft for your feature picture plane when your "hero" plane is down, and in the overall scheme of the story, the codes don't really matter.
It matters to some of us who are aircraft detail people, but to 99% of the, I don't know, EVERYONE ELSE, it just doesn't matter. Also, I can't believe that they would actually spend more money to "add" the codes to the aircraft already filmed. No need to and a waste of money. I'm just thankful they are using real aircraft!

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

"one way producers can maximize their budget especially when using real aircraft" - I didn't even think of that! That's a very good point Jerry.

I guess similarly most people won't be looking for the serials, which from memory are different on each of the three.

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Zac in NZ
#avgeek, modelbuilder, photographer, writer. Callsign: "HANDBAG".
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"It's his plane, he spent the money to restore it, he can do with it what he wants. I will never understand what's hard to comprehend about this." - kalamazookid, 20/08/2013
"The more time you spend around warbirds the sooner you learn nothing, is simple." - JohnB, 24/02/22

Some film producers painted different codes on each side so that they could portrait multiple aircraft, but it's easier to just leave them off.

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

That's why the Corsairs on "Ba Ba Blacksheep" were generic overall blue with no numbers, and why there were no distinctive individual markings on the Colonial Viper models in the old "Battlestar Galactica" TV show..that way they could film a bunch of generic aerial or miniature shots and recycle them week after week.

SN

But yet at the same time some had arrows painted on, some didn't have any stars on the wing, etc. For being so plainly painted they really weren't uniform to each other at all.

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Christopher Soltis
Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

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Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?

The Spitfires in Piece of Cake were painted in generic 1940 colours - with one painted in the opposite scheme, which worked well if the image needed flipped!

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Cheers

Daz

Well they were pretty drunk most of the time.....

Phil

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A man's got to know his limitations.

OK that reminds me, and maybe someone here will know without me having to dig out my VHS copy and VCR. In the first episode the Spitfire's had codes. After getting to France, for the remaining 5 episodes they had none. The reason was written into the story. Anyone remember what it was? I'm thinking it was suggested by the Sqn Ldr as a way to convince the German's that they had more aircraft than they actually did?

Also I do have readily handy the DVD of Dark Blue World with a behind the scenes vignette. In it they described how they re-used the old stock BOB footage after restoring it. They showed an example of two Spits flying in formation, the film faded with artifacts on it. The restored footage looked like it was taken yesterday, and they seamlessly added new fuselage codes in.

Pete

I think it was much simpler than that. In the first episode, the squadron mistakenly shoots down a Blenheim bomber. Squadron Leader Rex demands the codes removed so as to avoid blame if the same thing happened again!




Great film, and very cleverly made.

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Cheers

Daz

The Corsair with the "arrow" on the wing was John Stokes FG-1D now at The Palm Springs Air Museum. John had it painted in the Bunker Hill markings with a yellow cowl long before the series and I guess the art director decided to not over paint it.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

Thanks, I'd always wondered about that, even as a kid when the show was new on prime time!

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Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

Very much so.....and that's not even getting into the sloppy behavior of the cast/extras in the scenes and an apparent lack of attention to detail about correct wearing of the kit/webbing etc.

I'm guessing they are mostly French given they've filmed the beach scenes actually on the original Dunkirk beaches and in the town.

Seems the so-called attention to detail that the director has gone to in using real aircraft, real locations, towing a 1950's era French Navy destroyer museum ship up from Nantes, as well as using some of the original 'Little Ships' that actually took part in the evacuation 75 years ago........as usual stopped at employing enough people that can help and educate their wardrobe people.

And to further complicate matters, that image appears to be "flipped." The arrow was on the right wing and the insignia on the left. The "scoreboard" was also on the left side. Although the Art Dept. did paint over the sky blue underside, yellow cowl ring and various numbers.

SN

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Didn't they flip the image to show direction(?)

Flying to the right to show them going to Espiritu Santo to trade trade fake samurai swords to the sailors in the rear.

Flying to left to show them returning to Vella La Cava with cases of whiskey and stockings for the nurses?