Fairchild Argus nose art and colours. Plus more questions on UC 61....

[JWM]

Hi,

I've bumped on photo of SEAC Fairchild Argus, it is here:

https://www.aviationphotocompany.com/p1004526858/h507CE6CA#h507ce6ca

She has a complicated nose art which looks for mer like a heart with some not readible elements on it. Can anybody enlight me what exactly it is on this nose art presented? Some cartoon heros maybe?. Maybe colours are know ? (since whole machine looks like OD/NG well worn scheme. At least to me it is like that)

Any comment will be apprecieted

Regards

J-W

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by JWM
I extended the subject with new questions

[Dave Fleming]

Downloading the pic and having a look, it seems to be a very long limbed figure entwined with something hard to tell. The text underneath seems to start 'Oll

 

The colour of the fuselage looks like OD over Neutral gray. but I wonder if the wing undersides are repainted yellow

[JWM]

 

It looks a bit like a grasshopper or another styled insect,,, Any associations/recalls/suggestiions? On a clover? Heart?

 

[Dave Fleming]

hard to tell - I wonder if a copy of the print would reveal more?

[pdsvidioman]

It looks to me like a skeleton in a deck chair, but I could be wrong. The white lines being bones ?. Paul

[gingerbob]

Clearly some paper clips that have been bent out of shape and then tossed in a heap.

[Graham Boak]

Light aircraft were known as Grasshoppers, at least by some quarters of the US armed forces.  

[stevehnz]

Grass Hopper crawling from lower right to upper left with a person on its back?

Steve.

[pdsvidioman]

33 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

Light aircraft were known as Grasshoppers, at least by some quarters of the US armed forces.

 

8 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Grass Hopper crawling from lower right to upper left with a person on its back?

Steve.

Now at sounds more likely, Well worked out, Paul

[JWM]

Many thanks for all who tried to help! I am coming back to the question, perhaps meanwhile some new ideas might appeared (this is Fairchild Argus FS 626) ? 

I was considering the grasshopper like that from a cartoon "Grasshopper and the ants" by Disney:

 

But the person here is too much human-shaped (legs and arms) and that on nose art seem to have six legs... 

Regards

J-W

 

[KRK4m]

Although I have no idea what this nose art shows, I almost certainly know from this photo that FS626 was flying in the TLS (Dark Green over Dark Earth) scheme.

Cheers

Michael

[JWM]

BTW - the Argus with Ranger engine on exposition in Brussel museum looks like overall olive green (olive drab???)  - is it a true WW2 or fake scheme?

http://aircraftwalkaround.hobbyvista.com/fair_argus/fair_argus.htm

 

Regards

J-W

 

 

[KRK4m]

The scheme is all right for a US Army plane. Most of the SEAC ones have, however, been repainted into the RAF scheme.

Cheers

Michael

[JWM]

On 10/4/2022 at 8:14 PM, KRK4m said:

The scheme is all right for a US Army plane. Most of the SEAC ones have, however, been repainted into the RAF scheme.

Cheers

Michael

The machine in link given in first post is FS626. In AZ/Legato model the sister plane with serial FS628  is ib OD/NG, however with SEAC roundels from bottom side, not seen on photo of  FS626 (maybe therefore @Dave Fleming suggested repaint in yellow on bottom sides in the second post - thanks! : )  ) . 

Yesterday I've bumped on perhaps a serious issue regarding both AZ/Legato or Pavla kits.  Namely if you looke at this photo: 

there are two large windows on top of cabin which are absent in both kits. Argus on display in Elvington Air Museum has this windows (I think it is visible here ) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Fairchild_Argus_II_FK338_(8155195015).jpg

Here those windows are seen for me:

But on some other machines they could not be observed (but maybe there are there and only are obscured by fuselage curve?)

http://aircraftwalkaround.hobbyvista.com/fair_argus/argus_13.jpg

Here they are  absent

Were they present only on some machines or always, and only removed from some by oweners? 

@Ed Russell - maybe you can give any suggestion or info on that?  

Regards

J-W

Edited October 6, 2022 by JWM

[Ed Russell]

I have looked through my Fairchild 24 collection and, of those where it can be seen, the majority do not appear to have the roof windows. I shall refer the question to someone more knowledgeable than me and report back.

[Dave Fleming]

I think the upper windows were fitted to the aircraft built as military machines - one reference says they were fitted from the Argus II

[JWM]

3 hours ago, Dave Fleming said:

I think the upper windows were fitted to the aircraft built as military machines - one reference says they were fitted from the Argus II

Many thanks, that is what I suspected - the civil machine does not need that much visibility to the above then the military one (besides  the star navigation...)

Regards

J-W

P.S.

Hm,... there is a photo of museum mashine described as "Argus I" with those windows:

http://www.flugzeuginfo.net/galleryphoto_en.php?photoid=6691

Edited October 7, 2022 by JWM

[Ed Russell]

5 hours ago, JWM said:

described as "Argus I" with those windows

FS628 is an Argus II (ref Air Britain serials list)

[JWM]

12 hours ago, Ed Russell said:

FS628 is an Argus II (ref Air Britain serials list)

Thanks, Ed! BTW - is there also some nose art on the FS628?:

 

Regards

J-W

Edited October 8, 2022 by JWM

[JWM]

I was playing a bit with photo of FS626. This is perhaps the best what I've got

 

So my interpretation of nose art is something like that:

How do you think? Any suggestions? - maybe it recalls some cartoon hero or similar???

 

Regards

J-W

 

[warhawk]

Here's what I see on the enhanced photo:

 

 

A puddle below seems more likely to me than a cloud, since his feet have a shadow, suggesting he's not jumped high (or even at all)...

Could also be a reference to some ocean.

 

Overall design might be similar to (or even inspired by) L-4 Grashopper emblem:

source: USMC Patches

 

Regards,

Aleksandar

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by warhawk