usn sti Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 (edited) Hello all, I'm kinda new here but not to the Aviation community. Since this is my first posting I'll drop a little background on myself. I'm currently in the US Navy assigned to one of the finest and most professional F/A-18 hornet squadrons in the fleet, The Sidewinders of VFA-86. Although I started my career working on the infamous EA-6B Prowler, I somehow ended up in a Hornet squadron. Cruel joke I'll tell ya! Anyways, during my tours in the few commands I've been in I've had the opportunity to paint a few CAG birds, some of which I see that Hasagawa has taken the liberty of reproducing in a few of their model kits. Here is the list of commands I've been in so far, VAQ-132, TAD with VAQ-139, VAQ-136, small TAD stint in VAQ-137 and VFA-86. my next command is VFA-122. I'll stop babbling now and post the pics. enjoy! Edited October 7, 2010 by usn sti Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usn sti Posted October 6, 2010 Author Share Posted October 6, 2010 (edited) Edited October 6, 2010 by usn sti Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tornado64 Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 great work !! love the snake , santa , and rudolf is a gem !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Excellent!!! No wonder Hasegawa likes you!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usn sti Posted October 6, 2010 Author Share Posted October 6, 2010 (edited) Thanks! there's a story behind the snake on the plane. I actually drew that design in April of 2009 when were on a detachment in Fallon,NV. The plan was to have the new design on the jet before we left for deployment later that year... long story short and approximately one year later I finally got the approval and the go-ahead to paint the jet with the new design. Conversely you may also notice that on the earlier tails on the inboard side there is the CAG 11 logo with the phrase "speed and violence" and on the newer pictures there are only a pair of dice... yup, more red tape. someone didn't like it so I had to remove it and put something a little more "PC"... oh well, it was fun while it lasted. good thing i took pictures before it was removed! Edited October 6, 2010 by usn sti Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Firstly, Welcome Aboard ARC ! Glad to have you here ... Second .... WHOA ! Great tail and nose art ! Reallym Fantastic Stuff ... I love em all ... Now you know, we can't have a warplane with the word 'Violence' on it, we don't want anyone to get the wrong idea ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usn sti Posted October 6, 2010 Author Share Posted October 6, 2010 (edited) Thanks for the compliments and the welcome! and yes I agree 100%, "warplanes" shouldn't have such politically incorrect slogans! haha! Regards- Larry Edited October 6, 2010 by usn sti Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cr7driver Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Very cool! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tornado64 Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Firstly, Welcome Aboard ARC ! Glad to have you here ... Second .... WHOA ! Great tail and nose art ! Reallym Fantastic Stuff ... I love em all ... Now you know, we can't have a warplane with the word 'Violence' on it, we don't want anyone to get the wrong idea ... :P Gregg speaking personaly gregg they can fly all day with whatever they want to write on them it never harmed anyone !! it only gets twitchy and personal when government orders are involved the irony is totaly lost on the powers that be !! i remember the usaf unit tshirts i used to have in the late 80's with anti warsaw pact messages , people would go appopleptic nowadays ironicly we are presently the most pc ever yet there is more upset in the world than ever !! how does that work ??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spongebob Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Gotta love the CVW-11 motto...no cryptic latin feel good phrase. Just "Speed and Violence". Says it all since 1944. Spongebob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usn sti Posted October 6, 2010 Author Share Posted October 6, 2010 I guess if I had made the letters smaller I might have gotten away with it... :( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spongebob Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 (edited) Sux...back when I was in CVW-11 (2001-2004) CAG/DCAG loved it. Our second Admiral, not so much. But he was so anally retentive that VFA-41 ended up scrubbing all the names/callsigns off of their jets rather than have them staffed for PCness. But then, since the Navy is now "A Global Force for Good" you can't go around reminding folks you may kill people Edited October 6, 2010 by Spongebob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usn sti Posted October 6, 2010 Author Share Posted October 6, 2010 But then, since the Navy is now "A Global Force for Good" you can't go around reminding folks you may kill people hahaha! ain't that the truth! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dahut Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 You are a genuine artist, sir. That is awesome. I especially like the old school cheesecake nose art and the Diamondback motif... Speed and Violence, fer sure!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usn sti Posted October 6, 2010 Author Share Posted October 6, 2010 Thank you for the kind words! I'll let you guys in on a little secret... If you look closer at the "rookie" nose art you'll notice on the ladies stocking there are 3 orange diamonds. They represent the Sidewinders of VFA-86. I had painted the WWII nose art at the request of Commander Lins (VAQ-137 CO at the time) I guess it was a tribute to his Father who flew B-24's or something. You may also notice the slight sheen outlining "Ready on Arrival". Well, that was a little tip that I learned here on ARC so I owe you guys a big thanks. I was researching clear coats that I could possibly use to protect the acrylic paint. Everything we had on the ship was too harsh or expired so I did a little surfing and stumbled across ARC tip sections where i found out about future floor polish. So again, thanks fellas! =) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PlasticWeapons Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Nice work! You wouldn't have a pic of the Snake with the anti-collision light on? That'd be so cool! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usn sti Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 I tried to take a few pictures of it flashing but it was tough. I don't have a good enough camera to capture the images. I can try to get one of my co-workers who's an avid photographer to take a few. I'll ask him and get back to you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usn sti Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 Wow, yeah, things are definitely changing... incidently, the current CAG's call sign is... wait for it... "SATAN"... I think we actually had to remove one deployment so it wouldn't offend someone... now I'm pretty sure he's not REALLY Satan as I'm sure it really has a lot to do with his demeanor, of course it's back on the aircraft now. Sux...back when I was in CVW-11 (2001-2004) CAG/DCAG loved it. Our second Admiral, not so much. But he was so anally retentive that VFA-41 ended up scrubbing all the names/callsigns off of their jets rather than have them staffed for PCness.But then, since the Navy is now "A Global Force for Good" you can't go around reminding folks you may kill people Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dahut Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Sux...back when I was in CVW-11 (2001-2004) CAG/DCAG loved it. Our second Admiral, not so much. But he was so anally retentive that VFA-41 ended up scrubbing all the names/callsigns off of their jets rather than have them staffed for PCness.But then, since the Navy is now "A Global Force for Good" you can't go around reminding folks you may kill people Indeed it is true that bringing about good often requires extreme measures of action. At some point in time that may mean killing some people. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mutant_X_109 Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 (edited) I don't think the Commander-in-Chief likes to use the word "Victory" on our current war against terrorism......guessing not wanting to offend the enemy. So, it figures how "pc" they are being forced to be. Glad the Navy SEALs from SEAL Team 3 use the theme "Embrace The Hate". Just google it for images and you'll see. Awesome art work, truly a work of art!!! Keep up the good work. Rio Semper Fi! Edited December 5, 2010 by Mutant_X_109 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 usn sti. MAGNIFIQUE art work.. You Sir know how to capture the Audience... LOVE them ALL and you answered what I was going to ask as to what the 3 marks were on the Lady' s stocking were ...BRILLIANT ADORBALE ... :wub: Keep up the good WORK and may you do many more... And THANK YOU HOLMES :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mutant_X_109 Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 I tried to take a few pictures of it flashing but it was tough. I don't have a good enough camera to capture the images. I can try to get one of my co-workers who's an avid photographer to take a few. I'll ask him and get back to you. Ask someone to take a long exposure, just enough to allow the strobe light to flash at least once. You'd be set. Rio Semper Fi! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mutant_X_109 Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 By the way, here's an inspiration for a SuperBug (Super Hornet) caricature. I've always loved the Hornet's caricature! Link: http://www.psychoform.com/htmlgallery/BUZZ.htm Rio Semper Fi! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aircraftprofiles Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 gotta be the best job in the world !!! if your time permits it, there´s a matter i would like to discuss with you, perferably in private, so if you would e-mail me on aircraftprofiles@gmail.com i would be greatful I´m a aviation artist and photo collector, and have done work for several magazines among them tailhook associations member magazine "The Hook" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 By the way, here's an inspiration for a SuperBug (Super Hornet) caricature.I've always loved the Hornet's caricature! Link: http://www.psychoform.com/htmlgallery/BUZZ.htm Rio Semper Fi! Now that is ONE HELLUVA art work !!! thanks for the links! :huh: ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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