Erik's 2024 Paint Thread

[Erik Ingram - HJG]

As always, I hope everyone is having a pleasant, safe, and healthy start to the new year! Here are a few more 737s to start things off...rest assured, there are other things in the pipeline as well! Admittedly these are all derived from things I've done already, though the subjects themselves are new.

First is 73-1154 of the 140th Fighter Wing (Colorado ANG) circa 1987; this was the other aircraft used to assist with training at the US Air Force Academy, in the earlier white and gray colors.



Then from 1986, we have N7370F of Frontier, albeit adorned with stickers advertising the Continental takeover then in progress. I'm not really sure what the point of this was, as opposed to simply putting CO titles and logos on the basic livery (which they did also do), but there were also New York Air examples of this as well.



Back to 1987, Southwest briefly leased N7379F from Continental in the FL scheme. There were quite a few Southwest hybrids around this time, with aircraft leased from Air Florida, Midway, and Aer Lingus among others.

[Erik Ingram - HJG]

Per a recent request, here are a couple of new fantasy subjects, but with basis in reality.

First is this MD-82 N803VV as it might have looked around 1998 if AirTran had kept the ones previously flown by ValuJet. VJ had four that they operated very briefly from 1995-1996, and there were reportedly plans to add more, but the flight 592 accident in May 1996 and subsequent grounding firmly ended any expansion plans they may have had, and all were sold shortly afterward. This particular one briefly went to Reno Air, before going to Spirit for the remainder of its career.


On the flip side of things, had history turned out differently, we may have ended up with these instead! ValuJet was the launch customer for the 717 (then still the MD-95) in October 1995, placing an initial order for 50. After the AirTran merger/takeover, the order was retained, and the first aircraft, N942AT, was delivered to AirTran in September 1999. In keeping with that, I've done this one as N942VJ, which in reality was a USAir DC-9.

[Erik Ingram - HJG]

It's been a while since I've touched the C-135 family, but I figured this unique one was deserving of representation! Looking like something out of a stock photo, this very plainly-marked RC-135 has some interesting history. It started out as a regular USAF tanker, and in 2013 was converted and sold to the RAF as ZZ664, the first aircraft in its Airseeker program. It's been back in the US since September 2023 undergoing heavy maintenance and upgrades alongside its USAF counterparts in Greenville, TX, and has been temporarily reassigned its old serial number of 64-14833. Since completion of all of this, it's been on temporary loan before going back to the UK, and starting this past week, its been used to test RC-135 compatibility with the Airbus A330 MRTT in tandem with a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30 at Edwards AFB (which still doesn't address the RAF's inability to refuel these itself, as their Voyagers only have drogue reels and no boom). For these tests, it has these very basic markings reading "Air Force" and its American serial.

[aerofoto - HJG Admin]

Official portraits of some of Erik's latest masterpieces (his first for this 2024 FS year) .... those I've managed to address so far.

These each relate to early production B737-200's in a variety of lease influenced and transitional hybrid liveries from the late 1970's through mid/late 1980's period .... and a military service oriented T-43A from the mid/late 1980's ....


AIR CALIFORNIA/UNITED AIR LINES B737-222 N9014U (1981)


ALOHA AIRLINES/SOUTHWEST AIRLINES B737-2H4 N73717 (1978)


CONTINENTAL AIRLINES/FRONTIER AIRLINES B737 2C0 N7370F (1986)


SOUTHWEST AIRLINES/FRONTIER AIRLINES B737-2C0 N7379F (1987)


USAF 140TH TACTICAL FIGHTER WING - COLORADO AIR NATIONAL GUARD 73-1154 (1987)



Still a few more to present

Mark C
AKL/NZ

[Herman]

Very nice Erik. Thank you for those.

Herman

[Falcon]

I agree!
Denny

[aerofoto - HJG Admin]

Official portraits featuring the balance of Erik's recent production .... in the form of the following B732, B717-200, MD-82, and RC-135W ....


PACIFIC SOUTHWEST AIRLINES B737-214 N988PS - with smile logo (1972) ]


VALUEJET B717-2BD - "LIVERY CONCEPT" (1998)]


AIRTRAN MD-82 - "LIVERY CONCEPT" N942VJ (1998)


RAF (USAF) 412TH TEST WING RC-135W 64-4833 (2024) ]



Both the VALUJET B717-200 and AIRTRAN MD-82 are "CONCEPT LIVERIES ONLY".

In regard to the above B717-200 livery: Despite being launch customer for the MD-95, which ultimately became the B717-200 following the MDC/BOEING merger, VALUJET never actually operated type .... its 50 aircraft unit order being delivered to AIRTRAN instead following the airlines demise.

Similar applies also in regard to the above MD-82 livery: This representation depicts how these aircraft might have looked, by the late 1990's, had AIRTRAN retained its 4 aircraft very briefly operated by VALUJET prior to its demise.

Mark C
AKL/NZ

[Erik Ingram - HJG]

Glad you like them!

Next up, we have a whole selection of Canadian 737s belonging to...well, Canadian. Seeing as Canadian was formed from a merger, there were quite a few hybrids, as there tend to be in those scenarios!

First up is a standard one from one of its predecessors, C-GTPW of Pacific Western circa 1984:


Three years later, C-GWPW has some new titles on the basic PWA liveryL


The other component of the merger was Canadian Pacific, and while it had technically rebranded as such in 1986, there were plenty of surviving CP Air "Pac-Man"-liveried aircraft like C-GKCP flying around. Also, thank you to Jim for the use of some of his textures to help with this one


Then there was the "regular" Canadian Pacific variant, which was adapted into the real Canadian livery afterwards.


I'm not sure how this one came to be as I haven't found any photos of CP aircraft in any kind of metal variations, but there was this partial new livery on C-GQCP from 1989.


Ultimately all of these aircraft would be absorbed into Air Canada after they took Canadian over in 2001, and a small number still fly with Air Inuit today.

[aerofoto - HJG Admin]

What Erik's saying/demonstrating here is ....

Following the said merger/s significant changes occurred during the late 1980's/early 1990's in regard to CP AIR and PACIFIC WESTERN which evolved into CANADIAN PACIFIC/CANADIEN PACIFIQUE then CANDAIAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL.

These textures reflect all this .... and which is what the "H" in HJG is all about

Mark CRANSTON
AKL/NZ

[Erik Ingram - HJG]

While we're still on the topic, here's C-FCPV celebrating the Expo 86 that was held in Vancouver that year. This scheme was also applied on a DC-10 and a 747, and unsurprisingly, "Empress of Vancouver" was chosen to be the representative 737.

[aerofoto - HJG Admin]

Particularly like that "EXPO" hybrid livery .... and it'll be a great accompaniment to our similarly "EXPO86" liveried CP DC-10-10 and -30 too.

Quick question for you Erik (and I've not, yet, researched this myself) .... Did any of the CPA B727's (both -100's and -200 ADV's) ever support the "EXPO86" livery ?

"IF SO" .... we don't have either, but, could do with them

Mark C
AKL/NZ

[aerofoto - HJG Admin]

Official portraits of Erik's classic Canadian B732's of the 1980's (mostly transitional liveries which appeared following the PACIFIC WESTERN AIRLINES/CP AIR merger .... that saw the formation of CANADIAN PACIFIC AIRLINES and which by the end of the 1980's decade had evolved into CANADIAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL .... along with a CP AIR "EXPO 86" promotional hybrid and the 2nd-to-last of PACIFIC WESTERN's definitive liveries both of the mid 1980's) .... as follows ....


CP AIR ("EXPO 86" hybrid livery) B737-217 C-FCPV "Empress Of Vancouver" (1986)


PACIFIC WESTERN AIRLINES B737-275 ADV C-GTPW (1984)


CANADIAN PACIFIC AIRLINES/CANADIAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL (transitional hybrid livery) B737-296 ADV C-GQBB (1987)


CP AIR/CANADIAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL (transitional hybrid livery) B737-217 ADV C-GKCP (1987)


PACIFIC WESTERN/CANADIAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL (transitional hybrid livery) B737-275 ADV C-GWPW (1987)


CANADIAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL (natural metal/grey lower fuselage hybrid) B737-217 1989 C-GQCP (1989)



And "NO" .... none of these CANADIAN subjects are duplicates or otherwise identical to those we released last December/Christmas


Another nice and classic/historic ensemble Erik

Like to extend thanks to Jim CAMPISI also for allowing Erik to base the "CANADIEN C-GKCP" hybrid livery upon his December (2023) released definitive CP AIR livery .... "THANKS" Jim

Mark C
AKL/NZ

[alex94]

these are wonderful!

[Erik Ingram - HJG]

Thank you!

Next up is this 737 of Air Canada Tango, circa 2002; this was AC's take (actually one of two) on the low-cost "airline-within-an-airline" concept that was popular in the late '90s and early 2000s. As with virtually all of its contemporaries, it lasted only a few years before it became evident that the costs of keeping it going were detrimental to Air Canada's own financial health, and it was shut down in 2004 after only three years.

[Nathan Ford - HJG]

Hey Erik, seeing as though you are going through the Canadian ones, are you looking at the Zip Air?