Warpaint: The squadron crest
Thursday, 18th October, 2018
One feature of the livery for which I relied totally on Mal Mayfield was the 601 Squadron ‘Winged Sword’ badge. He researched and created the art work in CorelDRAW and supplied a full set of paint masks. I experimented, but was daunted by the fine detail, particularly the very thin black outline, and – mindful of the gremlins already encountered – reluctant to push my luck. My preferred alternative was to mask and spray the white circular patch on the fin, then apply the sword as two dry transfer rubdowns, one in red overlain by another in black. For this I needed Mal to modify his art work and supply it as an a.i. file to my graphics supplier in London, which he did patiently and without complaint.
I used custom printed dry transfer rubdowns for the 601 Squadron "Winged Sword" crest in preference to spray paiting. It is an expensive alternative, but safer given my relative inexperience and the challenging masking required for such fine work.
The white background was sprayed onto the top of the fin (port and starboard) using a conventional paint mask. Any problems at this stage and the fin flash would most likely have to be removed and redone as well!
Application of the rubdowns went without a hitch, first the red and then the black to exact register.
