13 Coolest Airplane Paint Jobs

Aviation geeks know Japan as the home of aircraft--like the one above--painted with Pokémon, a distinct Japanese cultural creation.






In 1997 British Airways adopted a new livery. One part of this was a newly stylized version of the British Airways "Speedbird" logo, but the major change was the introduction of tail-fin art. Also known as the Utopia or world image tailfins, they used art and designs from international artists and other sources to represent countries on BA's route network. The signature of the artist was carried near the design on the tail.

The new corporate logo was created by the London-based design agency Newell and Sorrell, who also oversaw the implementation of the tailfin designs.







Air India Express Boeing 737-800.






African Airlines have always had a simple professional and elegant look but South African designers changed that with some really revolutionary livery like the Mango Airline.

Frontier Airlines, an airline based out of Denver, Colorado, have the company slogan “A Whole Different Animal,” each of their planes depicts a different animal.






Alaska Airlines 737-400 Combi Aircraft in Barrow, Alaska.






This plane is from GermanWings. It was photographed at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.






When Southwest Airlines wanted to represent California on an airplane, it painted a big bear. But how do you represent the state of Illinois?
Well, they didn't paint a picture of a reclining Abraham Lincoln, which was my first thought. They instead painted an eagle with a shield.







Disney characters on a themed Alaska Airlines jet called “Spirit of Disneyland II.” The plane is adorned with the faces of Disney's most recognized characters – Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto.






The Simpsons Jet, Western Pacific Air.






Taiwanese airline EVA has repainted one of its jets with giant Hello Kittys. Surprisingly, the plane's interior is much worse.






Southwest Airlines unveiled the newest addition to their fleet of aircraft: a Boeing 737 with a gigantic painting of swimsuit model Bar Rafaeli.






This is a great new infographic paint job on a Kulula Airlines (a South Africa airline) Boeing 737, informative and humorous. With labels detailing many of the plane's features, this looks like a a training plane.

Amazing artist who carves pumpkin portraits Art in just two hours

It takes several months to grow the fruit but amazingly just two hours for artist Ray Villafane to sculpt these petrifyingly detailed portraits out of pumpkin.

The American model designer and former art teacher uses spoons and a scalpel to carve the innocent orange gourds into Halloween horrors in double quick time.

As you might expect Villafane, who has worked for D.C and Marvel comics, is very particular about his pumpkins.
'Not all pumpkins will look good and the most important thing about a pumpkin is its weight,' he says.

'You need to pick the meatiest pumpkin.

'Sometimes I pick up a beautifully shaped pumpkin but when I do I realise that it is not heavy enough. Its wall is just not thick enough for the carving rigours.

'I also like a pumpkin with character. One with nobly ridges is good, so that I can utilise that in the carving procedure, like with sculpting noses.'

Villafane, 41, has become a minor celebrity in the States and his weird and wonderful work has featured on a range of TV programmes.

Yet he stumbled on his fruity talent almost by accident.

'I used to be an art teacher for 13 years at a Michigan School called Bellaire school and one day I was approached for Halloween to do some pumpkin carving,' he said.

'Sculpting has always been a passion. I thought why don't I try and carve the pumpkin like it is a piece of clay as opposed to a large vegetable.

'It came out alright, but the most important result was that the kids at the school absolutely loved it.

'I used to arrive at school and there would be a dozen pumpkins just sitting there waiting for me at my classroom.'

Villafane, who is still based in Bellaire, didn't perfect his art immediately and had to punch a lot of pumpkins in frustration while honing his skills.


However, working for D.C comics - the home of Superman and Batman - has helped him honed his talent.

Over the last four Octobers his pumpkins have raised his profile to the point where he has become something of a Halloween staple on TV and across the internet.

'For the past couple of years I have been really sitting down and giving my Halloween pumpkin designs more thought than usual due to the increased interest in my carvings,' he said.

'Now that the thing has grown in popularity I am definitely feeling the pressure to deliver on the pumpkin front.

'The most intricate pumpkin model that I have designed is the Zipperhead model, which took the best part of a day. Otherwise, the models take a couple of hours.

'If it is something that I am creating myself then I will do it off the top of my head, like the skulls and gargoyles. They are a pleasure to make.'

Weird Pictures

Equilibrium Bookcase

Malagana Design’s Equilibrium Bookcase consists of 5 separate cantilevered modules that can be configured at single angled points. It holds more than 120 lbs and disassembles without tools.

Swissauto 40Hp Kart: It doesn’t get any purer than this

Supercars are nice, no doubt about it, but few people can really afford them. The price is high, upkeep is high, taxes are high and any mistake, even one that ends in a mild fender-bender is still going to cost you an arm and a leg. A bit too much then, for some weekend fun.

Fortunately, there is a cheaper alternative and, might I add, at least as fun as owning a supercar. A kart. This is driving at its purest form and if you ever saw a kart race with Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher in it you'll know what I'm talking about.

True, those karts can cost as much as €100,000 (US $138,950), but a Swissauto 250 engine and matching chassis are about €4,000-5,000 (~6,000-7,000 US dollars). I think that's a fair price for something that can reach 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in about 3,5-4 seconds!

Yep, the one-cylinder 250cc engine is quite a gutsy little beast, capable (depending on the carburetor diameter) of 35/40 hp (26/29 kW) at 10,000 rpm. The torque is also delivered high-up in the rev-range: 28 Nm (20.6 lb-ft) at 8,000 rpm.

Driving this thing is quite an experience. The bucket seat squeezes you like a boa constrictor and you're sitting at an inch from the tarmac. There's no suspension, not in the classic sense, anyway, so you feel every bump on the track, even the hairline cracks.

That would be the downside. The upside of this setup is that the kart will communicate with you unlike any car you've ever driven. Steering is razor-sharp, so, if you're smooth enough, you can hit any apex with extreme precision.

On the other hand, if you're jumpy, you'll end up all over the place. You just can't floor the accelerator. The kart will instantly do a 180 turn and bite you in the behinds.

You have to be extremely progressive with applying the throttle or the brakes. Only then can you wring out its enormous potential, which, believe me, is jaw dropping. And you can still have some money in the bank. Hey, this is better than (paid) love...

By Csaba Daradics

Link: Swissauto

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Military Camouflage

Military camouflage became an essential part of modern military tactics after the increase in accuracy and rate of fire of weapons during the 19th century. Until the 19th century, armies tended to use bright colors and bold, impressive designs. These were thought to daunt the enemy, foster unit cohesion, allow easier identification of units in the fog of war, and attract recruits.

Conversely, the intent of camouflage is to disrupt an outline by merging it with the surroundings, making a target harder to spot or hit, or to confuse an observer as to its nature. Different countries have undergone different evolutionary stages towards the development of military camouflage.

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