I was cleaning up stuff in my office yesterday and came across this. Maybe it can be of some interest …
Here is the story : In 2001, i was doing some planes profiles for a french aviation magazine. One day the editor came in my office, and told me (anyway that’s how i remember…): » I’m doing some interviews of Pierre Clostermann, i’m going back to see him this week-end.
I would like to make him a present to thank him for these interviews. So i have a favor to ask you, could you draw a profile that i would offer him ? It’s not for the work here … The plane would have to be a Fw 190 D-9 because last time we talked about when he was downed by one JG-26 Dora. He has great admiration for these JG-26 boys, and he is convinced the guy who downed him was Hans Dortenmann. Don’t know if that’s true, but anyway, I would like to offer him a Dortenmann Dora-9 profile… »
I said Ok, but with one condition : i would make two prints, one for him, and one that he would sign for me :p The deal was done.
So we where at the end of the week, and of course the editor had zero documentation on how Dortenmann’s Dora-9 looked like… I had to rush doing this , ended up with this…
W.Nr. 210 003, the third Dora-9 build, Yellow 1 from 3./JG 26 flown by Hans Dortenmann in 1945 . Since then , latest research shows that it should have had the whole fin and rudder painted yellow, and also that the plane was repainted with green RLM 82/83 camo in 1944… It’s not the best Dora-9 profile around , but anyway…
So the editor was happy, and so was I, cause i had my signed copy on my office the following week :)
Weeks passed… then one day, got a phone call from the same editor : « Hey Gaël ! Come here in the office, Mr Clostermann is here ».
He was there for signing books and for a meeting with some peoples … anyway, i had the opportunity to thank him for the signed drawing, and he thanked me for the drawing too… then asked me how it was done, « with a computer » i said. He looked very surprised :D
« A computer ?! How can it be done with a computer !… »
He was very friendly and simple, really was a great moment for me… I came back in my office shouting « Guys ! I met Pierre Clostermann today !!! » :D … « Ok, ok calm down Gaël… Who the hell is that guy » was the answer.
Cloclo’s Dora
I was cleaning up stuff in my office yesterday and came across this. Maybe it can be of some interest …
Here is the story : In 2001, i was doing some planes profiles for a french aviation magazine. One day the editor came in my office, and told me (anyway that’s how i remember…): » I’m doing some interviews of Pierre Clostermann, i’m going back to see him this week-end.
I would like to make him a present to thank him for these interviews. So i have a favor to ask you, could you draw a profile that i would offer him ? It’s not for the work here … The plane would have to be a Fw 190 D-9 because last time we talked about when he was downed by one JG-26 Dora. He has great admiration for these JG-26 boys, and he is convinced the guy who downed him was Hans Dortenmann. Don’t know if that’s true, but anyway, I would like to offer him a Dortenmann Dora-9 profile… »
I said Ok, but with one condition : i would make two prints, one for him, and one that he would sign for me :p The deal was done.
So we where at the end of the week, and of course the editor had zero documentation on how Dortenmann’s Dora-9 looked like… I had to rush doing this , ended up with this…
W.Nr. 210 003, the third Dora-9 build, Yellow 1 from 3./JG 26 flown by Hans Dortenmann in 1945 . Since then , latest research shows that it should have had the whole fin and rudder painted yellow, and also that the plane was repainted with green RLM 82/83 camo in 1944… It’s not the best Dora-9 profile around , but anyway…
So the editor was happy, and so was I, cause i had my signed copy on my office the following week :)
Weeks passed… then one day, got a phone call from the same editor : « Hey Gaël ! Come here in the office, Mr Clostermann is here ».
He was there for signing books and for a meeting with some peoples … anyway, i had the opportunity to thank him for the signed drawing, and he thanked me for the drawing too… then asked me how it was done, « with a computer » i said. He looked very surprised :D
« A computer ?! How can it be done with a computer !… »
He was very friendly and simple, really was a great moment for me… I came back in my office shouting « Guys ! I met Pierre Clostermann today !!! » :D … « Ok, ok calm down Gaël… Who the hell is that guy » was the answer.