I recently was manager of a used book store that dealt in vintage Nat. Geographics, which are great sources of rare photos for armor and a/c research (Example: I use a postwar issue headed “Flying in the Blowtorch era” for early navy and AF jets.). But one iissue in particular caught my eye and my hand. The June 1943 issue has 32 pages showing 991 AAF, Navy and Marine unit insignia printed in what, for the time, is beautiful color separations. The colors are truer than three quarters of the aftermarkets decals I see. That number includes reproductions of US uniform insignia, badges of rank and Army infantry, armor and artillary unit patches. Keep in mind, these are units and ships that were extant up to about April of '43, so you’ll recognize many of these squadron and wing insignia from between-the-wars a/c. Old Georgraphics are common as dirt, so look for it. I’d photocopy it, since unit insignia are public domain, but I don’t know if NG’s copyright extends to their layout of same or if it has expired. Can someone find out? This resource has to be seen to be believed. Sorry, I have no camera or scanner. A discreet E-mail would be answered, though. Personally, I’ve looked high and low for decals for the F-6’s and P-51A’s of 111th PRS, The “Snoopers”, which was a federalized Texas National Guard squadron, but it’s apparently a forgotten unit, not even in my trusty Nat. Geographic.
Mel Sharkskin
Not sure of the copyright question, but I have seen those pages from elsewhere- and you are right! If they could be scanned, they would be an awesome resource- I’ve since forgotten exactly where I had seen them…
Well, I’ve got the resource if somebody can figure out how to get it out to those of us who need and, of course, deserve it. MEL SHARKSKIN
If it’s for personal use, there are really no copyright infringement issues. Copyright infringements are usually only prosecuted if the copyrighted material is redistributed.
I’d be more than happy to help out with restoring those insignia. Graphic design is somewhat of another hobby of mine. As for insignias and true colors being used, I took a stab at the artwork for US Insignia from 1930s thru 1947… feel free to download the files. Follow the link below to the topic in the Reference Materials section where I made the post. If you can get the color values (prefereably FS 595b, Pantone, RGB, or CMYK) it shouldn’t be too much of an effort to achieve what you’re trying to do.
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20093