That new JAL livery SUCKS! The Chicken Works has a solution!

Sentinel Chicken · 10-18-2002, 10:06 PM

Recently T-Man suggested that the brain trust at The Chicken Works take on the JAL livery and find a better solution than the current livery. I posted these last week to our forums at www.diecastairlines.com and it's high time to share with the fans over here....

We've all seen JAL's new look and it just doesn't do it for me. The new livery redesign was spurred on by JAL's recent acquisition of JAS (Japan Air System) in the past year.
The new identity/livery was unveiled October 2nd and is themed "Arc of the Sun", with the replacement of the classic crane logo (Tsurumaru) with a new red sun bordered in silver on the tail. According to JAL's own press releases, the red is symbolic of Japan and "incorporates the two key concepts of Skyward Dreams and Joy" (sounds like a slogan from a focus group gone bad to me, personally) and the silver exemplifying professionalism, quality, and innovation. The black titling reflects (again, according to JAL) dependability and versatility.

Okay, sure thing. Whatever...

Maybe I'm just too much of a retro-geek or maybe I just hate change, but this livery doesn't do it for me and the abandonment of the traditional Tsurumaru livery just follows a long-standing trend in the last 10 years in the airline industry as they sever themselves from their proud histories in a sound-bite motivated climate of marketing rebranding that falls flat on its face. I need not list those airlines, we all know who they are (...cough, ahem, SWISS, cough, ahem....).

The Tsurumaru logo was first seen on JAL's DC-8s in the early 1960s and was adopted as the corporate logo in October of 1965. By the early 1970s as JAL spread its route network worldwide, the Tsurumaru was displayed prominently on the tail with a red/dark blue cheatline running through the window line on their aircraft. In 1987 JAL was privatized, with the central Tokyo government divesting itself of its holdings/operational control of the airline. Two years later, to reflect this change, the livery was changed to what we see today, but the Tsurumaru remained on the tails of JAL's aircraft, albeit with slightly modified JAL font.

With T-Man's challenge for a better JAL livery, I had to stick with the Tsurumaru logo in some form or another, 'cause that's just the way the world operates within the hallowed halls of The Chicken Works. Only on this version, I enlarged the crane's head and made it a prominent part of the tail logo with flowing arcs of red/silver above and forward on the fuselage to give the impression of a bird's wings in flight. I find the red/silver combination of the current revised livery a nice look, so I decided to stick with that particular set of colors.

I like the idea of a clean, crisp livery for JAL in line with their current livery but one that's not so damned white. The engine nacelles are kept white as is most of the fuselage so as not to detract from the sweep of the crane logo on the tail/rear fuselage, but also to not take away from the billboard style titles on the forward fuselage- you'll note a smaller version of the crane on the "A" in the titles, and as in the current livery, a reiteration of the "Japan Airlines" titles in a smaller font and in black. I set the JAL titles in a subtle gradient so as to not overpower the cleanliness of the design but highlighted them in silver as an accent.

Here's the livery on the heaviest of heavy metal, the Boeing 747-400. Note the Tsurumaru logo on the winglets, repeating the theme of the logo on the tail.

As an interesting side note, while digging for more information on the origins of the Tsurumaru, I found the image below of a set of antique porcelain plates from late 17th Century feudal Japan. Apparently upon further research I found out that these are called Arita porcelain which is quite valuable- Arita is a city on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan that's been a center of porcelain artistry and production since 1604 when Japanese warlords returning from a failed invasion of Korea came back with skilled Korean potters. I found the design of the plates quite similar to the JAL Tsurumaru and I wonder if these were the inspiration for the original livery designers. Oh, the the plates sell for $1100 if you're tired of spending that money for Tucano releases!

At any rate, enjoy this livery!

HNL-Chris · 10-18-2002, 10:17 PM

Man I wish I could do that. Really stunning.
Aloha,
Chris

DeltaFlot · 10-18-2002, 10:42 PM

Well isn't that impressive. The Chicken Works has done it again. Sweet job

ZaqAttaq · 10-19-2002, 10:17 AM

in tears

tech77jp · 10-19-2002, 11:35 AM

Now if the crane was changed to a kangaroo it would look like a spin-off of the Qantas scheme. Beautiful job, though. Out of the three or so versions of the new JAL livery I've seen at this site all were better than the ****ty excuse for a livery they released.

Westjetter · 10-26-2002, 05:09 AM

SWEEEEEEEEEET! That looks so cool!

bigredvmi · 10-26-2002, 10:20 AM

Much better!

9V-SVC · 10-26-2002, 01:11 PM

Ohh , i prefer this livery definately .

Hankman · 10-29-2002, 11:18 PM

Very very impressive!! Excellent work! This is the kind of designs which come from true vision and creativity, not corporate follow-the-leader. Standing ovation!

Avianca 767 · 11-05-2002, 01:06 PM

OH !!!! man what nice work 100% better then what they came out with, they should have gone to you better......EXCELLENT !!!!

11-07-2002, 03:06 PM

OMG That is amazing.

BillTse · 11-07-2002, 05:08 PM

Too bad JAL didn't consult you Doc before they changed their livery. Your's rocks, and their new one sucks.

10-18-2002, 10:06 PM	#1
Sentinel Chicken Go-Getters Go Ozark Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: DFW/THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS Posts: 4,167	That new JAL livery SUCKS! The Chicken Works has a solution! Recently T-Man suggested that the brain trust at The Chicken Works take on the JAL livery and find a better solution than the current livery. I posted these last week to our forums at www.diecastairlines.com and it's high time to share with the fans over here.... We've all seen JAL's new look and it just doesn't do it for me. The new livery redesign was spurred on by JAL's recent acquisition of JAS (Japan Air System) in the past year. The new identity/livery was unveiled October 2nd and is themed "Arc of the Sun", with the replacement of the classic crane logo (Tsurumaru) with a new red sun bordered in silver on the tail. According to JAL's own press releases, the red is symbolic of Japan and "incorporates the two key concepts of Skyward Dreams and Joy" (sounds like a slogan from a focus group gone bad to me, personally) and the silver exemplifying professionalism, quality, and innovation. The black titling reflects (again, according to JAL) dependability and versatility. Okay, sure thing. Whatever... Maybe I'm just too much of a retro-geek or maybe I just hate change, but this livery doesn't do it for me and the abandonment of the traditional Tsurumaru livery just follows a long-standing trend in the last 10 years in the airline industry as they sever themselves from their proud histories in a sound-bite motivated climate of marketing rebranding that falls flat on its face. I need not list those airlines, we all know who they are (...cough, ahem, SWISS, cough, ahem....). The Tsurumaru logo was first seen on JAL's DC-8s in the early 1960s and was adopted as the corporate logo in October of 1965. By the early 1970s as JAL spread its route network worldwide, the Tsurumaru was displayed prominently on the tail with a red/dark blue cheatline running through the window line on their aircraft. In 1987 JAL was privatized, with the central Tokyo government divesting itself of its holdings/operational control of the airline. Two years later, to reflect this change, the livery was changed to what we see today, but the Tsurumaru remained on the tails of JAL's aircraft, albeit with slightly modified JAL font. With T-Man's challenge for a better JAL livery, I had to stick with the Tsurumaru logo in some form or another, 'cause that's just the way the world operates within the hallowed halls of The Chicken Works. Only on this version, I enlarged the crane's head and made it a prominent part of the tail logo with flowing arcs of red/silver above and forward on the fuselage to give the impression of a bird's wings in flight. I find the red/silver combination of the current revised livery a nice look, so I decided to stick with that particular set of colors. I like the idea of a clean, crisp livery for JAL in line with their current livery but one that's not so damned white. The engine nacelles are kept white as is most of the fuselage so as not to detract from the sweep of the crane logo on the tail/rear fuselage, but also to not take away from the billboard style titles on the forward fuselage- you'll note a smaller version of the crane on the "A" in the titles, and as in the current livery, a reiteration of the "Japan Airlines" titles in a smaller font and in black. I set the JAL titles in a subtle gradient so as to not overpower the cleanliness of the design but highlighted them in silver as an accent. Here's the livery on the heaviest of heavy metal, the Boeing 747-400. Note the Tsurumaru logo on the winglets, repeating the theme of the logo on the tail. As an interesting side note, while digging for more information on the origins of the Tsurumaru, I found the image below of a set of antique porcelain plates from late 17th Century feudal Japan. Apparently upon further research I found out that these are called Arita porcelain which is quite valuable- Arita is a city on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan that's been a center of porcelain artistry and production since 1604 when Japanese warlords returning from a failed invasion of Korea came back with skilled Korean potters. I found the design of the plates quite similar to the JAL Tsurumaru and I wonder if these were the inspiration for the original livery designers. Oh, the the plates sell for $1100 if you're tired of spending that money for Tucano releases! At any rate, enjoy this livery! __________________ *Piss on noise abatement!*

10-18-2002, 10:17 PM	#2
HNL-Chris Insane Collector Join Date: May 2000 Location: Honolulu, HI/Denver, CO USA Age: 24 Posts: 2,087	Beautiful work! Man I wish I could do that. Really stunning. Aloha, Chris __________________ To visit Chris and Jack's 1/400 & 1/500 photo albums at, Click here or our web site at http://www.hnl-chris.com

10-18-2002, 10:42 PM	#3
DeltaFlot The Patriot Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Laurel, MD Age: 35 Posts: 3,228	Well isn't that impressive. The Chicken Works has done it again. Sweet job __________________ Febuary 15, 1898 December 7, 1941 June 8, 1967 September 11, 2001 Never Forget, Never Forgive If you kick the Tiger in the arse, you better be able to deal with the Tiger's teeth.

10-19-2002, 10:17 AM	#4
ZaqAttaq www.wizzair.com Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: State College, PA Age: 19 Posts: 468	in tears __________________ http://www.statecollegeairport.org Arsenal F.C.

10-19-2002, 11:35 AM	#5
tech77jp Senior Collector Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Osaka, Japan Posts: 435	Now if the crane was changed to a kangaroo it would look like a spin-off of the Qantas scheme. Beautiful job, though. Out of the three or so versions of the new JAL livery I've seen at this site all were better than the ***ty excuse for a livery they released. __________________ "Everything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or fattening." - Murphy* http://www.soaringcapture.tk/

10-26-2002, 05:09 AM	#6
Westjetter Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Age: 27 Posts: 2,650	SWEEEEEEEEEET! That looks so cool!

10-26-2002, 10:20 AM	#7
bigredvmi Master Collector Join Date: May 2002 Location: Michigan Posts: 786	Much better! __________________ - Drew Sell crazy somewere else were all stocked up here

10-26-2002, 01:11 PM	#8
9V-SVC AirBoeingBus Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Singapore Posts: 4,587	Ohh , i prefer this livery definately . __________________ My jetphotos.net photos Plane pictures.net photos Let's welcome Boeing newest product, the Boeing 7E7.

10-29-2002, 11:18 PM	#9
Hankman Collector Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Tokyo Posts: 49	wow Very very impressive!! Excellent work! This is the kind of designs which come from true vision and creativity, not corporate follow-the-leader. Standing ovation!

11-05-2002, 01:06 PM	#10
Avianca 767 Collector Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: NYC Age: 42 Posts: 82	OH !!!! man what nice work 100% better then what they came out with, they should have gone to you better......EXCELLENT !!!!

11-07-2002, 03:06 PM	#11
Ibericus Guest Posts: n/a	OMG That is amazing.

11-07-2002, 05:08 PM	#12
BillTse Senior Collector Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 355	Too bad JAL didn't consult you Doc before they changed their livery. Your's rocks, and their new one sucks.

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