24 | September | 2015 | Killer Paint Airbrush Studio

Archive for September 24, 2015

Project Flashback: Captain Jonathan Hillstrand’s Time Bandit Chopper

Filed under: Airbrushing, Custom Paint, Deadliest Catch, Motorcycles, Projects, Television — Leave a comment

September 24, 2015

Several years ago, Johnathan Hillstrand, Captain of the crabbing vessel F/V Time Bandit brought his bike to us looking for a truly supreme paint job. The Time Bandit is one of the featured vessels on Discovery’s popular television documentary-drama the Deadliest Catch.

After discussing some ideas, Mike had an idea of what he was going to do on this project. The theme would elaborate on the Time Bandit concept, and show sailing scenes and battles at sea throughout different eras in time, including pirates, vikings, sea monsters, and more.

The Fuel Tank-

The viking side of the fuel tank, still in progress.

The left side of the tank portrays the ethereal visages of viking warriors and their ship at sea. This side is done in mostly cooler blue tones, with some purple and pink accents that help blend the scene from this side to the images on the tank’s top. A Swedish flag was added above the scene as an homage to the Hillstrand ancestry.

The top side of the tank shows another viking vessel in the background, with a profile portrait of Captain Jonathan in the modern day. A time-spanning Time Bandit clock-like graphic is overlaid on the scene in a bright metallic gold, which catches the light brilliantly in the sun. This scene is done in warm glowing tones, in contrast to the harsher cold sea scenes on the sides.

The modern-era scenery carries over onto the other side of the bike’s tank, where the current day F/V Time Bandit is shown battling a gargantuan monster-crab at sea. An American flag flies above the scene, a counterpart to the Swedish version on the opposing side.

The Front Fender-

On the front fender is a montage of images from a sea pirate era, including a buccaneer captain that looks somewhat familiar. A sailing ship floats below the portrait, backlit by a late-day sun, casting a fiery reddish hue on the whole scene.

The Rear Fender-

Above the tail light on the rear fender of Johnathan’s bike is a Time Bandit “Jolly Roger” flag, engulfed in flames.

On the right-hand side of the fender is a manifestation of the Greek Sea God Poseidon, angrily brandishing his trident while a storm rages. On the opposite side is a crab pot being hauled onboard in spite of the ocean deity’s wrath. A map of the Bering Sea is superimposed over the whole set of scenes, painted again in a bright gold metallic paint that shines in the outdoor light.

On the lower center of the fender, just below the tail light, the F/V Time Bandit plows through stormy seas, with the skull and crossbones emblazoned on the bow. The deckhands at work bringing in another catch can be seen more completely, just above.

Right before Johnathan was to arrive to pick up his newly painted bike, Mike had the idea to etch the Time Bandit logo around the perimeter of the glass on the center gauge. It was finished literally moments before he arrived, so unfortunately there are no pictures of it to post. Captain Hillstrand definitely approves of his bike, though!

We hope you enjoyed taking a look back at this project. Let us know if there is anything you would like to see us post here in the future!