A Guide to the Best of Southern California : NOSTALGIA : Riveting Pinups

Elliot Gilbert has a nose for art, particularly paintings that once graced the flying fortresses of World War II. His re-creations of these uniquely American artworks appear on chunks of WWII planes that Gilbert, who calls his Los Angeles nose-art company Bombs Away!, found in an Arizona junkyard.

He restores the metal--ranging in diameter from 2 to 6 feet--to its original look, then spends hours painting on the Alberto Vargas-type girls (Memphis Belle, Dream Girl, Satin Doll) and military insignia of the era.

“I try to make it look as if we came upon an old airplane and just cut off this one part from it,” Gilbert says. He’ll also do custom work, such as incorporate your name into the piece (“Kelly’s Marauders,” for example).

The price: $1,500 and up, depending on the degree of detail. Pilots painted the noses of their B-17s as reminders of home. Gilbert’s art lets you bring home a little bit of the glamour of the period--without the flak.

Elliot Gilbert, by appointment only; (213) 939-1846