When it comes to custom paint jobs on vehicles, you tend to think of motorcycles, cars, or boats. Less common, but completely mindblowing, are custom paint jobs on aircraft. Whether it’s terrifying military aircraft or a billionaire indulging their ‘creative’ side, here are some of the coolest, most extravagant, and downright weirdest custom paint jobs on the world’s leading aircraft.

The Hawaiian Sea Turtle

All Nippon Airways is one of Airbus’ premier clients; this is a picture of the A380 series. You can see how the plane has gotten the sea turtle treatment. These turtles are primarily found in Hawaii, hinting at the plane’s commuting path to Narita-Honolulu. Two more A380s are to get the same treatment but in different colours: one of them will be green while the other one is set to be orange.

The Maple Leaf

This is a CF-18 Demo of the Royal Canadian Air Force, proudly showing off the Canadian spirit with its white and red maple leaf theme. It was during 2017’s 150th Anniversary Air Show (or Canada150) that the RCAF unveiled the CF-18 fighter jet. Cracking a top speed of 1,127 miles per hour, you might have some trouble spotting the CF-18, but you will definitely hear this sound-barrier-breaking marvel.

Roosters On A Plane

This is the most amusing airplane paint job we have ever seen, which is known as the Nokair. This is a rooster-themed Boeing 737-800 if you had not already noticed. Those who have flown with Nokair Airlines before will be well-acquainted with their funky and hilarious company culture and self-expression, this plane being just one of many examples of their sensational sense of humor. Nokair has a full range of animal-themed planes, but this feathery variety gets first prize.

Winged Warrior

This is yet another plane with a rooster theme. We have to wonder what is it with airplane owners and birds, since you’d think it’d be quite embarrassing to fly around in something like this. Of course, if you look more closely, the pilot inside this poultry monstrosity is kitted out with vintage pilot gear. This is the type of design that we love to hate.

The Make-A-Wish Jet

It is difficult not to spot this vibrant rainbow plane spreading joy across the sky. It is called the “Dream Chaser 5,” a Lear Jet model 35 which was kindly passed on by International Jet Aviation, a Denver aircraft management and charter business. This unique model serves severely sick youth on an international scale, taking them on thrilling flights if that is their request.

Eyes Of The Tiger

Stemming from the EX 1/12 host unit, the Mirage 2000RDI 83/12-YL is up there with the most impressively stunning military paint jobs we have laid eyes on, which you can see in the above concept art. Do not be fooled by this misleadingly epic paint job and image, however – the Mirage faulted prior to even leaving the runway.

The Arctic Tiger

With an “Arctic Tiger” paint job, this French Dassault Rafale M fighter looks like something straight out of a video game. You might think twice about engaging with this predator if you spotted it, that is for sure. The red eyes of the arctic hunter almost glow against the black and white paint job.

Flying Nemo

While Nemo was busy telling everyone to keep swimming, this airplane was taking Nemo to the skies. The Czech Republic is the proud home to this Short SC-7 Skyvan 3-100, run by Pink Aviation. We cannot help but think that this adorable plane would best be suited to delivering toys to children across Eastern Europe.

Spreading The Christmas Spirit

This Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is all about serving the jolly spirit of Christmas. Just look at how much Christmassy goodness has been added to this plane, with its wreathed wings and reindeer-adorned engines. Seeing this Santa-worthy colossus against a snowy landscape makes for a rousing juxtaposition. Maybe instead of launching explosive missiles, they could equip some ballistic Christmas crackers?

Spreading The Terror

This olive green scheme, complete with a snarling monster on the nose, is nothing short of fearsome. Among all the creative designs in this list, we just had to include this traditionally warlike paint job. Adding personality to military craft is a fantastic way to make pilots feel braver and enemies more terrified.

Disco In The Sky

Better known as the “SexyJet,” this funky Gulfstream GV in Clay Lacy Aviation’s employment was serviced with a luxurious chameleonic paint job. You can be sure that this jet is furnished with all the frills a wealthy businessperson could ask for. These include a complete gallery, an individual bathroom, power outlets for devices, and a delicious range of warm and cold food services. A pair of Rolls-Royce engines propel this mighty Gulfstream GV through the sky. This is a one-of-a-kind opulent paint job reserved for the world’s top 1%.

Alien Copter

The NATO Tiger Meet is always an occasion for showing off, with this chopper being treated to rather horrifying customization. Zaragoza, Spain, was where the 2016 NATO Tiger Meet took place, with this “Tiger Hind” making its way to the top of the judges’ scorecards. It was handed the Best-Looking Tiger Aircraft Award. Looking like the alien from, well, Alien, this Hind is a terrifying sight to behold, with a cyborg jaguar in HR Giger style to finish off the fear.

Bits & Bytes

You have to hand it to the Russians when it comes to slick artwork, with this Digi-camo inspiration becoming one of the most beloved pieces in military aesthetics. Those familiar with the U.S. Air Force’s output might recognize this paint job from a USAF F-16 released a couple of years ago, making for a suspicious comparison. Do not be too critical of the USAF’s lack of originality, however, seeing as this Sukhoi Su-57 was virtually copied from the F-22 Raptor.

All Charged Up

With an obvious Duracell battery design, this C-130 Hercules is a flying advertisement for the battery company. This was an initiative geared toward powering countless children’s electronic toys, with Duracell partnering with Toys for Tots to deliver the above-pictured payload of AA batteries. We just love the amusing battery theme of this C-130 Hercules, which we are sad to say can’t be powered by simple AA batteries.

The Dutch Demo team

Just look at this member of the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s vibrant aerobatics crew. Known as the Dutch Demo team, this now retired outfit wielded the F-16 jet fighter and the AH-64 Apache in their AH-64D Apache Solo Display Team. Pictured is the F-16 in its traditionally orange scheme, being a sensational work of titillating performance. If only we could have caught this team while they were still in action.

Eagle Inbound

This Mil Mi-24 is the type of humongous attack helicopter designed with one thing in mind: supplying as much explosiveness as possible with little utility and transportation capacity leftover. You also get the Mi-35 and Mi-25 export varieties of this design. We cannot decide whether this paint job, however, is a laughable overkill or a sincerely scary example of military ingenuity. The whole thing has been painstakingly painted to appear like a bird of prey. Granted, you will never see anything else like this take to the skies.

Strong Force

The force was clearly strong in the All Nippon Airline, with its triple set of Star Wars droid-themed beauties! This is one excellent way to get people to fly with you, with R2-D2, BB-8, and C-3PO being the inspirations for these airplanes, respectively. Slapping the Star Wars logo on anything will automatically entice potential customers – I mean who doesn’t want to fly in a Star Wars-themed plane? We are booking our tickets now.

National Pride

There is only one thing that is better than pop culture, and that is showing pride in where you come from, which is exactly what Southwest Airlines did. With Southwest’s aircraft flying over Denver all the time, making a statement for Colorado residents is just fantastic. You can bet that Denver-based flights will be a proud event for any passenger with this flag-inspired scheme. Colorado is given a true honoring with this plane, but beyond that, the paint job here is immaculate.

Swoosh

While all private jets are beyond the ordinary person’s reach (financially and physically), the Gulfstream G550 comes with a particularly hefty price tag, and that is without the custom Nike paint job. Nothing makes you seem cooler than having a private jet, other than bringing your favorite sportswear brand to a larger-than-life proportion. The slick blending of the cyan stripes into the navy-blue body is a drop-dead gorgeous flair. You will struggle to find any customized paint job as awesome as this one.

Disney Princess

Finally, Tinkerbell from the iconic Disney masterpiece Peter Pan will actually be able to fly! While the beloved fairy may take center stage on this enchanted airplane, it was born of an agreement between Disneyland and Alaska Airlines. Nothing makes you want to drop everything and book a flight to Disneyland more than this jaw-dropping work, and nothing is going to stop children from clamoring to get on this airplane, that’s for sure.

The Pride Of Alaska

While an airplane moves a little faster than a husky sled, this Alaska-themed aircraft fantastically represents all the state’s most beloved attractions. Working as both an excellent flying advert for the state and commemoration of its wonderfully frosty features, this airplane will make anyone considering a new holiday think very strongly about heading to the snowy land. The husky at the cockpit is a great touch, showing how the pilots are leading this aircraft on.

Blast From The Past

World War II was a time when military aircraft were given all kinds of flamboyant paint jobs, and this Warthog has been dedicated to that creativity. While we understand that this is a super powerful piece of military equipment which could easily level whole city districts in no time, we really want to show some appreciation for the artist here. Staring down the eyes and the many barrels of the front of this monster is bound to send even the most fortified enemies running.

A Big Smile

Someone must have spent too much time around jet fuel fumes before they painted this bizarre sight. We can tell you that what you are looking at is a Short SC-7 Skyvan 3-100, but you are on your own trying to figure out the rest. This is one of the more unique airplane paint jobs we have seen, however, so we must give the artist points for creativity.

Union Jack

Here we have the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom’s Aerospace Hawk T.1A in a form that is unambiguously patriotic. This model is one of England’s longest-serving and most beloved military aircraft, with a 40-year serving time. Countless training missions have been successfully completed in these beauties, well-deserving of the loyal paint job. Nothing says British aeronautics like the Hawk T1A, and the RAF is clearly proud of this loyal and trusty jet.

Sprawling Wings of an Eagle

Given the Oregon National Guard’s obvious pride in their state’s natural splendor, it makes sense that they painted a majestic bald eagle on one of their F-15E fighter jets. Rightly so, as the F-15 Eagle cannot be matched when it comes to performance and offensiveness. The unrivaled jetfighter’s maiden flight was enjoyed in 1972 and it continues to be dependably deployed by both the U.S. Air National Guard and the U.S. Air Force.

Butterfly Wings

You will struggle to find many butterflies in the desolate planes of Arizona, except for this noticeably large one. We love the model aircraft feel of this privately owned prop plane, with a tropically refreshing blend of red, yellow, and orange gradients, all framed pleasingly with those sky-blue edges and wispy white finishes.

The Pepsi Plane

Do not let this charming Pepsi paint job fool you – the Concorde was still a highly lethal aircraft doomed for the scrapheap. Well, at least Pepsi got some awesome advertising out of the whole ordeal. Hilariously, the Concorde could only reach its top speeds if it was painted white, meaning that the heavy coats of blue paint actually dragged the Pepsi plane behind. It could still hit the 1.7 Mach, however.

Buzz Lightyear

Kids and adults alike were overjoyed to see one of the world’s favorite heroes, Buzz Lightyear, actually flying through the air! This spectacular scene was brought to life through a Pixar partnership with China Eastern Airlines. The cherry on the top for passengers of this Toy Story delight was receiving themed boarding passes. Being able to have a memento of this extraordinary flight is a lovely touch, don’t you agree?

Jackson Pollock’s Plane

Here we have an unusual passenger plane and a rare sight for this list. The M3 Charter Jet is a highly exclusive private jet, and this particular model looks like it was created by Jackson Pollock. With its lime-green base and enormous splatters of yellow, red, blue, and black paint, this is one flight that you will not forget, provided that you can afford the ticket!

Roaring Façade

The Amur Tiger Center and Rossi’s Airlines partnered to bring you this titanic celebration of the noble jungle predator. This towering Boeing 737 is unique with its stunning visage of a striking Amur Tiger perfectly placed at its nose. This masterpiece required half a ton of paint to finish, giving you some indication of how enormous it is.

Let It Snow!

If your child is struggling against your grip to rush onto this Frozen-themed beauty, maybe you should let it go. It was no small task to bring these modern Disney princesses to life on such a grand scale, requiring around 170 paint gallons’ worth of the 23 separate colors needed for the task. That is according to WestJet, the Canadian airline responsible for this awe-inspiring work.

Jaws

If you are afraid of sharks, you might strongly consider missing this particular flight. Most of the commercial airliner works we have seen so far are quite child-friendly, but this monstrous work of art is plain heart-stopping. Perhaps this mega-shark would have been better suited for a military aircraft, but we love it, nonetheless.

Digitally Ahead

Both pictures do not show the same plane – the top is the Russian Su-57 and the bottom is the U.S. Air Force’s F-16. Despite having been bitter Cold War rivals, the two superpowers have a funny habit of taking huge investments in each other’s military developments. You cannot hope to sneak any design or concept past each other’s spy networks, even when it comes to paint.

Flowers In The Sky

Private jets enjoy some of the most unique and attention-grabbing paint jobs, and for good reason. You must turn the heads of the rich and the famous if you expect them to choose your services over the competition. This is the perfect mode of transport for a romantic getaway, with a gorgeous adornment of flying flowers against a sky-blue backdrop.

Beluga Flight

Trying to match an aircraft’s paint job to its physical appearance is a common theme, with all the eagles and tigers seen before. But this artistic animal likeness is like no other: a Beluga whale! Can you see the phenomenal resemblance? A modified aircraft capable of transporting large cargo, it was originally named the Super Transporter before its pet name of Beluga caught on; it was soon made official.

Auroras In The Skies

One could easily mistake this dazzling Icelandair unit for the northern lights itself, being part of the northern airline’s “IcelandAir Stopover” mission. As you can see, the country which hosts this heavenly natural phenomenon naturally wanted to see it plastered across its airlines. We are going to put this one up there with the best aircraft paint jobs we have seen.

Pokémon Airlines

You might have seen this sensational Pokémon-themed airliner before, having come into action from the 90s onwards. It was in 1998 that this kids’ sensation took to the skies for the first time. Its appearance and performance drew in such a crazed reception that ANA decided to create a second Pokémon plane. They’re now a relatively common sight in Japan, with the franchise’s popularity showing no signs of slowing down.

Incredible Airline

Finishing off strong with another child-friendly wonder we have this Incredibles 2 paint job brought to us by Alaska Airlines during the film’s 2018 release. It is quite an amazing contrast, that of the classic Alaskan airline’s Inuit mascot next to the superhero family of the Incredibles franchise. While kids would jump for joy upon seeing this larger-than-life scene of the adored Disney-Pixar hit, some crotchety older folk were offended at this blemish on their beloved Inuit hero.