Before the new film JIMMY brought James Stewart’s wartime years back to the cinema, artist Nina Mae Fowler and Tim Hannam at Bronzecraft Art Foundry had already cast in metal. Incredibly, on the same site that James Stewart commanded at Old Buckenham Airfield 453rd Bombardment Group. Nina created Jimmy sculpture from a wartime photograph of Stewart at Old Buckenham and commissioned us to carry out the foundry work. We cast her figure in aluminium partly sourced from Second World War aircraft.
The result was Jimmy, an approximately 60 cm sculpture by Nina Mae Fowler that joins a person, a place and a material. Nina modelled the figure. As the commissioned foundry, we translated her model into aluminium and produced the railing required by the composition. More than a decade later, KJ Apa’s portrayal of Stewart in JIMMY makes Fowler’s sculpture newly resonant.
The story at a glance
- James “Jimmy” Stewart
- Oscar-winning American actor, wartime bomber pilot and later US Air Force Reserve brigadier general.
- Norfolk connection
- James Stewart served with the 453rd Bombardment Group at Old Buckenham during the Second World War.
- The sculpture
- Tim Hannam suggested the idea to Nina Jimmy, the sculpture approximately 60 cm aluminium figure based on a wartime photograph of James Stewart beside railings.
- Artist
- Nina Mae Fowler is the artist
- Commissioned foundry
- Nina Mae Fowler commissioned Bronzecraft in Attleborough, Norfolk, to carry out the foundry work.
- Material
- Bronzecraft Ltd cast Jimmy in aluminium incorporating metal from disused Second World War aircraft components.
- Public presentation
- Jimmy became a centrepiece of a Burnham Market arts venture in 2014.
- The new film
- JIMMY, directed by Aaron Burns and starring KJ Apa, opens in US cinemas on 6 November 2026.
What is the JIMMY film?
JIMMY is a biographical drama about the period that transformed James Stewart from a Hollywood star into a combat aviator and then challenged him to find his way back to acting. The official film site says JIMMY follows Stewart from his Academy Award for The Philadelphia Story, through enlistment and 20 combat missions over Europe, to his return and the role of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life.
KJ Apa plays James Stewart in JIMMY. Aaron Burns directs the film from a screenplay by Justin Strawhand, and Stewart’s daughter Kelly Stewart Harcourt is an executive producer. The cast brings together Max Casella as Frank Capra, Jason Alexander as Louis B. Mayer, Jen Lilley as Gloria Stewart and Christopher McDonald as Lionel Barrymore.
JIMMY will premiere at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis on 8 October 2026, then arrive in US cinemas on 6 November. A UK release date has yet to be announced. The film’s arrival brings fresh attention to the same chapter of Stewart’s life that Nina Mae Fowler explored through her sculpture.
Why was Jimmy Stewart in Norfolk?
James Stewart was already an Academy Award-winning actor when he entered military service in March 1941. Stewart was also an experienced civilian pilot, having accumulated more than 400 flying hours before qualifying as a military pilot. After a period as an instructor, Stewart deployed to England in autumn 1943 as commanding officer of the 703rd Bomb Squadron, flying B-24 Liberators.
On 31 March 1944, the 453rd Bombardment Group appointed James Stewart as its Operations Officer at Old Buckenham. That title matters. Stewart was not the commanding officer of the airfield; his operational role placed him within the group that planned and flew dangerous bombing missions from the Norfolk station.
James Stewart completed 20 combat missions over Europe. Stewart later served as Chief of Staff of the 2nd Combat Wing, remained in the US Air Force Reserve after the war, became a brigadier general in 1959 and retired in 1968. Stewart’s military career was neither a publicity appearance nor a brief interruption to acting; military service formed a substantial part of his life.
Old Buckenham and the 453rd Bomb Group
From December 1943 to April 1945, Old Buckenham was home to the 453rd Bombardment Group. Its crews flew B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force. The Old Buckenham 453rd Museum records 259 missions, 58 aircraft lost and 366 servicemen who lost their lives while serving from the station.
The 453rd Bombardment Group’s losses change the tone of the story. Old Buckenham is interesting because a celebrated actor served there, but the airfield is important because thousands of people worked, flew and lived with the consequences of the air war there. Any account of James Stewart’s Norfolk years should remember that larger community and the cost carried by it.
At Bronzecraft Ltd, we were pleased to cast Nina Mae Fowler’s sculpture at our foundry in Attleborough, close to Old Buckenham. The foundry’s location adds a further local connection as Jimmy Stewart would have known this building, one of only two surviving generator houses. Now home to Bronzecraft, Nina’s artwork was translated into metal near the historic airfield, using historic aluminium with its own aviation history.
How the Jimmy Stewart sculpture began
Our work at Bronzecraft began when founder Tim Hannam showed Nina Mae Fowler the wartime photograph, explained its connection with nearby Old Buckenham and asked whether she would consider creating a sculpture from it. The early discussion included the possibility of casting the work in aluminium collected from Second World War aircraft parts. Nina Mae Fowler later recounted the exchange in a 2012 Hush-Kit interview.
“Tim Hannam who runs the foundry showed me the image, telling me the history of the local airfield and asked if I would consider making a sculpture based on the photograph.”
Nina Mae Fowler, interviewed by Hush-Kit, 2012
The creative roles were clear. Nina Mae Fowler created Jimmy: she interpreted the photograph, conceived the figure in three dimensions and modelled the work in clay. At Bronzecraft, we took care of the commissioned foundry work. We made the mould and railing, cast Nina Fowler’s figure in aluminium and finished the metal while preserving the character of her modelling.
The photograph shows Stewart resting against railings in flying uniform and is widely identified with Old Buckenham. Its exact date, photographer and setting remain uncertain, so the image is best understood for what it clearly preserves: Stewart at ease in the landscape of his wartime service.
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How Nina Mae Fowler created Jimmy
Nina Mae Fowler made the approximately 60 cm model in Chavant. This oil-based modelling clay remains workable instead of drying like a water-based clay, while its firmness permits the precise treatment needed for a recognisable uniform, boots, cap, binoculars and the smaller details of a wartime figure.
1. Reading the photograph
A single photograph records only one view. Nina Mae Fowler had to infer depth, balance and the unseen sides of the figure while staying faithful to James Stewart’s pose and period equipment. The relationship between Stewart’s body and the railings gives the image much of its sculptural character.
2. Modelling the figure
Nina Mae Fowler’s Chavant model established James Stewart’s posture, clothing and accessories. Fowler aimed to capture more than facial resemblance. The whole silhouette—the relaxed lean, the long limbs and the weight carried by the rail—had to make sense in three dimensions.
3. Making the mould
Once Nina Mae Fowler completed the model, Tim Hannam made a mould that recorded its surface and proportions. The mould allowed us to translate From the clay original into metal while preserving the artist’s detail through each stage of casting. by the lost wax process
4. Recreating the railing
As part of the commissioned foundry work, we made a replica of the railing at Bronzecraft. The railing is more than background scenery: it supports Fowler’s pose, fixes the figure in space and makes the historic image .
5. Casting and finishing in aluminium
At Bronzecraft, we cast Fowler’s figure in aluminium and incorporated metal from disused Second World War aircraft parts. Jimmy therefore contains genuine historic aircraft aluminium, although the surviving record does not tie the whole casting to one named aircraft.
The completed metalwork then required the practical work common to fine-art casting: removal of casting feeds, assembly where needed, surface correction and finishing that preserved the modelling rather than flattening it.
Where was Jimmy exhibited?
In September 2014, Jimmy became a centrepiece of a new arts venture in Burnham Market. The presentation brought Nina Mae Fowler’s sculpture into a public setting and recognised the foundry work carried out by our founder, Tim Hannam, and the Bronzecraft team. Edition 1 is in a private collection. Edition 2 belongs to Tim Hannam and is on display at Bronzecraft Foundry.
The history behind the film
JIMMY follows Stewart from pre-war Hollywood success through military service and a difficult return to acting, culminating in It’s a Wonderful Life. The film distils that journey into a screen story. Behind it are several facts that anchor Stewart’s connection with aviation, Norfolk and the role of George Bailey:
- James Stewart was a qualified pilot before military service. Stewart’s aviation experience preceded the war.
- James Stewart flew 20 combat missions. The National Museum of the United States Air Force records that total.
- James Stewart served as Operations Officer of the 453rd Bombardment Group. Stewart held that role at Old Buckenham; he did not command the airfield.
- It’s a Wonderful Life was James Stewart’s first film after the war. Many writers see echoes of his wartime experience in the anguish and vulnerability of George Bailey, but that remains an interpretation rather than a formal diagnosis.
- Old Buckenham’s story is larger than one famous serviceman. The 453rd Museum’s record of missions, aircraft losses and deaths keeps the human cost visible.
Nina Mae Fowler’s sculpture offers a different kind of historical interpretation. The film JIMMY uses performance and narrative; Fowler’s sculpture Jimmy uses pose, scale, place and material. Both works return to the moment when an actor known for an affable screen presence entered a world of real operational responsibility and danger.
Visit and explore the Norfolk story
The 453rd Bombardment Group Museum at Old Buckenham brings the airfield’s wartime community into view through objects, photographs and personal histories. The American Library’s 453rd Bombardment Group archive opens another window onto the people, aircraft and missions connected with the station.
To explore the artistic side of the story, read our profile of Nina Mae Fowler. Her wider practice turns cinema, publicity and archival imagery into drawings, sculpture and installations that examine the lives behind famous images.
JIMMY arrives in US cinemas on 6 November 2026. A UK date has yet to be announced. The official JIMMY website carries the trailer and the latest release news.
Frequently asked questions
Casting history into sculpture
Jimmy shows what can happen when an artist’s idea meets specialist foundry craft. From our independent fine-art foundry in Attleborough, Norfolk, we specialise in fine-art casting and 3D metal printing. For Nina Mae Fowler’s sculpture, our task was to translate her model faithfully into aluminium while preserving the pose, detail and character she created.
If you already have a finished model or mould, our cast-only service carries the work through metal casting and finishing. If your sculpture begins as a digital model, our 3D printing service offers a direct route into metal. Contact us to discuss the right process for your sculpture.