To purchase this print, please to order the item from HobbyLink Japan, our distribution partner.
A Black Widow patrols evening skies tinged with red remnants of the evening light. Perhaps she has found prey; the right wing's spoiler is up as she banks to the right and the turret gun seems to have found a target. "Moon Happy" in this beautiful Koike painting was from the Army Air Force's 6th Night Fighter Squadron and on June 30, 1944 became the first P-61 to score a kill, shooting down a Type 1 Land Based Bomber ("Betty") over Saipan. The nose art was later repainted to that of a woman as shown in the painting. P-61s, known for their signature all-black scheme, were initially marked in the olive drab over gray seen here. Koike's portrayal of the delicate color variations in the markings in this lighting are, as usual, superb. "It's hard to imagine something this large as a fighter, but it's a plane I like," says Koike.
This print is reproduced on heavy art board and sized identically to the original, measuring 400mm x 315mm (15.75 x 12.4 inches). It's offset-printed, and the color reproduction has been approved by Koike himself. The art board measures 625mm x 453mm (24.6 x 17.8 inches), leaving white borders around the image to give you the freedom to have it framed as you please. The prints are packed in a special sleeve inside a sturdy shipping box designed to prevent any bending while on their way to you (for this reason, they cannot be combined with other types of items for shipping, they will be shipped separately, even if ordered with other items).