To purchase this print, please to order the item from HobbyLink Japan, our distribution partner.
Koike has chosen deep green foliage for his "sea" in this fine rendition of a Ki-51, a.k.a. the Type 99 Assault Plane, or "Sonia" in Allied code name parlance. This could be Burma, perhaps, one of the many major theaters in which the type saw action, where it was frequently used quite successfully in ground-attack missions from poor airfields. Unusual for a Japanese plane, the type was heavily armored to protect the crew from ground fire during low-level missions.
Too slow to be a dogfighter, the Sonia nevertheless was in action from 1940 through the end of the conflict in numerous roles, and joined other Japanese types in being used for kamikaze attacks in 1945. The type even attacked Russian forces in Manchuria very late in the war, and is credited with sinking the USS Bullhead, a Balao-class submarine, on the same day the US bombed Hiroshima. This was the US Navy's last combat loss of the war.
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).