Sexy Nate!

[Skyraider3D]

[Logan Hartke]

The camo's crazy, but boy that plane is gorgeous.  The lighting is especially magnificent on the skin.

Cheers,

Logan

[sandiego89]

I'm a plastic kind of guy, but that is a great art work!  Echo on the lighting/shading work, really well done.  The Black Bunny "Vandy 1" looks great on anything. 

[Skyraider3D]

Thanks guys!


This Nate profile was a goofy spin-off from my work for Osprey's Ki-27 "Nate" Aces by Nicholas Millman, which was published last summer. Like with the previous Ki-44 "Tojo" Aces, I created all cover art, profile illustrations and line drawings for this title too.

Cover art:


Close-up of the action:


The cover art shows Shogo Saito and his 24th Sentai Nakajima Ki-27 Otsu, after having just rammed a Soviet Polikarpov I-16 Type 10. Saito decided to ram after having spent all his ammunition already, bringing down four other Polikarpovs and strafing several more. While the I-16 crashed, Saito returned safely and got the nickname "The Ramming King". His Ki-27 was exhibited in Tokyo, with arrows indicating the many bullet holes sustained in the fight.


Here's a sampling of the 35+ profiles I created for this title (not all were published due to lack of space):

Ki-27 Ko, c/n 184, of 1st Lt Iwori Sakai, 64th Sentai, Ehrtaokou, China, November 1938. This aircraft has the sliding hood removed, a common practice which improved visibility from the cockpit.


Ki-27 Otsu of 2nd Lt Iichi Yamaguchi, 68th Shinbutai leader, Chiran, Kyushu, Japan, April 1945. The 68th Shinbutai was a dedicated special attack (kamikaze) unit and Yamaguchi probably sortied on 12 April 1945 as Nates of his unit were responsible for severely damaging LCS(L) 57 and the destroyer USS Rall (DE-304) on this date. The make-shift bombrack held a non-droppable 250kg bomb.


Ki-27 Otsu of the Mukden Hikko Gakko, Manchukuoan Air Force, Manchuria, December 1944. Note the remnants of the crudely removed IJAAF Hinomaru. Nates of the Manchukuoan Air Force brought down at least two USAAF B-29s through ramming.



Some relevant links:
Announcement on Nick Millman's website: http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2013/08/ki-27-aces.html
Item on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ki-27-Nate-Aces-Aircraft/dp/1849086621/
Item on Osprey's own site: http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/Ki-27-%E2%80%98Nate%E2%80%99-Aces_9781849086622
Indepent review with page samples: http://www.aeroscale.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=9516



I'm contemplating a Hello Kitty "Nate" next, before I stray away too far from What-Ifs!!!



PS. I realised I accidentally posted in the wrong forum, this should've gone under the artwork section. Apologies!