P-39N Airacobra_Pinup Art

I had the absolute honor of being commissioned to repaint the pinup art for the P-39N "Girlie". Here is some info from the Pima Air Museum's site. Service History The P-39 was recovered from Tadji, New Guinea in 1974 by Charles Darby and his crew (who were contracted by David Tallichet, an American aircraft collector). The crew was tasked with recovering as many wrecked aircraft as possible from New Guinea and bringing them back to America. The 42-18814, along with numerous other Airacobra hulks, was laboriously disassembled and hauled out of the jungle by hand until it could be loaded onto trucks for the first leg of its trip back to the United States. Eventually arriving in Chino, California, the decades-long restoration of the plane began as it traveled to many museums and restoration shops. In 2004, the partially restored plane was placed on loan to the Pima Air & Space Museum for restoration and display. In 2010, staff and volunteers began the process of turning a pile of parts into a finished, restored, fighter plane. Three years later, the rebuilt and repainted aircraft joined the other World War II era aircraft displayed in the museum’s Hangar 4, representing the US Army Air Forces’ efforts in the Southwest Pacific. More info from the Pima Air And Space Museum's site. Pima Air and Space Museum Here is the original photo that was provided.

The curator stressed that it had to be exactly like the reference. I couldn't deviate from the original design. My dog Oni approves. Sorry for the poor pic

Here it is in the museum.

If you are in Tucson, AZ stop by and check it out. There are tons of historical planes there. Absolutely amazing! Pima Air and Space Museum