I've come to realize that many of the members here like to know a little of the history of the model they are building. I've taken some info that is included with the Intro Sheet of the kit and present it here. If your not interested in it's history, you can skip this comment.
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Some historic aircraft are remembered for their accomplishments, such as flying the fastest, the farthest or the highest. Others are associated with specific events or the historic missions they flew. The aircraft known as “The Dragon and His Tail”, was best known for the artwork it was covered in.
Built at Consolidated's San Diego factory, the soon to become “Dragon” made it's first flight on June 3rd 1944 and was delivered to the AAF several days later. This B-24J was assigned to the 5th Air Force's 64th Bomb Squadron, 43rd Bomb Group, based on Le Shima Island near Okinawa. One of the men stationed on Le Shima was Sarkis Bartigian.
The Artist
Bartigian was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, in 1906. He joined the USAAF at age 36 or 37, having previously studied art and working as a commercial artist painting murals for restaurants and movie theater marquees. Initially stationed at Lowry AFB, he trained to use the Sperry bomb-sight, where he later used his own illustrations to instruct others. It was after being assigned to the 43rd Bomb Group that his artistic talents were put to dramatic use.
The B-24's flat sided fuselage made a perfect canvas for nose art and Sgt. Bartigian liked working big. His art filled the entire nose of the aircraft and as on the “Dragon” stretched down the length of the fuselage. He was kept busy painting nose art murals for many aircraft, including “Cocktail Hour”, “It Ain't so Funny”, “Michigan” and “Mabel's Labels. The Mabel in “Mabel's Labels” was actually his wife.
“The Dragon and His Tail” flew 85 combat missions and survived the war along with Sgt. Bartigian. Sadly, they both met early demises. Bartigian was killed in a motor vehicle accident in 1955, at age 49. The “Dragon” ended up at the aircraft boneyard at Kingman, Arizona. The story goes that the men working at the reclamation plant were so impressed by the artwork the it was the last B-24 to be scrapped at Kingman.
Stripped of it's engines and guns, waiting to be scrapped.
But the story is not over.... The “Dragon lives on in the form of numerous die-cast, plastic and now a paper card model. In 1989 the Collins Foundation undertook a multi-million dollar restoration of the only flyable B-24J left in the world and painted it as “The Dragon and His Tail”.
The Collins Foundation B-24J
An artist's greatest desire is to have others appreciate their work and Sarkis Bartigian's art lives on and is still appreciated today.