I tend to think that box art should be 3D, and not 2D. 
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OMG, those 1/700 ships look FABULOUS! I love the use of the box as a base!
Personally, I think if the OP wants to sell a product, the box photo should be a clear picture of the actual product on a minimalist background. I dislike 3-D vendors who insist on using only the CGI renders to sell their product. For aftermarket products, I believe the best way to sell them is to clearly show the potential customer exactly what they will get for their money. I feel using a pretty picture is not necessary to garner sales. Maybe just add some photos of the painted and assembled product in addition to the raw unassembled parts.
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But the question is why do all the models companies put an artist’s image on the box instead of the finished model? Surely they must calculate that an artist’s image entices more buyers than an actual photo of the finished model?
Looked him up on pinterest, amazing art work.
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Oh yeah, for a model kit, I like a nice box art! And it definitely does improve the chances of a purchase from unwary customers. I was thinking of aftermarket or small manufacturers.
The old Monogram and Revell box art back in the day when they were forced to have a photo of the actual model on the box were not so terrific. But there were exceptions. Monogram’s P-61, B-25H, Do-335, Dauntless and Mosquito all had pretty nice looking model photo box art that definitely enticed me into buying them!
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I’m going to hazard a guess that it’s primarily this: Just, because they MAKE the model, it doesn’t mean they can BUILD one that is worth showing off. Just like everyone with a camera in their hand (no matter what kind) isn’t automatically catagorized as a ‘photographer.’
For many folks (perhaps other than the mold makers, who are truly artists in their own right) the job they have does not imply or mean that they can do justice to what their job turns out.
I worked in semiconductors for almost 20 years. I can’t make a computer chip. I can build a computer, but I don’t know how to program one. I have the skills to learn how to write programs and the basics of how those function, but making a program that does more than say, “Hi, I wrote this with a simple, BASIC, program,” well beyond my skill set.
The guys working at a model manufactory probably think of it as ‘just another job.’
Just a thought.
I remember back in the mid to late 70’s when model companies switched from artwork of the subject to photos of the model itself. I always thought that was something of a letdown.
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This one.
Never seen or heard of this aircraft when I found it in the store. Got myself one during the early 2000s.
Look at the reflections, below looks like sand, while the sky above is blue, and in the middle near the nose, you see a line of camels. Looks like a nice scenic picture.
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Could be Sicily? Do they have palm trees there? (Checked, yes they do.)
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B-29s were also used on supply missions over the Himalaya Mountains “The Hump” and a camel was often used as the mission marking. No B-29 used in Sicily so that can be ruled out, but box art is not history..
Hmm, interesting point - I hadn’t thought of Sicily… The timing of the Sicily Campaign aligns with Panther’s debut in Kursk, and apparently there were Panthers in Northern Italy from August 1943. I haven’t seen any evidence to support their presence in Sicily, but I’m happy to be wrong on the matter. It’s those whitewashed low-set domed roof structures giving the scene a North African quality that are really bugging me though 
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Could be a Panther Hitler withdrew from Kursk in response to the Sicily landings. Secretly slipped across the Strait of Messina in a desperate attempt to thwart Patton and Montgomery 
Or could be a total hash by the artist.
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I have learnt to never say never when it comes to WWII history
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As far as to what is written,there were no Panthers deployed to Sicily,they first saw combat at Anzio
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