Hi all.
This is the excellent Tamiya P47D Bubbletop in 1/72.
Painted and decalled in the markings of Maj Gen W E "Bill" Kepner.Commanding general of VIII Fighter Command.This was his own personal transport and was named Kokomo.Kepner was later to command the 2nd Bomb Division and Kokomo remained his runaround,being based at Hethel in Norfolk,close to Kepners HQ.
As its finished to represent a personal aircraft of a high ranking USAAF officer,it would have been kept in pristine condition by the ground crew and Ive tried to show this in the general finish.
Its painted in Alclad polished aluminium and Tamiya acrylics.
Many thanks to everyone whose followed this build in the thread over the last few months.I hope you had a much fun watching as I had building.
Its by far the best model Ive finished so far and Im really pleased with it.
As always,,please feel free to add any constructive critisism and comments/advice.
Here are the pics,,









Thanks for looking
Nige

Beautiful work Nige. Your best model so far and your longest build :-) . The repainted cowling definitely looks better.
A definite contender for MOM.
That is one very pristine looking bird, and a nice bit of history to accompany it.
Keep up the good work mate.
Andy (++)

A job well done Nigel.
As I said on your other thread, after seeing the results with Alclad on this model, I'm giving serious thought to using it on my P-38.
First of all, I'd say overall it is a beautiful plane and you've done an outstanding job on her.
Second, if I had to find anything at all to nit-pick it would be the glossy finish on the green drap portions on top of the fuselage. Don't get me wrong, it looks great, but I'd have probably toned that portion down.
I hope that didn't come out the wrong way A model as fantastic as this one, without any visible flaws gets two thumbs up from me.

Congrats!

Hi Nigel!

Fantastic model!
I would have added a wash in the panel lines but I understand why you did not. It does make sense!

The model is great but the picture don't do justice to it. I suppose you didn't used natural light or enough light sources. At least on my screen, they appear yellow. I've edited some to give them a more natural look.







I think you should shoot another set with better lighting conditions. Everything would be perfect then!

Jean-Luc

Great work, Nige! You've come a long way!!!! You're entitled to be very proud of yourself!

Regarding weathering, I take it that the Egyptian Sea Fury that you'll be building next was not "in pristine condition" and that you might want to experiment a little with weathering techniques! Check out Andy's hints regarding NMF at the Suez thread!

Cheers!

Hi Nigel:

The only thing I can say is WOW !!!
Your P 47 looks fantastic, really a great job. Congratulations.

Looks great Nige. I have really enjoyed watching this one develop. It was fun to watch you go through all the steps. My only suggestion is the same as Jean-Luc's...definately try some different lighting or camera white balance, especially before putting it into the MOM. It is excellent work and I think the odd coloring detracts a little from that. Again, great model. Thanks so much for sharing the build with us!
Leon

OK Nige, now I've GOT to build a NMF! I bought some Alcad but have not yet tried it.

Maybe an all aluminum Finnish Buffalo..?

That is a super looking Jug!

Fred

Hi all.
Wow,,Im blown away by what people are saying about Kokomo.To recieve such comments from people whos work I admire and gain inspiration from is really something.
The sun has been out today and Ive managed to snap some better photos.
Here are 2 of them.Im writing a feature on the build which will cover what I learnt about the previously dreaded Alclad and techniques used.All of which were learnt from this site.
This build has been a joy from start to finish.
Thanks everyone!
Nige
:-)

Nige, the better pics really show this model for what it is......................drum roll....................Fantastic If I were to make any comment it would be that, in my opinion, it would look even better weathered. However I think that you have done the correct thing and not weathered it as, until you develope you weathering techniques, you could ruin what is a great looking model. You can always come back and weather it if you wish.
Well done mate, I expect to see this in the MOM next month and I thought that I might stand a chance
What's next?
Mal

Nigel - She's a real beauty, look forward to the "Feature" as we can all use tips on producing NMF. Oh, I think the gun barrels should be darker, how's that for a nit pick ? :-)

Chuck,,I will consider my nits to have been picked :-)

Thanks Mal Next will be my 3 Campaign builds I have yet to start. A 109 for Duel,Hurricane for Midnight Sun,,and a battered NMF Sea Fury for Suez.
Theres also a "special" Spitfire on the horizon but before all that I have another tour to do and then a week in the sun in Turkey straight after that