1/48 Tamiya P-47D Thunderbolt 'bubbletop'

Gallery Article by Konley Kelley on July 28 2010

 

With the recent anniversary of D-Day, I wanted to build a fighter with invasion stripes.  I also wanted to build a model I could create a Photoshop diorama of for my "Aces in 1:48 Scale" project.
 
This turned out to be a P-47D flown by Lt. Col. L. Robert Coffey, Jr.   Coffey was a member of the 365th Fighter Group "Hell's Hawks."  He was promoted to Deputy Commander and shot down six enemy aircraft before being taken out by flak in July, 1944.  He evaded capture and made it back to friendly territory.  A famous photograph was taken of his crashed, burning aircraft.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

Instead of creating a Photoshop Diorama of an aircraft in flight, I decided to put one on the ground.  I snapped some pictures of my model on the sidewalk in front of my freshly mowed lawn.  On the internet, I found several images of airfields, concrete and skies that I blended together to create an airfield scene.

I tried for realism and it looks pretty good.
 
FYI - I have been giving "how-to" powerpoint presentations on scale modeling, Photoshop and 3D modeling the last three years in the Dallas area for Scalefest and Squadron's Eagle Quest.  Some attendees have asked me to e-mail the presentations but the graphics make that impossible.  I found a solution, I have posted the presentations at slideshare.net:

"Modeling History with Photoshop"

http://www.slideshare.net/konman/squadron-eaglequest-preso-by-konley-kelley-2337544

"Modeling History in 3D"

http://www.slideshare.net/konman/modeling-history-in-3d-squadron-2010-eagle-quest-presentation

You can also see links to the presentations on my website www.shortfuse3d.com

I'm looking forward to seeing more great models showcased on ARC using digital tools. Go for it and have fun!

Konley Kelley

Photos and text © by Konley Kelley